AFTERIMAGES MAIN THEME
The score's lulling push-and-pull theme represents reconciliation and grief in this mother-daughter scene. Expanding into the credits, this cue is also a tonal representation of the entire film, thus having the largest instrumentation out of any of the tracks: large string ensemble (violin, viola, cello, bass), harp, piano, and synth. The theme repeats in reverse halfway through the credits, creating a musical palindrome, touching on the idea that memory is a reflection in the mirror of life events.
SEARCHING FOR CLUES
To mimic the movement of the car and Sam's swirling state of mind, the score starts with rolling chords over a hint of low, atmospheric synths. As the scene transitions into the home, darker synths take over the landscape while cascading harp harmonics, reversed cello, and high violin flautando fade in and out - these sweeping tides follow Sam's emotions as she tours each space.
Family Photos
This piano-dominant cue builds up to the moment of "discovery" - when Sam finds a photo of her mother. I created a home-audio-like recording to create warmth for something tactile and intimate as flipping through a photo album. The piano line rises over a wash of reversed strings, which aurally turns the clock back to match the concept of going back in time through memory.
