Justin Melland
Award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Justin Melland works primarily in the world of film and television creating refreshingly inventive scores at his studio The Eleventh Laboratory in Los Angeles, California. Justin is a classically trained composer, conductor and a soloist on Piano, Bass Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet, and Guitarviol. He is also a pioneering synthesist, creating bespoke electronic textures for his rich and compelling scores. Recent film works include the Sean Penn-directed feature length Ukrainian war documentary Superpower; The Anthrax Attacks directed by Dan Krauss; Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (Netflix); Unknown: Killer Robots (Netflix); Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme (Neon); and Joe Berlinger’s 2025 documentary series Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes (Netflix).
Justin has enjoyed working with many highly respected, award-winning directors, with projects including the Oscar-nominated HBO Documentary The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club in 2006, and the Academy Award-nominated Netflix short documentary Extremis in 2016. He has also worked alongside Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis as well as longtime collaborator Dan Krauss, scoring their film 5B (World Premiere Cannes, 2019), and Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney scoring his National Geographic series Parched along with its companion feature Water and Power. The Melland-scored film In Football We Trust won an Emmy Award in 2017.
Television works include the Netflix phenomenon Conversations With a Killer from two-time Emmy Award-winning director Joe Berlinger, as well as the four-part Netflix Berlinger-produced series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, the STARZ Original series Wrong Man, The Innocence Files created by Oscar nominee Liz Garbus (Story Syndicate) and Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Jigsaw), Netflix Original series Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness for Radical Media with Sara Enright and Joshua Zeman, The Murdochs: Empire of Influence, How to Change Your Mind (Netflix – Jigsaw), The Murders Before the Marathon, and The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre.
Rolling Stone magazine writes of Justin's score for the Netflix film Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food "It benefits from an appropriately pensive but dramatic score, composed by Justin Melland". The Washington Post called out his score for The Kill Team by Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss as “a brilliantly spare and evocative soundtrack.” The Hollywood Reporter also wrote of his score for Showtime's Dark Net: “..And the antiseptic visuals, coupled with the droning score by Justin Melland, suggest Laura Poitras' Edward Snowden doc Citizenfour with a slightly pulpier edge.” The UK Film Review writes of Justin's score for Mosquito: “The cherry on top of this intuitive approach to visual storytelling is the transcendent score that blends the diegetic with the fabricated.
FILM:
Dog War
Studio: Open Eye Pictures
Director/Producer: Andrew Abrahams
Bad Actor: A Hollywood Ponzi Scheme
Studio: Neon
Director: Joslyn Jensen
Producers: Matthew Cherchio, Dan O’Meara
Kids in a Cage:
Studio: Mandalay Sports Media
Director/Producer: Adam Irving
Unknown: Killer Robots
Studio: Netflix
Director; Jesse Sweet
Producers: Dan Bromfield, Jesse Sweet
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food
Studio: Campfire Studios, Netflix
Director: Stephanie Soechtig
Producers: Ross Dinerstein, Kristin Lazure
Superpower
Studio: Vice Studios
Directors: Aaron Kaufman, Sean Penn
Producers: Sergei Bespalov, Danny Gabai
The Anthrax Attacks
Studio: BBC / Netflix
Director: Dan Krauss
Mosquito
Studio: Leopardo
Producers: Paulo Branco
Director: Joao Nuno Pinto
Chasing Einstein
Studio: Ignite Channel
Producer: Steve Brown
Directors: Steve Brown, Timothy Wheeler
Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America
Studio: ITVS
Producers: Jen Gilomen / Tom Shepard
Director: Tom Shepard
Willie
Studio: Independent
Producers: Laurence Mathieu-Leger, Bryant McBride
Directors: Laurence Mathieu-Leger
Collisions
Studio: Don’t Foam
Producers: Tamas Bojtor, Frazer Bradshaw
Director:Richard Levien
Extremis
Oscar 2017 Documentary Nominated
Studio: Netflix
Producers: Bonni Cohen, Julie Goldman
Director: Dan Krauss
Water & Power: A California Heist
Studio: Jigsaw Productions
Producers: Ted Gesing
Directors: Marina Zenovich
The Force
Sundance 2017 Best Director Won
Studio: Cinereach
Producers: Linda Davis, Peter Nicks
Directors: Peter Nicks
Belief
Studio: Oprah Winfrey/Part 2 Pictures
The Kill Team
Studio: f/8 Filmworks
Producers: Linda Davis, Dan Krauss
Directors: Dan Krauss
Waiting for John
Producer: Jessica Sherry
In Football We Trust
Emmy 2016 Outstanding Business and Economy Documentary Won
Studio: IFWT Productions
Producers: Erika Cohn
Directors: Tony Vainuku
Under Our Skin
Studio: Open Eye Pictures
Producers: Andy Abrahams Wilson
Directors: Andy Abrahams Wilson
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Sundance 2011 Best Cinematography Won and Grand Jury Prize Nominated
Studio: Pictures
Producers: Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
Directors: Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
Life 2.0
Studio: Andrew Lauren Productions
Producers: Andrew Lauren, Stephan Paternot
Director: Jason Spingarn-Koff
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
Producer: Dan Krauss
Director: Dan Krauss
TELEVISION:
The Pike Country Murders: A Family Massacre
Studio: KT Studios
Producers: Alison Bengtson, Heidi Burke
Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes
Studio: Netflix, Radical Media
Producers: Joe Berlinger, Jonathan Jordan
Director: Joe Berlinger
The Murders Before the Marathon
Studio: ABC News Studio
Director: Jesse Sweet
Producer: Susan Zalkind
How to Change Your Mind
Studio: Netflix, Jigsaw
Producers: Tim Spitzer
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes
Studio: Netflix, Radical Media
Producers: Joe Berlinger, Sara Enright
Director: Joe Berlinger
The Murdochs: Empire of Influence
Studio: Left/Right
Directors/Producers: Rachael Profiloski, Neha Shastry
Causia Própia
Studio: Arquipélago Films
Creators: Rui Cardoso Martins, Edgar Medina
The Sons of Sam: A Decent Into Darkness
Studio: Netflix
Producer: Josh Zeman, Sara Enright
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn
Studio: HBO
Producers: Victorious DeCosta, N.J. Frank
Director: Muta’Ali Muhammad
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
Studio: Netflix
Producers: Joe Berlinger
The Innocence Files
Studio: Jigsaw Productions, Netflix
Producers: Liz Garbus, Alex Gibney
Wrong Man
Studio: Starz, Radical Media
Producer: Nell Constantinople, Johanna Hamilton
Director: Joe Berlinger, Nell Constantinople
USA v. Chapo: The Drug War Goes on Trial
Studio: Facebook Watch, Jigsaw Productions
Producers: Kara Elverson, Bernardo Ruiz
Director: Bernardo Ruiz
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Studio: Netflix, Radical Media
Producers: Joe Berlinger, Sara Enright
Director: Joe Berlinger
Dark Net
Studio: Vocativ Films, Showtime Networks
Producers: France Costrel, Adi Kochavi
Directors: Peter Richardson, Jeremy Siefer
Empire
Studio: Left/Right, CNN
Producers: Michelene Starnadori, Rose Donnelly, Erica Sashin
Parched
Studio: Jigsaw Productions
Producers: Ted Gesing, Elizabeth Leiter
Directors: Johanna Hamilton, Jed Rothstein
