Michael looks back on his early life and introduction to music, from writing for a community circus, to his first industry role assisting composer Michael Kamen; working as a music editor on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his move back to composing with the international-hit TV series, Sherlock. We also learn how Michael later got involved with Unforgotten, and the aspects of his musical style that rendered him a great fit for the show.

Michael shares how he and the team behind Unforgotten developed the musical framework for the show, from solo piano sketches on his phone, to a fully fledged and repeatable concept. We explore the unique challenges to be aware of when composing for episodic TV, developing themes for moods rather than characters, and balancing the three core tenets of the Unforgotten world: suspense, storytelling, and emotional heart.

Michael outlines how live improvisation around dialogue can help you to find the emotional truth of a scene, and where ‘beginners mind’ can allow you to stay in touch with the needs of an audience across a season. He also makes a case for paying special attention to how a cue begins and ends, and shares some vital experience in navigating difficult conversations in the dub.

Join Michael at his piano as he illuminates the process of developing a unique yet functional musical language, and the ‘4 chord trick’ behind the Unforgotten main theme. We explore how harmony can be used to take the viewer on a journey, creating motion with melody rather than rhythm, and why Aeolian mode can be a great place to start when looking to create a sense of forward momentum.

Once the musical blueprint is in place, how do you use it to build a fully-formed score? In this chapter Michael shares some tools that can extend your musical language: whether it’s creating chord ‘clouds’ with descending lines, using counterpoint and layering to add complexity and depth, or moving a theme into a new key to transform its meaning.

Michael takes us through the first cue of Unforgotten season 4, in which a group of unsuspecting characters make a grisly discovery. Explore how this opening cue is constructed as Michael breaks down his stems, sharing tips on everything from reconnecting with your audience in a new season and setting the scene for a revelation, to programming synths that feel like part of the orchestra.

In this cue, the introduction of a new character and location require some transformation of the Unforgotten theme. Delve into Michael’s Logic project and learn how he re-imagined the main motif by adding brightness, the merit of layering samples with live recordings, writing with strings for a sense of scale, and why a montage scene can be the perfect place to make a strong thematic statement.

We return to our four note motif with a movement-filled montage scene. Michael demonstrates how growing music from an established set of ‘musical seeds’ ensures cohesiveness, before exploring the musical motors in this cue that propel the story forwards, and how using a pedal tone can create a sense of anticipation.

Through this structural storytelling cue, Michael explains how to navigate scoring for multiple locations and a heightened emotional tone, as well as the technical challenge of adapting music for broadcast TV advert breaks and streaming services. We also explore how he employs longer string lines to elongate and grow familiar the four note motif.

In part one of breaking down this pivotal six minute scene, we focus on developing a strong emotional frame for the drama to unfold, while leaving space for characters’ reactions. Michael demonstrates the importance of ‘cultivated silence’ as a powerful compositional tool.

In part two of our explorations of this cue, Michael shares how working backwards from the ultimate destination can help to achieve a natural build to the finish. He reflects on his use of original recordings from Season 1, combined with new recordings to achieve a sort of ‘historical counterpoint’, developing themes by altering density and range, and the ways in which we can create a sense of closure for our audience.