Music for TV and Film in London
By Chris Olson
If you have ever spent an evening wandering around South East London trying to convince yourself that the distant hum of the A20 is actually the soothing roar of the ocean, you already understand something fundamental about working in creative arts here: it’s all about perspective.
My name is Chris Olson. Depending on which inbox you happen to catch me in, I am either the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of UK Film Review or a sync music artist sitting in a home studio surrounded by quite used guitars, trying to write the precise sequence of chords that will make a fictional character’s breakup feel 15% more tragic.
From Film Reviews to Music Stems
Since 2012, my role at UK Film Review has given me a front-row seat to the sheer, unadulterated grit of the indie filmmaking community across London. I have watched thousands of directors pour their hearts, savings, and occasional sanity into short films and features. I’ve championed their work, written the reviews, hosted the festivals, and drank the lukewarm networking beer.
Along the way, I noticed a recurring tragedy in post-production. A filmmaker would create a stunning, visually arresting sequence, say, a quiet moment on a night bus rolling through Peckham, only to slap a generic stock audio track over it because their budget ran out somewhere between catering and colour grading.
That’s where my dual life kicked in. Having spent years reviewing cinema, I realised I had developed an almost instinctual feel for how sound elevates on-screen narrative. I didn’t just want to critique the pictures; I wanted to provide the heartbeat underneath them.
Matching the Sound to the Screen
Crafting music for TV and film in London isn’t about writing a four-minute pop song and hoping someone puts it over the end credits. It’s about utility, emotion, and timing. A good sync track doesn't compete with the dialogue; it cradles it.
Over the years, I’ve built a catalog designed specifically to solve the distinct emotional headaches that filmmakers run into in the edit suite:
The Coming-of-Age Energy: My track "Dirty Summer" was born out of that classic British summer feeling: upbeat indie rock, slightly sun-bleached, driven by nostalgic guitars. It’s built for those scenes where teenagers are running down an alleyway or driving a battered hatchback toward an uncertain future.
The Quiet Heavy Moments: On the opposite end of the spectrum is "Movie Posters", a pensive, stripped-back acoustic song touching on men's mental health. It’s vulnerable, understated, and designed for scenes where the protagonist is staring at his reflection in a bathroom mirror, trying to figure out his next move.
Grief and Weight: Then there’s "Mud & Rain", a piano-led piece centered around loss. It carries a heavy, damp melancholia, very British, very quiet, and ideal for key dramatic turning points in TV dramas where words simply fall short.
Going Instrumental: The Unsung Hero of Sync
Of course, vocals can sometimes get in the way of crucial dialogue (I'm not a great singer, I can admit that). If a character is explaining a complex heist or confessing to a crime, you don't necessarily want a lyricist singing about their teenage angst in the background.
That’s why I’m particularly excited about my upcoming release, "Amateur Astronaut".
It’s a completely instrumental track tailored for sci-fi, thriller, or speculative fiction projects. Because there are no lyrics to dodge, it has this wonderful ability to slip into a scene almost unnoticed, laying down a synth-driven, atmospheric foundation that builds tension towards a powerful, electric-guitar-based culmination. It lets the director breathe while keeping the audience’s heart rate right where it needs to be.
Why London Filmmakers and Sync Artists Belong Together
I have lived in London for over a decade and feel I have only scratched the surface of the filmmaking community, even in my UKFR role. What I love about the South East London scene, and the wider indie network I’ve been privileged to support since 2012, is the sense of grassroots collaboration.
Whether you’re working on an indie feature in Greenwich, a TV pilot set in East London, or a high-concept short destined for the festival circuit, the goal remains the same: making the audience feel something real. Music is often the final piece of that puzzle.
So, if you’re an editor currently fighting with a temp track at 2:00 AM, or a director trying to find the exact sonic tone for your next project, drop me a line. If nothing else, we can grab a coffee in South East London and talk about movie scores.
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