‘Jay Kelly’ Composer Used Analog Tape to Record the Film’s Score

Noah Baumbach knew he wanted the score to “Jay Kelly” to be a character in his latest movie.

He wanted a fullness of emotion, and for it to have melodic characteristics. With that clarity, composer Nicholas Britell couldn’t help but feel inspired.

“I went home, I read the script, and I started coming up with ideas, and I called Noah to the studio, and I played him some early ideas,” Britell says.

The film follows famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as they embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones and the legacies they’ll leave behind.

Jay’s theme was the first thing Britell played. He used a felt piano. The piano has a lever inside with a layer of felt between the piano hammers and the strings. “The hammers have to play through the layer, and it makes the sound more intimate and textured. It also restrains the sound a bit,” Britell says.

The sound was something Baumbach was drawn to. It became the centerpiece of the score and would represent Jay.

“It’s trying to find a clear sound. It’s trying to get an emotional core,” says Britell. As Jay is coming to terms with his life decisions, Britell uses a Steinway D, a concert grand piano.

In “Jay Kelly,” Jay travels to Europe hoping to follow his daughter and spend more time with her. He’s also headed to an Italian film festival where he’s being honored. During the award ceremony, a montage plays as a tribute showing Jay’s movies (The movies in the montage are from Clooney’s actual body of work). A giant musical piece plays over it.

Britell wrote “The Tribute” cue because he wanted it to feel separated from the film score. “I wanted it to feel like that was made by the film gestival for the tribute,” he says.

The…