Introduction to Finneas’ Latest Project
Finneas, the Oscar-winning songwriter and composer, is no stranger to writing music for film. Along with his sister Billie Eilish, he won Oscars for "No Time to Die" from the James Bond film of the same name and "What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie" in 2024. He has also won Grammys and has a successful solo career, as well as collaborating with Eilish on multiple projects. However, when it came to writing music for the limited series from AppleTV+, the creator and director Alfonso Cuarón wanted something different from him.
A New Challenge for Finneas
Despite his extensive CV, Finneas had never scored a television series before, but Cuarón was a fan of his work. Finneas was brought on board during filming, but the real work began in post-production. Cuarón sent him a lot of music that he loved as references, which were mainly string quartets. Finneas admitted, "I immediately said, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know how to write music for a string quartet,’ so I had to learn."
The Series: A Complex and Thrilling Story
The seven-part series stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The show follows the celebrated journalist Catherine Ravenscroft, who built her reputation by exposing the misdeeds and wrongdoings of others. However, when she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to recognize that she is now the main character in a story that reveals her darkest secrets.
Collaborating with Other Musicians
Finneas began to write music and raised the composer David Campbell to help him with the process. "I would write something and then have David Campbell write it down and orchestrate it – because I don’t know how to write notes," Finneas explained. Campbell recommended the Atacca quartet, which Cuarón was already familiar with.
Approaching the Score
When approaching the score, Finneas realized that most of Cuarón’s films, such as "Roma" and "Y TU Mama Tambien", had minimal scores. Therefore, the approach seemed to be "less is more". Finneas noted, "There are large assembly sequences, such as the water rescue, where we knew we needed the swing of music, and there are moments when the music is a bit of an inner monologue of the character."
Creating Character-Specific Themes
Finneas gave Catherine a cello theme that was heard in Episode 1 at the beginning. He also created a family suite, as Catherine’s son Nicholas listens mainly to rap, grime, and drill, which contrasts with the rest of the family. Additionally, Finneas created various themes, including a love theme for Steven and his late wife Nancy, who appears in flashbacks.
The Experience of Scoring a Television Series
Finneas found that scoring a television series was a unique experience, as he did not work linearly. "I would work on cues from Episode 6 and then 2" and jump around, which was satisfying. He added, "If I did more television, I would hope that I would do it again because it is appealing to do it that way." Overall, Finneas’ experience scoring the limited series was a challenging but rewarding one, and he is open to exploring more television projects in the future.
