Whenever anyone asks you to name your favourite film composer, there are a few that always come straight to mind (John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone), but my favourite has definitely got to be the weird and wonderful Danny Elfman.
You might not know him by name, but you’ll definitely know some of his music!

The reason I love Elfman so much is quite simply because he thinks outside of the box. Composers like Zimmer seem to default to a big blocky ‘epic’ sound involving lots of french horns and I-VI-V-IV harmonic sequences, but Elfman adds his own magic to his scores and makes them quirky; often far better reflecting some of the weirder Tim Burton films he’s worked on (Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland). He uses less conventional harmony and instrumentation to add some serious style to his compositions. For example, listen to the odd pairings of instrument in this piece:

There are parts where the Oboe and Bass Clarinet have a solo together and so do the Piccolo and the Bass Guitar. He’s also put some fab percussion in this one too (listen out for the ratchet, jingle bells and musical saw!).
More recently, Elfman has worked on the Avengers films and others like Oz the Great and Powerful., American Hustle and Fifty Shade of Grey. He adds so much character to his music that I could listen to it for days at a time! I’ll leave you with my favourite piece by him; there’s nothing that could fit this film better!