However, there is one thing that bothers the slow Britell: the “Skip intro” feature in streaming services, which was introduced five years ago and allows viewers to skip the start-up titles of a show. “I’m very opposed,” says Britell. “Television music is incredibly important. It’s almost the DNA identifier of a show. It serves as a queue to bring you in and set the tone. “I think this official entry is vital.” So why was the “Skip intro” invented? We can blame Netflix and data metrics. According to Cameron Johnson, Netflix’s product innovation director, users were moving fast 15% of the time in the first five minutes of an episode. This suggests that many viewers wanted to surpass the title line. If you watch too much, eventually the imports can become repetitive. Johnson himself admits that he often tried his hand at the Game of Thrones titles, but was disappointed when he stopped short or did it too far. So, in early 2017, his team tested a number of names from consumers: “Jump past credits”, “Jump ahead”, “Skip credits”, “Skip intro” and simply “Skip”. Users had a clear favorite and the “Skip intro” was born, with most rival streaming services following. Where does this issue leave composers? Have they begun to hate the little button that, according to Johnson, brings “a little moment of enjoyment to audiences around the world”? “Every show deserves its own sound universe”… Nicholas Britell. Photo: Evan Agostini / Invision / AP Murray Gold has been the music director of Doctor Who for more than a decade and is a longtime collaborator with author Russell T Davies, playing successful series such as Queer As Folk and It’s a Sin. Not very interested in the button. “It really bothers me because, many times, the default setting for people is to skip titles,” says Gold. “When we watch the US Office at home, I will never let my wife miss out. The opening credits are so short and I just want to listen to the music. “ Grammy-winning David Arnold has made five films about James Bond, but also has a brilliant television biography, composing themed songs about Britain, Sherlock, Dracula and the Good Omen. He insists that they are a vital part of the viewing experience. “Take The Sopranos,” says Arnold. “You have this amazing Alabama 3 Woke Up This Morning song, which sets it up completely. I never move fast because I am always happy to hear this melody. The same goes for Succession. The wonderful thematic melodies make you feel anchored in the world of the series. This is what I try to do with my own: I welcome you and prepare you for what is to happen. “It’s like having the lighting and heating in your home when you get home.” Arnold believes intro-skippers are missing. “A series of titles is as essential a part of the show as any other,” he says. “If you think it is not, you are not watching properly. The information is transmitted. He is like a handful of children reading a book. In Listen With Mother, they always said: “Are you sitting comfortably? “Then I will start.” This makes a series of titles – it reassures and guides you. It excites you, your mind opens and you miss it. “If you decide to skip this stage, the experience will not be as satisfying.” Canadian-British composer Carly Paradis is responsible for Line of Duty, Sick Note, The Pembrokeshire Murders and Sky The Rising’s new supernatural thriller. He has mixed feelings, but admits that bypassing can be devastating for composers. “I’m guilty of using it alone, so I can not complain too much,” he says. “But when you pour your heart, time, sweat and tears into a piece of music and put incredible musicians in it, it’s a little heartbreaking. “I’m happy I started the season before the detour.” However, it’s not just the “Skip intro” that strikes a chord with TV themes. Many dramas completely eliminate theme music and title sequences, instead, they develop a “cold opening” in an attempt to immediately grab the viewers’ attention. Peaky Blinders, Fleabag, Girls, I May Destroy You and Killing Eve come in straight ahead, before a title card flashes as a reminder of the show you are watching. Even then, it is often just a glimpse of a logo or bold font. “I’m guilty of using it myself, so I can not complain too much”… Carly Paradis. Photo: Stuart C Wilson / Getty Images “The big theme tunes definitely went out of style for a while in the 2010s,” says Gold. “The tendency was to go straight to the picture. “You tend to find cold openings in performances that want to emphasize their closeness to reality – either vérité-style dramas or things that are almost too important to present something as artificial as a piece of music.” Arnold has another example. “With shows like Better Call Saul, you have a little twang sound at the beginning. It’s just a thematic melody, more like a piercing. Something starts, then it drowns and that says something about the character. It does the same job, just in a different way. “ However, after a spell in lethargy, the “appropriate” themed melodies seem to return slowly – in part because of the success of Succession. “Nick Britell brought this old-fashioned musical approach back and everyone responded positively,” says Arnold. “It’s such a brilliant song, conceptually and musically. It has its roots in the classics, but it has hip-hop rhythms and some badly distorted things. “People will always respond to a good tune.” Gold also detects a change. “The streamers seem to be bringing the themes back a bit,” he says. “I think it ‘s because they do not need to keep you on the channel like a terrestrial network does. When we are in a world of drama, and especially entertainment, you really want to bring the cast with an old-fashioned song, right? There is definitely taste again. Makes circles”. “You process with your own tastes. “Why not mute a character we also don’t like?” … David Arnold Photo: Sarah Lee Gold points out that, whatever happens, the sheer volume of programming in today’s television landscape means more work for composers. “We are now producing content at a tremendous rate,” he says. “It has never been such a big drama. Although the delivery method is changing, streamers adhere to high artistic standards because that is what catches the eye. The producers are expecting high quality, interesting music and are approaching new emerging composers. That’s encouraging. “ Unsurprisingly, the compression of the closing titles bothers the composers as well, with the following episodes being highlighted and counted almost immediately. “I’m very opposed to moving away from the end titles,” says Britell. “The end titles give you a moment of daydreaming to sit back and think about what you just saw.” Gold agrees: “Streamers tend to show the next episode five seconds before the titles end. You can never listen to all the closing music. I would prefer the default setting not to interrupt credits. In addition, everyone wants to see their name. “ “We end up getting the world we deserve”… Murray Gold. Photo: Richard Ecclestone / Redferns Netflix says the “Skip Import” button is now pressed 136 million times a day, saving users around the world a total of about 130 years of airtime. Although this sounds good, in trying to save precious seconds, are we losing some of our pop culture web? To save the melody of the TV theme, do we have to resist pressing this button? “We end up with the world we deserve,” says Gold, while Arnold compares it to vinyl-replacing CDs. Once the CDs were released, people just went to their favorite songs. I’m not sure “Skip intro” offers the experience the manufacturers had hoped for. You process it with your own tastes. Why not mute a character we also don’t like? “If you give people the tools to do that, we should not be surprised when they use them.” Arnold has just finished work on a drama for the BBC and Netflix. Called Inside Man, the show was written by Steven Moffatt and stars David Tennant. “It’s a dark, twisted, defiant logic, brain teaser of a show,” says Arnold. “And the music reflects that. “Then I start working on the second series of Good Omens.” Obviously both themed melodies are too good to be overlooked? He laughs and says, “Let’s hope.”
Without neglect: the favorites of our composers
Murray Gold “Ramin Djawadi’s themes for Westworld and Game of Thrones are both fantastic. Toast of London puts me in a happy mood. Sex and the City is also underrated – musically complicated but so witty …
