Théo Cascio: music makes images vibrate

Imagine Interstellar without its music. Gladiator without its epic surges. Or an advertisement without the jingle that is its signature. Music has a strange power: it slips into our emotions, settles into our memory and sometimes refuses to leave.

As Alexis Ferrebeuf’s guest on the Entertainment Lab, Théo Cascio, a very young film composer, tells how he went from his first piano improvisations to writing the score for the second instalment of De Gaulle, directed by Antonin Baudry. A dive behind the scenes of cinema and of the creative process.

Music, a script that wrote itself

At five, Théo learns the violin. As a teenager, he makes his own short films and discovers that his favourite moment comes after the edit: when the music has to be invented.

He then realises that the same image can tell two radically different stories depending on the music that goes with it. Sound does not merely underline emotion: it creates it, diverts it, sometimes even reveals it.

A good reminder for brands that an identity is not built only with what you see. It is heard too. And it can stay in your head long after the image has gone.

Six weeks to compose 1 h 45 of music. Without a safety net

It all starts on Spotify. The production of De Gaulle discovers Théo’s compositions and offers him a trial. A few weeks later, he is tasked with composing almost 1 h 45 of music… in six weeks.

Another challenge: following Volker Bertelmann, the Oscar winning composer of the first instalment. Rather than walking in his footsteps, Théo chooses to delay watching the previous film to keep his freedom.

Drawing inspiration without imitating, an exercise creatives know well. Especially when the temptation to reproduce what has already worked is strong.

Talent is also about playing as a team

The lonely composer waiting for inspiration in his studio? Not for him. For De Gaulle, Théo works hand in hand with the sound editing and post production teams, before six days of recording bringing together musicians, soloists and a male choir.

Everyone has to find their place without drowning out the others. As in any great creative adventure, success depends as much on the quality of the talents as on their ability to listen to each other.

And it is no coincidence that Théo counts human encounters among his proudest achievements.

Three seconds to be heard. And never be forgotten.

With Alexis, Théo explores this fascinating power of music, especially in advertising, where a few seconds must hold an entire identity. An exercise he has not yet tried, but whose creative constraints he admires.

For brands, the message is crystal clear: by trying to be seen everywhere, they sometimes forget to be recognised with their eyes closed. And while AI promises to compose ever faster, Théo recalls what makes his creativity vibrate: encounters, trust and shared emotion.

In short

Théo Cascio is living proof that film music is far more than an accompaniment: it is a form of writing in its own right, able to give images a soul and to engrave a story in our memories. From Spotify to the De Gaulle studios, he reminds us that a successful creation does not rest only on a good idea. It rests on the right emotion, a singular voice and talents who know how to play in tune.

An inspiring score for every creative looking to make something that truly resonates, and a podcast to listen to with your eyes closed.

*Listen to Théo Cascio with Alexis Ferrebeuf on the Entertainment Lab, the New Tone Studio podcast, here (in French). And to tell us your favourite script, it’s here.