At what point in your life did you realize that a career in music composition was your calling Sean?
When I was in college, I decided to take a studio tour of an advertising agency in my hometown that specialized in writing radio jingles and composing music for television commercials. I didn’t realize at the time that that was a thing, but I instantly fell in love with it as soon as I walked in the studio and met the in-house composer. I begged them to hire me and I ended up working for them for 2 years as an intern and never looked back. I moved on to starting my own business and scoring documentaries and films from then on.
Can you name some composers who have influenced your Film & TV music career?
Oh gosh, well like many composers, my very first exposure to film music was John Williams, I was so amazed at how his scores sounded so “meant to be” for a lack of a better term, to the films they belonged to, almost as if they were another character of the film themselves. I have also been a big fan of Hans Zimmer, John Powell and Alan Sylvestri to name a few.
Was there a particular project that you worked on that enabled your talents to become highly recognized by the industry?
Oh for sure, the current show I am on for Netflix, My Little Pony: Make Your Mark. It has been a dream come true and it has been so much fun working on it. Everybody on the music team and in production have been so supportive and great to work with.
Is there a piece of music you have composed that stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
There is. I worked on a production music album a few years back and one of the cues I wrote is called Dark Horse Dominion. This is one of my favourites because it’s a hybrid track of all the things I love, orchestra, synth and guitars. I am a guitar player so anytime I get to record guitars is a fun day for me.
With so many film & television projects you have worked on, is there a particular one that really challenged you as a composer?
A few years ago I worked on a web series for the CBC called Newborn Moms which is a comedy about mothers and their experience as new parents. There was one scene in particular that I was having a tough time with. It was a scene where all the moms are talking about their horror stories about giving birth. I decided to score it completely opposite to the on screen comedy and I scored it like a horror film. This turned out to have hilarious results and the episode worked perfectly after a lot of trial and error.
Talk to us about the latest project you are working on for Netflix.
So My Little Pony: Make Your Mark is a 3D animated series which continues from where the 2021 movie My Little Pony: A New Generation left off. There is also a 2D animated series which has a similar storyline which was on YouTube and is also now on Netflix.Make Your Mark will be 23 episodes and 4 specials. 8 of the episodes are available now on Netflix as well as 2 specials and more to come very soon.
You are co-scoring with Ben Pinkerton on your current project, how is this collaboration coming along?
Great, Ben is really talented and has a ton of experience, like I said before, the whole team has been really fun to work with. I am learning a lot from them.
What’s next for you, after the completion of this series?
A much needed vacation and some downtime with my family and then possibly another animated series but nothing is set in stone yet.
The highlight of your career up to this point in time would be what?
When I was first starting out, I got a rare opportunity to work for composer Todd Hayen who had a very successful career. I became his assistant and he was my mentor. I am a big proponent of using live musicians as much as possible whenever possible, however these days it’s harder and harder to do so. When I worked for Todd we got to record several times with a live orchestra. There’s nothing better than experiencing an orchestra recording and playing your music, it’s indescribable. The first time I heard my own compositions being recorded is definitely a memorable experience for me.
You are highly credited & have an amazing history in the music business, what else would you like to accomplish in your career Sean?
It has always been a dream of mine to work on an animated film for a major animation studio, I love television too but film is the next step for me, so that is what I am striving for at this point.
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End of Interview