How can a film score make you cheer, shiver, cry, or punch the air in exhilaration? How do directors communicate their musical vision to composers? And when does a soundtrack take on a life of its own? Award-winning film critic Mark Kermode and radio producer Jenny Nelson embark on a full-throttle trip down the glorious rabbit hole of film composition to answer these questions and more.

Celebrating the emotional connection that audiences form with film music, exploring the evolution of film scoring from silent films to the present day, and examining how what we hear has an impact on what we see, Mark talks to some of his favourite composers about their varied working methods and influences, and delves into the movie music he loves.

Including interviews with extraordinary talents from Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood to Oscar-winning composers Rachel Portman and Howard Shore, telling the stories behind iconic soundtracks such as Jocelyn Pook’s Eyes Wide Shut, Michael Kamen’s Brazil and Vangelis’s Blade Runner, and ranging from classics to blockbusters to horrors, Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound is a thrilling take on how great scores are brought to life on the silver screen.