Niu Dou is a music producer and performer from Beijing/Wellington (currently living in Japan) who writes music for films, animations and fashion. He holds a Bachelors Degree in instrumental/vocal composition and a Masters degree in Fine Arts (specialising in film scoring) from Victoria University in New Zealand. During 2020, he was an intern with “Plan 9”, a music company that has been credited for work in projects such as ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘We Shall Not Grow Old’ and the World Expo Shanghai 2010. 

He was hired by both Te Auaha (NZ School of Film) and Toi Whakaari (NZ School of Drama and Dance) to score for their film and theatre projects respectively and was premiered in local cinemas in New Zealand. In 2022, he collaborated with fashion designers from the Royal College of Art in London. Besides composing, Niu also has extensive knowledge in teaching music theory and performance to students of varying age groups both within and outside the university since 2018. Currently, he is focusing on freelance work for clients in the digital fashion field, as well as other advertising companies to produce music for their brands.

In terms of his scoring philosophy, he believes that there needs to be a sense of autonomy with regard to music and its relationship to visual medium. When scoring to picture, music shouldn’t change too much with the action of the film. The internal rhythm should be unwavering, deviating from the emotional contour of a scene in order to leave the rest to the audience’s interpretation and imagination.