Part 2

I would assume that a major part of composing for film is the ability to interpret the images and the narrative at play. Tell me about how this works for you and how these interpretations in turn lead to sounds and compositions.

I can be pretty heady about film and character analysis at the beginning. I tend to go really deep into thinking about the film, the characters, the structure, and what the score is actually supposed to be doing. Then, when I start writing, I try to let the music happen in a way that feels a lot less thought out.

That analysis is important for me because score can do so many different things. It can reveal something that isn’t visible, make something feel stranger, bring you closer to a character’s internal world or push you away from them.

It’s really different for every project. If I haven’t figured out what the score is actually doing there, it can start to feel like music that’s been stuck on top of the film instead of something that belongs inside it.

What, from your experience and perspective, does the ideal collaboration between you and a director look like?

I really like working with directors who have a strong sense of what they want, even if they don’t have the musical language for it. It can actually be harder for me when someone says, “I have no idea, do whatever you want,” even though I know for some composers that sounds like a dream. 

I also really like working with people who trust the process. There are always experiments that don’t work, and I think things can get difficult if everyone starts panicking too early.

I love when a director has clear opinions and pushes me, but also understands that it can be messy for a while before it starts making sense.

How do the other aspects of a movie's sound stage, such as foley and effects, influence your creative decisions?

For me they’re as important as the score. I’ve also worked as a sound designer and foley artist, so I can’t really turn that part of my brain off depending on what role I’m doing.

When I’m composing I’m still thinking about the whole sound world of the film. Sometimes the better choice is leaving room for a sound effect or the environment instead of filling everything with music.

I think unrealized sound design can bring a score down with it. It’s such a big part of making the world of a film feel real.

The balance between visuals, FX and film music is delicate. What, from your point of view, determines whether or not it is a successful one?

For me most of the time it’s working when you don’t notice one thing too much over another.

Obviously there are moments where the music or sound design is supposed to really take over, and I love that too. But most of the time I want to feel like I’m inside the scene and not thinking too much about what’s making it work.

If something is standing out, I want it to feel intentional.

Different composers could potentially approach the same scene with strikingly different music. Would you say there can be “wrong” and “right” musical decisions for some scenes? In which way can some film music be considered “definitive”?

I definitely think there can be wrong decisions, but I’m not sure there’s ever only one right one.

You can feel it when a cue really works, but I think it’s rare that there’s only one possible way to score a scene. Someone else could come in and do something completely different that works just as well. 

That’s part of what I love about film music. 

Are there things you are passionate about but rarely get to talk about?

I’m kind of obsessed with hold music. I did a lot of research on it this summer while I was at Bard, where I’m getting an MFA in sound.

I got really fixated on the control element of hold music, and on the intentional lag built into this really old technology. It felt so funny to me that we’re fully in a moment where technology can do almost anything, but this system from the 1960s is still going strong. It delays you from accessing whatever it is you need without ever fully telling you no. It’s also such a universal and maddening experience.

I got really interested in the fact that the technology itself often isn’t the issue. The waiting is built into the system, and then sound is used to make that waiting feel more acceptable. It’s so manipulative, and there are really clear musical ways that contribute to that suspension, like BPM, harmonic repetition, chords that don’t really resolve etc… 

There’s something strange about cheerful or calming music being used in a situation where you basically have no agency. 

I’m planning on continuing the research and making more work around it. I feel like there’s still a lot there for me to explore, both in the history of hold music and in the larger ideas around waiting and control.