Have you noticed the range of musical influences that
soundtrack the adventures of Q Pootle 5, CBeebies’ friendly little alien? We
chatted to Q Pootle 5’s producer Ben Butterworth (son of author Nick
Butterworth) to find out about how the music for the series was developed…
Why do you think music is so important to the series?
Music is so important to Q Pootle 5, because it enables us
to set the mood and tone of an episode. When we started to consider the music
for the programme we didn’t want music to be just an accompaniment to the
story, we wanted people’s experience to be enhanced by the music. The score had
to be integral to the storytelling – creating atmosphere, adding nuance and
subtlety, underpinning the emotional content of a story, driving the action of
a scene, or making us laugh.
How did you go about making the music for Q Pootle 5?
The first thing to do was to find a composer! Having small
children myself, I was aware of David Schweitzer’s work on other shows, so I
approached him to do the music for our pilot. At his studio, full of wonderful
(and weird) instruments, we chatted through the rough direction of the music,
the feel and mood of the show and a basic palette of sounds.
The locations we were creating for the show reminded us of
the American frontier and the stripped back, homespun, acoustic music of the
pioneers. It was very appealing to Nick and I that the vastness of space –
truly the final frontier and known for its pioneering spirit – was also a place
where acoustic guitars and banjos could fit in, providing a familiarity and
simplicity that would make the locations and characters welcoming to the
audience.
However, it was obvious that a banjo, acoustic guitar and
Theremin weren’t going to be weighty enough to underpin the big dramatic
moments of the series, particularly when the backdrop is a gigantic galaxy!
I didn’t really know exactly what David would dream up for
the first episode, The Great Space Race, but we were absolutely thrilled with his
creation. Suddenly the Great Space Race was epic! Importantly, though, we were
still able to include the beautiful and gentle section of music on Crumbly Moon
when Oopsy thinks she has lost the race. It perfectly underpins the performance
of Ed and Joanna and the lovely animation.
David set the bar incredibly high for the first episode, and
he has continued to create music that is absolutely top drawer. Whether it’s
for a rescue mission, a song, a dance, for moments of laughter or sadness, he’s
able to judge the tone brilliantly, whilst also creating music that is
inventive, and uniquely and unmistakably “Pootlely”.
Are there any particular musical influences in Q Pootle 5
that grown-ups might have noticed?
There are many musical influences to be found in Q Pootle 5,
both films and artists, direct and indirect. Here are a few of the more obvious
ones – see if you can spot them in the episodes: Beethoven, Chas ‘n’ Dave,
music hall, The Beatles, the A-Team, Indiana Jones, Ennio Morricone, country
and western, John Williams, Top Gun, Randy Newman, the blues, Aaron Copland,
Star Wars, Star Trek and Stars In Their Eyes! I can’t vouch for David’s musical
influences!
Have you been inspired by musical memories of TV or film
from your own childhood?
Yes, very much so. As a little boy I loved the Postman Pat theme. It was gentle, hearty and humble – and really catchy! I loved the theme from the Flumps too, and Fraggle Rock was a classic. When I was a little bit older Star Wars was a great influence and even more so Indiana Jones. The music is so integral to those films – it’s a perfect marriage – it thrills me every time I watch them. Such early musical inspiration, I’m sure, contributed to me wanting to work in TV and film. I love telling stories and the opportunity to work closely with people whose music is so good that it becomes part of the fabric of the story, is very rewarding.
Catch brand new episodes of Q Pootle 5 on CBeebies - weekdays from Monday 21st September at 7.35am.