I studied composition with a privet instructor in Israel. I also learned jazz guitar at high school and I graduated from the musician’s Institute in Hollywood with an associate degree in performance.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
I think the fact that I studied composition privately allowed me to explore a more personal area of composition. And being trained as a performer in different genres really helps being a versatile composer. Obviously, it will be pretty hard for me to orchestrate heavy classical pieces. But I don’t really need to.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
I think a composer’s strength lies in his unique style. Not to be too philosophic about it, I believe the fact that I came from a different country and musical background than most of the film composers in my area gives me a certain edge and uniqueness that is an important part of being a composer. The other thing I was told I’m good at is to be able to read in to the story and reveal really subtle emotions with the music.
My big weakness is the lack of experience in working with a live orchestra, I think that theoretical orchestration knowledge and midi mock-ups skills, could never match the experience of dealing with an actual orchestra that is alive and breathing. Even though it is getting less and less common, I do hope one day I will work on a project with enough budget for a live orchestra.
“How are you working to overcome this lack of experience with orchestra?”
I am actually starting the UCLA extension program for film scoring in few months. My main reason is to hone my orchestration and conducting chops, and to get some experience with real orchestra. Till then I am just making sure that the orchestration of my mock-ups are correct and playable by real players.
My other problem is that I’m always behind on the technology side. I never have the latest plug-ins, sample libraries or gear.
“Living in LA, does this tend to be a major issue?”
I actually found out that for the people that actually matters (AKA directors, producers, audience) it doesn’t really matter what year was your sample library recorded at… it is something that bothers mostly myself and perhaps some fellow composers. I realized that I can get better responds for old cues I recorded with cheap sample library and a dynamic mic than ones with expensive library and a stereo condenser mics, It’s all about how you use what you have. but we always have the urge to want the newest and biggest product available don’t we?
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
Alexadre Desplat, Thomas Newman, Howard Shore, John Powell, Alex Wurman, Lisa Garrard, Philip Glass, Radiohead, Bjork, Massive Attack, Tool, Sound Garden, Ennio Morricone, Maurice Ravel, Aaron Copland, Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy, Giuseppe Verdi, J.S Bach, Tekbilek, Oum Kul Thum, Farid El Atrash, Beri Saharof.
Hardware/Software
“Hollywood strings or LASS?”
Just from demos I saw and my experience with East West’s earlier products, I would say LASS is my choice.
“What would be your dream setup for your studio?”
First of all, acoustically built studio, nice set of Neumann mics, SSL pre amp, all kinds of instruments from a grand piano to kalimba, a decent external sound card interface, few pair of monitors for mixing and mastering, and of course a monstrous Mac with all the plug-ins and sample libraries available. I would be pretty happy with that…
“What equipment do you use?”
I have different kinds of guitars, Flute, other random instruments I can barely play, A strong PC, Midi keyboard, a set of KRK monitors, AKG headphones, Mbox interface, few mics, that’s it pretty much.
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
I use Cubase, which is pretty rare in the US, but I used most of the other popular DAW’s and for me, it is the most comfortable and flexible to use. However, it doesn’t come with a lot of virtual instruments and plug-ins and those can get pretty expensive.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
My main VST’s are a few of East West libraries, IK multimedia and Native Instruments. I think East West’s Symphonic Choirs is a very useful library. I also like FM8 and Spectrasonic’s Omnisphere. Like many others, I am currently saving up for LASS.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
Before I started writing music for films I was a guitar player and a songwriter. Performing with bands really influenced my writing and even though today I use mostly my midi keyboard to come up with musical ideas, I always prefer to record into a cue a real instrument I can play.
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
I really like my silver flute, and it seems to be working very well in mysterious or eatern related cues. I love having a lot of instruments around me when I write because you can never know which one would turn up be perfect for a cue you are working on. Some of the instruments I would like to own in the future: Sitar, Harp, Tablas, Cello, Kanunn, Charango and English horn.
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
I would say again the Symphonic Choir, I find it’s solo samples very useful, and the word builder ad-on is something that I don’t believe you can find in another software.
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
I love my PRS guitar. It has great playability and sound that can fit almost any genre of music.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
I think it is crucial. Like in any aspect of life, diversity makes everything much more interesting
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I try to always develop my own style, which derives from my musical and life experience. But I also try to be as flexible as I can so if a director is not interested in my own style but wants me to imitate existing music or genre, I can do that.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
I think this is the ultimate way of self-expression as a film composer. This is the real difference between an art and a craft.
Composition
“Do you find that as a composer, you have less time to keep your musical chops up, and thus your keyboard/guitar skills degrade? If so, do you do anything to combat it?”
My playing chops are definitely not as strong as when I was a performer. To prevent this from becoming a problem, when recording a part, I try to rely less on editing and really give it the best performance I can. This forces me to practice more on the specific instrument I’m using for the part.
“How do you stay fresh as a composer, and keep active when theres no jobs?”
I’m always on the hunt for new leads so I manage to keep myself busy, if not by a serious project so by a non paying student film. As long as I write music, I’m happy.
“Do you do anything to supplement your income as a composer?”
I do some music production, meaning that artists and bands come to me and I help them to arrange and record their songs.
“What is it about film that you like as a media to work with? Why not video games?”
I don’t have anything against video games, I was actually an RPG nerd when I was younger and played a lot of video games. I think it’s a completely different experience and usage of music but both are interesting and challenging forms of scoring.
“Do you sell your music on any music libraries, and if so how are they working out for you?”
I got few of my tracks licensed and downloaded on youlicense.com, and I have some tracks in the boutique library of the incredible composers Deddy Tzur and Daniel Alcheh. It is not something I’m focused on but it can bring some extra income and might put your music in pretty serious spots on TV.
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I worked mainly in film and this is what I like the most.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
I see the film few times, let it sink, make some decisions about the character of the score I’m going for, listen or read some related material for inspiration, write some sketches on the keyboard or different instrument, write a sketch for a specific scene, work out the hits and timing and produce the desired instrumentation. Then it’s either thumbs up from the director or to start everything all over again…
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
Not yet.
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
I have a website and I send links to as many job opportunities I can find online but so far the most successful way was when I got recommended by a filmmaker I already worked with. But the internet is a good start.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
‘Chapter 21’ A short film by Ilya Farfell about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a personal point of view. It was a subject I was close to, both musically and personally.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
Without mentioning names… I had the experience of working with directors that were hard to please. I believe it was mainly due to their lack of musical vocabulary to describe what they hear so clearly in their mind.
“How do you try to work around this?”
In the end of the day this is part of the job, I had to get in to their head until I could translate their words in to music. A film composer have to learn how to do that, ideally without causing any tension or frustration between you and the film’s director.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
I think a composer that wants to get in to film scoring will have to get some experience even by participating in a non paying project such as student films, those are great to get your demo reel, future contacts and honing your composing chops. Another important thing is to have a website and a business card, and to make sure everybody have it…
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
I usually just move on to something else and get back to it with fresh ears and clear mind.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, your sick of hearing it?”
Never!
…Well, ok. Sometimes.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
It varies from one day to a week usually. Then I keep on re-mastering my tracks whenever I get new gear (which is not very often).
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
I usually have at least a vague guideline for the track, especially when it is for a specific scene and then I know when and how it will start and end.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
There are many many instruments I would like to be able to play at least at a beginner’s level but don’t have the time to practice or more importantly the budget to by them.
“How would you define success?”
Waking up every morning to do what you like to do the most.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
Working on A list movies while conducting and scoring for a full orchestra.
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
I would add music as one of the core classes in film schools. this would make our work with future directors much smoother.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
Does film counts?
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
Besides the obvious things such as healthy diet, exercise and positive attitude, I’ve found that it is sometimes underestimated how important it is to talk with the director you are working with about his musical vision before starting to work on the score.
And when working on your DAW - ALWAYS SAVE.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
As of now, I would say:
1) ‘Carnival of the animals’ by Camille Saint Saens
2) ‘Song to the siren’ by Tim Buckley (Cocteau Twins version)
3) ‘Right in Two’ by Tool
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
One time I was working on a track for a whole night and was so in to it I didn’t do any saves. Just before I was almost done, the computer crashed and I had to start everything all over again.
I originally taught myself to read music on the recorder out of a book from the library! Since then my musical training has been pretty formal. I learned a few more instruments at school before finally settling on private violin lessons. I attended Sheffield Music School (theory/history/appreciation/performance) for a few years before I left secondary school.
I then carried on to do a BMus in Music at Sheffield University, to be followed with an MA in Music Design for the Moving Image (a fancy name for Media Music!) at Bournemouth University.
“Wow cool - that sounds interesting. Would you say you learnt much doing that course, or would you say that you found you learnt more in your first year “in the trenches” as Lee Sanders put it?”
Both courses were incredibly valuable and useful, but in a different way to that first year ‘in the trenches’.
Obviously a straight music degree especially from a good University (little plug there for my old college!) gives you a great grounding in all aspects of the subject. History, composing pastiche, stylistic analysis, philosophy and psychology of music, orchestration, performance techniques, playing in small and large groups… it just gives a greater understanding of context and purpose for the music I write.
The second degree at BU was wonderfully vocational as well as having a sound theoretical and academic vein running through it. Theory, history and analysis of film music and film in general again gives a context and understanding of the field, and being allowed the time to really explore and experiment in composition with lots of different varieties of image media is a luxury that jobbing composers rarely experience.
The other great thing about the BU course was that it was specifically a Film School, rather than a music school, and we were encouraged to work on the projects that students from the other courses in film, television, multimedia and animation were producing - I worked on (I think) 6 short dramas, 2 short documentaries and 2 animations in that year alone, alongside all of the coursework for the degree.
The ‘Music Design for the Moving Image’ course at BU evolved from an Electroacoustic Music course, so there was a heavy emphasis on computer technologies and getting the best finished sounds from the computer. Even though the technology wasn’t necessarily top of the range, every student had their own workstation in the studio, which was available to work on 24/7 and there was a recording studio just down the hall should we need it.
The stuff they only touched on though (because, quite frankly there wasn’t time!) was the business and legal side of the job. That could take a whole degree course up in itself. I’ve had to learn that as I’ve gone along working as a composer, sometimes from some pretty tough lessons. I’m still learning now, but it’s getting easier (touch wood!)
Whisper in the Wood by Heather Fenoughty
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
My compositions are influenced in the main by the kind of music I love to listen to: film music. If I’ve heard it in conjunction with a film or any other kind of media I’ve enjoyed, I’m sure there’s an influence to be had.
Having a formal musical training means I can understand, analyse and appreciate music in a much more detailed and immediate way, which means in turn I can apply that understanding to my own music.
Having an appreciation of performance techniques and a trained ear for all music, not just classical styles, means that I can write in many different styles - perhaps this has made me a more versatile composer.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
This is a tricky one! I suppose, as a strength, I’m quite objective about my compositions, and don’t get offended by constructive criticism. I think (or at least hope!) that I’m pretty easy to get along and work with, and I’m painfully organised with my work time.
Weaknesses… I feel guilty if I’m not doing something relating to music or composing! The only way I can allow myself to watch a film sometimes is if I do so under the guise of it being ‘educational’! Lame, I know.
“I feel the same! Now more than ever while I’m travelling, I find it hard to do anything musical at all as I have no equipment with me. As a question more so of interest to myself I suppose - how do you cope with situations where you aren’t able to do anything musically? For example a holiday etc.”
I haven’t been on a non-working holiday in years, I just don’t seem to have the time! However, if I’m away from my kit I will have to justify the trip in terms of whether or not it’s useful for the business side of things - eg, making contacts, networking, working with colleagues, recovering/recharging from a particularly gruelling few weeks of work, learning a new business skill or relevant industry information (this way I can pretty much justify most things… but I still have to do it!)
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, John Debney, Elliot Goldenthal, Vaughn-Williams, Holst, Mahler, Dvorak, Corelli, Bartok
“This is something not discussed much as far as I can tell, but what are your thoughts on the fact that there are far more male composers than female composers in the business?”
To be honest I don’t really notice it until someone asks me about it! I usually get brought in to work on a project after someone’s heard my music or seen a film that i’ve worked on in some sound capacity, so there’s less pressure to prove myself anyway. In a way, I see being female as a strength, it makes me different from most of the competition and hopefully makes me ’stand out from the crowd’!
I don’t know why there are more male composers than female composers. There always have been, I suppose it’s always been seen as a man’s job. But I really absolutely do think that’s changing, the same way it is for all occupations and careers that have been traditionally seen as male roles.
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
MacPro, gallons of HD, 7GB RAM, a pair of Behringer Truths, M-Audio Firewire Audiophile, 2 Dell widescreen monitors, Roland JV2080, Korg X5, Behringer Eurorack UB802, Rode Condensor, SM58 (Waiting for Presonus Faderport in the post at the recommendation of @scorecastonline.)
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
Logic 8. Very nice once I got used to it; I didn’t find it so logical though to begin with! The updates from Logic 7 have made it a joy to use.
Euro Hero by Heather Fenoughty
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
At the moment, my favourite is the Vienna Symphonic Libraries Special Edition performance module. I love how it creates legato passages for orchestral instruments from overlapping events, minimising that midi giveaway sound on the attack; the solo woodwind instruments are especially well-sampled.
A few of the AUs that come with Logic are ok too and get used quite a bit. For really unusual sounds I turn to GRM Tools Classic plugins. They’re lovely.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
I play violin, and have done since I was 12. I’ve played in orchestras and ensembles for almost as long, and I feel that has seriously influenced how I treat sampled string elements in my music. I’m very picky about the quality of string samples, and have spent more time than I probably should have on tweaking volume envelopes and attacks to get a convincingly realistic string sound!
I also play piano a little bit, not very well, but enough to notice the difference between a human pianist’s sound and that of a quantized, static-velocity, computer-played sampled piano! So, even though I don’t play any of the piano parts of my compositions (I draw them in on the piano roll of Logic), again, I’m still pretty picky about ‘humanising’ the performance.
“Do you usually prefer including your violin playing as a live element in your music compared to using a sampled sound?”
Not very much. I’ve got some lovely sampled strings and I love that big orchestral string sound rather than the solo violin sound, which isn’t actually my cup of tea when it comes to film music (of course there’s always the exception to the rule - James Newton Howard’s score to ‘The Village’ is really gorgeous, but you gotta be a world-class concert violinist to pull that off, which I’m certainly not ) I use to use it a lot more to layer it up when my midi synths sounded a bit fake, but now I hardly ever bother.
“Do you find playing in an orchestra can be of value, especially when trying to find the right orchestral “colours” for cues?”
I think that listening to orchestral music can be invaluable for finding the right feel for a cue. Playing in orchestras is a whole other experience - what it really teaches you is what is possible for a human musician to play, what’s realistic and what’s difficult and what’s truly impossible - very valuable when orchestrating for live musicians. It’s also a completely different surround-sound, aural experience to sit in the middle of an orchestra, where all the levels are actually all wrong, rather than the audience, sitting at the optimum position to hear all the instruments at their desired level.
Listening to film scores taught me more about orchestration and composition than anything else I’ve ever done. In fact I’d go as far to say that it taught me everything I needed to know - everything else is a bonus and a great supplement, but that’s at the core of it.
Future Chase by Heather Fenoughty
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
To be honest… it’s probably the MacPro. It can play anything I want it to, create any sound I can imagine. I can have a whole orchestra at the touch of a few buttons.
Second to that is my violin. It’s not particularly fancy, but I’ve had it since I was 17 so it’s like an old friend now.
And I wouldn’t say no to owning a Stradivari. Even a loan of one (indefinite, of course) would be nice…
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
At the moment, that position has to go to the Vienna Symphonic Library Special Edition, for all the reasons given above.
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
The MacPro, of course Its ease of use, its stability, the fact that I can upgrade memory and hard drive space myself, its speed. And, plus, it’s so pretty!
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
At the moment, a media composer need not have his or her own style. Most directors don’t want originality, they want pastiche, for it to ’sound-a-like’. And that’s fine. It’s certainly easier to find work the wider the range of styles you’re able to compose in.
It think Lee Sanders already said it in his interview: it’s only a matter of time before a programme will be created to write pastiche styles to specific hitpoints. And that’s the time that an original style will be the only thing that sets you apart from the robots!
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I’m fairly multi-genre - I compose in a range of styles according to the requirements of the film, so I’ve done orchestral, world music, jazz, a little bit of pop, avant-garde/sound design. It all tends to have an orchestral bent as I feel that’s the way to give it emotional resonance, and the music (for whatever media it’s been written for) is generally there to give emotional cues to the audience.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
I think my style is actually an amalgam of all the ‘best bits’ I’ve taken from all of the music I’ve ever heard. Anything that I’ve listened to and has given me an emotional response I will have analysed to work out exactly the chord progression or interval or instrumentation or sound effect or rhythm that has made me feel that way.
My style of music (as lame as it sounds!) then gives me that same emotional response. That’s what I enjoy the most.
Morning Broken by Heather Fenoughty
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I’ve written for feature dramas, documentaries, television, shorts, animations, installations, dance and theatre.
I don’t have a specific favourite out of these. I’m equally as happy when scoring to a good dramatic sequence on film as when a soundscape of mine is blasted out of a massive PA system during a live installation.
Really my favourite ones are where the production as a whole has an impact on the audience - whether that’s an audience of one or 1 million.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
It really does depend on the project. Ideally the scenario would go something like this…
1. Initial talks with director at the first stages of pre-production. This will start ideas forming, and then I can leave my subconscious to bubble over the possibilities until..
2. The next meeting with the director viewing the first cut of the film. I’ll start to firm up ideas in my head, maybe sketch a few ideas for themes and texture until…
3. The final cut. Once I’ve received this, I’ll get to work. I’ll spend a day or two creating sound design elements that will form a basis for some of the palette of the film. I’ll agree deadlines for 1st, 2nd and final drafts with the director and producer and then work out specifically which cues I’ll write on which days.
I tend to compose from start to finish of a short film, and then go back over that rough draft and weave in the themes and textures as they’ve developed to give the piece coherence and continuity.
I’ll work on agreed scenes or cues in a feature film, and I’ll work on the ones that are the most obvious first, then to the ones that are less so. Then, again, I’ll go back over and make sure all the the themes and sounds are coherent and work with the film’s direction.
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
I’ve worked with Hakuhodo Products, which are one of the biggest ad agencies in Japan. I scored corporates for Nissan with them. I also worked on a television advertisement for a huge Nigerian telecoms company, called Globacom.
“Do you use contracts in your every day dealings with clients?”
I always use contracts with film, tv and some of my theatre clients. I really depends on the scope of the project. So on the whole, yes.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
Through working on previous projects with the same directors.
I scored a feature film for free with the future director of the Nissan projects a long time ago, back when she was at London Film School and I’d only just graduated from my Masters… and was in desperate need of experience and showreel material!
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
A website, and CD and DVD showreels, and networking/word-of-mouth.
The most useful form of all of these is word of mouth - recommendations from previous clients is worth its weight in gold.
The second most useful are CD showreels, more so than DVD/video ones. But, even so, I remember when I first started out and sent out a few hundred CDs, and got only a few responses… but one of the them led to a job on a small project that led to the next one, that led to the next broadcast documentary that led to the next feature…. So it was worth it.
“Moth” End Credits by Heather Fenoughty
“Can you give us some information as to what you include in showreels, what type of information you include with them, where you find who to send them to etc.?”
If you can tailor the showreel to the potential client, that’s brilliant. If you know they work in horror, don’t send some delighfully whimsical track that would suit a romantic comedy.
If you can’t tailor a track, variety is the key. I’ve listened to showreels from other people and the one thing that shouts loudest is when all 3 of the first tracks sound identical, same key, same orchestration, same style. Also, make sure you start on a punch, trim the tracks so that they start at the ‘best bit’ (the bit you’ve spent two minutes lovingly building to) - the listener will probably only preview the first 10 seconds or so, and that’s if you’re lucky.
After the punchy first three or four, then you can add a few more longer tracks to show development. Use tracks from well-known productions if you’ve worked on them, or that have been broadcast. And point that out in the CD sleeve in bold!
Include the obvious stuff such as name, address, phone numbers, email address, website on all of the packaging and printed on the CD - the case could get seperated from the CD and lost.
You could also include a link to your blog, your twitter page, your linkedin profile, but I don’t think that’s really essential. I also included a cover letter explaining who I was, what the contents of the CD were, maybe drawing attention to a couple of tracks that I thought might be of interest, my credits and how I could be valuable to them.
I sent showreels to every production company I could find on the internet in the local vicinity, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and a couple of other cities. I just googled ‘production companies’! I also looked in the yellow pages - and that was where the first response came from, a small company based in a small town near to where I was living.
At the very start I sent out video showreels (on VHS! gosh, that dates it a little…), but then soon needed to update it so CD became the quickest and cheapest option for me. They were also much cheaper to post.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
heehee - read my blog! i think there’s a few articles on there about what i do.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, you’re sick of hearing it?”
No… is that really vain? I love my music, i write the stuff I want to hear! Lame.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
Depends on kind of music and the purpose of the track or the cue. On average I can finish a couple of minutes of finished (scored, recorded and mixed) music a day. It varies wildly in reality!
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
Usually it’s to picture or to a performance and the duration of the track is already predetermined. I don’t have much say in that!
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
That’s a tough one… being able to play a few more instruments would be dead useful - a cello, a french horn, an oboe, the ones that are tricky to get sampled properly - but that requires time for practise, and it’s in short supply at the moment!
“How would you define success?”
Being able to work on projects that I really enjoy rather than just for the cash; the respect of my peers; scoring credits on big-budget, general-release, highly-acclaimed feature films; writing the theme tune to a long-running, high-production-values television series…
“How do you deal with alternative routes of income when work isn’t in abundance? For example to you sell stock music, have a part time job etc.?”
I work most weekends as a violinist in the string trio ‘Simply Strings’ (www.simplystringstrio.co.uk - another little plug!), playing for weddings, corporate functions, birthday parties, bar mitzvahs…
Moving On by Heather Fenoughty
I also teach violin but only have a couple of hours of that a week now as I get busier with the composing work. Which is great!
I work with a lot of repeat clients so work is generally pretty continuous. I’m also a member of ‘SlungLow’ (www.slunglow.org plug plug plug!) a theatre installation company, and score and soundscape all of their shows, as well as recording any dialogue or sound effects, and mix it all, kind of a one-woman-post-sound-house! SlungLow has been really successful and this year we’re making four pretty epic installation shows.
I have a few clients that I’ve given access to my back-catalogue of tracks that are available for licensing, which brings in a small but steady stream of revenue, and have now set up an online music licensing store - www.musicstore.heather-fenoughty.com - to get the music out to the world rather than just ‘collecting dust’ on my shelf
Royalties from television broadcasts really do keep me going in the leaner months. Always a nice surprise too!
Films, theatre, high-quality television drama series, friends, food… but mostly it’s all about the music!
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
I keep two diaries - a filofax, paper hardcopy one, that can’t get corrupted or lost from a harddrive failure, and an iCal on the computer with electronic reminders (these are a godsend!).
I also keep a seperate ‘wall-planner’ type calendar in the filofax so I’ve a got an overview of the year to keep me sane
Notepads are everywhere at home and in the studio. I keep voice recorder on a shortcut on my phone for notes when i don’t have pen and paper to hand, say when i’m out and about.
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
Generally in life? Well, where to I start… oh, sorry, with music… probably signing away an exclusive sync-license for a pittance rather than a non-exclusive one, before I really got my head around copyright and sync license contracts. That bugs me a lot, as that music is still mine but I can’t ever put it out there for more films. Very annoying, never again!
My undergraduate degree is in composition and my masters is in classical guitar performance.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
It’s hard to be completely objective about how my education impacts my writing. Having said that, I think it’s largely a positive thing, if only to dispel the notion that understanding theory gives you some kind of “Merlin Advantage” over composers who don’t understand all the underlying mechanics of music. When I was a kid I thought that I needed to go to school to learn how to write music. I even avoided writing until I got into school and started studying, thinking I might make mistakes. It took a while to realize that understanding the rules of music has nothing to do with being able to write music. That’s why they typically call them ‘Theory/Composition’ degrees. I’m more of the latter.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
Box Macabre - Music by Andrew Sigler
My strengths in writing are rhythmic variety and occasionally colorful orchestration. My weakness (the big one…) is doing too much. It’s very hard for me to pare things down in my writing, so I often end up with…too much. It’s always been a problem for me. Writing effectively and simply is a real gift, but I often feel like I’m doing too little when I write that way. I’m working on it.
“Dancing at Night” by Andrew Sigler
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
I love this question. It gives people an opportunity to craft a public identity, but I always wonder if they confuse their influences with their favorite composers, which are not always the same thing. I’ll put it this way, influences run more deeply and subconsciously than ‘my fave five’ composers. For instance, I love Stravinsky. And I love to say that I love Stravinsky; it’s a win-win. However, the reality is that going to see ‘Back to the Future’ when I was a kid had a much bigger impact on me musically. Let’s just say I REALLY wanted to play Johnny B Goode as quickly as possible. In the long term, Igor has sustained me but Marty got me on the road.
Hardware/Software
“What’s your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
Years ago I walked into a Guitar Center and asked the guy at the desk “What kind of software do I need to write music along with video?” He said (and I quote) “Umm, I think this one does it? (looks at box) Yeah dude, this’ll totally work” And that’s why I use Sonar.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?
I use EWQL stuff for about 75% of what I do. I’ve got just about all of their stuff. I also use several Native Instruments products, notably Guitar Rig and Absynth. I also have a few Spectrasonics products as well. Omnisphere is an absolute monster…wow.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
I have played guitar for over 20 years. I’ve played with orchestras, in a guitar quartet, in the studio, and live about a million times but I don’t play nearly as much as I used to. Touring is a younger man’s game, so it’s nice to be able to finish my day in the same town every night. As to the influence of guitar, much of my early music was for guitar so it had a significant influence back in the day. I write so rarely for it now that much of that background doesn’t come into play.
Having said that, I wrote a piece for a game I’m working on with the guitar.
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
I have a 1994 guitar by Wolfe. I really should play it more. I have a ’93 Seagull dreadnought that gets played quite a bit around the studio.
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
That’s a tough one. It’s like choosing among my kids! Without Sonar I wouldn’t be able to do much, but EWQLSO is probably my favorite piece of software and has had a big influence on my writing over the past 4 or 5 years.
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
My PCAudiolabs rig makes me happy all day long.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
It’s essential. You may have clients (you will have clients) who ask for music that sounds like one composer or another, but it’s important to look at what you are doing as art and to make sure that your individual voice is being cultivated. I remember as a kid thinking, “Wouldn’t it be cool to work with this musician or that musician…” and obviously this was because I thought a particular individual was really cool and talented. They didn’t get that way by being ‘cookie-cutter’. I interviewed for a game project recently and the lead on the project said that he’d gone to my site to check out my music, and while he liked my commercial music, it was my concert music that really appealed to him. He said that it was very evocative and he could see the stories I was writing.
On the other hand, I once was contacted to do music for a short documentary. The lead and I exchanged a number of emails and had gotten all the business out of the way over a 2 or 3 day period. Then I got an email from him saying “Mr. Sigler, I’ve just listened to your music and unfortunately we cannot work together.” He indicated that my music had no melody or harmony and was just too artistic for his project! I mailed him back and said that the particular tunes he’d heard were concert music and not at all like what I would be writing for his documentary, but he’d made up his mind and that was the last I heard from him. Of course, this is someone who would go to the time and trouble of getting the business arranged before listening to the music, so you have to remember that there are all kinds of folks out there J
“Predators” by Andrew Sigler
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I’m primarily an orchestral guy, but I’ve played and written lots of rock and pop over the years as well. I also do ‘concert music’ …string quartets and so forth.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
Writing for orchestra may actually appeal to my weakness! Having so many different sounds and colors to choose from is pretty heady, but it can lead to overkill. I’ve been doing a lot of chamber music over the past few years to try to limit myself a bit.
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I’ve done music for film, advertising, games, dance, and theater, among others. I’m new to gaming, but it’s quickly becoming my favorite.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
Write then run. I always try to put a bit of space between myself and the music if time permits so I can come back and hear the music with fresh ears. It’s funny how coming back the next day or even after lunch can have a huge impact on your perception of the music you’ve written. I wrote music for a trailer once and then went to lunch with my wife. I told her, “This guy is going to be blown away!”, but when I got home and listened to the music again I did a complete re-write. The new piece ended up being the touchstone theme music for the whole project. The other piece went in the remainder file.
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
All my clients are big to me! Microsoft has been easily the biggest client of mine. I’ve done corporate videos, trailers, and conference presentations for them over the past few years.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
The MS gigs came (and continue to come) through my friend Fred Northup and his company Southdown Creative in Seattle. Fred had talked to me about doing music for him for years, but at the time I had no sense technologically of how to do it. This was before my trip to Guitar Center, you know…
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
Talking to people face to face is the most effective marketing. Going to conferences to meet and network is essential.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
I played in a band called ‘The Megatron Jones.” That was all kinds of fun.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
I haven’t had any nightmare problems. Having said that, it may just be my impression of what a ‘hard to deal with’ client is. Being in a strange city at 2:45 in the morning and trying to make sure the band gets paid by some cigar-chomper is a difficult issue. Dealing with complaints about a percussion part is not. So much of one’s ability to deal with those issues comes from the degree to which you can put yourself in the client’s shoes. On a large project, you are talking to someone who likely has a fully packed day and is dealing with dozens or hundreds of issues during that time. Try not to be one of those issues! I don’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but trying to be a ‘solution’ person (even if the particular problem is outside of your area of expertise) can go a long way towards staying on the project lead’s good side.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
Look around at family and friends. I recently found out that I went to school with a guy who is now audio director for one of the biggest gaming companies around, so I had a networking opportunity that I wasn’t even aware of!
Remember that you are in a business, so lots of general business and marketing advice will apply to what you want to accomplish. As to getting ahead in music, I’ll repeat what I said about conferences. It can be pricey to pay admission, fly in, and get a room, but if you’re not there you won’t get the gig. My most recent project came about at the Austin Game Developers Conference. I meant to go to a keynote address, but I forgot about it and ended up wandering around the expo floor. There was a guy playing Pong (an ancient homemade version…) and he asked if I wanted in. We played for a few minutes, then chatted briefly and exchanged cards. A week later we had lunch and I got the gig.
The point is, I didn’t have some brilliant plan to get a gig, but I was in the right place at the right time. Also, don’t spend all your time hanging around the other musicians! Go to some panels for game design or film or whatever…that’s where your potential clients are. Other composers are probably not going to hire you.
“Do you think there is a particular point in time when it’s viable for a composer to move from part time composition with a part time job to pay the bills, to being a full time composer? How did you do it yourself when you started off in the industry?”
Simply put, once you make enough money to support yourself you are a full-time composer…Ta da! But your question goes to financial security, and that is tricky to find in this industry, especially when you are at the beginning of your career. The real question is ‘How comfortable am I with risk and uncertainty?” If you can honestly and dispassionately answer that question, then you will have a good idea if this gig is right for you. When I was younger I played in bands and had the typical dream of getting a record contract. I thought, “Once we get that contract, we’re set!” The problem is that getting the contract is just the beginning. Then the real work begins. Further developing and maintaining your career, keeping an eye on the industry, watching out for the new guys…all that stuff is waiting for you once you ‘get the contract’
This is true in many industries though. My father is a successful attorney with his own firm and a huge part of his job (and his life) is generating new clients and looking for future work. This is how most people who run their own show have to operate and it’s the downside (one of them) of working for yourself. The upside is freedom, a bigger cut, and perhaps most importantly a huge real-world business skill set that you will never get working for someone else. Of course, this is assuming that you are an independent contractor. If you are an audio director for a game company for instance then your work comes to you.
Another important thing to consider (maybe the most important) is your personal life. A 25 year-old will likely have a different set of needs than a 35 year-old with a wife and two kids. Where and how you live (or would like to live) is incredibly important to consider when thinking about taking the plunge. I know quite a few people who have been in the music industry for years who really aren’t cut out for it and are very unhappy. However, their happiness has nothing to do with their level of success in the industry, but with whether or not they are a good fit for the industry. A heart surgeon who faints at the sight of blood needs to rethink things.
“Run for Your Life” by Andrew Sigler
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
I am fortunate to have several projects going at once, so if one isn’t going well I can always switch to another. Also, writing concert music is very different than commercial music so having that contrast keeps the juices flowing. Finally, I do things other than music. I like to cook, run, hike, and play with my dogs. Sometimes your brain needs to work on the problem without you getting in the way.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, you’re sick of hearing it?”
Zoo Tycoon - Trailer Music by Andrew Sigler
No. I really like listening to my music (I’m never going to live that statement down…) but I will say that it is sometimes difficult to listen to music from several years in the past. I usually hear something I want to change.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
It varies widely…anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
I never know what is going to happen when I write music. If I’m working on a commercial project there is usually a time limit of some description, but outside of that it’s wide open.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
I wish I could play drums well. I can keep 4/4 going for a tune or two, but beyond that it’s not pretty…
“How would you define success?”
Oh…let’s say being happy, but not content.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
I’d like to continue with my commercial projects as I have been, but I’d like to get 3 or 4 concert pieces performed per year. That’s been in the works for a while…
“What are your thoughts on the role of a composer and how it will change over the coming years with technology evolving at such a fast pace? Do you feel that it will change in a positive or negative way, or do you think it will change at all?”
I don’t know that the role of the composer will change significantly because of changes or advancements in technology, but I think the composition business has already gone through its most significant changes in the past 5 or 10 years with the ease of connectivity via the internet and the incredible advancements in sampling technology that allow such convincing music to be written remotely and on a modest budget. Having said that, great technology/connectivity will never replace skill and a sit-down conversation. There are many people who do ‘music for media’…it’s often clearly stated on their website…but can they work quickly and professionally? Do they really have a sense of how to work within a team format or are they really interested in writing the coolest battle cue ever? Technology won’t solve those problems or answer those questions.
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
It’s such a complex system I’m not sure where to start. It’s like those movies where someone goes back in time to change one small thing and it has huge implications beyond the small change they were hoping for leaving them to rock out on Johnny B Goode in order to make things right. These are decisions beyond my ken.
“How do you deal with the unsteady income from being a composer - ie. some months having more income coming in than others? Do you have other sources of income to help you during these times such as royalties, music sales in stock music libraries etc.?”
Frankly, it’s been psychologically helpful to realize that these economic factors are true in many industries so I’m not left with the idea that I’m just involved in some crazy industry! I teach at the Austin Lyric Opera as my schedule permits. My students are very understanding.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
Running, cooking, reading, and playing with the dogs.
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
Oh man…I’ve got so many of those things lying around. There are no particular habits that come to mind.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
- ‘Ash’ by Michael Torke (no videos available)
- ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ by Queensryche
- The last movement of John Adams’ Violin concerto.
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
Oh man, that’s going to the grave with me. Musically, one thing that comes to mind is that many years ago I was writing a large piece and had just finished the score around 6:00 p.m. Unfortunately I had a number of blank measures and wanted to put rests in them (or something like that) and executed some huge command that screwed up the piece. Of course, I had not saved it first so I stayed up all night and through the next day to fix it so I could have the score at a rehearsal at 4:30 the next day. I just made it.
Yes. I studied Jazz Bass Performance in college. I’ve also received private music instruction for most my life on a variety of instruments, mainly the piano (you can thank my mom for that, lol).
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
I’d say that it definitely influences my writing in a positive way. I use my piano instruction on a daily basis, and although I don’t exactly use my bass chops very often, my theory and orchestral classes from college have been invaluable to me.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
I would have to say that one of my strengths is writing orchestral music that is mature and textured. I enjoy writing very dramatic pieces for film that allow the orchestra to be inventive and full. Music that tells a story. I think I write pretty strong character themes and motifs. (Man, I don’t like bragging this much about myself.) On the flip side, some of my weaknesses… hopefully no directors read this… haha I’m a perfectionist. If I’m going to write music, it has to be perfect or it drives me crazy. I don’t like doing half jobs. Directors seem to always want cues finished yesterday, so for me, I have a hard time just handing something over when I don’t think it’s just right. The director will usually like it anyways, but for me as a artist, it’s sometimes difficult.
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
In the film world, John Williams is by far my #1. After him, probably James Newton Howard, Michael Kamen, Bernard Herrmann. Recently, I’ve started liking John Powell and Michael Giacchino as well. In the classical world, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky. I’m a pretty big sucker for classical music.
“Do you compose full time, or as a side project/hobby?”
Depends on the day. Haha. I also run a web development studio and so my time goes between the two. Sometimes it feels like 2 full time jobs and other times my time is spent mostly in one or the other.
Camelot
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
I run my setup off a Mac Pro 8core loaded with a bunch of RAM and hard drives for samples. I have an 88 key MIDI controller that I do my playing into the computer with, and then everything else for the most part is run by software. I have very little hardware. I use a MOTU HD192 interface for my monitoring and a pair of Tannoy monitors. Besides some other miscellaneous studio gear, that’s about all I use for scoring.
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
I use Digital Performer 5. Haven’t quite upgraded to version 6 yet, but probably will sometime soon. It’s been really stable for me. I seriously haven’t had a single problem with it. I hear about nightmares all the time with other daws, but I’ve never experienced that with DP. I used to use ProTools, but wanted something a little more artistic/composer friendly and my buddies down at Sweetwater Sound recommended DP to me. So, I ordered it and have been happy ever since.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
I use primarily East West’s platinum orchestra. Occasionally I’ll also use their RA, Choirs, SD2, etc. I find that EastWest has a really good sound out of the box, and I don’t have to tweak things to get it to just sound good enough for MIDI mockups for the director. I’ve also heard good things about Project Sam and their Symphobia library. I might start using that.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
Yes. I play the piano, bass (electric and acoustic), violin, drums, and organ. Everything else I just tinkle on. I’ve played piano for 20 years, violin for 12, bass for 7, drums for 7, and who knows on the organ… a while i guess.
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
My favorite instrument is my custom 5 string electric bass I had commissioned from GW Basses, and I would really like to own an upright bass. I haven’t had one in my house in a while.
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
Digital Performer. It’s so easy to use, looks great, and it’s fun to make music!
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
My Mac. You gotta love Apple. Looks good, no problems… always up and running.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
I’m a fence sitter on this one. I think it’s important to write your own music, but directors are always looking for a specific sound, so you usually have to deliver what they’re looking for. Granted, if you can carve out your own sound in the industry that directors come to you for, that’s great. Just write music that feels like you. Stuff that you can express yourself through. If you’re doing that, I think you’ll be original enough to stand on your own.
“At every stage in a composer lifetime, they will be asked “Can you create something identical to this track in every way, but change it enough to not be plagarism”. How have you dealt with this if it has ever arisen?”
Well, it can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it’s nice to already have your musical palette laid out for you, but other times it can drive you crazy. I usually just try to keep the same texture as the temp music that they are referring to, but change the melody, harmonization, etc. Sometimes it can be difficult, but not impossible.
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I can do any genre, although, I really have a soft spot for orchestral action cues. Nothing better than that.
Dunah
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
I think it’s great, as an artist, to be able to make a spot in this world that is only yours. Your music is yours and nobody else’s (at least, let’s hope so!) and it’s great to be able to share that with people.
“What is your view on mixing electronics with live/orchestral instruments?”
I think it can be very effective if done tastely. Composers these days seem to rely on loops, electronics, etc a little more than I think they should though. I’m more of a traditionalist is some aspects. I really think that an orchestra can portray 99% of emotions out there. I think the mix of the two mediums can be very powerful though, I just don’t like the loop approach which seems to be the norm in hollywood these days.
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I’ve done mainly film, tv commercials, and a little bit of film trailer work. Film is my favorite media to write for because your ability to progress a theme along. Let the music build and mature. You usually have plenty of time to explore the music a little more. TV Commercials are my favorite to make money at. They are usually a quick job and they pay well. On the flip side, you really have no time to explore a theme. You just convey musical idea quickly. So artisticly, it’s less satisfying, but the wallet likes them.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
Well, after you spot the film with the director, I sit down at my computer and open up Finale. I do all my writing with manuscript. I usually start with character themes and where I want the film to go.
Turn Around
My first full cue is usually the climax of the film where the music is at it’s full maturity. Then I write backwards and break the themes apart for the other cues. Once I finish all the cues and the director has passed off on the rough mockups, I dump all the MIDI files out of Finale and into DP for round 2 of the MIDI mockups. If the film is using a live session, then I’ll just perfect the score and send it to the copyist. If not, and the film is using a synthesized soundtrack, then I do the delivery of the final masters.
“How do you deal with temp-tracks that you are given for a particular project? Do you try to work them into your music, or try create something better, which hopefully the director will like?”
I usually just ignore them. I try to write something that I obviously think would fit better. If the director is attached though then you might have to accommodate, but I’ve been pretty fortunate and haven’t had that problem too many times.
“At every stage in a composer lifetime, they will be asked “Can you create something identical to this track in every way, but change it enough to not be plagarism”. How have you dealt with this if it has ever arisen?”
Well, it can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it’s nice to already have your musical palette laid out for you, but other times it can drive you crazy. I usually just try to keep the same texture as the temp music that they are referring to, but change the melody, harmonization, etc. Sometimes it can be difficult, but not impossible.
“Have you ever had any projects where the music was needed to be completed in a very short time span - if so how did you work around this?”
Isn’t that every project??!! It seems like they always need the score done yesterday. I just move as fast as I can. Pull late late nights… work everyday. Just do whatever it takes. You can only work so fast so let the client know that, but then do your best to make them happy and that’s really all that you can do.
“Have you ever had any projects where you weren’t happy with the music once it was compelted? How did you deal with this if so?”
Yeah, a couple. It usually comes about from a rush job or something that was needed yesterday. A couple of those projects I keep in a dusty ol’ shed in the back… haha. The only thing you can do is move on and write something better the next time.
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
I’ve had mid-sized clients. Nothing from one of the major studios, but good sized independent production companies.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
Most of my work comes from word of mouth. Referrals are key.
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
Like I said above, referrals are everything. You do one film really good, then the director will refer you to one of his friends and so on. Always score a film like they are paying you a million dollars. You never know who will be listening.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
A short film that demanded some great scifi/action cues. That was a lot of fun.
Unexpected Visitor
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
I’d say no. Directors, producers, and anyone else involved closely with the film is going to have a pretty strong opinion most of the time. The trick is to be able to deliver something that you are proud of as an artist, but still meets the expectation. Obviously there is going to be some conflicts when you have 5+ people making artistic decisions, but I’ve always worked with professionals who know how to handle differences like adults. That’s just the nature of the creative process as a joint effort, and that’s what making a film is… a joint effort. As a composer, you can’t just jump into a film and make the music your way, or lead the film in the direction you want. The best films come from a close collaboration between the director/producer/composer/etc Always be willing to mold.
“How do you deal with clients who are not near you, so personal meetings are not possible?”
A lot of phone calls! I just try to make every effort possible to always make the client feel comfortable and help them feel like they can always reach me. I always try to answer my phone. I think that in a long distance project situation, constant communication is obviously key.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
Just like everything else, I don’t think there is one magic answer. Just work hard. If you work hard, you’ll get lucky once and land a great gig… then hopefully you get lucky twice. The main thing really is to work hard. Talk to everyone. Phone calls, email, on and on. Seek out student films in the beginning. I don’t like doing anything for free, because I think that our craft is worth something. It doesn’t have to be much, but get something out of it. Be willing to work on any project. Hone your craft. Write tons of music. If you have free time, write a melody. Just always stay productive and work towards your goal. I think that’s something that every composer struggles with, but the ones that do it have 300 times the chance of being successful over the ones that don’t.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
Oh, of course. I usually get stressed out and feel like yelling at something… haha! No, I think the best thing is either to just plow through it and maybe come back to it later if what you wrote is something you don’t like, or take a 10 minute break and go eat, play drums, run around the block… something to get your mind off of it. That usually helps me.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, your sick of hearing it?”
Yes if I did a bad job on it, and no if I did a great job. I’ll actually listen to it over and over after I’m finished just basking in the music if it’s written well. But, if it’s a mediocre cue, then I get real sick of it. haha.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
I can usually write about 2-3 minutes of music a day. But that depends greatly on creative flow, writers block, oatmeal raisin cookies on the kitchen table, etc. But that is the benchmark I usually try to hit.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
It depends on the direction the director/producer has given. 90% of the time the track is timed to the film and I know exactly how long it is going to be for a certain cue. Other times the director just want the music to come in and out in the background and there is no set time.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
Oh, there is always something to improve on. I don’t play any brass instruments, but I wish I could.
“How would you define success?”
If I can make a good living for the rest of my life writing music and enjoying it, that would be success in my eyes. Also, since I’m married, I would define it as a happy life at home, which I have thankfully!
“What ultimately are your goals?”
Be able to share my music with people. I love music and it’s the best way I know of to communicate to people. It’s something that I love to share. I hope that my music can eventually influence a lot of people for the good.
“If you could change on thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
I wish there was more space for composers both artistically and gigs. There always seems to be a flood of mediocre gigs out there and very few good ones. And the ones that do roll through are very seldom something that would choose to work on. Quite often you take a client because it’s a job and you need to pay the bills. I don’t like art through that filter.
“What is your outlook on life and what motivates you?”
I’m a pretty positive person. I don’t like taking “no” for an answer. I think writing new music for new projects is super exciting. I don’t stay content for very long if I’m doing the same thing over and over, so I really enjoy music composing because you can always make it different and it’s always for different projects. Keeps things interesting.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
I love graphic design. I’m a big lover of basketball. I also enjoy shooting guns, watching movies, playing video games, hanging out with my wife, trying new things, driving race cars and motorcyles, and lot’s more.
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
I probably should have picked up some habits over the years other than forgetting everything I’m supposed to remember… haha.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
That’s a tough one. My answer would probably change depending on the week, but for now I’d have to say Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, John William’s Duel of the Fates from Star Wars, and Michael Kamen’s Main Titles from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Yes, I have a degree in music composition from the University of Chicago, where I studied with Easley Blackwood and John Eaton. I’ve also studied classical piano since age 5.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
Its certainly helped. In music composition there’s an element of inspiration as well as an element of craftsmanship. I think that the more you learn about composing, the more you realize how important the craftsmanship is, especially in a professional context. You need to start with a faith in yourself, that the inspiration will be there when you need to call on it, and the rest you need to study, work and polish as much as you can. The inspiration you either have or don’t have, but the training and preparation is something you can control. The more knowledge, the more perspectives and experiences you can bring to bear on a problem the better. Of course, “formal” training doesn’t have to be you sitting in a classroom or absorbing knowledge from some text book.
Hands on experience as a performer is really important too - I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to accompany an improv comedy group in college, as well as to score some live theater productions. It was so helpful to be able to hear the direct impact of your music on an audience. I’d consider that “training” as well. So to sum up, I think you really need to soak up every musical experience you can find, classroom, hands-on or whatever.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
Strength: I have a knack for writing compelling tunes that will get stuck in people’s heads. Pulling a really interesting tune out of nowhere is my favorite part of composing.
Weakness: I had to approach writing for synths without a ton of hands on experience with a real orchestra. I’ve tried to overcome that through tons of “book learning” about how the instruments work, but I’d still love to have been more involved in the real thing at some point. However, if I can identify something as a weakness, I’ll make sure to work harder at that particular thing until it well, isn’t.
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
That would be a mix of film and classical stuff. Two of my favorite sound tracks are Trevor Jones’ score for The Dark Crystal, as well as Jeremy Soule’s work on the Total Annihilation series. That game was ear opening to me in terms of how compelling and movie quality a game soundtrack could be. Nobuo Uematsu’s tracks for the Final Fantasy series were a huge influence as well. I’m a bit sorry to see the industry trend veering towards more ambient sorts of soundtracks - sometimes they work better dramatically, but I don’t think they are ever as memorable.
On the classical side, I’m a big fan of Bartok for the way that he combined abrasive modernism and complexity with the most tuneful and direct peasant inspired melodies. Prokofiev’s piano music is great too. The seventh piano sonata for example is one of my favorites.
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
I have a tricked out Mac Pro workstation with a set of ASPX
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
I’m using Logic 8 right now, which is a little crash-ridden unfortunately. I must confess that Cakewalk 7 was the best MIDI sequencer I’ve used, back in 1999 or so. Too bad they stopped making it!
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
I’ve played classical piano since age 5.
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
Symphobia is great. It gives you a quick shortcut to some pretty complicated orchestral textures that come up a lot in film music. It’s easy to overuse it, but the program is still a huge time saver.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
I think that having a distinctive style can be a great way to “brand” yourself and move your career forward in like a middle to end stage. There’s room for all sorts of approaches however. You need to be flexible early on so that you can deliver what your clients are asking you for, obviously. Maybe at the high point of your career people will start coming to you for a particular style that you do well, but I’m not there yet so I’ll get back to you!
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I try to stay flexible with my “commercial” music. I have my own style for the classical art music that I write for fun, to be sure, but commercial stuff is much more focussed on delivering to a client’s expectation.
“How do you feel about the current trend away from thematic music for film towards music being more like a sound effect?”
This too shall pass. In the tug of war between “thematic” and “wallpaper” music, I actually think that a good film or game should have a back and forth interplay between sections where the music is in the forefront, and when it can play a more supporting role. Just like there are times for black and white film, and times for vibrant colors there are times where different types of music is appropriate.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
My style is much more just a reflection of “how I hear things in my head” as opposed to a conscious effort to bring about a new style.
“In some of your tracks I hear clarinets - I see you play clarinet yourself - do you record live clarinet and mix it into your tracks for a more realistic approach?”
Actually, I’m a classical pianist. I wrote the clarinet sonata for a friend who does play the clarinet though. I do indeed use live instruments in my pieces whenever possible - it adds a really important sense of “life” even if its something as simple as a live maraca part or something. I have live piano and percussion, and work with a few session musicians to record on a per track basis.
“You have a classical sonata for sale with your publisher - do you enjoy writing classical music? Do you find there are a lot of similarities between writing classical music which is to be played solely for enjoyment, compared to film music, which has a specific role?”
I love writing concert music. Its totally different than writing score, however. Concert music gives you a really unlimited sense of freedom - the constraints on your creativity are only those which are self imposed.
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I’ve composed for video games, TV and film. The formats definitely present different challenges. I think that Film work is the most demanding, in that you have an explicit framework defined by the director. Most of the time in film, you’ll know that you need to provide 37.43 seconds of music that hits these key points. There’s the added challenge of film work being much more of a “client service” - you’re bringing the director’s vision of the film to life. A lot of the time the director won’t know precisely what they want until they hear something, so learning to work collaboratively with a director is really important. You have to check your ego at the door and treat your own cues with a certain degree of humility.
TV is less demanding compositionally, and more demanding from a time frame perspective. The pace of television is fast and furious, and usually they need the cue yesterday. Composers are towards the end of the production cycle, so the slipped deadlines of everyone who came before tend to hit you full force.
Games allow the most freedom for the composer I think, because the environment that your music will be in is less determined before hand.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
I like to set some creative limits to work within. Usually that will start with choosing a palette of instruments that communicates the mood of the film / game. From there I try to figure out what the main themes are. If there’s a major emotional climax in the film, I try to identify that and develop that music first. Once you know how your soaring hollywood string moment is going to sound for example, you can build up to it appropriately. A film is a huge amount of work, so you have to break it down into manageable bite-sized chunks so that you don’t get overwhelmed.
“Can you guide us through the making of the track “Battle”? What was the project it was created for? Did you come across and problems when making it, and if so, how did you get over them?”
That one is for an unannounced video game title. They wanted a sort of panoramic zoom in sequence amidst a fantasy battle. Production, EQ and MIxing are always more difficult in a fast action-ridden time of piece. Getting the strings and percussion to sound punchy and distinct for example is a lot more difficult than you’d think. Smaller scale pieces are easier to produce, but the writing is more exposed to scrutiny. Its a different set of challenges.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
I scored the game “Dreamlife”, which was a big hit for Hasbro. We (my studio at the time, Chewy Software) kind of stumbled into the gig by doing some creative work for them through an intermediary. It was one of those friend of a friend things as opposed to a result of any direct promotion. I remember it was a pretty comical scene actually, they were coming out to check out our studio, sort of a due diligence run. The company was running out of a two room apartment at the time, having just graduated to that space out of my dining room. There was sort of this collective “oh sh*t” moment, where we had to scamper to rent larger space. We had some of our friends come in and “look busy” on laptops in the background so that we’d look a little more professional.
It was definitely a different experience working with a more corporate product development pipeline. Everything was driven by cost of hardware and target audience. I wound up having about 1MB of space to write for a MIDI engine with no built in reverb. I had to geek in those reverb effects by hand by you know, repeating each note quieter and quieter.
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
Most of my jobs come from unlikely sources. Its never some big name producer that I had to shmooze or anything. Its always the random person in an unrelated business that you met at a friend’s party last week. They’ll know someone who knows someone, and so on. Word of mouth is definitely a big part of this business.
“What is your opinion on stock music - have you ventured into this part of the music industry?”
I haven’t had much exposure to this. I imagine writing stock music would be a good track for someone who’d like to shy away from the customer service part of the business. Sometimes in makes a lot more sense for your client to pay 20$ to license something that is adequate than to pay to compose “award winning” level music for a scene that doesn’t need it.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
I had the chance recently to work with an extremely talented writer/ director, Francis Abbey, on his film “Boxing Day”.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
A while ago I was still trying to build credits by snagging gigs from Craigslist. I had this one guy where I scored his short film, and then he dropped off the face of the earth without giving me a copy. I’ve actually found three other composers online who list that particular project as a credit, so I think what he actually did was asked a bunch of different people to do it without telling any of them, lol. At the end of the day there are going to be some difficult people. You just have to make a decision on a case by case basis as to whether your going to work with someone or not. Now that I don’t have to take everything that comes my way, I like to make sure that if the client is tough to work with, that the result is going to be something that I’m really proud of.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
Look for little breaks not big breaks. Opportunities are much more likely to come from a friend of a friend than through trying to schmooze with some big name Producer at the “right” party. Concentrate on growing your network at your own career level, and move up the ladder with those people. Look for ways to help other people out with your network.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
I usually start a track off with a melody or tune of some sort. If Im not directly inspired, I try to start off with a chord progression instead. Set some limits for yourself so that you’re “solving a problem” instead of staring at a blank page. For example, how can I write a theme using only root position chords? How can I fill in a space using only the main theme of the movie with no new material? You learn the composer’s craft to get you through the spots where you aren’t inspired.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, your sick of hearing it?”
Maybe about half the time. It depends on the track really. I had to write some circus music for a TV show, and that got old real fast! I try to write things that are going to have some lasting listening value, however. It’s important to invest yourself creatively so that you’re proud of the finished product.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
Anywhere from 6 hours to a week. Usually it takes longer when the director or producer has something specific in mind but doesn’t know how to communicate it. That’s when you get in to writing several different versions of the same cue to get at what’s in their head.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
In a film, obviously, your given a strict time frame limits. This framework of the scene is counter to my own instinct to just “listen for what comes next”. I know composers who plan out structures in detail on graph paper before they start with a note. That’s not me. I’ll try to fit things into a structure only after I have some initial ideas down. Musical structure is important of course, just for me it isn’t usually the starting point.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
I hope to pick up the guitar as soon as I can find the time. I try to record as many live instruments as possible in my tracks.
“How would you define success?”
Hearing someone else whistle something that you wrote quietly to themselves.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
I’d like to be competing for A-list hollywood film scores in ten years.
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
It is what it is. You have to learn how to play the game that’s provided.
“If you could go back to the start of your career, would you do anything differently?”
I had a lot of pressure to “do something practical” - I would have been quicker to ignore that advice. However, my life now, with my amazing wife and my chance to pursue the profession that I love is the result of all the choices that I made. I don’t think you can take individual choices out of context and approach them with regret - everything led to how things are now.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
I’m into tabletop wargaming, (go Tyranids!) as well as many different kinds of strategy games, from Starcraft to Bridge. I’ve recently gotten into skiing, though my wife tends to leave me in the dust, er, snow.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
Bartok, 2nd Violin Concerto;
Dandy Warhols “Scientist”;
Trevor Jones’ soundtrack to “The Dark Crystal”;
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
I broke my wrist trying to dunk a basketball once. It wound up making for great college essay material, in that I had to compete in a piano competition a few months later in a cast. (I arranged some stuff for right hand + 1 finger on left hand). So, it can read like this great triumph and determination in the face of adversity story, but actually, it was just really, really dumb.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
First learn the rules. Then learn to break them. ( I forget who said that! But its true!)
I was actually discussing this with a friend lately, and I couldn’t give an accurate description of why this is true. Can you expand a little on why you feel this statement is true? There are so many composers out there without a formal education nowadays, that are quite successful - do you think that statement will always remain true?
I don’t think it’s a statement to be taken as ‘truth’ as per say. But I DO believe that if you know all the rules you have at your disposal a tremendous asset of incredible knowledge that you can rely on if your in a pinch. If you have no skills of knowing the rules of orchestration and inspiration leaves you and you find yourself relying on talent alone when things get rough then your stuck. The advantages to breaking the rules is that it allows you to not sound like everyone else. Danny Elfman was submerged in a set of rules and had a good time breaking them.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
When somethings happening on the screen I KNOW exactly what to do. When NOTHING happens for a few minutes I have a hard time with cues like that unless their dialog driven. It takes me a bit to create musical subtext in long drawn out scenes. Usually I have to consult heavily with he Director/writer or editor as to intention.
“Clouded Psyche”
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
Macs and Pcs. 7 computer farm at the moment.
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
Logic pro 7 is my choice although we have 8 on one machine. There’s no substitute for it. We have all of the major DAWS here at the studio. I keep going back to Logic.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
We use allot of East West stuff. Project Sam (most recently “Symphobia”) Oh-lots of things really. Vienna’s stuff is great, West Gate Studios woodwinds, Kirk Hunter, Sonnivox. For synthy stuff I love Camel Audio. No one does it better. If I didn’t have a job I’d be camping out on their doorstep all day long until they hired me to work for them.
But we have so much stuff here really. I try and use all of it - but its impossible.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
Piano/keyboard. (30 years I’m guessing) Some wind instruments. (still in search of the perfect wind controller- know of any?) I’m pretty good at pounding out a rhythm on my pads. Looking to buy a Zen Drum though.
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
Some day I must get that aluminum grand piano on Melrose. That things amazing. Simply amazing…
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
(I plead the 5th-as I work with quite a few developers!)
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
Probably my Roland FAntom x8. It’s a direct extention of me.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
It helps to define you. It may limit you initially but it helps make your staying power greater in the future. Unfortunately it’s difficult to nurture since most films the director wants you to sound like Bernard Hermann or Hans Zimmer!
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
Horror-thriller-sci-fi or so I seem to be stereo typed.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
I’m trying to work more ethnic sounds into my newer music. Mostly Asian influenced. I know other composers have done this-but I want to do it in more of subtle way. I also really need to find the time to develop MY OWN sounds (like I used to in the past!) Whatever happened to having the time!?
What do you think about Hans Zimmer and how he has changed the film music industry to date? Do you think his work has been detrimental to composers who are trying to create a new unique voice for themselves, as film makers now want something that sounds like Zimmer if they can get it?
Oh- the ubiquitous Hans Zimmer question. Well you have to remember Hans began by sounding unique and that’s what made his career. And by doing so he created a form of ’sound’ that everyone loved and in a sense defeated what he set out to do. That is — being unique. I think we have to look beyond this. If you really look to some of the guys that came from Hans Zimmer, Klause Badelt, James Dooley, HGW, Powell, Trevor Rabin, Atli Örvarsson, Steve Jablonsky, etc, and you have a decent ear you’ll hear the ‘voice’ from those composers as well. I mean does Dooley REALLY sound like Powell? Does Powell REALLY sound like HGW. I don’t think so. Does Badelt sound like Rabin? These guys all manage to transcend their remote control image and inject some real creativity into their works. Powell did a great a job with “United 93″ composing a nearly all percussive tracks score and sampling his kids voice exquisitely. So far for me I’ve been lucky. No ones said, “Make this like Zimmer” (laughs) although when I was scoring a scene for “Alien Grey” I did this really triumphant hero thing and everyone said, “Wow - Zimmer!” But it was not intended!
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
TV-film-advertising-web, etc. I prefer film. It’s more creative. TV is good but the deadlines are horrendous.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
I love getting involved early on. I like scripts. So many of my peers don’t but I do. It gives me the ‘flavor seed’ of the film. Everyone argues that the SCRIPT is NOT the film but I still think the heart and soul resides in the script.
I’ll read the script. Jot down some ideas, either notes on note paper or midi mockups. With sci-fi I have fun. The first thing I do at the work station is setup pallets of sounds. I go through just about every soft synth I have and make/create sounds that I feel ‘talk’ the most about the film. I really enjoy that part. Then the grueling part is the themes. It’s not that themes are necessarily HARD for me. It’s just that I become so attached to them that I know they are going to go through rejections/revisions and that’s a hard part for me. I’ve gotten better over the years regarding that. Lol. It also depends on the director. Some guys push you to the very end with the themes. Others LOVE everything you do first out the gate.
The WORSE things regarding themes is where a director INSISTS on one for something that there’s no need for. That drives me crazy because instinctually I know there shouldn’t be a theme for that so my mind draws a blank but I know I’d better come up with a few or the director will be displeased.
After themes are approved it’s easier sailing. Insert theme here- there- do variation on, etc, etc. The underscore follows. I watch the show and play live into the sequencer my thoughts. Orchestration follows.
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
I draw from every where and anywhere. Way too varied. Modern hip stuff as well. My peers that tell me hip hop sucks need to have their ears cleaned.
Everything classical from Bartok - Mahler-Stravinsky-to film composers like Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Hermann, Mark Isham, etc, etc. Recently of course I love listening to HGW (Harry Gregson) listening close had taught me allot about slicing and dicing loops within loops to give a good modern percussive edge. I really studied him close for “Civic Duty”. It paid off.
“End Titles” from Civic Duty
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
A few studio pictures. I’ve worked with Miramax/dimension films, universal studios, etc. The bigger the show the more the politics. Small shows are less stressful. It’s easier to flex your creative muscles without getting bruised elbows on smaller shows. You have fewer cooks to spoil the broth.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
I just sent in demos to editors. I walked into one show (Dimension Films project) and the editor had tempted my album music (Opus 2: Penumbrae) all through the show. (Children of the Corn) Strange feeling. I haven’t quite gotten over seeing my old work temped into new movies. It’s weird enough when its someone else’s but when it’s yours it becomes so personal. It’s like - “What - ! That’s all wrong. I didn’t mean THAT to be for THIS…”
“Have you ever had to work with a client who was not near you - i.e.. on the other side of the world - so physical meetings were impossible? If so, how did you deal with this?”
Not so much clients but I collaborate with other musicians world wide. It works very well. Taking the time differences in mind can get hairy!! Lol. Its 2 am and you really need that guitar track from the guy in Germany and he’s asleep!!!
“What is the most unusual request you have ever had from a client?”
“Make this cue sound like Electric Gershwin. You know we want our theme to sound like it came from the ball park but with a Gershwin flavor!!!!!” I did it. It sounded like crap. I warned them. So we did something else. It was for Discovery Channel’s “Movie Magic”
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
I don’t . I have an agent and manager for that. I still remain very proactive though. Very necessary for success.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
Lots of lower budgeted shows. I work for a director Don Glut whose movies allow me to do all that I want. I wrote a score for a film no one will probably see, “The Mummy’s Kiss” and the director and I just fell in love with that score…
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
I have had some difficult clients. Many times it’s for political reasons. Often I’m not supposed to work in a certain country but creative wants me very badly so it becomes a paper work nightmare. You have to find your allies. You have to go in and know immediately WHO is on YOUR side. Team up with them. As a composer your often all alone. It’s YOU against THEM. Make friends. Make allies. Exploit that.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
Stay ProActive. Talk to people. Get out of your house. So many composers are introverts. You need to meet people and network your ass off. Go to dinners. Meet directors. Join organizations. Writing music is 5% of the work. The rest is business.
What would you say was your most successful project and why?
I never see projects as successful or unsuccessful. When you do enough of these you’ll get to experience successful PARTS of a job and less desirable PARTS of the same job. I.e. on “Civic Duty” for example, I lost two battles trying to get the client to opt for something really ‘exotic’ and odd in instrumentation. But I succeeded in other aspects. It’s really all about mini battles. You win some and you loose some. I’ve never lost the war though. (that would be if you lost EVERY battle!)
“Zero The Mites”
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
I get burned out if that’s what you mean. At that point you’d better be really skilled because your skill will be forced to take over where talent dries up.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, your sick of hearing it?”
Lol. Ok-I’ve been asked allot of questions over the years. But never THIS one! (good one) Depends on the song. If it’s a piece of crap - yup- I sure do! If it’s got talent then I could listen to it all day long!
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
Depends on the schedule. Some days there’s one cue to do. So I perfect it. Other days I have 12 cues to rip through plus my private music library stuff so I spend maybe and hour on a minute.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
If it’s for a scene I know exactly how long it will be of course. If it’s for me and my private library it just sort of grows. It takes on its own life. That’s fun to watch/experience.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
I wished I could play every instrument that was ever built.
“How would you define success?”
If your really happy with what your doing then your a success. If it becomes laborious and you dislike going to work that day - then it’s time to quit.
“What would you consider to be the top 5 most important skills of a composer nowadays (including networking, and compositional skills)?”
Plaguers
- PERSONALITY to deal with EVERYTHING they throw at you.
- ORGANIZATION of yourself. File organization, theme organization, song organization. Really spend time on that - you’ll benefit so much in the fut ure from doing so.
- ORIGINALITY
- PERSEVERANCE (especially for new comers but that doesn’t mean you don’t need it later because sometimes jobs are few and far between.)
- FLEXIBILITY - Learn to do other things. Composing is great but not everyone gets to do it full time. Learn to program synths. Do your own music sound design and maybe someone will hire you to do theirs. Write for music Libraries, Program sounds for soft synths. Get to know developers and do demo tracks for them. Be flexible but try and stay in your field. NEVER taker an office job. lol…
“What ultimately are your goals?”
Keep on writing.
Well - personal goals for music? I have one that everyone thinks is funny. I want to buy one keyboard workstation and try and do an entire score on just THAT work station. No fancy string libraries - no expensive samples - no live players, etc. Just the sounds that come with the keyboard. And I want to do it at someone else’s place. No familiar surroundings! hahah - silly isn’t it!?
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
Make ALL film directors AND producers aware of how music operates within the structure of a film. Oh and make EVERYONE aware of Music Publishing. I’m tired of giving eductions on Music Publishing to everyone. lol.
I have an idea. All directors should take a “Film Music Appreciation” course before they begin their project. Might aclimate them a bit.
If you could plot your progress to your current success, what would you say would be your main achievements that led you to your current position?
I would have to put emphasis on networking most. Keeping a level head and dealing with problems in a mature manner helped as well. Took me awhile to learn that one. I was hot head at the beginning of my career. That doesn’t work. A Bernard Hermann attitude in today’s climate doesn’t cut it.
Where do you think the film music industry is going in the next few years?
It will continue along the lines it’s going. It’s becoming more and more celebrity driven. BT, Clint Eastwood. Celebrities are being made into composers now. People love celebrities. We live in a sometimes ‘odd’ culture.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
Other interests? Not much time for those!! (laughs) I’m a pretty good pool player.
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
Yes. Record EVERYTHING. Do LOTS of variations. You’ll need them someday. And while your on a film and come up with a theme, create subfolders of variations. Your inspired at the moment and chances are you’ll have to revisit that theme so do it NOW while it’s fresh in your mind. I wish there were 42 hrs in a day. Really. If I spent this time right now writing a cue for myself instead of doing the interview I know I would use that track in the future. My point being: You can never write or record TOO much! You’ll ALWAYS use it.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
God - I hope yor referring to other peoples music and not my own! (laughs) I’d die listening to my own music on a dessert island.
Let’s see:
1.) Mahler’s “Symphony number 5“. (especially Part 3 - 4. Adagietto in which too watch the waves with!)
2.) Vaughan Williams’ “Symphonia Antarctica” (symphony No.7). I’d listen to that when it just got too damn hot.
3.) The full blown Mussorgsky’s: Pictures At An Exhibition - (has a lot of things in it to get me through a year. The ending would be great for when the plane finally arrived to take me off the island.
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
I told a producer he was a complete idiot and knew nothing about music in a film. I even fired myself off the film. (laughs) since then though we’ve actually become friends… (who would have known? He wants to do a picture with me this year)
Not really. I started taking piano lessons when I was four, and in high school I studied jazz music with a college orchestration professor who really helped me get started in my writing. Music was always just a hobby for me though, and I never really decided to try my shot at a career until I got to college. But I never studied music at university.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
I’m not sure if my writing would be significantly different had I studied in a formal environment. I’ve spent a lot of time studying music theory and orchestration, as well as scores from a lot of classical composers. So it’s really just the road I chose to go down, and it works for me.
“Dark Night”
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
I’d say I’m a pretty easygoing guy, and you really have to be in this industry. There have been times where I’ve written something I feel is one of my best works yet, only to have a director hate it, or want it changed completely. You have to be able to work with people, and put your ego on a shelf and remember that you’re hired to help fulfill the vision of the director or producer. There’s also quite a bit of politics involved in the post-production process, and as a composer you have to be able to flow with things and not get caught up in it all.
A weakness would be that I sometimes analyze things way too much, and get into a sort of analysis paralysis. I’ve gotten better at it, but there was a time I’d spend a whole day editing, rewriting, and remixing stuff only to have it sound pretty much no different than before, when it was fine to begin with.
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
James Newton Howard, as well as Thomas Newman and Hans Zimmer, are big influences of mine.
“Do you compose full time, or as a side project/hobby?”
Composing has become pretty much a full time job for me now. I also help operate a pressure washing company that my brother and I, with help from our dad, started back in high school. We started just doing driveways, and then branched out to commercial work. Now we’ve got several guys working for us and cleaning parking lots for gas stations and restaurants across Texas. That’s what really helped me afford to get my first DAW and start composing. Most of my time is spent writing music now, but I’m still involved with that business as well.
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
Most of my work is done on an Apple G5, with a MOTU 2408 mk3 interface and an 88 key Triton as a controller. I monitor everything through a pair of JBL 4328’s.
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
I work pretty evenly between Digital Performer and Logic. For orchestral cues I prefer DP, but with other genres and loop based stuff I’m more comfortable working in Logic. It’s just my personal preference, and kinda the groove I’ve gotten into. I found them through recommendations from other composers.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
I use most of the East West libraries in my writing, most often the Symphonic orchestra and Choirs, as well as Stormdrum. I’m really satisfied with the realism they offer and they blend quite well with a live orchestra when mixed together.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
I’ve been playing piano for about eighteen years, and picked up guitar around 5 years ago. I think primarily playing piano has really influenced my writing style and the process in which I go about it. A lot of my dramatic pieces are based around the instrument, and when I’m starting out on a project I often sit at the piano and hack out ideas before moving into the sequencer. I also played trombone and tuba during my middle and high school years, which helped a bit in my knowledge of wind ensembles.
“Embrace”
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
Hmm, I’d have to say one of my favorites is a Martin DC-16 acoustic guitar that I own. It’s got a great tone and I’ve used it several times in scores I’ve done. I’d most definitely like to get a Steinway D (who wouldn’t right?). I’d also love to own an electric cello, such a cool sound!
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
Gotta say it’s Native Instruments’ Kontakt Sampler. With so many great sample libraries out there, as well as being able to load up samples I’ve created myself, it’s such a great tool and I use it almost constantly in my work.
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
I’d say it’s my Apple G5. We’ve been through a lot together and it’s still kicking lol.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
I think it’s very important. When you look at some of the veteran composers who have been really successful in their careers, you can see that each of them has a certain style that’s evident throughout their scores. When I first started to compose, my pieces were all really influenced by Hans Zimmer (and some might say still are…). I’ll never forget being called out on it too when I was interviewing for an internship with one of the bigger composers who came out of Media Ventures. That’s how almost all composers start though, by imitating the masters. But over time I’ve tried to separate myself into a more unique niche and develop upon that.
I do a lot of work with music libraries, and with those I’m often asked to mimic certain composers or particular scores. While libraries are definitely more creatively constraining, I still strive to put a piece of myself into every cue I write. When working on a more creative project like scoring a film or tv show, the director or producer will almost always have something in mind they want the score to sound like, and there may be a temp score in place. But it’s good to push yourself to be original and stay away from anything that copies an existing score. Really try to establish a voice as much as they will allow.
“You said you like working on music libraries - how did you get into this, and what about creating music for libraries do you enjoy?”
I got my first library work with Liquid Cinema through a recommendation from a friend. She
Liquid Cinema
was doing some
writing for the project and graciously offered to help get me on board. One thing about libraries I enjoy is being able to write in so many different styles for a particular project.
One day I’ll be working on a dramatic strings piece, then the next an over-the-top action piece for choir and orchestra. It’s quite a lot of fun.
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I write mostly orchestral work, and that’s what got me started in film composing. But I’ve also branched into some writing in rock and hip-hop genres. When I lived in LA I worked at a few studios recording hip-hop and rap vocalists, which helped expand my knowledge of those styles of music. At one point I was doing some beat writing for Dr. Dre (mostly orchestral stuff with a drumbeat).
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
Something about orchestral music just really moves me. I never really grew up listening to it, and didn’t really discover film scores until shortly before I finished high school, but I can distinctly remember hearing a piece by John Williams called “You are the Pan” from the movie Hook, and it had this profound effect on me. After listening I went and attempted to transcribe it, which got me interested in composing orchestral music. Shortly afterwards I wrote my first piece and had it performed.
“What’s your view on including electronic elements in orchestral scores?”
I think it brings a fresh approach to orchestral scoring, and it’s something I’ve found myself doing more and more lately in my writing. There are so many cool synths and electronic plugins on the market now that sound great in an orchestral enviroment.
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I’ve done a number of documentaries, music libraries, a couple musicals, and some television work. I really enjoy working on trailer music libraries since I’m able to pack so much music into a short amount of time.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
I’ll usually sit down at the piano and come up with ideas when I first start, and then move over to the sequencer. I sequence things out by either inputting them into the notation window or playing them from a keyboard. I’m really particular on how I want my mockups to sound, so I use a lot of volume and modulation automation to get a more realistic sound. Then depending on the budget and type of project will send the midi files to an orchestrator, and then record and mix.
“Forgotten Dreams”
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
I’ve had some of my work appear on the Daily Show during their indecision 2008 campaign, and I’m also contributing some music to a show on ABC at the moment.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
So far I’ve gotten almost all my work, including the ones I mentioned above, through recommendations from friends and other composers. My first scoring gig I got was through a producer coming across some of my work on a website called SoundClick. I wasn’t really looking to get any jobs scoring films, but he contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in writing some music for a few low budget documentaries. I said sure, and was able to kind of cut my teeth and develop my writing. Shortly afterwards those docs got picked up for distribution by Warner Bros which was pretty cool.
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
I haven’t really done much promotion to find composing work other than having a website, and sending CD’s to whoever will listen. For the trailer work I do each library has its own marketing team that promotes my stuff and gets it placed.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
I recently finished a trailer library project with composer Jeff Rona called Liquid Cinema that was a lot of fun. It was my first experience having my work recorded with a professional orchestra and it was a great learning experience to work with a veteran production team.
“What would be your dream project?”
A blockbuster film would be nice haha. I’ve also always wanted to direct my own feature and write the music for it.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
Haha yes I have… Last year I was working on my first feature film, which called for mostly rock/pop based music with a few orchestral cues. The film was pretty well put together, and had two major distributors interested in it. I was initially just doing the music and met with the director and producer a few times before and during the process since I was in LA and they were in the Bay Area. It all went pretty smoothly at first, and they were happy with everything I delivered. I’ve had some experience with video editing in the past, so when they started to repeatedly ask if I would reedit some of the scenes they weren’t happy with I obliged. It was a bit of a pain since I knew the music would have to be edited/rewritten as well for those scenes but I thought whatever, it’s all a part of the job. All in all I reedited about half an hour of the movie, and they decided they wanted to replace most of the music I had written with other songs, which they didn’t even have the budget for. That’s when I walked. But that was just a particularly bad experience. Disagreements are bound to come up with whomever you’re working with, and that’s just a part of the job. You’ve got to be easygoing enough to deal with a lot of crap that can happen, but knowing when to walk can be a good thing too.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
Network with filmmakers and other composers as much as you can. Go to film festivals and conferences, and meet and talk with filmmakers. I saw that Deane Ogden mentioned this in an interview you did with him a few weeks ago, but I’ll mention it again. I’m working with Deane and several other composers on something called SCOREcast that’s going to serve as a place for people interested in film music to come and share ideas and learn about the industry. We’ll have veteran composers, engineers, agents, etc. involved as well writing columns and interviews. The web site will be up soon, and for now there’s a page up on Facebook with some info. You can check out Deane’s website too for info at www.deaneogden.com.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
Yeah it happens to everyone sometimes. Sometimes I’ll go take a jog or go swimming to clear my head. The most important thing is not to panic when you’ve got a tight deadline and can’t come up with ideas, because that will only make things worse.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, you’re sick of hearing it?”
Haha I don’t know if I really get sick of hearing something I’ve written, I’m sure others have for sure =). It’s more that as I keep listening, I tend to notice the things that need to be changed, and that can be a never-ending process. So after a project I’ve done is finished and it’s too late to change anything, I usually don’t listen to it too terribly often. There’s always something that I want changed after the fact whether it’s a melody I wrote, the way the violas played a certain line, or the mix at a particular point, but that’s just a part of the process. I try to learn from these things and implement them into my next project. As Da Vinci said, “art is never finished, only abandoned.”
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
It varies a lot. For the big-sounding choir and orchestra trailer tracks I do, it can take anywhere from a couple days to a week to write a 90 second track. For something requiring mainly underscore, I usually get about two to three minutes written per day.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
The majority of the time I’m given pretty strict guidelines on how long a track should be, and with technology these days it’s pretty easy to meet those lengths. If I’m scoring to picture I’ll write the music and use the tempo control and hit points within the sequencer to sync it up with the picture. If I’m doing something for a music library where I don’t have a video loaded up that I’m writing to, I’ll usually get the track to match up closely with the required length, and then slightly adjust the tempo throughout to get it spot on.
“Inferno”
“Have you ever had any times where you weren’t happy with the music you created, but you had to hand it in, as the timeline for it had passed?”
I tend to work pretty well under pressure, and get the music to sound as best I can by the deadline. But I can think of one particular experience where the deadline was so tight that I had to essentially cut corners to make it in time. The music still sounded fine and the client was happy, but if I had had so much as another hour to go back and rewrite some things I would have been happier with the result.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
I’m really trying to work on getting to where I can just sit down with pencil and paper and write, without sitting at the piano or computer to hear my ideas as I create them. I realize that not many people write like that anymore, and with film scoring it eventually all ends up in the computer anyways, but I want to get to the point where I can write just as well without relying on any technology or aide, just doing it all in my head. I’m also always trying to learn new instruments. Not necessarily becoming a pro at them or anything, but you tend to write from a different perspective after you’ve experienced an instrument hands on, different than just listening to it or studying it in an orchestration text. I’m really interested in the more ethnic instruments and their place in film scores.
“What are you working on right now?”
Currently I’m working on some trailer music for Disney, Rip Tide Music, and another installment of Liquid Cinema. I’m also contributing to a TV show on ABC, as well as beta testing and writing audio demos for some upcoming East West products.
“If you could go back to the start of your career, what would you do differently?”
Become a doctor… haha. I’m still pretty fresh at all of this, and ask me this question in five or ten years and I’m sure there’s tons of things I’d change. But for now if I could go back I suppose I would have practiced more as a kid.
“How would you define success?”
Well I think that’s different for everybody. For me, composing being my career, success is number one enjoying what I do, and number two being able to make a living at it. That second part can sometimes take a while to achieve, and if you ask any established composer in the film industry, they’ll tell you the money just doesn’t roll in overnight. So if this is something you’re trying to make a career at, don’t get discouraged if the checks are little to none at first. When I first started composing though, I wasn’t looking for a career at all. My view of success was just having fun and people enjoying my music, so I guess that view will keep changing as I develop more into this field. But most importantly I don’t think you can consider yourself successful if you don’t love what you do.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
I eventually want to start my own music library geared toward trailers. That aspect of the film music industry really interests me and I’ve always enjoyed working with libraries, so I’d really like to record and produce my own and have some other composers contribute.
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
Well it’s really hard to get into this business, and I’m not saying I know a way to change that, but it’s definitely something that hinders a lot of great composers from getting a foot in the door. If it weren’t for some really generous established composers giving me advice and work, I would have had no clue what to do. And that’s one of the big motivations behind SCOREcast that I mentioned previously. We’re trying to create transparency in this business and give advice to those looking to get into it.
“What is your outlook on life and what motivates you?
I always try and stay positive no matter how crappy things get. As far as writing music goes, I really feel that this is what I was born to do, and I’ve been blessed with a great family that always supported me and my music. But I never make music the forefront of my life. I remember Jeff Rona once said in regards to the ’94 Northridge quake something to the effect of, “If you lost everything you had in the next fifteen seconds, what would be most important? It’s the same as what’s important now, that you’re here and alive.” And that’s really something I’m grateful to God for everyday, that I can live another day to be thankful.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
I love kayaking and scuba diving. Here in Austin there’s some cool lake diving, and sometimes in the mornings I’ll go out with a few friends on the water to kayak and watch the sunrise.
“Worlds Apart”
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
Yeah I usually keep some manuscript paper nearby to jot down ideas, and sometimes carry a small tape recorder with me in case I get a jolt of inspiration while I’m away haha.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
Definitely “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, always loved that track.
Then Oscar Peterson’s version of “All of Me”:
and the third would probably be Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
Hah! That’s easy. One night I heard my toilet making this weird noise while I was doing some recording so I went to investigate, finding that there was a slight drip coming from the wall valve. Me being the do it yourself idiot, decided to mess with it. Well when I tightened the wall knob, the screw that held it to the gasket broke, and the knob fell off. Now I couldn’t get the toilet to turn back on, so I thought to myself no worries, I’ll just turn the gasket a little to get it back to where it was, and leave it at that. Well half a counter-clockwise turn later, Niagra Falls breaks forth into my bathroom, and it took about a dozen firefighters to get the water under control. I was able to get all the towels and clothes I could find to dam up the bathroom and contain most of the water, thus saving my studio. The worst part about it all was that since I lived on the second floor, all that water went downstairs pretty quick. Now the guy below me had wanted new carpet, but the management said no. So he put his own money into recarpeting his apartment, three days before the incident occurred, destroying that new carpet… So moral of the story is, don’t play plumber…
“Do you have any formal musical training?” “Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)” “What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
A quick-and-dirty list of my musical training would look something like this:
- Bachelor of Arts in Music, Murray State University (Murray, Kentucky)
- Master of Music in Music Theory and Electronic Music, Indiana University (Bloomington, Indiana)
- Certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
…and, from there, into the trenches. Where I really started learning.
From there it gets a little more complicated. As an undergraduate I bounced around between majors, learning a little bit about a lot of different things.
And all those studies outside of music—especially literature and creative writing—were just as important to my development as an artist as the purely musical expertise I’ve picked up along the way.
Everything has an influence, however slight or subtle, and our job is really to translate and reflect those influences through our compositions. That kind of job is a life’s work.
We form what I call a locus of cool—that place where everything we’ve ever heard and liked resides in our brain… where it percolates and boils down and becomes something new and unique. To the extent that I’ve been able to do that, and to pair it with an understanding of narrative and the visual language of cinema, I’d say that’s a strength. And a voice.
We can only write what occurs to us to write. What I try to work on is having as many options, as many things that occur to me to write, as possible. And then culling those options in a way that is distinctive and effective. Organizing, in other words… and I’ll have more to say about that later.
“Cloverfield” - Trailer Music
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
Many and varied—and I’m adding more all the time. I sort of grew up musically with one foot in the classical world and the other in the world of contemporary electronics and gear… and I think you can hear that in the cues I write. I like it when different sound-worlds collide, when new things happen.
“Do you compose full time, or as a side project/hobby?”
Full-time since about 1999. Which makes me feel terribly, terribly OLD.
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?” “Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?” “What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
My work rig is simple—my approach is all about keeping the filter between the music I’m hearing in my brain and the actual sound waves coming out of my monitors as transparent as possible.
Not *too* simple, though! I don’t want to sacrifice too much flexibility or sonic variety. But with the technology we have today—and the incredible sound libraries and sound-creation tools that are out there—simplicity doesn’t necessarily connote limitation.
That said, my core writing template for The Amazing Race runs to something upwards of 300 MIDI tracks, most of which are tucked away in sub-folders at any given time. I work in Digital Performer, and I find myself constantly looking for ways to integrate the latest sample libraries and synths, and to take my existing sound library deeper. Use those sounds in unique ways. Make those cool Waves plug-ins part of the composing process, not just part of the mixing process, for example.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?” “What’s your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
I’ve played piano since I was four years old, which might give you the impression that I’m a better pianist than I am! I also studied horn for about 15 years, and played in orchestras and bands all over the middle of the United States while I was in college.
Sitting in an orchestra was so valuable—it gave me a sense of color and balance and potential from the inside-out, if that makes sense. When I’m composing, those experiences “on the other side of the baton” give me an intuition about what will and won’t work, and about new ideas to try. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be to internalize all that simply by reading books and attending concerts. Not impossible—just much, much tougher, I’d think.
All that being said, I don’t miss performing all that much. I have immense respect and admiration for all the amazing musicians I’ve been fortunate enough to work with over the years, but perfecting my own performance chops was never what I was willing to stay up all night doing. And I think that’s sort of what it takes to reach the sort of high-level function that makes you relevant as a performing artist.
What I was (and still am!) a fanatic about—what seems to me to be less of a chore and more of a privilege—is creating brand-new music. Stuff that other people might want to perform and interpret some day. That, to me, is worth losing sleep over.
So my favorite instrument right now is an acoustic guitar I bought about a year ago, and that I’m just barely starting to learn to play. And I’m terrible! And I love it. Highly recommended to all composers who are looking for a paradigm shift… grab an instrument you’ve never played before, and re-acquaint yourself with struggle. Struggle is phenomenally underrated in life.
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
DP. I’ve worked with it for such a long time now that it’s become that transparent filter I mentioned above.
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
My Aeron task chair… especially as those long-haul composing sessions creep past the 14-hour mark.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
Crucially, vitally important. Here’s why: Because, at some point in the next ten years, someone’s going to release an app, probably running inside of Final Cut Pro, that will allow you (or any other desktop filmmaker) to generate an original score in a specific composer’s style. Just drop in the starting and ending timecodes, maybe a couple of sync points, a few dramatic notes (on-screen faders for “sad—happy,” “ominous—fluffy,” etc.) and BANG! Instant score.
Someone’s going to do it. It’s just a matter of time, and of figuring out parameters for all the musical tendencies.
You’ll be able to buy the John Williams algorithm, the Ennio Morricone algorithm, the Danny Elfman algorithm… those will probably be part of the Standard Set. Thomas Newman, Gustavo Santolalla, Michael Giacchino… those will come out later, as plug-ins. The Hans Zimmer algorithm will be delayed for a year or two, due to legal wrangling over licensing and whose name gets to be on the cue sheets. I kid, I kid.
Here’s the thing: Why is it that, as you’re reading this, you can sort of imagine what those algorithms will sound like? It’s because those guys have such a strong, clearly-defined voice. Such a unique locus of cool.
But what that murderous “killer app” won’t be able to do is come up with the [insert your name here] algorithm. Not until you define it. Not until you create the need.
In the end, that’s what we’re selling… not sound, but our particular, idiosyncratic way of organizing that sound. See? I told you I’d come back to organizing.
Main Titles from“One”
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?” “What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
Sure, I work in multiple genres… and I think most working composers would want to say the same thing.
Scoring The Amazing Race alone, I’ve written in a crazy variety of styles… and by that I mean not just all the ethnic influences from around the world (and, in 14 seasons, the show has been to a lot of places!), but also cues that are purely orchestral, rock, pop, jazz, folk, electronica… and so much in between.
When I did synth-work and conducting for Ron Jones on Family Guy, it was a similar situation—every episode had a handful of bizarre and wonderful cues that took us places where, musically, we’d never been. And every time I take on a new gig—whether it’s for a TV show, a film, a trailer or just a 15-second web spot—one of the things I love the most is that it’s going to be something new and different.
That, to me, is the fun part. Never knowing what’s coming next. Always being hit with new demands, new challenges, on any number of levels. If it weren’t like that, I think I would have moved on long ago.
But whatever the style or genre, I try to impose my sensibility, my opinion, on it. Otherwise it’s clerical. It’s busy-work. And the Powers That Be can hire anyone to do that. Or buy a piece of software (see above).
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
Tough to name a favorite… the medium tends to matter less to me than the collaborators and the story.
Don’t get me wrong. The medium is important. But I’ve had good experiences in television, film, online content, video games, commercials and trailers alike. So I don’t have a strong preference.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
For me it starts with those first collaborative meetings with the filmmakers/game designers. My goal, right from the first meeting, is to reach a mutual understanding about the broad strokes of what the score should accomplish. How much of it is about conveying time and place? How much of it needs to be “inside the heads” of the characters? How visceral; how removed? Top-level issues.
While we’re discussing all this, I’m also working on building a good rapport with these people. We’re going to be fighting a war together, and I’d prefer it if we were on the same side, at least at the outset.
After we’ve made some of these initial music decisions together, I get to run away for a little while and start making mistakes. Trying all sorts of different things to see what works. If my instincts are good, then I’ll “dial it in” fairly quickly—but I’m not worried about that. Sometimes a mistake will lead me to something I never would have thought of trying otherwise.
Once I have a couple of those crucial cues done, I sit back and evaluate. A palette is emerging, and now it’s time to codify that and decide if it’s flexible and appropriate for the rest of the score moving forward. Have I established themes? Will those themes work with the rest of the project? How can I expand this material outward as the score grows? Those questions will inform the remainder of the job.
And, if I’ve prepared properly, my filmmaking partners-in-crime will already be on board creatively for what I’m attempting. And I’ll be tuned into what they’re seeking from my score. Tweaks and changes moving forward are the norm, but if I’ve done my job as a collaborator, they’re usually just that… tweaks. Not massive re-conceptualization.
“Without a doubt, the rise of new and readily available technologies in music have meant that anyone can create a score in their bedroom - with little or no musical training - that sounds quite good to the average listener. However, there has also been an huge influx of amateur film makers due to the new technologies in film which make it easier to make a film in your bedroom. What do you think of this whole scenario? Undoubtedly, if you were to look at the industry 10 years ago, it was a lot different - do you think it has changed for the better?”
We’re seeing a mass amateurization of multimedia storytelling right now. I think professional filmmakers and multimedia storytellers will continue to exist, though, simply because of the extensive skill set required to do the job at a level the audience wants to experience. Most people don’t have the spare time (this sort of links in with the whole “having-many-jobs” thing, above) or the passion necessary to spend several years perfecting their project. So they’ll have to collaborate. Which means money will change hands. Which means there will be a business aspect, and corporate interests, etc. It’s not yet so easy or cheap that we can do highest-quality stuff at home by ourselves. That day might come, though.
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?” “If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
I’ve been very fortunate in this regard. I’ve worked with CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer Television on The Amazing Race, and I’ve worked with ABC and Next Entertainment on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and a handful of other shows that… well, that died in the dust. One of those shows, The Will, was yanked from the schedule after a single episode… ouch!
I’ve worked on projects for Fox, HBO, TBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Disney, Sony, Paramount, Sci-Fi Channel, Bravo, The WB Network (back when there was such a thing—!), The Learning Channel, PBS and several others.
In almost every case, I got the gig because I already had a relationship with someone on the show. It’s a coat-tails industry, and we’re no different.
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
By far the most important thing I do in this aspect of the career is to meet people and to forge new relationships. Look at it this way: If your drain is clogged, you need a plumber… and, if you already have one you’re happy with, you don’t go looking. And even if you don’t have a plumber, you probably still don’t go looking—instead, you ask your friends, and then you call the person they recommend.
I think it’s the same for composers. Except that most of us don’t make as much money as a plumber makes!
All that being said, I do get out there and hustle for gigs… you have to! I keep my website as current as possible; I send out demos; I go to Industry events and meet ‘n greet. Lately I’ve been using social media a lot… several recent projects have come about as a result of meeting filmmakers on Twitter, which I think is a great thing. The world is small, and the technological barriers to collaborating with filmmakers from around the world have just disappeared. I love that.
The Amazing Race
“Would you say you ever had a discernable “big break” in your career?”
Several. One that was particularly important for me: I landed a meeting with New Line Cinema for the Lord of the Rings website music off of a recommendation by a friend from school whose thesis film I’d scored (he’d served as Director of Photography on a bunch of their DVD Extras materials).
When I got there, I was able to help solve a little problem the producers were having: they needed to know what the inscription on the One Ring said (they had a graphic they wanted to use, but didn’t know if it was appropriate—the inscription was in Tengwar, one of Tolkien’s invented scripts). I translated it, and even quoted them the whole “Ash Nazg Durbatulûk… etc.” in the Black Speech of Mordor (I’m such a geek!). It got their attention enough that they listened to my demo, and I landed the gig.
That LotR music landed on the desks of Jerry Bruckheimer and Bertram Van Munster via another friend who had produced a independent short film I’d scored maybe two years before, and those guys hired me for The Amazing Race in 2001. One of the producers on Race moved over to The Bachelor, so I ended up doing some work over there… and yet another producer I met on that show led to three different TV projects for ABC and CBS. You’ll find similar chains of connections running through the life stories of anyone who works regularly in the business.
Music from “Stu Plus Who?”
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
I try to make it a policy to have a blast no matter what the project is—life’s too short not to love what you’re doing. And there’s an entirely different sort of pleasure in writing a 20- or 30-second cue for a movie trailer vs. a 65-minute feature film score vs. a 200-minute music library for a TV show. So again, it’s tough to pick a favorite… maybe too tough. I’m thrilled and humbled to get to do a little bit of each.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
Sure. It’s rare, but if you do enough gigs, it happens. I’ve been pressured to write something way too close to the temp score on a couple of occasions, and had to do a little fancy dancing in order to protect myself (and the client). And I’ve worked with filmmakers who were so intensely focused on the picture that they forgot that their collaborators were people (with, you know, feelings to take into consideration).
In all those cases, I just kept at it, remembering that their comments and their pressure came from the place of wanting to make the project the best it could be. And that’s something I could identify with, and use to get us to a result that was, if not thrilling, at least effective—and then live to fight another day.
But those cases are very much the exception, rather than the rule… and certainly they don’t come up much with the core group of filmmaking friends I find myself working with again and again. Most of the time it’s a honeymoon, and I mean that seriously. About 99% of the time I’m having entirely too much fun to be allowed.
“Have you ever had to work with a client who was not near you - ie. on the other side of the world - so physical meetings were impossible? If so, how did you deal with this?”
I’d say 75-80% of my gigs are carried out without ever once meeting with the client in person. My main gig at the moment, The Amazing Race, is an exception—I’m close enough to the production offices that I can drive over in about 10 minutes, so it’s easy to stick my head into an edit bay and do the sort of face-to-face collaboration I love.
Don’t get me wrong—it’s better to be there in person. But I used to think it was essential, and it simply isn’t. People have gotten over that; we’ve adapted to the technology, made our internal mental and psychological compromises, and we can swing with remote collaboration.
Technology lets anyone, anywhere, get close enough to that experience to pull off a successful collaboration. Especially if their communication skills are strong. And it’s trivial to move data around fast enough to meet production deadlines. If I’m working with a client who’s not close by, it no longer matters if they’re on the other side of the Hollywood Hills or the other side of an ocean or two. The only difference is the arithmetic I have to do to figure out when to phone them.
“What is the most unusual request you have ever had from a client?”
A few years ago a director had me write “Kazoo Olympics” music for his student film. That was pretty weird. The director is repped by William Morris now, though, so I guess it turned out OK.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
Sure. 1) Write every day. 2) Meet new people in the community every day. 3) Improve something—your gear, your filing system, your hairdo—every day. 4) get some creative input—to fertilize the ground for all that output you’re doing—every day.
It’s the “every day” part that counts. You can make up a point system, if you like (this is an idea that originated with one of my mentors, the inimitable and ingenious Ron Jones). Your point system might look like this:
Your goal = 100 points a day.
If you can take an actual physical meeting with a filmmaker who has the power to hire you someday for money, you can stop. You’ve earned your 100 points for the day.
Successfully placing a phone call to a filmmaker (and that means speaking with them—not leaving voice mail)? That might be, oh, 50 points.
Having a web site? 5 points a day (“gimme” points, unless your server goes down!).
If you send out a demo CD, that’s 10 points (which is probably too generous, considering how little attention filmmakers pay them—sorry to burst that bubble for you if you thought otherwise!).
…And so on. Make up your own point values for all the other things you think are important: reading the trades and important Industry websites; answering e-mails from fans; adding friends on Facebook; etc. Me, I’m counting this interview as, like, 5,000 points.
Too many composers, especially starting out, go through a phase where they rack up something like 300 points a day—blanketing the market with demos; making tons of phone calls; really hustling. And then after a week or two they stop. For, like, a few months. And they wonder why the phone doesn’t ring. Why other people are getting the gigs.
100 points. Every day. That’s the part that counts.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
Caffeine and fear. Seriously.
Caffeine, to help me keep a regular schedule… the idea being that, if I’m in the studio at the same time each morning, the Muse knows where to find me. And fear—of deadlines, of irrelevance, of bankruptcy—to minimize procrastination. Works a treat.
What I do find, though, is that once in a while I push too hard, and it’s a few days before I get back my edge. Like training too hard at the gym… at some point the creative muscles just fail to respond. I actually just wrote a blog entry on this subject:
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, you’re sick of hearing it?”
Usually by then I’ve lost all objectivity, so I’m at a bit of a loss as to how I should feel about it!
Much more common is that, a few days or weeks later, I’ll hear it on the episode (if it’s a TV show) or it’ll pop up in my iTunes, and all I can hear are the moments I want back. Things I could have done differently, better. Which is good, I think—it means I’m still growing. Still improving. And who would want to get to the end of that road, really? “OK, now I’m as good as I’ll ever be. Time for a beer and a slow slide into oblivion.”
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
It varies, but not as widely as you might think. Again, you’re touching on something I blogged on recently: One Minute Of Music
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
When I’m scoring to picture, preliminary decisions will already have been made (in the initial spotting session with the filmmakers) about where music starts and stops. That determines the length of the cues I’ll be writing. Subject to change as I go along, of course, but I try to stay pretty close to those initial instincts.
If I’m writing library cues, or “custom-library” music for a show like The Amazing Race, then I have more leeway. But I still try to discipline myself, just as a precaution against losing focus.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
I hope there’s always something in this category for me! It goes back to what I was saying earlier: The career is a never-ending process. At the moment I find myself thinking less about notes and more about shape—the shape of a particular melodic line and how that fits the moment; the overall shape of a cue and how it builds dramatic intensity; the shape of an entire score as it develops from cue to cue. Where does the energy of the cue go? If I graph it, what would that look like? Is it too extreme, too understated?
So at the moment that’s what I’m working on… thinking less about individual notes, harmonies, phrases. Keeping the conscious part of the thought process at the highest level I can and letting the playing-out of that process happen organically. Writing fast and loose and confidently.
In a word, unclenching.
“If you could go back to the start, when you first knew you wanted to score for films, is there anything you would do differently? For example would you have started off on different tools, done a different course, learnt certain things first etc.?”
I think I would have spent less time in the books and more time on the street, hustling for gigs. I might not be quite as “fundamentally solid”—though maybe I would; being thrown in the deep end of the pool forces you to get your act together pretty fast!—but I’d have made more contacts, and that personal network is the coin of the realm.
I also would have invested somewhat differently in the gear for my studio. But I think everyone makes missteps along these lines, and it’s such a difficult task, especially starting out, that I can’t be too hard on myself on that account.
“Zap the Trap” from The Amazing Race
“How would you define success?”
I think that, in the end, we’re all playing for time and relevance.
Time, to spend on the really important things—family, friends, extra-musical interests, projects that mean something to us. Our income is really only a tool that lets us focus on all that good stuff that happens outside the studio.
And relevance, so that something of ourselves remains in the world after we’re gone. Why do so many “name” composers, or artists, or directors, still work at all? I mean, they’ve made more money than their grandchildren will ever be able to spend, so why not just sit on the yacht and laugh maniacally for 30-40 years? I think this is a big part of the answer.
“Do you think there is a particular point when its viable to move from composing part time with another full time job, to just composing full time, or would you say, the earlier the better?”
I think the career dictates that for you. This is the “making the leap” question that I’m asked often, and my answer goes like this…
You always have at least two jobs, even when you’re composing full-time: 1) Doing the composing gig you have in front of you (if any), and 2) doing all the stuff necessary to land the next gig.
If you’re not able to support yourself on what you make doing 1)
and 2), it’s simple: You now have to take additional jobs 3) through X)—the gigs you do to pay the bills while you’re doing 1) and 2). Really, if you’re not doing both 1) and 2) all the time, then you’re missing the thing that will get you ahead down the road.
All that said, you have to achieve a certain escape velocity—that momentum that brings projects in on a regular basis from collaborators who are themselves so busy that they hire you again and again. Getting there is a combination of luck (over which you have no control) and the Rule of Large Numbers (which you absolutely can leverage by working your ass off on as many projects as your health and your social life can stand). You can only stay in that stressful position for so long—and, for many (most?) people, it’s unpleasant enough that they give up and go on to something different.
I’m sure there are a lot of hellacious writers out there who called it a day for exactly this reason. Which is too bad… but that’s the system, for better or worse.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
It’s a similar question, isn’t it? As composers—as storytellers, as artists—in a shrinking world, we have this incredible opportunity: where most people can still affect only a few grains of sand close to them, we can affect the whole beach. That’s a career worth pursuing. So yeah—I’d say I’m playing for time, and for relevance, and for the beach.
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
I think Deane Ogden answered this one for you in a previous interview, and I’d associate myself with what he said—scoring for media has become a “closed shop,” with nothing in
SCOREcast
place since the days of the studio system (!)
to bring along new and emerging talent. It’s such
a solitary occupation sometimes, too, and it’s tough to feel connected.
And sites like this, and the SCOREcast website we’re prepping for launch in early ’09, are doing something about it! It’s a huge step toward tightening up our little community, toward everyone getting to know each other a little better and sharing what works for us.
“What would you consider to be the top 5 most important skills of a composer nowadays (including networking, and compositional skills)?”
First off, I don’t even think it’s crucial to know how to play the instruments for which you’re writing! It can help immensely—but as long as you understand what’s idiomatic or non-idiomatic for a particular instrument or section, I think you can write competently (i.e., even if you depart from the idiom, you’re making an informed choice for a creative reason).
But that’s a tangent to your question. I think having strong ideas is important, as I’ve said, because that’s what you’re selling (if you’re working as something more than a glorified transcriber of the temp score!). My opinion is that the “five things” you’re asking about, and other lists like that, fall into the bonus category of “good to have; good to strive to improve at all times.” But no one thing is compulsory.
Except being stubborn as hell about toughing it out until you succeed. That you’ll need for sure.
So what is that—three things? Strong musical and storytelling ideas; formidable networking skills; superhuman stubbornness. And a reasonable amount of studio gear. Four things. This is becoming sort of like the Spanish Inquisition sketch.
“Where do you see the film music industry moving to in the next 10 years? Do you see any changes coming that will drastically change the way we think about it, or do you think it has evolved to the greatest extent possible within its confines?”
That’s the thing about art, isn’t it? We need to do it. As a species, I mean—I consider it a basic human need. Part of our social function. Technology will change, and it will change us, but I don’t think we’ll evolve in such a way that our need to communicate stories, to share truth as we see it, will disappear. Which means that the next 10 years will be about finding ways to use this new paradigm we’re developing. That’s where I see it moving.
How and where, specifically? I don’t think it’s possible to know that—the consequences of such a disruptive tehcnological shift are impossible to predict, almost by definition. One of the things I think about a lot is the massive cultural fragmentation we’re experiencing as a result of the Internet. Suddenly there’s a community for every weird little niche you can imagine… and, the more people enjoy spending time in these heretofore-obscure little corners, the less we have what one might define as a cultural mainstream.
What are the ramifications of that? I don’t know. It makes me feel (mostly) excited and (somewhat) uncomfortable at the same time.
“What is your outlook on life and what motivates you?”
I try to have a relentlessly positive focus and a bias toward action. There’s a way, if your head is in the right space, to take something meaningful and valuable from even the toughest setback. That’s what I mean by positive focus. And then you keep going—focusing on what’s next and the opportunities that are always out there. More so than ever.
So, for example, if there’s a question as to whether I should reach out to a filmmaker on a given project, the default position is to go ahead and do it! Unless there’s some concrete, valid reason why I shouldn’t do this—that I can think of in the next 5 minutes—I’m going to do it. That kind of thinking.
Of course It’s important to know when to say no, when to protect your time and energy, but I like to keep my emphasis looking forward and upward. I’m always motivated by trying new things—not just in music. I want to do more in this lifetime than I’ll ever be able to do, and at the same time I want to balance that urge to rush through with an appreciation of each thing as it comes. Novelty, variety, quality… all in a nice balance.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
All kinds of things—too much to list here, really. I’m interested in just about any subject you could mention.
Some recent stuff:
• I’ve been working on a fantasy fiction novel with an old friend of mine, and we’re this close to being finished (after several years of on-again, off-again work!).
• I’ve recruited my girlfriend to help me learn Korean.
• I gave my mom a map of the world and told her we’ll go wherever she points. Right now, I’m hoping she doesn’t point somewhere too cold.
• I’ve been rehabilitating my shoulder to the point that I can get back into racquetball, which I used to play a lot and I really miss.
And just in the last few months I’ve started to enjoy cooking—it’s something you absolutely cannot rush. A nice way to counterbalance that rushed feeling I was just mentioning.
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
I mentioned the caffeine already, right?
OK… besides that, I find it’s easier to counteract my natural tendency to procrastinate if I have a list. If you fake being organized well enough, it’s not that different from actually being organized. So I re-write my list about twice a week. It’s a template that includes meetings, deadlines, things I need to buy, bills to pay, e-mails needing responses… the whole deal.
Some people don’t need this; they function better in a more extemporaneous mode, or they’re just naturally organized and proactive. I am a little bit in awe of those people.
Re-writing my list—and I do this by hand, not at my computer—helps me no matter the height of the stack of work on my desk. When things are slow, it keeps me from completely wasting a day, by reminding me of those non-urgent but important tasks I could be doing. When things are slammed, it keeps the less-important stuff from slipping my mind. It makes me feel more in control of my work flow. And it’s a nice little meditation on what the day is going to look and feel like (even if that usually changes by lunch time!).
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
I did a “Desert Island Five” film-score list a while back:
But that was then (June 2007) and this is now… and if you’re talking about any music, not just film scores, today my list might read:
1. Henryk Górecki, Symphony No. 3 (“Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”), 1st mvt.
2. Morton Lauridsen, “O Magnum Mysterium”
3. Herbie Hancock, “Maiden Voyage” (1978 live version w/ Herbie and Chick Corea) - Couldn’t find it on youtube, but did find Herbie and Chick doing improv. in 1978 - really interesting:
Honestly, though? I’d trade it all for my rig, or even just a piano and a big sheaf of score paper.
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
Let me put it this way: Never get into a drinking contest with a tuba player.
Yes, and I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t being trained musically! My mother and father are both trained musicians, and my mother made Music Theory mandatory for me and my sister while she was homeschooling us. She got me piano lessons, then had me accompany her violin students and play for church services. I have one Bachelor’s degree in piano performance and another in Music Technology, which happened to have a particular focus in composition. I’m in my final year working towards a Master’s degree in Film Music Composition right now.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
Not in a stylistic sense, no. Perhaps in the technical aspects of composition, I might be “quicker on my feet” as far as pencil-to-paper writing and performing parts into my sequencer than I would be without training.
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
One of my big weaknesses -— that is, a bad case of procrastinitis -— I’ve learned to turn into a particular strength in that I deal well under pressure, especially under pressure of tight time constraints, which has been invaluable to me as a film composer thus far (although, I definitely need some kind of deadline, otherwise nothing will ever end up getting done). I think I’m a fairly patient person, but I usually don’t speak up when I should. I’m also learning to try not to get so attached to my own music, because I tend to get pretty defensive if it’s not received well, or if a director asks me to change something about it. I don’t think I’m terribly articulate in person, either; still working on that. On the plus side, I’m a darn good sight-reader.
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
Really, I’m influenced by pretty much every kind of music from any composer I’ve encountered, in some way or another, but I do tend to gravitate more towards the “old school.” If I had to name names, I would say Danny Elfman is my biggest influence; along with him, of course, comes Bernard Herrmann, whom I admire just as much. Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams are up there on the list, as well, and one of the “younger” guys I really like is John Powell. I’m also a huge fan of Prokofiev. His Alexander Nevsky score is amazing; check it out if you haven’t heard it.
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
Well, since I have six months left of graduate school, I’m still allowed to use the “poor, starving college student” excuse for a little while longer. That being the case, there’s not much to it at the moment. I’m using a cheapo M-Audio Keystation 88es as my MIDI controller, but it does the job. My monitors are these absolutely monstrous speakers that my dad built more than 20 years ago, but their sound quality is great. I store all my samples on an external hard drive using an eSATA port. I’m working on getting an external audio interface, like an MBox, but up to now I’ve been mooching off of others’ equipment for any live recording that I’ve done. I use Logic Pro 8 for sequencing.
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
Right now, my one and only machine is a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with 4 GB of RAM, running Mac OS X. It’s served me quite well for over a year now, and I hope it continues to do so for at least a couple more until I can get, perhaps, a Mac Pro.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
I have Kontakt 2 and Kontakt 3, Garritan Personal Orchestra, and Garritan Jazz & Big Band. I occasionally make use of some of the samples that come with Logic, but only in the percussion or electronics department. From Kontakt 3, I use the ensemble strings, ensemble brass, and keyboard instruments. Garritan Personal Orchestra is pretty cheap, for the most part -— the ensemble strings are particularly horrifying -— but I do actually quite like it’s woodwinds; there’s a solo horn in there that isn’t bad, either.
Garritan Jazz & Big Band is pretty good, too, for the some of the woodwinds. It took a little fiddling, but I’ve managed to make its saxes sound decent. Very good selection of percussion, also. Miscellaneous percussion and electronics are all over the map; I’ll grab those from several different sources. I’ve recorded a few of my own percussion samples, as well: from dining forks and metal bunk bed posts to a backpack with a set of keys and a trash can lid.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
I play the trash can lid. Just kidding. The piano has been my primary instrument since I was around five years old, making it about sixteen years I’ve played the instrument. By extension, I can play other keyboard instruments like the organ (but not the pedals) and harpsichord. I’ve also played mallet instruments like the xylophone, vibraphone, and glockenspiel, but I’m not quite as proficient with those. I’m not so sure how being a pianist has influenced me stylistically. I suppose, now that I think about it, it’s possible keyboard instruments generally are somewhat prominent in my music, but I try not to play “favorites.”
“What’s your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
Actually, the same instrument answers both of those questions. I own an absolutely wonderful Kawai 7-foot grand piano. As you can imagine, though, it’s not all that portable. So until I’m out of school and happen to get a place of my own that actually has room for the beast, it resides with my family in Indiana.
“What’s your favourite piece of software and why?”
If you’re referring to software I use in film scoring, I have no choice but to say Logic Pro, I suppose. If it’s not specific to film scoring, however, there’s a CD ripping and audio format converting program that I love called Max. Being the son of a very meticulous audiophile, I’m a bit picky about the audio quality of music that I take with me on the go. I know, I’m probably kind of a freak, but I can actually tell the difference between iTunes’ MP3 encoder and the LAME MP3 encoder, and I like LAME better, so I rip all my CDs and convert audio in Max.
“What’s your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
I think I’d go completely insane if I didn’t have a second display while working hardcore on a scoring project. I need that extra screen real estate.
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
I think it depends on your own personal goals as a composer. In the world of film music, it’s pretty much a given that you can be very successful by simply emulating the style of other composers, by copying. If you’re satisfied with that, knock yourself out and go make a boot-load of money! Personally, that doesn’t sit well with me. I want to be on a given project because the filmmakers want me and my music, not because they want a Hans Zimmer or Thomas Newman rip-off. In an interview, Danny Elfman once explained that if you want to be a successful film composer, learn to imitate; but if you want to be a good film composer, then you need to be original. And I completely agree with that. Also, there’s definitely a line between being “influenced” by something and full-on “copying;” I try my absolute best not to cross it.
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I’d like to think I cross genres well enough. I love variety.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
This might come off as sounding totally narcissistic, but it appeals to me because I actually like listening to my own music, sometimes. It may seem like an obvious point, but it’s an important one - you should enjoy hearing the music you write!
Fighter - “Main Titles”
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
Short films have been fun because they’ll take only about a week to do, then I can move on; but the problem with them is that since there’s so little music, I don’t have the room to do many motivic and thematic variations.
That’s what’s great about working on a feature, that I can explore my themes in greater depth and detail. So far those are the only media I’ve written for, but I really do like them both. I have written some music without any sort of visual stimuli, but it’s not nearly as fulfilling or enjoyable for me as composing for film. I haven’t work on any video games yet, but I would jump at the chance if given the opportunity!
“So would you say that creating music for a given media (in this case film) is easier, as theres almost a set of rules or guidelines, or because as you said, it gives a “creative stimuli”? Do you not feel you can be more creative when just composing for fun, as there are no creative confines?”
It is easier for me to write for film, because all the instructions are already laid out for you. You’ve got something there (the film) telling you exactly what to write. I get what you’re saying about the possibility of being more creative when just writing for fun, but I’ve always had more trouble with that. I really don’t know what to do with myself.
“Can you walk us through “Bully for Bugs”? Did you use Garritan Jazz Band for this? What steps did you go through when writing for it? Did you look for “hits” and sync points and then work the music around that?”
That was just an exercise, but a really insane and fun one! This was the first time I’d ever really done a “cartoon” score, hence the reason why I needed to practice on something like this. I came up with the dorky little main theme for the beginning first, and then just pasted the same thing at the end with some minor orchestrational alterations. I did use one of the saxophones from Garritan Jazz & Big Band for that tune, as well as various percussion. I think the muted trumpets came from that library, as well.
Anyway, as for the “meat” of the score, yes, I created markers where hits were needed. By the way, I think this score is the most dense I’ve ever worked on in terms of number of markers. I was shocked that I was actually able to find a single tempo that worked for the entire piece, because I really expected to have to change tempo several times (which I really prefer not to do). The thing about a score like this that I’m totally not used to, is that there is no time at all to develop a theme or explore a motif in any great detail. Everything happens so darned fast that a musical idea just goes by in a flash. If I do say so myself, though, I thought my use of the “I”ve Been Working on the Railroad” tune was kinda hilarious.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
After spotting the project with the filmmakers, what I usually do is find those one or two key scenes in the film, the ones that are really crucial to the story, and score them. I know that if I really nail those scenes - which are oftentimes the most difficult ones - I’ve nailed the rest of the film, and the remainder of the score will fall into place fairly easily. In the actual composing process of a cue, first I’ll import the movie into Logic and mark the points in the scene where the music will need to change. By then, I’ve usually got a general idea of the tempo, and I’ll play around with that tempo a bit until the beats start to hit those markers consistently.
Taxi - “Intro and Title”
Now that I’ve found a perfect tempo for the scene, I’ll write down all the information I need to know about it - the tempo, the entire list of markers, any time signature changes - on a piece of paper. I’ll take that and some blank staff paper with me where I can have as little distraction as possible. No computer. Not even a keyboard. Just me, my imagination, paper, and a pencil. I’ll sketch out the cue - I rarely end up actually writing out absolutely everything - take it back to Logic, and perform in the parts that I wrote earlier. Then I’ll fill in the gaps (orchestration, rhythmic elements, etc.) through trial and error and improvisation. After I’m generally happy with the composition, I’ll tweak the mix. And that’s pretty much it!
Oh, also, do you wanna know a dirty little secret that will probably ruin the rest of my career? Here it is: I don’t pay any attention to the temp score. I’m so concerned about not wanting to rip off someone else’s music that I pretty much just ignore it. And actually, counter to what you might expect, that approach has paid off so far. In all the projects I’ve had up ’til now there was only one instance, while dealing with a single cue from a short film, where I gave up and was forced to refer to the temp music. Otherwise, it’s worked out for me pretty well.
“So do you create a theme for these scenes, and then build up the theme throughout the film in the other scenes, or do you just see what happens?”
Yes, that’s what usually happens is that the theme or themes that come out of those key scenes become the basis for the rest of the film. There have been a few times where I’ll find the need to introduce more thematic or motivic material; I don’t fight it.
“What advantages do you feel jotting down the musical idea on paper have? Do you feel its more imaginative, as you are drawn away from the mechanical side of things with the computer, keyboard etc. or is there another reason?”
Yes, it’s mostly that I feel I’m more creative without being tied down by the sounds coming out of the computer or the mechanical tendencies of playing the piano. On a more personal level, I also feel I’m not really “composing” if I don’t actually write anything down.
“Can you walk us through Burnt Sienna What guidelines were you given for the music? Did you come across any problems when writing for it, and how did you overcome them?” “
Burnt Sienna was interesting to work on. I’d been in talks with Steve Childs, the director, for quite a while about working on a feature-length documentary called And We Will Dance. In November last year, Steve had a few of us get together to talk about using the footage that had been shot for the film for a short piece that could be submitted to Sundance’s “Project:Direct” YouTube contest. The editor whipped up something and handed it off to me to score in early December.
They had a temp score, but the director has heard enough of my music, and trusted me enough to go in whatever direction I wanted. Most of it was very minimal, but the main title was exciting to write, short as it might be. In the main title I attempted to draw several parallels among dance, painting, and music, basically through the ideas of “color” and “motion.” I’m quite fond of that piece.
“When I sit down to create something, I always get drawn back to my original instrument - the piano. Do you find this happens to you at all?”
To be honest, no, not terribly often. Actually, I kind of want to use more piano in my compositions. It is my primary instrument after all, and I feel guilty sometimes for neglecting it.
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
The biggest client I’ve had thus far is for the feature-length film Fighter that I’m working on now. Up until then, I’d only worked on short films.
“If you did have large clients, how and where did you get the job?”
My getting the scoring job for Fighter just goes to show how important it is to know people. A friend of mine from back home in Indiana has been going to Ball State University, which is host to a small post-production group he was a part of. While this group was working on Fighter, my friend told me about the film and the fact that he knew it didn’t have a composer yet. He gave me the contact information for the director, Roberto Froment, who subsequently listened to some of my music. He liked what he heard, and that’s how I got the job!
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
I’ve been trying to create a heavy presence for myself online. I’ve created a Facebook Artist Page where I can upload my music for anyone to hear, and I Twitter frequently about projects that I’m working on and link to any new music I write. I’ve got almost a couple-hundred followers on Twitter, which I’m stoked about! I mean, how awesome is that, that two hundred people actually care about what I have to say?!
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
As you might expect, the easier a director has been to work with and the better we can communicate to each other, the more fun I’ll tend to have, no matter what the musical requirements might be. Fighter has been really great, and Roberto has been extremely receptive about its music so far. I’ve really enjoyed exploring my thematic material in greater depth more than I would with any short film. And as far as short films go, Taxy was very fun, especially since I got to involve my mother and sister as violinist and vocalist, respectively. I also wrote music for a student production at my school called Shoebox Heroes; Danny Lerch, the director, gave me an incredible amount of freedom, and we were all very proud of our product.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
Every positive relationship is dependent on good communication, and that is especially true between a director and a composer. If a director cannot communicate how he or she wants the audience to feel about a scene, the composer is helpless (at least, that’s my experience). Sure, I could try and read in my own interpretation, but it’s incredibly frustrating when I’ve finished a scene, the director hears my music and doesn’t like it, but can’t explain why it doesn’t work for him or her. So I’m somehow expected to improve upon it when I don’t know what was wrong with the previous version in the first place? Ridiculous! That situation happened while working on a student production at my school, and it eventually got to a point where I had to give the director just such a lecture. Fortunately, he listened to me and finally made up his mind in what he wanted for the scene, which I scored three times before getting it right.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
First, a cliché: practice, practice, practice. Just freaking write. Doesn’t matter what it is, or what it’s for. Grab a movie you’ve never seen before off the shelf, or one where you’re not familiar with the score, pick a scene that interests you, and practice composing music for film. Also, get to know people; make friends. This has been one of the more difficult aspects for me, since I consider myself kind of a dork and socially awkward. But I can’t stress enough how important it is to know people and to not be shy about contacting those people when you need help. Be willing to do favors and freebies, too, especially when you’re just starting out; they have the potential to get you paying jobs later.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
Fortunately, writer’s block hasn’t happened too often with me, but when it does I have to stop thinking about whatever it is I’m working on and find something else to do, i.e. talk on the phone with a friend, play a video game, or watch TV. I usually just need to find some sort of distraction, then come back to the project later.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a piece, your sick of hearing it?”
Actually, most of the time I’m excited enough about a piece I’ve written to listen to it several times after finishing it.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
As long as I possibly can. If I have two days to work on a cue, I’ll take two days. If I have a week, I’ll take a week. And, God forbid, longer than that? Scary, but I’ll use up all of that time.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
Since I’m usually writing for film, a given cue will be a very specific length, yes. It’s very rare that I’ll have an opportunity to work on a track when I don’t know exactly how long it will be.
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
Ideally, I’d love to learn to play at least one instrument from each instrument family (brass, strings, woodwinds, etc.).
“How would you define success?”
I would say that if one is joyful in what he or she does and has been able to sustain him- or herself through whatever that job may be, he or she is successful. That’s an extremely general statement, and I suppose whoever it is you’re talking to at the time would measure their success by whether or not they’ve reached their own personal goals.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
I just want to be able to write great music through visual media and make some decent money at it - or at least enough to live off of. If I can touch people’s lives with the help of my music through film, I will have reached my goal.
“If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
Everything in the popular music industry is so…”fake” and “forced,” for lack of better words. It’s extremely rare when a popular song actually manages to create such emotion and move me in the same way film music does. I know what I’m about to say sounds so elitist, and for that I apologize, but there seems to me to be so little actual talent. There’s way too much “popcorn” music, music you don’t really have to think about too much - and unfortunately, “popcorn” film music has become more common nowadays, as well. Everyone uses the same freaking chord changes and there’s no good melody anymore. I don’t know what I could do to change that, to be honest.
I think the best I can do is to continue writing the way I’ve been writing. Although if I had one wish, I suppose it would be pretty cool if every single store that sold music, online and offline, would sell only film music for a week - and I’m absolutely not including those “Inspired by” albums in the mix, just the scores.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
Ah, well, there aren’t too many. I have a few TV shows that I watch. And I like to play video games if I have time. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time lately to play too many games. I like first-person shooters, in particular, but a lot of the ones I like play run on Windows, and I haven’t bothered to install Windows since switching to the Mac. I do have a Wii and a DS, but those have been neglected, too.
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
Pretty much the same for me, remembering to write things down. I used be so bad about that, thinking, “Oh, I’ll remember it. I don’t need to write it down.” Pretty stupid. So yeah, I’ve learned to write down (or type down) something as soon as I think of it, music-related or otherwise.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
Danny Elfman’s “Main Title” from Spider-Man:
John Powell’s “Phoenix Arises” from X-Men: The Last Stand,
Sergei Prokofiev’s “Battle on the Ice” from Alexander Nevsky:
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
When I was sending out applications to get into a graduate program, I only submitted to the North Carolina School of the Arts. I got in, but it was pretty stupid of me to put all my eggs in one basket.
Well if by formal training you mean the 4 or more years of school at a conservatory or any degree in music, then no. I am also not 100% self taught either. I have had many a teachers of the years and a lot of it has been personal one on one training. I did attend the Mannes College of Music in NYC for a few semesters to study theory, composition, and orchestration.
“Do you think this influences your compositions in any way (positively or negatively?)”
Without a doubt I think this definitely influences how I write in a positive way. I believe any training someone gets in any field they work in is beneficial to their craft.
(Hollywood Studio Orchestra playing/recording the main theme for the Huxley Video Game. Tim Simonec conducting. Eastwood Scoring Stage, WB)
“What would you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?”
I think my greatest weakness is my ability to shift easily from being creative to being a business person/agent for myself.
At my stage in my career, I am currently agentless. This means when I am not writing or creating…I am out there busting my hump to make connections and start new relationships. Both processes, being creative and networking are some what exhausting when you give both 150% of your effort. I am not saying I am weak at either, it’s more of the ability to quickly shift from one frame of mind to the other efficiently. On the other hand, I think my strengths lie in the ability to nurture working relationships and being very easy to work with.
On a musical side, I think my strengths lie in really having the ability to be versatile in many styles and genres. Aside from that, I feel one of my assets is being able to listen and really understand where a director, producer or game developer is coming from when describing their story, idea, or game.
Kevin and Dan Wallin at Lost Crossing Session
“Who would you consider to be your musical influences?”
Ok, I get this question a lot, and I hate to have a generic answer…but there are tons of things, people and composers that have influenced me over the years. Musically I can list them for you in a nutshell I suppose. I’ve always loved the classic film scores by Herrmann, Rózsa, Steiner, Korngold, North, Waxman, Williams, & Goldsmith. I also have had great admiration for British film composers, John Addison, William Alwyn, Ron Goodwin.
Non-film music influences would include, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and the like. Some modern artists I listen to currently are The Crystal Method, Dead Can Dance, BT, Keane, The Republic Tigers, Marilyn Manson, Killswitch Engage, Marilyn Manson and of course all the goodies of early Metallica, Megadeth, & Testament…those last three are guilty pleasures. Some modern film composers that I find inspiring are, Carter Burwell, Charlie Clouser, Teddy Shapiro, Marco Beltrami, Nathan Barr, and Tyler Bates.
“Do you compose full time, or as a side project/hobby?”
Composing is my full time gig. Some times I really wish it can be a hobby as well. There are so many things in my head, musically speaking, there is just not enough time in a day to bring all of them to life.
Hardware/Software
“What equipment do you use?”
Currently my main system is a Mac G5 Dual 2.7 8G Ram. I have 4 Windows computers running as workhorses for sample libraries.
“Whats your main DAW, and how do you find it?”
At the center of everything is MOTU’s Digital Performer 5.1. As of now, I have no issues with it. It is a solid piece of software and handles everything I throw at it. Of course there a flaws that I come across here and there, but for the most part I really have no problems with it.
“What VSTs do you use, and what are your favourite ones?”
I use anything and everything I can get my hands on J . As with many composers I am a big fan of the East West libraries. Mainly the Platinum Orchestra library, Storm Drum, Ra etc etc. Project Sam, Sonic Implants. I am a huge fan of Eric Persing and his Spectrasonics instruments, namely STYLUS RMX. I swear by this VST. If a working composer does not have this amongst their arsenal of tools…I suggest dropping everything and go get it.
“Do you play any instruments? If so, what do you play and for how long? How have they influenced the type of music you make today?”
I play the Piano, Guitar, and Trumpet, efficiency of each is in that order. I have been playing each of these instruments since elementary school and was pretty sufficient on each around my high school years and after…but once composing became my main gig, having less and less time to practice my chops inevitably made my performance take a back seat.
I am not so sure being able to play these instruments has influenced my actual technique or style of composing.
(Rogue 379 writer/director Douglas Choi - Music by Kevin Riepl)
“Whats your favourite instrument that you own, and that you would like to own and why?”
Currently my favorite instrument now is my Saz, a persian stringed instrument. It’s so simple, exotic and awesome sounding, even if you just sit there and strum a few chords. Some day I would love to get an Accordian and become proficient at it.
“Whats your favourite piece of software and why?”
I think it has to be STYLUS RMX as I stated above. It is an extremely versatile, composer friendly, and customizable sampler for rhythmic, percussive and melodic ideas. Aside from that, I would have to say Digital Performer, being at the center of my system I can’t leave it out.
“Whats your favourite piece of hardware and why?”
Not sure I have a favorite piece of hardware. The fact that all my hardware is currently working right now, is my favorite J
Style
“How important do you think it is for a composer to have his own style and why?”
I am 50/50 on this one. For the most part, yes I think a composer will benefit and succeed from having his own style. There are tons of composers out there that have ‘their style’ and they are immediately recognizable and called upon because of their well known style. Then there are guys out there who you can’t pick out of a line up, because they mimic a certain style.
Kevin and Kyle Lee
This has nothing to do with whether the latter is good or successful or not. Take Debney for example. He is an extremely well versed and talented composer and he can pretty much do anything and do it well.
To me, I don’t know or can explain what his ‘style’ is, but he is uber-successful and extremely versatile. Regardless of your style If you have one or not, you need to be proficient at your craft.
I am just not a big fan of guys out there that mimic another composers ‘style’, and that’s basically all they’re riding on.
You get a lot of guys out of the Zimmer camp that do this. And now since that is the case…there are a slew of upcoming or young composers trying to break into the game industry relying on that style alone. My point is, if you don’t have your own style, then you need to be extremely versatile with every other style out there and do it damn well.
“Are you a multi-genre composer? Or do you like to specialize in one particular area?”
I would like to think I am a multi-genre composer. My body of work might not show for it, but I love to write in every style imaginable. The Nancy Drew and Shrek Video Games I worked on really allowed me to tackle many genres for their music. My site has a decent amount of material from these games for you to check out, ranging from jazz, big band, rock, metal, European influenced jazz, etc etc.. However I think I enjoy writing dark hybrid music the most.
“What appeals to you about creating your style of music?”
When it comes to the dark hybrid music, which usually consists of a mixture of orchestral, electronic and sound design, I find it all to comforting to create. I’ve always stated, that when creating this style of music, I occupy space in the recesses of my mind and it really allows me to detach myself from reality, and I think that’s why it’s so much of a guilty pleasure.
“The film music/video game music genre is dominated generally by males rather than females - what are your thoughts on this?”
Personally or professionally I don’t have any thoughts on this honestly. Males dominating the composing world, seems to be the case even throughout history as far back as all the baroque period composers, and I am not sure why that is. It’s a good question and I would welcome anyone to take on the duties of doing a study on such a topic, because I would love to know if there is something that is gene, or gender related to the process of composing music.
Composition
“What types of media have you composed for and which is your favourite?”
I have composed for three types of media, Video Games, TV, and Film. I love them all and really can’t say I have a favorite. There are things about each that are my favorite. For instance, with video games, I love the relaxed schedule of the mile stones/deadlines and a lot of the time, the freedom of writing a piece of music not restricted by hitting certain cues. For TV, I love the grueling week to week schedule that is required. When working on the Disney cartoon Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, I needed to write and produce 20 minutes of music in 4 days. The first season was tough, but by the middle of the second season I was averaging 10 minutes of completed music a day.
(Look writer/director Eric Blue - Music by Kevin Riepl)
I am not sure what it was, but the tight schedule really gets your creative mind to process music more efficiently. There is no time to sit there and waver on any one note, motif, or cue…you have to ‘get it done’. For the film work that I have done, and from my experience, one of the things I enjoy about it, is the long form of it. You are able to create music and develop certain melodic ideas, themes or motifs along with the characters and story.
“How do you find switching between films and games - for example the relaxed vs. tight schedule etc.”
Actually I never even thought of it as a ‘switching’ between. It’s just a matter of knowing the priorities and being able to balance your work. When I was working on the Disney cartoon, which required the 20 minutes a week, I was also at the same time working on two video games. The TV show would get the priority because of the weekly schedule, then when that was completed each week, usually finalized on Wed or Thurs., I would move over to the game stuff which usually kept me working through the weekend. Then on Monday I’d start all over again with the cartoon. I find it rather easy to move between writing for the different genres.
Kevin at the Huxley Recording Session
“Working on films/games can be a time consuming and exhausting process at time - do you find personal life, and professional life hard to separate in periods when time is short and deadlines need to be met?”
I don’t think it’s difficult to separate the two, I think its more or less have the time for both. When projects demand a lot of my time, i have no problems letting my personal life take a back seat. If during crucial schedule I yearn for family time I will usually work real late at night or through the night, just to have a few spare moments during the day for personal/family time.
“What is your process for composing, especially if you are composing for a particular film/game?”
Most of the time I try and tackle the main idea of the film/game/story with music. Whether it be a main melodic theme, a certain signature sound or a motif. I try first to encompass the idea and feel of the project in one piece of music, and then use that as a springboard for the remaining score. This all comes about from inspiration from screenshots or videos from a game, a screenplay or certain shots from a film. A lot if not most of the time, I like to rely heavily on concept art, or images from the film or game, of the story for inspiration. After all it is a visual medium.
“How would you generally start off working on a game soundtrack - what would be the main steps you would go through?”
Work on a game score, essentially gets started first with detailed discussions with the producer, lead designer and/or Audio Director of the game. They initially convey everything and anything they can about the game, and then usually provide a working music document, that lays out in front of me how much and what kind of music is required. After that, I try to get my hands on as much concept art, walk-through videos, and any possible game-play.
“Have you had any large clients, and if so, who were they?”
Interesting. What I may consider ‘large’ clients some one else may not. But I think my ‘biggest’ might have to be Disney for the work I did in tv. However, this was not a direct client of mine…I worked with a fellow composer, Kevin Manthei on TV shows of his, and he had many clients in the tv industry, and this one gig come about through him. For video games, I would have to say my biggest clients are currently Microsoft, Epic Games, Sega, Gearbox Software, and Bethesda.
“What form of marketing/promotion do you use, if any, and which was the most popular?”
I try to use all forms of promotion and marketing. Currently it is making constant calls and emails to producers, directors game developers, music editors etc etc. But I feel the strongest technique to have and be good at, is when a working relationship is started…you nourish the hell out of it, you become a great working partner and a friend. This has been a key to part of my success, is just nurturing existing working relationships. It usually spreads and develops into further clients and new relationships. Because EVERYONE moves around in this business, and if you were easy to work with in the past and people like your stuff, your name will be passed on.
“What project have you enjoyed working on the most?”
I think Gears of War will always occupy a special place in my repertoire of projects. As it was the first project I was able to utitlize a full orchestra for the score, and it was such a highly anticipated game. The fact that it was extremely successful is the cherry on top. I have received a lot of recognition for being a part of that game, and I am extremely grateful for that.
“Have you ever had a client who was hard to deal with, and if so, what did they do and how did you deal with it?”
Not one client was ever really hard to deal with. I mean even if you do have a great work dynamic with a client, there will always be bumps and road blocks in the creative process. On any one project everyone involved is extremely passionate about the final product, so it’s inevitable that when people are personally passionate about something, ideas are not ALWAYS going to meld perfectly. There will then be disagreement and conflicts within any development of creative material.
Without compromising anyone’s personal creative integrity I think it’s essential that everyone keep in mind , including composers like myself, its not about creating a personal stamp for yourself on the project, its about creating a final entity that EVERY ONE is happy with. So if problems do arise or a client becomes hard to deal with, a lot of times it might be easiest to set all personal creative preferences aside and try an alternative method.
“Do you have any tips for people starting up in the music industry, on how to market themselves, get jobs, and get started off in general?”
If you are really just starting out and have no clients of your own, I suggest getting in touch with composers who are currently making a living in the line of work you want to be a part of. And basically start off with asking them if you can fetch them coffee or sweep their floor or dust their equipment. That’s what I did. A lot of the times, they (working composers) will see that as a desire and passion to pretty much do ANYTHING to get in on the action.
You can usually work your way up from there and they might start letting you maintain their studio and eventually help out on work. When this happens you become a integral part of that composers’ machine. You become known to their clients as a reliable assistant and possible future composer.
“Do you ever get writers block, and if so how do you deal with it?”
I do get writer’s block. There are two ways I deal with it. One is just getting up and leaving the studio and doing something completely different to detach my mind from the process of writing music. Sometimes that helps…not all the time. The other thing I like to do is to just keep trudging through…just force your self to come up with something, anything. Usually if I make it over a so called hump, it will get the ball rolling. But the key there is just keep on writing or thinking, til the sweat almost comes dripping out until SOME sort of musical idea leaks out.
What challenges do you face when scoring for interactive media, in comparison to non interactive media (ie. films etc.)
When scoring for interactive media, you of course need to think that way. You need to be able to write music that at times is almost modular. That can be spliced up into different sections, elements, or different instruments. This way it lends it self to being handled and placed in varying order or looped in different ways through out the game. With film music, you think and write linearly.
Kevin and Eric Blue (director) at Lost Crossing Session
“Do you change your approach for each project (game), or do you stick with the same successful formula?”
Usually it’s the same formula. But small things will change the process from project to project depending on what the story or game-play calls for.
“Can you walk us through the Gears of War “finalscene” video - what creative direction/instructions were you given for this? Did you sketch out ideas for this, or did you have an idea in mind straight away? Did you come across and problems when scoring for it?”
The funny thing about this scene is it was scored before the scene was given to me. Well… in a way.
All the music was written and recorded well before this scene was finished being put together. I think this was one of the last things that was done for the game. So I got the scene real late towards the end of the development, this of course left no time to go record additional music with a live orchestra.
So when I got a hold of the scene, I went through the entire set of cues we recorded for the game, and tried to find a cue that matched the feel, look and intensity of the scene. It almost seemed serendipitous when I dropped the track EAST BARRACADE ACADEMY at the start of the seen.
It blended beautifully and had all the right hits and transitions. It really caught me by surprise. I did add some string and brass layers over top of the track to thicken it and drive up the suspense a bit. But for the most part it was almost like the music was custom made for that scene, and I was really happy with it. When the scene hits the mark where the train is headed towards the collapsed bridge at around 1:11 the cue transitions into the 2nd half of the Gears Main Theme, which again seemed to fit perfect.
It was pretty cool, it seemed as if the cinematic director custom edited the scene to the music, which wasn’t the case…it all just fit perfectly together, making the last thing I worked on for Gears a cherry on top of an awesome experience, and I hope that passion comes through in the music.
“Do you find that when you’ve finished a song, your sick of hearing it?”
Actually that’s quite the opposite….well most of the time. Might be the small ego within me, that if I think a cue or piece of music came out really good, I will get a kick out of listening to it over and over. For a short period of time that is. Hah, I won’t spend hours on end listening to it loop over and over. Some times I will be like…wow…I did that? Other times YES I will be entirely sick of a piece of music that I can not listen to it again until months pass by. Or I cringe so much I can never enjoy it again. So I suppose it varies.
“How long do you typically spend on one track?”
Usually not long at all. I guess maybe I am so accustomed to strict deadlines that I am able to crank out certain music fast. Not sure. But here are times when it does take days to get a cue done. The average for games is a bout 2 – 3 minutes a day. But like I said for the tv show’s 2nd season I was up to 10 minutes of scoring in one day. So as with anything else in this line of work, it varies.
“When creating a track, do you know how long it will be before starting it, or do you tend to just “see how it goes” and let the track make itself?”
With video games, there is usually a required time set for each track created. But if the music is developing and happens to go over the required time, I usually let it develop to its fullest until the idea is complete, then see if it’s cool with the developer and then if not, edit it accordingly.
With films you generally know where you stand in terms of budget (5/10% of full budget) - in games is it different, or do you find it varies from project to project?
With out a doubt it varies from project to project.
(Hollywood Studio Orchestra playing a recorind a cue from the Huxley Video Game. Time Simonec conducting. Eastwood Scoring Stage, WB)
“Is there anything you wish you could do musically, but can’t now?”
I wish I could play piano and guitar like I used to. My chops have become so bad, I am almost ashamed.
“How would you define success?”
My version of success, is being able to support my family by creating music.
“What ultimately are your goals?”
My ultimate goal is to live comfortably and support my family by creating music. To be able to be recognized as a film/tv composer along with being a successful video game composer
“If you could change on thing in the music industry, what would it be and why?”
For production companies to be more willing to take creative risks. To not rely heavily on the status quo and pop culture and stop making cookie cutter films, sequels and remakes. There needs to be more originality in this line of work.
“What is your outlook on life and what motivates you?”
I think the fear of failure is a big motivation. I also think one of my downfalls is, even though I am thoroughly happy working on everything I get to work on, I want more. I love entering new creative relationships and working on new original material. Having children now is great motivation in and of it’s self.
“What are your other interests outside of music?”
Photography is a huge hobby of mine, hanging out with my twin boys, and video games.
“Over the past while, I’ve done a few things that I’ve found useful such as keeping notepads everywhere to jot things down. Have you picked up any habits over the years that you’ve found useful?”
I can’t say there is any one thing that I have picked up over the years that I would call a habit or beneficial to my working technique.
“If you were stuck on a desert island with 3 tracks, what would they be?”
WOW, JUST THREE!?!??!!? I don’t know if I can do this one.
Ok, Miles Davis - “So What”.
Metallica - Master of Puppets,
and Stravinsky’sThe Firebird Suite.
“What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?”
I don’t think I have done it yet. At least I don’t think so….You might want to ask my wife that question.
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) I use to use it a lot more to layer it up when my midi synths sounded a bit fake, but now I hardly ever bother.
I would have to say that one of my strengths is writing orchestral music that is mature and textured. I enjoy writing very dramatic pieces for film that allow the orchestra to be inventive and full. Music that tells a story. I think I write pretty strong character themes and motifs. (Man, I don’t like bragging this much about myself.) On the flip side, some of my weaknesses… hopefully no directors read this… haha I’m a perfectionist. If I’m going to write music, it has to be perfect or it drives me crazy. I don’t like doing half jobs. Directors seem to always want cues finished yesterday, so for me, I have a hard time just handing something over when I don’t think it’s just right. The director will usually like it anyways, but for me as a artist, it’s sometimes difficult.
Oh- the ubiquitous Hans Zimmer question. Well you have to remember Hans began by sounding unique and that’s what made his career. And by doing so he created a form of ’sound’ that everyone loved and in a sense defeated what he set out to do. That is — being unique. I think we have to look beyond this. If you really look to some of the guys that came from Hans Zimmer, Klause Badelt, James Dooley, HGW, Powell, Trevor Rabin, Atli Örvarsson, Steve Jablonsky, etc, and you have a decent ear you’ll hear the ‘voice’ from those composers as well. I mean does Dooley REALLY sound like Powell? Does Powell REALLY sound like HGW. I don’t think so. Does Badelt sound like Rabin? These guys all manage to transcend their remote control image and inject some real creativity into their works. Powell did a great a job with “United 93″ composing a nearly all percussive tracks score and sampling his kids voice exquisitely. So far for me I’ve been lucky. No ones said, “Make this like Zimmer” (laughs) although when I was scoring a scene for “Alien Grey” I did this really triumphant hero thing and everyone said, “Wow - Zimmer!” But it was not intended!
I love getting involved early on. I like scripts. So many of my peers don’t but I do. It gives me the ‘flavor seed’ of the film. Everyone argues that the SCRIPT is NOT the film but I still think the heart and soul resides in the script.
the inside-out, if that makes sense. When I’m composing, those experiences “on the other side of the baton” give me an intuition about what will and won’t work, and about new ideas to try. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be to internalize all that simply by reading books and attending concerts. Not impossible—just much, much tougher, I’d think.
it was a similar situation—every episode had a handful of bizarre and wonderful cues that took us places where, musically, we’d never been. And every time I take on a new gig—whether it’s for a TV show, a film, a trailer or just a 15-second web spot—one of the things I love the most is that it’s going to be something new and different..jpg "The Amazing Race")
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Caffeine, to help me keep a regular schedule… the idea being that, if I’m in the studio at the same time each morning, the Muse knows where to find me. And fear—of deadlines, of irrelevance, of bankruptcy—to minimize procrastination. Works a treat.
notes and more about shape—the shape of a particular melodic line and how that fits the moment; the overall shape of a cue and how it builds dramatic intensity; the shape of an entire score as it develops from cue to cue. Where does the energy of the cue go? If I graph it, what would that look like? Is it too extreme, too understated?
If you’re not able to support yourself on what you make doing 1)
_Mix.jpg "Kevin and Kyle Lee")
_Rec_Session.jpg "Kevin and the Huxley Recording Session")
_LostCrossing_Session.jpg "Kevin and Eric Blue (director) at Lost Crossing Session")
Other times YES I will be entirely sick of a piece of music that I can not listen to it again until months pass by. Or I cringe so much I can never enjoy it again. So I suppose it varies.
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