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LAST FIVE INTERNATIONAL CREDITS

A Few Less Men; A Street Cat Named Bob; The Dressmaker; The Water Diviner; The Railway Man.

DESCRIBE YOUR JOB

I adore playing with my two favourite things: music and film. I watch the film without music and ingest the drama; I let it sink in and percolate down to the subconscious and a waft of ideas will come. Sometimes they’ll be fully formed and sometimes they become clear as I go. I experiment with my equipment and then craft the film. It’s a process of experimentation as there are many ways to emphasise the drama. It’s a form of writing in a language that’s at the heart of emotion. The best is what flows unexpectedly and is more of a pure expression. But the paradox is that it requires science and maths to crack the code.

TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE MORE MEMORABLE PROJECTS YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN

There have been many fun projects. The early ones such as Strictly Ballroom, that was my first feature and (director) Baz Luhrmann’s first feature so it was a one off and a huge learning curve together. Shine, Elizabeth and more recently, The Dressmaker were ones that were fun; and while it’s a hard process, the music almost writes itself and then the fun of scoring begins. And “disaster” films, like Sanctum, proved to be a lot of fun; [I enjoyed] being a layer in the storytelling process.

MOST CHALLENGING REQUEST ON AN INTERNATIONAL FILM SHOOT

They are all challenging. Part of the joy is the constraints of not having much time. A part of me perversely enjoys that.

HOW DID YOU MEET THE CHALLENGE?

Film is an industry that challenges everyone along the line. You just embrace the pain and go with it.

CRAZIEST MOMENT ON SET

Not on set as such, but when I met Shekhar Kapur, the director of Elizabeth and he described the film to me, which he hadn’t yet shot, he gave a hypnotic description of the first scene and his description was so evocative that I could hear the music immediately. I told him that if I had a piano I could play it for him then and there. We were in a crowded Soho café in London and he pointed to a piano in the corner. And I played the idea of the score for him.

FAVOURITE ACTIVITY IN AUSTRALIA

Drinking coffee and eating. In (my hometown) Melbourne, there are so many great places, lots of local hangs. And I enjoy going to the movies and watching live music.

FAVOURITE PART OF AUSTRALIA

I love Tasmania, the Barrossa Valley in South Australia, and Gippsland and Daylesford in Victoria. If I could live anywhere I’d live between Bondi and Bronte in Sydney.

WHEN I’M NOT WORKING I…

keep fit with workouts at the gym, spending time with my family and going for a drive. I’m a man of simple pleasures.

IF I WASN’T WORKING IN FILM AND TELEVISION I WOULD …

have studied psychology or the law.

I’D LOVE TO WORK WITH…

I have a long list of people I’d love to work with but I’m too shy to admit to who and I wouldn’t know where to start. I’m open to whatever comes my way.

I KNEW I WANTED TO WORK IN FILM AND TELEVISION WHEN…

I was six years old and watched classic movies like Ben Hur on TV on Saturday afternoons. I remember watching and listening to Exodus and I picked up the theme and played it on the piano; I remember thinking that I would love to create that when I grew up. I trained as a classical, jazz and pop musician and played professionally, but I persevered and found my feet as a film composer and I’m grateful that the opportunities are there.

WHAT IS YOUR WORK MOTTO OR PHILOSOPHY?

We can do it all in the right way and with patience.