EMBERS
The sound of sorrow
Overview
'Embers' is a 2018 independent short film that tells the story of four friends, who try to rekindle their friendship after a tragic accident. The 14 minute short was produced and filmed around the Lake District area in Cumbria and was released in June 2018.
The soundtrack album not only contains the actual score used in the movie, but also a couple of unused tracks and theme variations and acts as a standalone album that explores the themes of the film through music.
Finding the sound of sorrow
Embers is very minimalistic in its approach: the main instruments are a couple of strings and a piano and sometimes a couple of synthesizers for the more supernatural scenes. The goal was to weave the music into the background of the film where it can coexist with the soundscapes and more or less becomes a part of the world and the story presented. The dark growling synths during the car crash could almost be a roaring engine and the soft piano tunes almost blend in with the wind and the chirping of birds. When the music needs to be heard it presents itself with a strong emphasis on strings which in these cases take the front row and overshadow any background ambience.
Embers is primarily about sorrow and guilt, which are very intimate and personal themes, themes that lend themselves well to a quiet and withdrawn approach when it comes to the music.
From 4 to 3 notes - The central theme
'Embers' starts of with a cast of four characters who are very soon reduced to three. This sudden loss of one of their own can be felt even through the music itself: the main theme always changes between four and three main notes depending if Shaun's presence has to be felt around the group or not.
This simple idea of just removing one note from the theme soon became the cornerstone for the entire soundtrack to a point where I would create melodies and then just take certain parts out again to give the music a slight incomplete feeling, to make it sound like something that was once there is now missing.
