Client: Camille Laurent
Project Title: Colorée

Objective:
This project focused on composing an intimate, atmospheric score for the French impressionist animated film Colorée. The goal was to create a delicate yet emotionally restrained musical language that would complement the film’s visual aesthetic. Organic instrumentation and unconventional harmonic techniques were used to create a sense of coldness, fragility, and intimacy within the animated world.

Music Composition Approach:
From the outset, organic instrumentation and a restrained impressionistic approach were central to the musical direction. Violins and celli formed the foundation of the score, allowing the music to retain a natural, expressive quality while closely reflecting the delicate movement and visual textures of the animation.

Extended harmonic techniques were used throughout the composition to create a distinctly cold and ambiguous sound. Suspended harmonies, extended intervals, dissonant voicings and subtle harmonic shifts were used to avoid conventional tonal resolution, creating a sense of distance and emotional uncertainty within the music.

The recording approach was equally important to the overall sound. All instruments were closely miked to create an intimate and immediate perspective, bringing the listener into close proximity with the performers. This captured the natural detail and texture of the strings while giving the score a tactile and exposed quality.

The music was written to closely follow the pacing and visual language of the animation. Sustained string textures, delicate instrumental gestures and gradual harmonic changes were used to respond to the movement on screen, allowing the score to evolve organically alongside the imagery while maintaining its cold and atmospheric character.

Opening Title Music:
The opening credits featured a restrained string-led passage designed to establish the film’s impressionistic and intimate musical identity. Subtle harmonic tension and close-miked violin and cello textures create an immediate sense of atmosphere, introducing the film’s delicate visual world through a cold and understated orchestral palette.

Tone and Style:
The score was intimate, atmospheric, cold and impressionistic; drawing on organic string instrumentation and extended harmonic language to create a restrained yet expressive sound. The close recording perspective and unconventional harmonies give the music a tactile quality that reflects the delicacy and ambiguity of the film’s animation.

Technical Delivery:

• Delivered in stereo format for online, festival, and film distribution.
• Mixed for clarity, intimacy, and dynamic detail, with emphasis on close string textures, harmonic colour, and natural instrumental character.