This week I continue a series of cues with an inspirational or uplifting character. I was surprised to find how few of these I’ve written. Film and game music tends to be dramatic in mood, conveying strife and mystery, poignant introspection, pulse-pounding heroism, or awe-inspiring wonderment. Requests for simple positivity don’t come along often.

Fortunately, George Adams’ extraordinary documentary Touché: A Blind Fencer’s Story gave me one such occasion. This theme, here on piano, accompanied the documentary’s subject’s journey from fully-sighted mom to blind fencing champion.

Michael Gordon Shapiro · Catherine’s Theme

This week continues my series of cues with an uplifting or positive musical character, meant to provide a little emotional boost during stressful times. 

This week’s selection is a nostalgic cue from the film Against Time. At the scene’s heart was a particularly moving performance by Craig T. Nelson, which made it easy to find musical inspiration.

This week continues my series of cues with an uplifting or positive musical character, meant to provide a little emotional boost during stressful times. This cue goes all the way back to my USC days, when I scored an ambitious thesis film starring Len Lesser of Seinfeld fame. We worked with a union L.A. orchestra at the then-active Martinsound studios, resulting in a fabulous performance and recording.

The music itself wraps a charming film about senior citizens checking off an item from what these days we’d colloquially call a bucket list.

In trying times, art keeps us connected to a long-term perspective of optimism that can be clouded by short-term stress. To do my part, in the coming weeks I’m going to present pieces whose moods are more uplifting or positive. (Don’t worry, I have plenty of horror and action music to share once real life feels calmer.)

This week’s cue comes from my score for the film Against Time, and accompanies a romantic moment amidst a gorgeous bucolic backdrop.

Written for a cemetery scene in the film The F-Zone, this cue is somber but has some lyrical qualities as well. In the middle section I harmonize a solo flute with four basses, rather than the more conventional approach of using all the low strings. It’s an interesting sound, almost medieval, and distinctly funereal.