I’ve recently completed the new music for a forthcoming campaign for Save the Children International – a series of TV advertisements that will roll out later this year, including several shorter formats for social media. It’s a powerful project with a complex brief, and it was a privilege to be involved.
The creative process was unusually collaborative, with a large team shaping the direction across multiple formats. From the outset, the brief was tightly defined in terms of musical language. The score needed to be built around traditional instruments only – no percussion, no overtly synthetic textures, and no orchestral weight. The sound had to feel intimate and close, yet still urgent and emotionally charged. It wasn’t meant to “comfort” in the traditional musical sense; instead, the music needed to challenge, to reflect the scale and seriousness of the subject, while still allowing moments of tenderness and “emotional uplift”, especially towards the final scene.
Early discussions
After several early discussions, it became clear that the solution might lay in a chamber-scale approach. I chose to work with a double string quartet, accompanied by a quietly layered piano and double bass – subtle but deliberate choices that allowed for detailed dynamic control and harmonic nuance. This instrumentation gave me the intimacy the brief demanded, while still being capable of driving forward momentum and tension where needed.
Structural flexibility
Another key requirement was structural flexibility. The campaign will eventually exist in several formats – including 15-second, 30-second, 60-second and 90-second versions – with the possibility of further re-edits in the future. So, from the outset, I composed the score with an almost modular structure and embedded edit points. These allow for smooth transitions, rhythmic or harmonic pivots, and moments of stillness that can either resolve or extend depending on what each version of the film calls for. Certain sections are harmonically static, allowing for ease of editing, while others are more harmonically active to introduce or resolve emotional shifts.
Storytelling
This kind of musical architecture was essential – the score needed to support storytelling in a way that could remain effective whether seen in a cinema setting or as a social media clip.
I’m grateful to Lucia at Save the Children International @savechildrenuk, Simon at Witness @witness_ldn, and the team at Open Creates for their clarity and feedback throughout the process. Their willingness to engage deeply with how the music functioned meant the creative dialogue remained open and purposeful from beginning to end.
The full suite of films – for broadcast, cinema, and digital – will be released later in the year. I’ll share the final versions here once they’re live.
Feel free to contact me for more details of this commission.