SMA Spotlight: Ian Arber

After scoring over 30 films, Ian’s big break came in 2015 assisting composer Joe Kraemer on his score for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Shortly afterwards, he scored the coming-of-age feature film Scott and Sid directed by Scott Elliott, as well as psychological-horror feature Reunion.

The following year, Ian scored the award-winning Paralympics Opening Ceremony Film in 2016 featuring James Corden, as well as award-winning feature documentaries on Usain Bolt (I Am Bolt) and Mo Farrah (No Easy Mile, written in collaboration with composer David Rowntree).

From then on, Ian's career has gone from strength to strength, spanning from co-writing the score for smash-hit documentary Bros: After the Screaming Stops and BBC One thriller The Capture with Rowntree, to writing the music for Season two of Medici, building on Paolo Buonvino's music from Season one as well as composing new themes. 

SMA caught up with Ian to discuss how he became a composer, his recent work, and what he has planned for the rest of 2020. 

Q> Hi Ian! Could you begin by telling us a little bit about your path into the industry?

Ian> I studied Music Technology at the University of Kent with an emphasis on music production and composition. There is no one-size-fits-all answer that will guarantee you will make it into the industry, so I focused on leveraging my contacts while writing as much as possible, with a particular focus on short films at first. 

I really enjoyed working in TV and continued to do so for a couple of years. Between TV production contracts, I would network and write music for student films or whatever I could get my hands on. Eventually, when I started to earn enough money, I decided to focus fully on writing music.

During this period I managed to connect with a lot of young filmmakers, scoring many short films, a few feature films and lots of adverts. I always loved to network; I would fly out to Los Angeles at least once a year purely to meet established composers and filmmakers, and build relationships with industry people. As I began to work on more interesting projects, I developed a friendship with Hollywood composer Joe Kraemer. Shortly after this he was hired to score Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and needed an assistant. So right place right time - I got the job.

Assisting Joe on such a huge movie was a big turning point in my career. However looking back, I think it was incredibly important to have built the relationships I had, and gained the scoring experience previously, to move forward in my career after working on Mission: Impossible.

Q> What does an ideal working day look like for you?

Ian> I generally start writing at 9am, have a short lunch early afternoon, and then try to finish working around 6-7pm so I can switch off for the evening. Of course, this isn’t always the case when working on intense deadlines but, generally, this is what I aim for. I feel I'm at my most efficient when I have a productive morning.

Q> What moment in your career so far are you most proud of?

Ian> I think my proudest moment was the shortest piece of music I've ever written - 20 seconds! Writing the theme for The BBC Proms in 2019 was really a dream come true. Having started out as a runner on The Proms at the beginning of my career, becoming the first composer commissioned to write the theme a decade later and having my piece performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra was truly an honour and something I will remember forever. 

Q> You collaborated with David Rowntree on the score for the BAFTA-winning documentary Bros: After The Screaming Stops and the BBC One conspiracy-thriller The Capture. What did that collaborative process look like?

Ian> I love working with Dave. We’re from such different musical backgrounds and have very different expertise. So when we collaborate we approach writing from very different angles. Generally, Dave comes from a more electronic and percussive angle while I like to approach from a more organic, orchestral place. We collaborate very closely on each cue and often end up pushing each other in different directions which results in a really unique combination of sounds.

Q> You also recently scored the award-winning doc Show Me The Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall. When scoring for a documentary, what kinds of considerations do you have to make that might differ from those you make when writing for TV or film?

Ian> Interesting question. There are certainly differences in the approach, but generally speaking I tend to be attracted to cinematic documentaries. I like to tackle a documentary as I would a film or TV show; developing themes for characters and scoring the action where possible. Most of the docs I've scored have a theme as a backbone and tell the story along with the visuals. 

Q> Interesting! What advice do you have for young composers trying to break into the industry?

Ian> Network, connect and build as many relationships as you can in the industry. Whether it's getting your music out there to filmmakers, going to film festivals and mingling with industry people, or developing relationships with other film composers, it's all equally important. Learn from other more established composers, whether that's assisting or just through conversation, and remember everyone has a different route into the industry. You need to craft your own unique route.

Q> Who are you listening to at the moment?

Ian> I've been listening to a lot of Rachel Portman recently, I've always loved her work. I've also been listening to Yann Tiersen, and one of my all-time favourites, Gabriel Yared. Throw in some Radiohead, Brand New and First Aid Kit too and I'm happy. 

Q> And finally, what does 2020 hold for you (Corona-permitting!)?

Ian> I was very lucky to have had a couple of projects lined up before the Covid lockdown. I recently finished working on a travel series for Quibi called 'Cup Of Joe', with Joe Jonas and I'm currently scoring a Netflix original eight-parter with Dave Rowntree. We were very lucky that the show went into post-production just before the virus escalated, and everyone has been working remotely successfully.

Brilliant! Thanks so much, Ian. ​

Find out more about Ian and his work on the SMA website, or head to his Twitter, Instagram or Facebook page.