The 2012 Screen Music Awards, held last night at BMW Edge in Federation Square, Melbourne, lived up to its reputation as one of the nicest events on the film and television calendar. The musicians were live on stage, the screen tiny by industry standards, and composer Antony Partos wore his legs to bleeding stumps climbing to and from the stage to collect his trophies.
The Screen Music Awards are a unique set-up, with fifteen live musicians (led by Paul Grabowsky) beneath a hanging screen. The screen shows the clips of the nominees, but when the winner is announced the ensemble bursts into action to play the winner’s music as he or she makes their way to the stage. And if there’s a little bit of variation between the music as recorded and the music as played, it’s all by way of a good musical joke.
