Original Score
Music is such an integral part of cinema. In unison with the image, it creates emotions far beyond the written word.
Consequently, the score for Chairs was of paramount importance to ensure the full vision of the story was brought to the screen. Such was the importance of the script, after years of writing, that the Original Score could only be put in the hands of the Composer that Sunset Aperture have worked with more than any other.
Jean-Pascal Beintus has worked on some of the biggest studio films of the last twenty years. As the Orchestrator for Alexandre Desplat, he has been in the recording sessions of several Oscar-Winning scores. Along with these features, Jean-Pascal has also scored four of the six short films that Sunset Aperture have released, inclusive of Chairs.
“He has been in the recording sessions of several Oscar-Winning scores.”
His discussions with our director for this film took place years before it went into production. They both had a shared love of the films of Billy Wilder, which had very much shaped the tone of the script. As a result, their ideas mirrored very closely throughout those early discussions. These ideas were shared with a variety of documents and moodboards discussing the tone of every frame in the film. On each of these boards the instrumentation of choice was also discussed for the key moments in the script.
During the edit of the film, as each scene was locked, that scene would then be sent to Jean-Pascal to work on the score. This in turn also shaped how some of the scenes were polished in the edit – in harmony with the score itself. This meant the score and edit were happening simultaneously – with both frequently influencing the other.
As with all projects that Jean-Pascal composes for Sunset Aperture, key tracks were discussed more than any others – the main melodic themes of the soundtrack. In the case of Chairs, the main orchestral theme was also composed as a poignant piano piece – an additional track for one of the final scenes.
All of this composition was created at Jean-Pascal’s studio in Switzerland in between two features he was working on for Guillermo del Torro; Pinnocchio and Frankenstein, along with the feature The Boy in the Boat for George Clooney.
“In between two features he was working on for Guillermo del Torro.”
Once the edit of Chairs was locked, Jean-Pascal went through the film in detail with his score, finessing instrumentation and timing, to fully lock the Original Score for the film.
There are sixteen stunning tracks written and composed for Chairs by Jean-Pascal Beintus – all of which make it into the finished film.
