The text is an adapted version of an interview with the composer, sound engineer and teacher Konstantin V. Shmyrev. The topic of the con­ver­sation was the composer’s work in cinema and his under­stan­ding of the role and significance of music in the film. K. Shmyrev’s composing experience is asso­ciated predominantly with non-fiction films, as well as te­le­vision series, but he has worked in both fiction and ani­mation film production. Each direction of screen creativity has unique specifics related to its mu­sical com­ponent, which is paid special attention to in the text. Of particular interest is the composer’s understanding of the role of the timbre of a musical instrument in creating the sound atmosphere of a mo­tion picture, the transmission of particular states of film characters and the dramatic development of film narrative. Having received a professional education as a cellist performer, K. Shmyrev selectively and often non-trivially uses the cello timbre in his film music, considering this instrument “extremely passionate.” In general, the composer inherits the tradition of using music in the film as an additional expressive element of its artistic space, capable of giving it greater sensuality and semantic fullness.