Recently I had a quick conversation with composer Ros Gilman, one which was unfortunately cut short by some technical issues and an already tight window. Nonetheless, we had a chance to go over his latest film The Last Cloudweaver, how he got into film composing, and more. You can find the whole interview on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or right here on my site.
Initially, Ros didn’t intend to become a film composer. He began studying violin from a young age at conservatories across Europe, eventually forming a string quartet that started receiving acclaim. A hand injury unfortunately interfered with Ros’ ability to continue playing at this level. Undeterred, Ros applied to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna to study conducting and composing, where a love of John Williams and Jurassic Park in particular led Ros into film music. I appreciated that Ros didn’t let his injury stop his dreams and instead found a new way to approach music.
Ros believes that his background as a concert violinist has been a benefit when it comes to composing. “As a violinist I’ve played in orchestras for many years . . . and that really influenced me. [I]t helped me write music from a different perspective [and] was definitely a huge benefit for me to start writing and orchestrating my own things.”
Although Ros began his music career playing the violin and has an intimate connection with it, he always turns the piano (which he calls “the pocket orchestra”) to begin composing. With the piano “you don’t have the colors but you have the whole range, so it’s like sort of a black and white sketch. Then you go and color it . . . with the different colors of the instrument: the flutes and the strings and the trumpets and so on.”
Scoring for Animation and The Last Cloudweaver
We then moved to discussing films and scores more broadly, focusing primarily on the music of Disney including Michael Giacchino’s score for Coco and The Incredibles and Hans Zimmer’s work on both Lion King films. The musical creativity and diversity offered in these films appeals to Ros, as does their fairy tale aspect and aspirational themes.
While his dream is to one day score a Pixar film, his first step into animation is the upcoming film The Last Cloudweaver. The film is about a dragon that teaches a young girl how to weave clouds with a flute. The prevalence of the flute, combined with a lack of dialogue in the film, gave Ros a central role in telling the film’s story – a role that Ros reveled in. Though neither the film nor the score were available as of our interview, it promises to be a full-bodied fantasy musical adventure bolstered by the 64-piece Prague Metropolitan Orchestra with whom Ros recorded. As a sucker for the fantasy genre, I’m excited for the score to release.
The Last Cloudweaver is directed by Judit Boor and produced by Dragonbee Animation. Both the film and Ros’ score are both forthcoming while certain of Ros’ other music is available on all major streaming platforms. Learn more about Ros by visiting his website.
