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SAUL JAMES

Classical, Film & TV Composer, Screenwriter
IMDB Saul James
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Welcome!

Thank you for visiting. Below you'll find showreels, news, bio, and music from a small selection of film/TV projects I've scored, including award-winning independent feature films and some of my classical works.

As a classical composer, I'm as comfortable scoring for orchestral forces as with electronic scores and sound design work. Whatever the medium, what's important to me is the use of melody and motif, discerning the emotional resonance of the film and the character journeys, and then marrying these together.

Please feel free to reach out and say hi, I'm always up for making new connections, be that for scoring, screenwriting, or just to network.

Drop me an email and let's chat. 
I hope you enjoy looking around.

Saul James

Showreel

COMPOSER  SHOWREELS

Drawing from old and new film projects, this showreel showcases some truly amazing musicians and singers, with whom I've thoroughly enjoyed working over the years. Not to mention all the film directors and producers who gave me a chance, took a risk and let me musically loose on their babies!
Truly grateful and honoured.

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

I am only showcasing these trailers privately on this site, as a result of rescoring for educational exercise as a non-commercial study, not for commercial or financial gain or anything other than under the 'fair use' provision, for criticism, commentary, parody, education, or research. No infringement is intended.

Click ' i ' for info

Showreel Gallery

Showreel Gallery
Colour of Magic - Promo Films
01:25
Play Video

Colour of Magic - Promo Films

EWUSU Scene - Opening
02:02
Play Video

EWUSU Scene - Opening

Antebellum Trailer - Rescored
00:43
Play Video

Antebellum Trailer - Rescored

Promised Scene - Battle of the Angels (Explicit Language)
01:23
Play Video

Promised Scene - Battle of the Angels (Explicit Language)

Jeremy Wilson Scene - Heart
02:29
Play Video

Jeremy Wilson Scene - Heart

The Salzburg Story - Ladybug
02:45
Play Video

The Salzburg Story - Ladybug

Dune Trailer Rescore
03:19
Play Video

Dune Trailer Rescore

Buried Scene - Let's Go
02:37
Play Video

Buried Scene - Let's Go

Image by Marius Masalar
Testimonials

TESTIMONIALS

Francoise Ellong-Gomez, Film Director

“Saul James is by far the best composer I have ever had.
Am always blessed to work with him.
I have learnt so much, about melody, instruments and his incredible methodologies. He has always come through for all my projects.
An amazing composer and now also, a dear friend."
Film

ACTION

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Storm 1_edited.jpg
ON PLANET
00:00 / 02:39
STORM
00:00 / 02:01
DUNE TRAILER MUSIC
00:00 / 03:06
SATURN FLY BY
00:00 / 02:38

CLASSICAL

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Violin Shop_edited_edited.jpg
C'E SEMPRE UNA PERSONA
00:00 / 04:31
LIVE CLASSICAL COMPILATION
00:00 / 10:20
THE KING'S BANQUET
00:00 / 03:28
DANCE WITHOUT MUSIC
00:00 / 02:13

DRAMA

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Modern Architecture _edited.jpg
WOUNDED
00:00 / 01:53
RWANDA GENOCIDE
00:00 / 03:56
WINTER DREAM
00:00 / 01:04
DARK HYPNOSIS
00:00 / 02:29

CHRISTMAS

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Christmas Decorations Frame
CHRISTMAS COMPILATION
00:00 / 04:51

EMOTIVE

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Sand
GOODBYE
00:00 / 02:57
ANGEL LAMENT
00:00 / 03:18
BEACH CHILL
00:00 / 02:04
HEALED
00:00 / 02:52

HORROR

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Three Zombies_edited.jpg
LIBERA ME
00:00 / 01:50
SPELL ON YOU
00:00 / 01:16
THE OTHER
00:00 / 01:06
GHOST SHIP APPROACH
00:00 / 01:41

FANTASY

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Fantasy Horse_edited_edited.jpg
CITY FAIRYTALE
00:00 / 01:35
EASTERN YEARNING
00:00 / 02:27
MYSTIC WOODS
00:00 / 01:04
DREAMING OF CHRISTMAS
00:00 / 03:02

SINGERS

All music composed and produced by Saul James.

Pop Music Stage_edited.jpg
IMANA RIWIRA
00:00 / 02:33
I MELT
00:00 / 01:32
SONG COMPILATION (13 SONGS)
00:00 / 11:00
Desert in Dark
IMG_20160305_094642_edited.jpg

BIOGRAPHY

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Saul is a classically trained composer, film & TV composer and screenwriter based in the UK. He started on trumpet age 8, followed by piano, voice and classical composition, later gaining multiple scholarships for trumpet and composition, and a chorister placement at Chichester Cathedral. As a 1st study composer at the Royal College of Music, he studied under David McBride, Simon Bainbridge and Joseph Horovitz, and trumpet with the late David Mason, (trumpeter for The Beatle's 'Penny Lane'). Work experience at Jeff Wayne Music Group exposed him to some great media composers including Jeff Wayne (War of the Worlds), Rachel Portman (Chocolat, To Wong Foo, Emma, Godmothered), and John Altman (Beautiful Thing, Hope Springs), it also confirmed his dream of one day writing music for screen.

But before starting his career in film, he spent a decade working across the UK for various youth and education charities and schools, as a youth mentor, support worker and public speaker, followed by a short stint as a singer-songwriter performing in and around London.

As a self-taught film composer, Saul has worked with directors and producers worldwide on TV productions, corporate projects, and many award-winning independent films with premieres in Paris, London, Cameroon, Marbella, Austria, Hollywood and more. 

His music has been on Swiss Films, Amazon, Sky Sports, Sky One, Sky Movies, Sky Arts, Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Canal+, TwoFour, TV Monde5 and Seven Network (Australia).

 

As a classical composer, his works have been performed in concert halls, cathedrals and theatres around the UK, from short ballets to full-scale orchestral and choral works.

Saul's music is highly melodic in style, often housed in dark, complex and emotive backdrops. Connecting to his interest in psychology and human emotions, he revels in digging into the emotional journey of on-screen characters and locating their unique musical story. 

Over the years, Saul also taught himself screenwriting and is currently working on a second commissioned feature film script, with a few spec scripts in the pipeline, including feature films and a TV Series. 

Bio
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WAKA Poster.jpg
Wounded Poster1a.jpg
SetbackPosterFa.jpg
The-Soldier-2013-.png
EWUSU Poster Portrait.jpg
Buried Poster - online - use.jpg
Promised_03.jpg
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Scoring To Screen

IMDB Saul James

My Journey

As a composer, I write from the heart, and try to bring a sense of humanness to the music. After all, film is about communicating emotions. Music can play a huge part in this visceral exchange, whether it's fear, remorse, anxiety, elation, smugness or tranquillity. To achieve this, I bring my own emotional experiences and understanding of human psychology to the table of inspiration. It's one of the reasons I love people-watching. Absorbing how people react to each other and to life fascinates me. These observations broaden my mental library, which I pull from when locating the right musical thread or motif that appropriately resonates with the characters on screen. Studying psychology, sociology and being a screenwriter all help me be the best composer I can - an ever-evolving journey. Unable to afford film school or a Master's in Film Composing, (the only acknowledged paths for aspiring film composers at the time), I knew I'd have to make the journey another way and self-train. After a couple of years of researching, meeting people in the industry, studying the reading lists of said courses, and quietly saving up and studying all the technical aspects of using a computer to score for film, I finally got to buy my first computer to score on and used all the knowledge I'd gathered in the years of stuying and learning to create my first showreel. Not long after that I landed my first short films, invaluable to cutting my teeth and being able to safely make loads of mistakes! Joining a filmmaking group proved both fun and equally invaluable. Then, I was lucky enough to start my commercial screen career writing music for six promotional films for The Colour of Magic feature film, (by the late Terry Pratchett). This mini-series of Ankh-Morpork Discworld Tourist Guides produced by Sky, starred Sir David Jason, Tim Curry, Nicholas Tennant, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, & Jeremy Irons. One of the highlights was visiting Pinewood Studios to work with the actors.   After that, I landed my first independent feature film and I never looked back. I remembered the day I sat in the cinema to watch Total Recall, and the title credits burst into action with the exhilarating score by the late Jerry Goldsmith, and how at that exact point, I knew I wanted to be a film composer. And here I was, finally doing it. My dream was finally becoming reality. I went on to score and produce music for over eighty screen projects, including short films, documentaries, TV, and award-winning independent feature films, in many genres from horror to romantic comedies, martial arts, drama, fantasy and war. I've worked with incredible filmmakers from all over the world, many of whom have also become great friends.   The studying, learning and evolving in the art and craft of writing music and scoring to film will always continue. And this is what makes every project an awesome journey. Forget the fear of that blank project when you first get given it to score, or the doubts, or the inevitible creative paralysis that takes place somewhere in the scoring process, I always walk away from every project having not only learnt something new from a technical perspective, but probably more importantly I learn something about myself. The trick, I find, and what keeps things fresh and alive, is not only being open to these revelations, but to learn to become expectant!

Image by Eric Awuy

CLASSICAL

Classical
Piano on Dim Stage_edited.jpg

As a trumpeter for 10 years, playing in brass bands, jazz bands and orchestras, I not only experienced a diverse amount of music but also learnt, studied and understood how music breaks down inside these mediums. During years of orchestral rehearsals, I'd sit and listen to the strings rehearse their part alone, then the woodwind and then they'd all play together. As a young, teenage composer, this breakdown of the music provided invaluable insights into how orchestral colours are created and written by the composer. As a composer, it played a huge part in training my ear, and I continue to use these insights today.
 
My classical writing is dark, intense, emotional, and oddly both demanding and easy on the ear. It differs a lot from the music I write for films. This crossover of scoring for the stage and the screen is interesting, and I find both influence the other. However, what remains important to me for both, is melody and motif. 
 
When commissioned to write music for films using an electronic sound palette, I have an odd sense of freedom. However, when required to score mostly or purely classical in style, my classical skills get challenged. You see when you write for the concert hall, you have a freedom limited only by your chosen muse. When scoring to screen, you are a slave to the symphonic ballet of movement, emotions, words and colours, story and motive. But both borrow from each other when it comes to inspiration.
 
Below, is a small sample of my classical music, some for the screen and some for the concert hall.

As young as six I would regularly lie on the sitting room floor listening to the violin concertos of Bruch, Brahms and Sibelius and the orchestral works of composers like Dvorak and Tchaikovsky - a very romantic diet! Somehow I understood them and they touched me and left their mark. When I started writing music for orchestras as a teenager, I was often told I sounded akin to the German and Russian composers, like Mahler and Shostakovich. I would agree and promptly go away to find out what their music sounded like, not having the faintest idea!

News

NEWS

Nyx Film Poster_edited.jpg

NYX

"An underworld sorcerer consumed by dark magic is confronted by NYX, a fierce warrior sworn to end his forbidden rituals."

Director/Writer: Bulent Ozdemir-Larusso

Starring: Nilly Cetin

Production: 

Music, additional Sound Design: Saul James

IMDB Saul James

Nyx recently wrapped and has already started its film festival journey in 2025 with an official selection at the World Film Festival in Cannes. Having worked on a few films by the talented director, Bulent, I was excited to score his latest film. He even let me loose on some of the required sound design, which was challenging and fun. His last film, Brawler, continues to collect awards as it travels the film festival circuit, and he is already working on new films. Watch this space!

camp fire in the woods at night. no peop
IMDB Saul James

Ashes of a Dying Ember

"In a powerful blend of reality and memory, Hadi, a refugee in London, confronts his past through encounters with two ghostly versions of himself, all seeking peace from the lingering scars of war."

 

Director: Max McCall

Writer: Karim Hadaya & Yasmin Henn

Starring: Simonetta Gibejova & Karim Hadaya

Production: Munchie Lunchie Productions

Music: Saul James​

Currently in post-production, Ashes of a Dying Ember is the first film from Munchie Lunchie Productions, a young generation of filmmakers and creatives in Film, TV, Theatre, Corporate, Commercial and Music Video productions in the UK. I'm really excited and honoured to start their journey with them and see what this passionate and talented group produce in the future.

Undisclosed Screenwriting Projects (2025)

I am currently completing commissioned scripts for films, of which I can't yet disclose the information. I know, helpful, right! However, it's good to let people know that I'm working on things in the background and to let you know that I'll be able to share something new later this year.

Classical Music Projects (2025)

This year, I am finally back to working on one or two projects for the classical stage. One is for solo soprano and orchestra, and the other for solo cello and string orchestra. Coming back to the classical concert hall after many years is exciting, if also a little scary! Let's see what 2025 will bring.

ÉWUSU

The 12-part Canal+ Original Series for Canal+ Premier went live in March 2024. 'EWUSU' tells the story of Soye, a psychologist, who sets up her new office only to find out that for some, it is not welcomed.

Director: Francoise Ellong-Gomez

Music: Saul James

Production: WOURI

Ent Coproduction: Canal+, WOURI Studios, Merveilles Production, IGIS Gabon

Screenshot_20250605_184217_com.instagram

Written and directed by the incredibly talented Francoise Ellong-Gomez, EWUSU continues to sweep up awards in 2025, from best series to best sound, to best leading actor. I have worked alongside Francoise for many years as a composer and screenwriter, and I can confidently say that I'm excited to see what she comes up with next. We are also currently working on undisclosed projects!

Screenshot_20250606_010324_com.instagram
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Screenwriting

My scripts are at various stages, including commissioned projects in development, seeking producers, currently being written and a couple of completed spec scripts. This means I'm unable to talk openly about most of these projects!

If you'd like to discuss my work as a screenwriter, and possible collaborations, please reach out and I'll be happy to chat.

promised soundtrack

Independent Short Flm

Promised_03.jpg
Promised 6_edited_edited.jpg
Promised 3_edited_edited.jpg
Promised 1_edited_edited_edited.jpg
EWUSU BANNER SQUARE_edited.jpg

ewusu soundtrack

12 x 30" Series

Wounded Film Soldier

Wounded soundtrack

Wounded Album cover.jpg

Independent Feature Film

buried soundtrack

Independent Feature Flm

Image by Milad Fakurian

"Music is the only language I can speak to communicate to all,

for even in English, I fail to convey such messages as

moral certainty."

Saul James aged 16

SAUL JAMES

IMDB Saul James
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© 2025 by Saul James.

Classical, FIlm, TV Composer, & Screenwriter

JAMES

SAUL

IMDB Saul James
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