JanPreston
- Composer
Greymouth-raised and Sydney-based, Jan Preston is the first woman to compose the music for a New Zealand feature film solo. She and bassist Neil Hannan worked on the soundtrack for Skin Deep (1978), before Preston composed the score for period drama Pictures (1981). She has worked for directors from Leon Narbey (goldmining classic Illustrious Energy) to her sister Gaylene (multiple projects), and played in alternative theatre group Red Mole and pop band Coup D'Etat. In Australia she has composed the music for early silent movies and dozens of documentaries, and toured extensively as a self-styled Queen of Boogie Piano.
Screenography
Awards
2019 Huawei Mate30 Pro New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Original Score: for My Year With Helen
1996 Australian Guild of Screen Composers
Best Music for a Documentary: for An Unfortunate Life
“I find the process of adding music to the sound effects and dialogue of a film endlessly fascinating and totally obsessive. The musical layers possible from the underscore can change the emotional impact and the meaning of the film to the viewer.”