Folks who write about television are often guilty — and this writer is certainly one of them — of talking about TV music as a character in its own right. It’s usually because the music is helping create key dramatic moments or providing a sense of the show’s tone and environment in a way that goes beyond imagery. But it’s another thing when TV writers themselves recognize the music of their series as a character and actually put into the script, “Insert music here to make this happen.
” According to composer Michael Giacchino , that is exactly what happened on “ Lost ,” which somehow hit the 20th anniversary of its pilot episode on September 22 — although he didn’t realize it until he was shown scripts much later. A constant for Giacchino, on “Lost” and off, has been to have his music truly be a reaction to what he sees the first time he watches. “What I don’t like to do is read a script first,” Giacchino told IndieWire.
“I prefer to see the story as the director interprets it.” Giacchino worked with director J.J.
Abrams prior to “Lost,” and the two determined that the series’ greater good would require bucking how most television music was made at the time. (Particularly on network TV, scoring was done with synths and samples.) And there was a reason why, too.
In order to work with a live orchestra consisting of piano, harp, strings, and percussion gathered from all over the world, and, of course, the iconic trombones, Giacchino had t.