Seminar Series

Is “film composer” a specific profession in the French film industry? - Séverine Abhervé

Date: Wednesday, 26 May
Time: 5.10-6.30pm
Location: SLC Common Room
Level 5, Brennan MacCallum Building, A18
University of Sydney
Contact: on 9351 6776

The first original music that was specifically composed for a film in France was the score of Camille Saint-Saëns for "The Assassination of the Duke de Guise" in 1908 (co-directed by André Calmettes and Charles Le Bargy). In 2008, we celebrated a centenary of original film music. It was the opportunity to initiate a comprehensive research project to better understand the profession of the French film composers. Who are they and what is their place in the French film industry?

Séverine Abhervé is of French nationality, and currently completing her PhD Thesis, "Film Composer: The Unknown Profession of the 7th Art" (expected completion in September 2010). She has been a musician since her childhood and studied cinema at the University Panthéon-Sorbonne – Paris 1 (France), as well as completing an advanced degree in Sound Engineering (EMC – Malakoff/Paris). She utilizes both degrees in her research on film music.