Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Sean Tinnion  

Film composer Sean Tinnion, recipient of Best Original Score at this year's Cinematic European Film Festival for his work on Australian WWI drama Before Dawn, has a stronger understanding than most of how it feels to be an outsider.

Ahead of his relocation from Liverpool, England to Western Australia at the age of 12, it was both his queer identity and passion for music that served as the most influential forces across his artistic and personal development. While Sean realised he was gay around the age of ten, long after recognising his interest in writing music, his ardent investment in this artform is what protected him from the stigma he encountered at school.

"Unfortunately, I did have a lot of trouble with bullying," he recalls. "I think my coping mechanism was absolutely through music, which was all around the age of 10 and 11-right when I was realising my sexuality."

Sean's heightened emotional intelligence, as one made to feel out of place for little else than merely existing, is what equipped him at an early age for processing the feelings that can't be spoken. Music for Sean became an emotional outlet, learning to articulate the inexpressible much as a film score will express so much more the words uttered in dialogue.

Sean's burgeoning connection to music as a child is also what helped him acclimatise to his new surroundings.

"It wasn't until I moved to Australia at age 12 that I actually started composing my own music," he says. "Jumping into music and taking it one step further with writing my own work was another coping strategy for dealing with the relocation, even though I loved Australia the second I got here. From a really young age, I have always had a clear understanding of my passion and interest in film music."

While Sean's sexuality does not specifically define his musical style - taking strong influence from celebrated composers Thomas Newman and, in particular, James Horner - he does recognise the personal emancipation that has been offered by this artform.

"Music has always been an escape for me if I need it to be, and I have always been able to rely on that."

This passion for music began aged four, when Sean's grandfather - himself a pianist - sat behind a keyboard to see if there were any shared interest between the two generations. "Apparently I took to it like a fish in water," Sean remembers.

It was after working out how to play his grandfather's simple melodies without aid of sheet music that Sean demonstrated his keen musical ear. The lessons continued until Sean was enrolled with a private tutor at the age of seven.

"It was around this time that I started to show an interest specifically in film music. My mum was actually listening to James Horner's Braveheart score one day, and I remember instantly being drawn in. From that point on, I knew that was the type of music I wanted to listen to and become more familiar with."

Sean quickly rifled through his parents' VHS collection to find the film. Seeing it for the first time, now in union with Horner's evocative score, proved to be a lightning-rod moment in his musical development.

"I can still remember so vividly, just how in awe I was at the music and how it worked effortlessly with the scenes, characters, and their emotions. James Horner and this soundtrack really was the starting point for me, which led to researching other films and the composers behind them."

Sean's innate interest in pairing music with moving image led him to study at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts, attaining a Bachelor's degree in Music Composition. As per the course requirements, Sean scored short films for WA Screen Academy students on a basis of at least one film per year.

"I think I ended up scoring several per year, if not more. I absolutely loved telling the story of a film through music and really found my style during my time there."

Sean's graduation came in 2014 after five years of study, a period that set him up well for the early phase of his compositional career. "I had a lot of short films under my belt by then, as well as a number of standalone compositions that I used to advertise myself through my website."

As is the way with any up-and-coming artist, the path into his desired industry was slow and relatively fruitless. Sending pitch emails to production companies around Perth in search of any opportunity to score visual media, a year and a half passed until he was given anything of note.

"I finally got a reply in mid-2016 from a company in the final stages of a one-hour SBS documentary. I was very fortunate to be able to write some demos for it, which they liked and decided to hire me to score the full production. This then led to many more documentaries and series with the same company, which simultaneously allowed me to build up an industry CV while really working on my craft."

At every stage of his progression within the industry, Sean has always enjoyed ongoing encouragement from his parents, from whom he says he "couldn't ask for more support. They have always encouraged and pushed me to pursue it since day one and I honestly would not be where I am now without them."

Indeed it was his parents who bought Sean his first keyboard, aged five, shortly after his grandfather's formative introduction to the instrument. "They really are my biggest fans."

Yet for all the support Sean receives from his family, there still remains the challenge of geography. The process of becoming a composer within Australia, a far smaller market than established film production territories such as the US and Europe, has not been without its challenges.

More specifically to his native Perth, the city's remove from other cultural hubs within Australia - and the lack of opportunity this provides - is driving Sean to relocate to Melbourne in mid-2025.

Even now, more than ten years into his career as a working composer, Sean admits, "I am still facing those challenges today."

Yet if there is one aspect of Sean's professional life that does not present such obstacles, it is that of his sexuality. Distinct from the alienation faced in childhood, Sean says he has only ever had good experiences in the film industry as a working composer.

"Nobody has ever seemed to pay much attention to my sexuality or my personal life. In this industry, I think people need to be totally focused on talents and strengths, as well as the experience that one can bring to a production. I think this also goes for all industries, not just the entertainment business."

While a fundamental component of Sean's personal identity, his sexuality has remained out of the conversation when it comes to his working relationships.

"I feel that my expertise has always come first, and my sexuality has never really been a part of the conversation. I think this has always been a goal of mine: to not just be seen in a certain way or put into a box when it comes to my sexuality, and then have that influence my career."

With his recent score for Before Dawn attracting widespread acclaim, Sean remains busy with a roster of upcoming television and short film projects, including In the Doghouse, a short drama film by Before Dawn 2nd unit director Aron Attiwell. He remains guided by a love of music that he has nurtured since his earliest stages of personal and artistic development.

With that, his ambition remains the same today as it did then. "The only thing that I wish for, is for people to recognise my experience and my strengths. I want them to see what I can do for a production and its soundtrack."

If there is a better driving force behind a life in music such as Sean's, I am yet to hear of one.