John Shafer is a Charleston, South Carolina-based composer for media and performing guitarist who enjoys experimenting with ambient textures and minimalism. 

While studying filmmaking, slinging vinyl at the local record shop, and playing guitar in various post-rock and post-hardcore bands, Shafer decided to fully channel his focus towards the art-form that cemented his love for cinema from an early age: the film score. He relocated to Boston to start his formal training at Berklee College of Music, completing his studies in media scoring in 2017.

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In 2016, Shafer co-founded the modern fingerstyle duo The Tree That Falls with friend and collaborator Cristobal Cruz-Garcia. The Tree That Falls gained recognition in the northeast United States for its tasteful application of percussive techniques in guitar and cello performance. TTTF now operates as both a live and studio production act, providing the original score for the feature-length documentary King Chess (dir. Gloria Iseli) as well as arrangements for Sunny Boy Donut Co. and Micki Balder.

During his time in Boston, he also wrote and performed with math-rock/emo band Clearing, as well as contributed percussive acoustic guitar to the Boston--based GAIA Ensemble. 

Shafer's scoring credits include Li Wang's short film Permeable, Biwei Cong's Happy To Be With You, Gloria Iseli's King Chess, and webinars for the Boston University School of Medicine. He has also provided original arrangements for South Carolinian artists Percy Franyo and Catholics. In the summer of 2021, he had the privilege of working as Mychael Danna's assistant on The Addams Family 2, as well as providing additional music and arrangements for the film. He was featured as a guest performer for Audiomachine's Cristobal Cruz-Garcia and Daniel Tauber's original theme for Call of Duty Mobile: Shadow's Return in November 2021.

In his spare time, he enjoys photography, fiddling around with graphic design, writing, night drives throughout the Lowcountry, and a damn fine cup of coffee (or five).