Manners McDade Composer Jon Opstad’s Music Featured in Ad Astra Trailer

Music Week has featured Jon Opstad’s ‘Ignis: IV’ for Ad Astra’s film trailer as their Sync Story of the Week.

Ignis IV comes from Jon’s soundtrack to IGNIS, a dance theatre piece choreographed by Hubert Essakow, designed by Lee Newby and featuring actor Sara Kestelman. The violinist is Clare Wheeler, with a string line that heightens the dramatic tension in the backdrop to Pitt’s monologue.

Ad Astra, written by James Gray, features a stellar cast comprising of Brad Pitt (also a co-producer) as Roy McBride, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland. The trailer sets the scene for Roy McBride’s mission across the solar system in search of his lost father (Lee Jones).

Jon states that: “As a composer, it’s very rewarding to see a piece given a new meaning like this”, he also highlights that “to see the way the track has been combined and interwoven with the imagery to build the emotional impact of the trailer.”

As a composer, Jon writes for film, television, contemporary dance and live performance. His most recent work includes scoring the critically-praised C4 drama Cyberbully (starring Maisie Williams), and Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror feature length special, White Christmas (featuring Jon Hamm). Jon also previously scored the White Bear episode of Black Mirror.

The film will be released in cinemas 18th September.