Some of them want to abuse you, some of them want to be abused...

I have finally completed the soundtrack to new black comedy short Gimp, written and directed by Kate Shenton. When the edit arrived in my inbox, I knew what to expect, but was at something of a loss as to how to interpret it musically. Just to give you a sense of the story: we begin in a room of somewhat 'fruity' decor, where a little preparatory teasing is occurring between our hero, the gimp, and a dominatrix. (Don't worry, there's nothing obscene. It's all in good taste...) The gimp is handcuffed to a radiator. With the tantalising promise of "good things [coming] to those who wait", the dominatrix departs for a little light lunch - only to choke to death on it. None the wiser, the gimp awaits her return. Hours pass. And then, suddenly, an alarm clock starts beeping ... on repeated snooze. And thus we watch the gimp's descent into desperation and madness, with a conclusion that, in Kate's own words, "makes 127 Hours look like a paper cut."

The more I watched it, the more I began to realise that Gimp is essentially a silent movie. (Though in hindsight, perhaps my recent viewing of that modern masterpiece, The Artist, influenced this notion.) While technically containing sounds - whip-cracks, an alarm clock, the thud of a collapsing dominatrix - it is based primarily on the cartoonish, and masterful, performance of Damien Lloyd-Davies - our tragic hero. Like all the best silent movies, the comedy, and indeed the film's entire arc, is derived from his facial expressions and physicality. (And the fact that 90% of his face was hidden behind black PVC makes Damien's performance all the more impressive.) There is next-to-no dialogue; only actions and reactions. Thus, I decided there was only one thing for it: a full orchestra. As with the silent movies of old, as well as The Artist, in the absence of dialogue, the story is manifested much more richly in the dynamic bombast of a large orchestra. Plus, the film is also 8 minutes of unadulterated lunacy, and requires a soundtrack to match.

The only snag was ... I'd never composed for orchestra before. So, I started listening to the likes of Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, and the old master, in whose shadow the former two compose their scores, Igor Stravinsky. It is the latter who gave today's film composers some of their most fundamental scoring devices: the jagged octatonic scales heard in Jaws; the shrieking Petrushka harmonies heard in the dinosaur's death scene in Fantasia (which is indeed Stravinsky himself); the list goes on. So, with the help of an assistant arranger, Jonny Sims (West is West), in the end I turned out something fusing all three, blending timpanis, french horns, symphonic gongs, a choir, and the rest of the orchestra, with some dirty electric guitar over the top. And a banjo. I always love to have a banjo in there. Undeniably, the end result does sound unnervingly like some unholy collaboration of the above composers - one moment in particular being a direct homage to Williams' Jaws theme. I'm very pleased to have worked on this short, and it's been a real learning curve in teaching me to spot action on film with the full orchestra.

Gimp will be screening in early March. The soundtrack is also available on my own soundtracks page. I'll be sure to post details of the film on twitter ... should it tickle your fancy.