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Paul Saunderson

Paul Saunderson

Composer

Paul Saunderson is a British film composer with with over 80 credits in Film & TV to his name. His work includes the brand new BBC STUDIOS landmark documentary series EARTH that tells the 4.5 billion year story of our Earth, Balloon Entertainment's musical drama CHAMPION alongside grime producer SWINDLE for BBC ONE and NETFLIX, 3 seasons of Apple TV's comedy drama TRYING starring Rafe Spall + Esther Smith, RAW'S award winning documentary THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS (Tim Wardle dir.) and Sister Pictures CLEANING UP starring Sheridan Smith. Other works include the latest NETFLIX Original film LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT starring Ben Hardy and Haley Lu Richardson, Camelot Films PRIZEFIGHTER starring Russell Crowe and Ray Winston and collaborating on hit SKY One action series STRIKE BACK, SKY Atlantic's mystery thriller RIVIERA (Julia Styles) and MTV's action adventure series THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES. Saunderson also wrote the music for Keith English's adaptation of the Jo Brand Novel THE MORE YOU IGNORE ME (Sheridan Smith and Mark Addy) and Tom Edmunds DEAD IN A WEEK or your money back (Tom Wilkinson and Aneurin Barnard), collaborating with ELBOW'S front man Guy Garvey and I AM KLOOT'S bass player Peter Jobson. A multi-instrumentalist, Paul is as equally at home with orchestras as he is with contemporary music, known for his diversity and emotion within his writing. Often performing on his scores, Paul is accomplished at a range of instrument, piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, drums and various percussion and is know to take found sounds and manipulate them within his scores making ever project he does completely bespoke and also different from one to the next. Saunderson learnt his craft working as arranger/programmer and additional composer on over 35 feature films including KICK-ASS (Matthew Vaughn), CORIOLANUS (Ralph Fiennes), BLACK SEA (Kevin Mcdonald), JOHNNY ENGLISH: REBORN (Rowan Atkinson), 47 RONIN (Keanu Reeves), and Aardman's latest feature animation SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE MOVIE. After receiving his Music degree from The University of Leeds in composition and electro acoustic music he immersed himself into the world of film music working as assistant to the award winning composer llan Eshkeri (Still Alice, The Young Victoria, Stardust, Layer Cake) and production assistant to Grammy award winning fil music producer Steve McLaughlin (About A Boy, Heat, Batman, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon). Saunderson has worked with many recording artists; writing arrangements for Elbow, Badly Drawn Boy, Coldplay, Kasabian, KT Tunstall, Tom Odell, The Cinematic Orchestra, Ash, and Andy Burrows and Guy Garvey. Paul ha recently completed work FIGHT OR FLIGHT an action comedy for renowned American production company Thunder Road Pictures, the sequel to hit Amazon's Christmas film starring Asa Butterfield YOUR CHRISTMAS OR MINE, and is now working on the 4th season of Apple TV+'s successful heartwarming TV show TRYING.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Composer
Titles
20 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 24% in 30 days

What are Paul Saunderson's films like?

Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.

Genres

Comedy6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 43rd percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Documentary4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 76th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 33rd percentile
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
26%
Bonds
25%
Morality
19%
Ideas
16%
Self
13%
Society
1%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief4 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 3 · Dark 4

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 11 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 5 · Intense 5

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 7 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 8 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 5

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
8
Tense
6
Melancholic
6
Romantic
4
Joyful
3
Other
19

How their films linger

Feel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous4

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Paul Saunderson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Paul Saunderson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

23 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Investigation of Lucy Letby(2026)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Fight or Flight(2024)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Picture This(2025)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Human(2025)

    Show Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows

  • Your Christmas or Mine 2(2023)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Love at First Sight(2023)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Earth(2023)

    Show 5 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Your Christmas or Mine?(2022)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher(2022)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Memory Box: Echoes of 911(2021)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Shark Gangs(2021)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Grand Duke of Corsica(2021)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Trying(2020)

    Show 40 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows

  • Winter Ridge(2018)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Dead in a Week (or Your Money Back)(2018)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Three Identical Strangers(2018)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The More You Ignore Me(2018)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The Marker(2017)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • 100 Streets(2016)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Starfish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Composer

  • Shaun the Sheep Movie(2015)

    Music Arranger

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • The Sleeping Room (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Composer

  • The Lost Book of Creation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles, 16 of them dated from 2014 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

$13M worldwide

Highest rated

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

Picture This (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Music16 of 17: 16 only music, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score57thOther crew1 of 17: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s8 · crew2020s8 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Paul Saunderson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 51st percentile, the median of all 17; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

50thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

49thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · composer

The Marker (2017)

85th percentile spread · 23% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

Midcredits 96th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 55/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 62, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Paul Saunderson's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and sex & nudity run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles6–79 · median 21 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles6–35 · median 17 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 51 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 37 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 32 · mildMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Paul Saunderson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Paul Saunderson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jim O'Hanlon shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers