Music & Sound Design: Soundtree

A symphony of swimsuit slapping, squash court slamming, sweat flying and squeaky trainers, blended with classic Missy Elliott, justly won Soundtree Music multiple gongs, including the shots Awards Best Use of Music category for Sport England’s This Girl Can. Peter Raeburn, Soundtree’s founder and CD talks about the spot’s sonic triumph

At what point did you become involved in the Sport England This Girl Can spot and what was the brief you received?

I’ve worked with [director] Kim Gehrig for many years now. We have a very collaborative relationship so we talk openly about the work. She called me in right at the beginning and we delved into the ideas and principles behind the project.

Right from the get-go, we were all driven by the ambitions of the campaign – women, regardless of age, body size, or any other considerations ‘can’, and do. FCB Inferno was so supportive of Kim’s vision and, really, it was a circular collaboration with ideas flowing between us and the agency. In a way, the brief was open but the inspiration behind it was clear.

What was the process of finding the right track for the spot and how long did it take to get to that decision?

I heard the Missy Elliott hook in my head early on in the process and it felt like it could be something.

Were there a lot of conversations around what worked and what didn’t or was it pretty cut-and-dried?

There were lots of conversations. A lot of exploration went on, trying and testing, examining and challenging the idea that we had all fallen for.

Could you tell, when you first saw the finished film, that it was going to be something special?

I knew there was great potential in what Kim had shot and how Tom [Lindsay, editor] was cutting. And, of course, the women who appeared in the spot are brilliant. We all really hoped it would resonate with the wider world as much as it had with everyone who worked on it.

What was the most difficult part of the process and how long did your part in the commercial take?

My involvement was throughout. The most difficult part for myself and my colleague, Luke Fabia, was crafting the soundtrack to the images and making them one. We needed to put the energy, shape and dynamics into the music that weren’t already there and through the process try to keep a sense of spontaneity and rawness at the heart of the work. As always, these projects are serious team efforts and Jay James [Soundtree music supervisor] and the rest of the team at Soundtree were key in this collaboration.