Talking Film Music With Heitor Pereira

Heitor Pereira discovered composing film music in a unique way. Working as a songwriter for the film As Good As It Gets, he realised his special expertise. Pereiera soon found that his melodies and film scores were a perfect couple. He made such an impression on producer James L. Brooks that in Brooks; next film, Heitor was co-composer.

 

You’ve Probably Heard his Film Scores Before

Heitor Pereira’s original film scores include: The Smurfs, From Prada to Nada and Despicable Me. Pereiera also worked on Disney hits like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and documentaries like Running the Sahara. His versatility showed on movies like Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and Robert Towne’s Ask the Dust.

He has been the recipient of three ASCAP awards, for Beverly Hills Chihuahua, It’s Complicated, and Despicable Me. Heitor also has collaborated on many projects, and has composed music or played instruments on various scores. The most famous include: Shrek 2, Mission: Impossible 2, Black Hawk Down, Unstoppable and The Dark Knight.

 

Working With Some of the Greatest

Heitor has build himself a name for being able to bring his unique sensibility to film scores. This comes from his solid foundation of craftsmanship. He began playing guitar with some of Brazil’s leading artists after completing his conservatory studies. Pereira then went on to entertaining millions as the guitarist for Simply Red.


He has released three solo albums of his own music, and has either arranged music or played with some of the greatest in the industry. Artists like: Sergio Mendes, Alejandro Sanz, Caetano Veloso, Ivan Lins, Jack Johnson, The Chieftains, Bryan Adams, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Seal, Nelly Furtado and many others.


It came as no surprise that in 2006, Heitor won a Grammy for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist” for his collaboration with Sting and Chris Bottie.

About this series

Inside Sound Minds is a series of interviews where we meet musicians, composers, super-stars, and friends of UJAM. In these exclusive videos, you get to look behind-the-scenes and hear from the industry’s best how they master their art and more importantly, which tools they’re using to elevate their creative process to another level.
With this series, we want to inspire you in your daily routine of composing, producing or when you’re just jamming.