Composer Interview: Lorne Balfe (Mission: Impossible - Fallout)

Film.Music.Media

Composer Lorne Balfe has proven his versatility and talent as a storyteller by delivering amazing scores across all genres and all mediums of visual storytelling. He has delivered the goods in family animation, moving dramas, thrilling horror, engaging biopics, inspiring documentaries, captivating television series, quirky comedies, addictive video games and much more. For his most recent film, Lorne joins the legacy that is the Mission: Impossible series. Lorne follows in the footsteps of some amazing composers to add his own signature stamp to the franchise. Lorne is one of our favorite guests, and it was a pleasure to catch up with him to dissect his biggest and most ambitious score to date in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. We discuss some topics such as confidence and doubt when it comes to being a composer, working with directors, what Lorne learned from his time as an additional composer, and how he handles criticism from people online especially on a big film like Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The majority our interview focuses on Mission: Impossible, including how this film needed a different scoring approach and how he approached utilizing that iconic Lalo Schifrin theme. You'll hear how Lorne structured certain action scenes, including knowing what scenes in the film didn't require score. Lorne shares how director Christopher McQuarrie doesn't use a temp track, and instead utilized an hour's worth of musical ideas that Lorne wrote away from picture to start editing to, and that made sure that music was baked into the DNA of this brilliant exercise in action filmmaking. We wrap up taking a look at Lorne's score for Genius: Picasso and how the score evolved from season 1, which focused on Albert Einstein. Lorne has proven himself as one of the most versatile and talented composers working today, and it's always a pleasure to catchup and pick his brain.

Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas

Special Thanks: Lorne Balfe, Quennie Li, Ray Costa, Costa Communications