MUSIC+SOUND AWARDS 2021

BEST ORIGINAL COMPOSITION IN TV + FILM TITLES

BEST ORIGINAL COMPOSITION - FILM + TELEVISION PROGRAMME TITLES  

Little Birds Titles

Entrant + Composer: Anne Nikitin

Production Company: Warp Films

Director: Stacie Passon

Producers: Peter Carlton + Ruth McCance

Film Studio: Sky / Starz

Composer, Anne Nikitin, tells us a little about the construction of the track…

“Little Birds is an incredibly colourful, bold and compelling series, so the titles track needed to embrace this as well as incorporate the many significant elements of the show. As a result the titles sequence pays homage to a variety of composers and genres heard throughout the series such as Ravel’s Bolero, Arabic music from Morocco and Egypt, French military, and 1950s Hollywood and jazz. I also wanted to incorporate vocals so created a palette of strange, playful, often erotic noises and FX that are sprinkled on top.

The titles track is book-ended with me playing a Clay Pigeon at the top (a little joke referencing all the bird symbolism in the show) and ending with an unexpected, colourful and slightly 'out there' 1950s Barbershop ditty singing the title of the show, ‘Little Birds’.

The track was recorded with the London Contemporary Orchestra in London and mixed at Soho Sound Kitchen. Because I had thrown everything including the kitchen sink at this track, I worked very closely with my mixer to ensure that the track did not sound chaotic and that all of the elements were balanced well and had their place. 

It was a lot of fun!”

Anne’s website: www.annenikitin.com