Meet Timothy Stuart Jones | Film Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Timothy Stuart Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Timothy, what inspires you?
I’m inspired by things that sound different. New combinations of sound that push the craft of scoring forward. As composers, we all have a lot of the same tools at hand. When I hear interesting sound design and well thought out (or intuitive) approaches to scoring picture, that is exciting to me. You can tell when someone is able to craft an evocative melody. It takes work. I have stumbled on ideas that then need to be trimmed and altered to be really sleek and effective. I’m always impressed when I hear that in another composer’s music. It motivates me to try and push boundaries to do my best work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a film composer. I scored five seasons of the NBC show, ‘Chuck’. I also worked on large feature films like Thor Ragnarok and Captain Marvel. I have had to cultivate a broad skill set over the years of doing this job. I use many different styles of music in my scoring. I have collected lots of interesting instruments both electronic and acoustic. In the end, I think the single most important thing is telling a story with the music. That is the composer’s job to blend in when necessary to the fabric of the picture, and also step forward when music is taking the foreground. The dance of music with picture is the thing I find most thrilling. Scoring a scene for the first time and finding all the different nuances as music starts to link with picture, is why I do this job. I absolutely love it. Telling a story.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A drive up to Angeles Crest around sunset. Gorgeous views and a cool drive up and down. Maybe a screening of Nightmare Before Christmas at the El Capitan in October. Hollywood Bowl in the summer for a nice picnic and John Williams concert. A flight out of Van Nuys airport in a private plane to circle LA and see everything from above. Land in Santa Barbara for a multi hundred dollar cheeseburger. Fuel costs you know. My friend is a helicopter pilot so we’d get a helicopter, get clearance and fly around the buildings downtown and wave at people in their offices. That sounds like a pretty good time. Since we’re dreaming, I’d have them close down the 110 freeway for us so we could see just how fast we can go from downtown to Pasadena. We’d have to try it a few times in a few different fast cars. Just for science.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My friend Lawrence Shragge, who is also a film composer deserves a shout-out. He has been a mentor and friend to me for over 25 years at this point. I have learned so much from him both professionally and personally. He is the one who taught me about crafting a melody and that they don’t usually just pop out perfectly formed. Sometimes they do, but it is the exception in my experience. He also taught me that film scoring is a long distance race and requires an enormous amount of work. Work that is usually done in a dark room by yourself. Not great for the social life. Haha. Luckily, I left the studio long enough to meet my wife, Evelyn Jones. We’ve been married 26 years now. She is the person behind the scenes who has been with me through all the ups and downs. She is my best critic. I mean ‘best’ because when she says something about the music, It’s really in my best interest to listen to what she is saying. I’ve ignored her advice in the past and it has bitten me. She always has a different viewpoint because she is not as close to it as I am. It is Invaluable to have someone with a clear eyed view of what you’re doing as an artist.

Website: www.timothystuartjones.com

Instagram: timjonesmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timjonescomposer

Other: Tidal : https://tidal.com/browse/artist/28826194 Apple Music : https://tinyurl.com/22s67mpe Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/29tdsea7