The most common failure in corporate film scoring is trying too hard.

I recently composed and sound designed a series of one-minute films for the Financial Times, its parent company Nikkei, and Huawei — including an animated sequence that played during a keynote by the FT’s CEO.

A promo film can be re-cut. A live keynote cannot. The audio had to be right first time, in a room where every eye was on the speaker rather than the screen.

The guiding principle throughout was restraint over spectacle.

Institutions at this level already carry weight. The score's job is to confirm that weight, not manufacture it. Score corporate work too aggressively and it reads as effort — which quietly undermines the authority it was meant to project.

So enough forward motion to carry sixty seconds. Enough space for the narration and the visuals to lead. Every cue built to reinforce the organisation's message rather than compete with it.

The commission was for score and sound design. But delivering a finished film also meant mixing and dialogue editing — slow, unglamorous work, and the difference between a film landing and not. Music that sounds beautiful in isolation and then buries the narration hasn't done its job.

Sophie Robin, Art Director at FT Studio:

"Josh handled everything from composition through to the final mix, so the films came back finished rather than needing another round. That made a real difference to our timeline, and the quality was there throughout."

Composer and sound designer. Previously scored three BBC documentaries, including Helmand: Tour of Duty, which won the BAFTA Cymru Award for Single Documentary.

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Sophie Robin - Art Director - FT Studio

"Josh handled everything from composition through to the final mix, so the films came back finished rather than needing another round. That made a real difference to our timeline, and the quality was there throughout."