Music Supervisor Jemma Burns' synchronicity songs

Take 5

You know that feeling when you’re watching a movie or TV show and the perfect song hits at the perfect moment?

Think Lost in Translation when ‘Alone in Kyoto’ by Air comes in, or the visceral scenes from The Bear soundtracked by Refused’s ‘New Noise’.

You don’t just see films, you hear them.

Such is the power and responsibility of the music supervisor who carefully selects the right song for the right scene and has it hit at just the right moment.

It's Jemma Burns' job to make that magic.

From the new series of Heartbreak High to Boy Swallows Universe, Top of the Lake to Okja, it’s Jemma’s brilliant music brain behind those perfect song selections.

The theme for this Take 5 is synchronicity songs. Not the all-time greatest soundtrack moments, but stories from Jemma's own experience and relationship with film and sound.

• 'Forbidden Colours' by Ryuichi Sakamoto from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), directed by Nagisa Ōshima
• 'The Rhythm Of The Night' by Corona from Beau Travail (1999), directed by Claire Denis
• 'Goon Gumpas' by Aphex Twin from Morvern Callar (2002), directed by Lynne Ramsay
• 'Silly Games' by Janet Kay from Lover's Rock (2020), directed by Steve McQueen
• 'Coming' by David Motion, Sally Potter & Jimmy Somerville from Orlando (1993), directed by Sally Potter