Film.Music.Media

Composer Interview: Lorne Balfe (Mission: Impossible - Fallout)

Composer Lorne Balfe has proven his versatility and talent as a storyteller by delivering amazing scores across all genres and all mediums of visual storytelling. He has delivered the goods in family animation, moving dramas, thrilling horror, engaging biopics, inspiring documentaries, captivating television series, quirky comedies, addictive video games and much more. For his most recent film, Lorne joins the legacy that is the Mission: Impossible series. Lorne follows in the footsteps of some amazing composers to add his own signature stamp to the franchise. Lorne is one of our favorite guests, and it was a pleasure to catch up with him to dissect his biggest and most ambitious score to date in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. We discuss some topics such as confidence and doubt when it comes to being a composer, working with directors, what Lorne learned from his time as an additional composer, and how he handles criticism from people online especially on a big film like Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The majority our interview focuses on Mission: Impossible, including how this film needed a different scoring approach and how he approached utilizing that iconic Lalo Schifrin theme. You'll hear how Lorne structured certain action scenes, including knowing what scenes in the film didn't require score. Lorne shares how director Christopher McQuarrie doesn't use a temp track, and instead utilized an hour's worth of musical ideas that Lorne wrote away from picture to start editing to, and that made sure that music was baked into the DNA of this brilliant exercise in action filmmaking. We wrap up taking a look at Lorne's score for Genius: Picasso and how the score evolved from season 1, which focused on Albert Einstein. Lorne has proven himself as one of the most versatile and talented composers working today, and it's always a pleasure to catchup and pick his brain.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Lorne Balfe, Quennie Li, Ray Costa, Costa Communications

All Access: Steve Jablonsky - Episode 2 (Skyscraper)

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Steve Jablonsky joins us for a second All Access, this time to discuss his score for Skyscraper among many other topics. In this All Access, we get a bit of a refresher of how Steve ended up on the composing path plus his views on the action genre as a whole. We talk about how he approached Skyscraper, which stars Dwayne Johnson as a former FBI agent trying to save his family from a group of terrorists. Steve talks about working with a new director for the first time, finding the right tone that didn't make it too melodramatic and of course how action filmmaking has evolved since when he started working as a composer. We also discuss comedy scoring as well as touch upon some other projects he did recently like Game Over, Man! and the indie documentary Origin Story. Steve is one of the nicest and most humble composers working in the industry, and having him as a guest is always such a pleasure.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Steve Jablonsky, Lori Castro, Jeff Sanderson, Chasen & Company

All Access: Jacob Shea & David Fleming (Blue Planet II)

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Nature documentaries are unique in that the score is more important than ever in creating a narrative structure as well as an emotional pull. This genre is one of the purest forms of image and music working hand in hand, with only narration there as a guide for the audience. With Blue Planet II, Jacob Shea and David Fleming worked alongside Hans Zimmer to craft a hugely powerful and affecting score that brought our aquatic world to vivid life. Learn a little about how Jacob and David worked as additional composers to gain experience. Hear them dissect the process of working on Blue Planet II, and what their approach was to create this sonic world for some of the most breathtaking footage ever captured for a nature documentary. We chat about the collaborative nature of working with Hans Zimmer, how they built thematic structure, and what it means to work on something important from an educational standpoint. Jacob and David are quickly blazing their own paths in the industry. Please enjoy this fun and inspiring discussion with two leading talents in the next generation of composers working today.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Jacob Shea, David Fleming, Andrew Cohen, Impact24 PR

Composer Interview: Peter Boyer

Peter Boyer is a composer, conductor, orchestrator, and professor of music whose work has been performed over 400 times by over 150 different orchestras. As one of the most premiere talents in the concert music world, Peter is sought out and his work commissioned for extremely powerful and unique projects. One of his most recent works that ended up being years in the making is Ellis Island: The Dream Of America; a classical work celebrating the historic American immigrant experience. We dive into Peter's background and what led him on the path to becoming a celebrated concert composer. Peter also talks about how he approached Ellis Island, including incorporating dramatic readings of actual first hand accounts from immigrants who arrived on Ellis Island. Peter also talks about his work as a Hollywood orchestrator and working with composers such as James Newton Howard, Michael Giacchino and Thomas Newman. Ellis Island: The Dream Of America will make its television debut on Great Performances on Friday, June 29 at 10 p.m. on PBS. And you can stream it online afterwards. It was a great pleasure to chat with Peter and get an amazing insight into his process.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas Special
Thanks: Peter Boyer, Jeff Sanderson, Chasen & Company
PBS Great Performances website page on Ellis Island: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/ellis-i...
PBS official YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/KTwCr7NrFBE

Composer Interview: Sherri Chung

Composer Sherri Chung has quickly established herself as a prominent voice in the industry with her storytelling talents. After scoring many short films as well as being an orchestrator for Walter Murphy on shows like Family Guy and The Cleveland Show, Sherri began to work with Blake Neely. She has worked as an additional composer on shows like Blindspot, Arrow, and Supergirl. Sherri is currently is the co-composer of Riverdale with Blake Neely and you can catch her music on the recent album release for Crisis On Earth X, exclusively on La-La Land Records. The massive CW / DC four-part 2017 television crossover event showcases a score composed by Blake Neely, Nathanial Blume, Daniel Chan and Sherri Chung. This interview was a fantastic opportunity to talk to Sherri about her journey to becoming a composer and to explore her approach.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Sherri Chung, Andrea Resnick, Impact24 PR

All Access: John Powell - Episode 2

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
On this All Access we sit down with composer John Powell who returns for his second All Access with Film.Music.Media. In this discussion we talk about topics such as changes in the industry, finding inspiration, his love for chorus and percussion, producing songs, his early days at Media Ventures, working with Harry Gregson-Williams and more! We also go in-depth with his newest score to Solo: A Star Wars Story. John tells the story of when he got involved, how he incorporated John Williams' original theme and all the different themes he wrote. John is one of the most fun and inspiring composers working today and it was an absolute honor to have him return to All Access.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: John Powell, Batu Sener

All Access: Dominic Lewis - Episode 3

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Composer Dominic Lewis joins us for his third All Access, and to give us an incredibly unique and comprehensive look at his process. Film.Music.Media was granted special access to come and document the writing process for the score to Peter Rabbit, starring James Corden and Margot Robbie. Dom also sits down after the film has been finished to reflect back on the whole process, while we as an audience get to take a look at moments during his working process. Get to watch the writing process unfold as it happens and hear Dom's analysis of his approach to Peter Rabbit, including using garden tools as instruments! We cover topics such as how Dom built a relationship with director Will Gluck, finding the right sound for Peter Rabbit, conforming tracks to picture changes, recording the score with an orchestra in Australia, his relationship with his assistant Daniel Futcher and so much more!Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya SavasSpecial Thanks: Dominic Lewis, Daniel Futcher

All Access: Jeff Russo - Episode 2

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Jeff Russo has built an amazing career as one of the most prominent television composers in the industry while also scoring films and games. In our second All Access interview with Jeff, we revisit his background and how he found himself attracted to the profession. We talk about some of his recent scores such as Star Trek: Discovery, Altered Carbon and Waco. Beyond that we get into some deep discussions about process, working with directors, finding the first note, searching for inspiration and other great topics that really dissect the composer profession. Enjoy this informative and passionate discussion with the always enthusiastic Jeff Russo.Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya SavasSpecial Thanks: Jeff Russo, Stephanie Pfingsten, Jana Davidoff, Impact24 PR

Composer Interview: Anne Nikitin

Composer Anne Nikitin has established herself as an extremely versatile composer by tackling different genres with her unique voice as a storyteller. Some of her notable scores include The Imposter, This Beautiful Fantastic and the docuseries Locked Up Abroad. She reunites with director Bart Layton for the upcoming crime drama, American Animals. We discuss her approach for American Animals as well as her approach in general. Anne talks about her background and how she carved her path in the industry. Enjoy this extremely interesting and insightful interview with the delightful Anne Nikitin!Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya SavasSpecial Thanks: Anne Nikitin, Stephanie Pfingsten, Jana Davidoff, Impact24 PR

Composer Interview: Peter Nashel

Composer Peter Nashel has paved a unique path for himself, and his career has seen him helm the scores to film and television across many genres. His most recent score is to the critically-acclaimed I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie. In this interview Peter shares his background and how he found himself working in film and television by taking an unconventional path. We dive in and dissect I, Tonya and how Peter had to navigate a film that primarily used songs throughout. I, Tonya also challenged Peter to find the right tone and cement some of the darker moments of the story together. Enjoy the special insights of composer Peter Nashel in this enlightening interview.
 
Interview Produced & Presented By:
Kaya Savas
 
Special Thanks: Peter Nashel, Adrianna Perez, Chandler Poling, White Bear PR