Chris Miller
With an impressive body of work that spans atmospheric horror, gripping thrillers, animated kids shows, and cinematic music licensing, composer Alec Puro has built a reputation for crafting emotionally rich and sonically immersive scores. Whether it’s the raw intensity of Black Summer or the polished versatility of Viralnoise’s royalty-free catalog, his ability to shape story through sound is undeniable. Alec’s latest project, Don’t Let Them Out, is a tightly wound psychological thriller from director Lila McLaughlin that centers on a struggling woman who journeys to a property she has inherited in hopes of selling it to pay off her debts. But upon arriving to the property, the story takes a terrifying turn when the woman is lured into a desperate scavenger hunt down a perilous rabbit hole. Don’t Let Them Out is a film that demanded a score as isolated and intense as the narrative itself, and one that Alec delivered.
In the below interview Alec discussing his new royalty-free music licensing company, Viralnoise, Don’t Let Them Out and much more.
Your next film to come out is Don’t Let Them Out. Can you talk about how you became involved with that project?
I got involved with Don’t Let Them Out through director Lila McLaughlin, who reached out after hearing some of my previous work in the horror/thriller genre. I think my score for Netflix’s Black Summer really demonstrated my approach to creating tension and atmosphere, which I believe is what drew her to me for this project. What immediately excited me about Don’t Let Them Out was the challenge it presented, it’s essentially a one-person thriller that takes place in this isolated, middle-of-nowhere setting, so the music had to carry a lot of the emotional weight without becoming intrusive.
What was your process for scoring Don’t Let Them Out? Did you start with specific scenes or sound textures?
My process always starts at the piano no matter what genre I’m writing for. I always start by trying to come up with different themes and ideas that lend themselves to the project I’m working on. For Don’t Let Them Out, I began by exploring the psychological landscape of isolation and dread that the film creates. I spent a lot of time developing atmospheric textures before even looking at picture, because I knew this film would require a very specific sonic palette. Once I had those foundational sounds established, I then started scoring to picture, being very careful about when the music enters and exits since there are so many moments of silence and solitude.
Did you give the characters specific themes in the film?
I did create some thematic material that reflects the psychological journey of the main character. Since it’s essentially a one-person film, the musical themes had to represent different emotional states rather than different characters. With this film it was more about the internal emotional progression rather than traditional character themes.
Don’t Let Them Out is a horror film. What’s your method for building tension or suspense musically?
With horror and thriller projects like Don’t Let Them Out and Black Summer, I take a more minimalistic atmospheric approach which I feel really helps enhance what’s happening on screen. I work very closely with the sound designers to create a seamless soundscape between the score and sound design that doesn’t distract from what’s happening in any given scene but enhances everything in a realistic and terrifying way. The score and sound design become one at many points which really helps build the anxiety and danger in a scene. Sometimes the most effective approach is knowing when not to have music at all, silence can be just as powerful as any musical sting.
What was the collaboration process like between you and the director of Don’t Let Them Out?
Lila McLaughlin was amazing to work with! What I really appreciated about her approach was how collaborative and open she was throughout the entire process. Lila encouraged me to come up with some pretty experimental ideas for how the score could reflect the psychological landscape of the film. That kind of trust and creative partnership is what makes projects like this so rewarding.
You started a royalty-free music licensing company called Viralnoise. How do you approach composing royalty-free music compared to scoring for a specific client or film such as Spin the Bottle or Don’t Let Them Out?
They really serve two completely different markets and creative needs. When I’m hired to score a film or TV show, I’m creating a bespoke musical identity that’s specifically tailored to that project’s unique story, characters, and emotional journey. That’s something you can’t replace with existing music, no matter how high quality it is.
For Viralnoise, the approach is fundamentally different but equally as thoughtful. We create music that’s versatile enough to work across many different types of content while still maintaining that Hollywood-grade quality. The compositional process involves our diverse team of 75+ composers spanning the globe from Hong Kong to Mexico to South Africa. This global diversity is absolutely crucial because it gives us access to authentic sounds and musical perspectives that you simply can’t get from a single geographic region.
For Viralnoise, do you tailor your tracks for particular types of media, like YouTube, games, or indie films?
We definitely create music with different content types in mind. Some tracks work better for high-energy YouTube content, others are perfect for podcast intros, and some are more cinematic for indie filmmakers. But our goal is to provide versatile, high-quality music that can work across multiple platforms and content types. We’re constantly adding new music weekly from our global network of composers to ensure we’re covering every style and genre imaginable.
Viralnoise’s library consists of 35,000+ music tracks and 30,000+ SFX. How do you balance quantity and quality when producing music for Viralnoise?
Quality is absolutely paramount. We’re giving creators access to the same music and sound effects that have been used in countless major TV shows, blockbuster films, and big-budget advertisements through our catalog at Gramoscope Music. This isn’t generic stock music, this is Hollywood-grade audio that’s already been battle-tested in professional productions. We curate and produce every single album from start to finish that we release. The quantity comes naturally when you have that many talented composers creating consistently high-quality work and we never compromise on quality for the sake of volume.
If you could score any classic film (past or present), what would it be and why?
That’s such a tough question because there are so many incredible films that would have been amazing to score. I think I could safely say I’d love to score any film directed by Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, etc. Each of these filmmakers has such a distinctive visual and narrative style that would present unique musical challenges. To get the chance to work with any of these visionary giants would be nothing short of amazing.
You can find out more about Viralnoise below.
📺 YouTube: @ViralnoiseMusic
📸 Instagram: @ViralnoiseMusic
👍 Facebook: @ViralnoiseOfficial
🎵 TikTok: @Viralnoise
