We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steffen Thum a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Steffen, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I was always drawn to the art of film scoring and I eventually studied music, but to truly learn it, I had to put in my ten thousand hours of actually doing it. I’ve had some amazing mentors along the way, like Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer, and thanks to them, I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a huge variety of high profile Hollywood films and TV shows over the years. There’s no better school than that. Just as with most creative careers, becoming a proficient film composer takes a long time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Writing good music is one thing, but you also really have to understand the language of film and storytelling, what makes a scene work, and how to use the resources you have to get the job done, on time and on budget. On top of that, you need to be a good team player and communicator: most directors don’t speak in musical terms, so it’s about understanding them on an emotional level and knowing how to translate their vision into music.
Steffen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m Steffen Thum, and I’m a film & TV composer, best known for my work on Crawl (Paramount Pictures), as well as more recent feature film credits like Slingshot, Betrayal and Stockholm Bloodbath. I was originally interested in a career in film making before I moved into film scoring, which I’ve now been doing professionally for the past 10 years.
In 2014, I started working at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions in Los Angeles, and stayed there for 6 years. In 2020, I moved back to Germany and am now based in Berlin. Through the years, I was fortunate enough to work with some of the best people in the business and contribute music to many films like Mission Impossible: Fallout, Top Gun: Maverick, The Crown (Netflix) and over 80 other film and TV projects, which have collectively amassed over 7 billion dollars at the international box office by now – a number that continues to amaze me.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Personally, I simply love the craft of film scoring: getting inspired by what I see on screen (the cinematography, the actor’s performances), getting to really dive deep into what makes each scene work and then piecing it all together and creating something cool with others, something we all can be proud of. I find it incredibly rewarding when I get to write a piece of music for a film or series that really resonates with me and inspires me – all the more so when others feel the same when they hear or watch it.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think a lot of people don’t realize how much time it often takes to write and produce good film music, and that can be true for non-creatives as well as clients working within the creative industry. Especially now with AI solutions, expectations can change as people get used to getting a piece of music through the click of a button. The thing is – a good melody can be written within minutes, but what takes time is the craft of weaving a musical carpet to perfectly fit each scene, often having to acknowledge many different hit points or key moments per minute. The same goes for the overall journey of a creative career like film scoring – any young person thinking about getting into this kind of work should be aware that it usually takes many years to get somewhere, and that it’s important to be persistent – which of course is true for many other career paths as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.steffenthum.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steffen__thum/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steffenthum.mx/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffenthum/
- Twitter: https://x.com/steffen__thum
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@steffenthummusic
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3976053/
Image Credits
Steffen Thum