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Michael Palmer

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Composer

Audio Showreel

I have made so much music for media over the years, but some pieces have stood out for me. Here are some favourites (many available for use).

Feature Films

This is my debut feature, released in 2022 to critical acclaim on the indie horror movie scene, including a '100% Fresh' score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The music for this feature covered a lot of ground. As a composer, I had to produce music in a wide variety of genres, from classic horror right through to heavy rock, punky-ska, synth-wave, 80's soft rock, quirky jazz and classical film score.

Out now in the USA, Canada, UK and Ireland.

Directed by: Conor Boru
Written by: Conor Boru & Ed Hartland

Watch the trailer

Watch on Amazon

Commercials

I have been creating the sonic signature for an array of global brands since 2006.

My approach is to create music that has been meticulously designed to effectively tell brand stories, while simultaneously having the depth and quality to stand alone in its own right. And I don't stop at music, I can also handle all aspects of creative sound design, to create a unified and powerful sonic branding experience.

To do this I bang a lot of drums, strum a lot of strings, tweak endless parameters and drink far too much coffee!

Just some of the brands I have worked with

Just some of the brands I have worked with

Just some of the brands I have worked with

TV & Shorts

The right music and sound design have a wonderfully immediate ability to draw out the hidden subtext of a character and set the perfect tone for a scene.

No less than a direct route to the heart.

Be it a traditional score or blurring the lines between music and sound design, I am literally in heaven when helping to tell your stories.

Send me your script or rough cut and let's create some storytelling magic.

Musical Branding For Film & TV

In today's crowded marketplace, your production must stand out from the crowd. This is where I believe I can help.

Musical branding for film and TV is all about developing sonic language that audiences will forever associate with your production.
This is a wide-ranging creative field but can include considerations such as:

  • Creating a script or picture-edit-inspired toolkit of sounds, to form the basis for musical scoring

    This could be the use of certain musical instruments that evoke a specific feeling. Or the creation of unique one-of-a-kind instruments that are made from sources like foley or location sound recordings. For example: A thriller using instruments created from field recordings of glass being smashed, for a film centred around a plot where a central character is killed by falling through glass.


    Did you know? That Bernard Herrmann's score for Hitchcock's classic thriller 'Psycho', was recorded using only orchestral strings? This was the composer's reaction to Psycho being shot in black and white. If a full orchestra is 'full colour in sound', then just strings would be 'black and white'. A brilliant choice which gave the film a truly unique voice.

    That's musical branding at work.

  • Composing with mnemonics in mind

    A great example is the classic guitar chord that signifies the world of James Bond. Whenever someone hears this simple chord they are immediately in the world of Bond. Amongst guitarists, we all know the 'Bond Chord'.

 

  • Creating audio elements, extracted from the main soundtrack score, for promotional use

    Within each score, there is an ability to extract unique elements for use in the wider promotional content associated with a film. Be it cinematic trailers or online content such as viral campaigns, websites, apps etc. As with elements visual like 'type faces', sound can also have a unified language across all content, be it the main production or advertising.


    Think: Intros, outros, stings, loops, transitions and in sonic gestures. A unified narrative brand experience.

Channel Branding

Creating the unique sonic identity of a channel is a challenge that is as creative as it is technical.

With many briefs demanding a wide range of idents, bumpers, stings and zones, the goal of a unified brand experience can be one that requires a nuanced vision spanning across a range of stylistic genres. This is a challenge I love to embrace.

Think of me as a graphic designer who paints with sound rather than pixels.

Games

This is my score for a cinema campaign for the AAA game Rage!

Super fun to break out the heavy rock guitars on this one.

This is my re-score of a fight scene from the classic game 'Ghost of Tsushima'.

This shows my ability to create evolving drama with tight synchronisation between music and visual action.

Original composers for this amazing game:
Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi

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