Film.Music.Media

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

Composer Interview: Henry Jackman

As the year is winding down, we catch up with Henry Jackman who is one of our favorite guests on Film.Music.Media. Since Henry was recently a guest on our All Access series, we instead focus just on all the happenings in Henry's world since the last time we spoke to him. We dive into Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle where Henry talks about how exciting it was to create a score truly built on themes and melodies. Hear Henry talk about how he channeled the musical spirits of James Horner and Alan Silvestri to really try and make a rousing symphonic adventure score, which we don't get often these days. Henry also talks about returning to the world of Matthew Vaughn with Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Henry talks about how he and co-composer Matthew Margeson tackled the second entry in Vaughn's stylish series. With 2018 almost here we finish up our chat by looking forward to what's ahead!
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Henry Jackman, Ray Costa, Costa Communications

All Access: Rolfe Kent

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Composer Rolfe Kent joins us for the last All Access of 2017! Rolfe talks about his early years and how quickly he knew he wanted to be a composer when he was younger. After securing a job he packed up and moved to Los Angeles where he never looked back. Some of his first scores were for the tantalizing Playboy series called Inside Out where Rolfe Kent would cement his entire career by meeting directors like Alexander Payne and Richard Shephard who directed segments for the sexy series. We talk about how these relationships evolved and how the directors he works with are actually his close friends. Rolfe examines his work with directors like Mark Waters, Richard Shephard, actor Jason Bateman, Jason Reitman and of course Alexander Payne. We talk about the unique premise for Downsizing and how Rolfe approached the score for Alexander's newest film. Other topics include navigating licensed music used in a movie, how Rolfe doesn't look at movies in terms of genre and how boredom usually leads to innovation. Rolfe is such a versatile composer whose work always finds the emotional center of a film, and it was an honor to have him as a guest!
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Rolfe Kent, Beth Krakower, The Krakower Group

Composer Interview: Carlos Rafael Rivera

Composer Carlos Rafael Rivera has had music in his life as long as he can remember, but it wasn't till he became the guitar teacher to writer/director Scott Frank did film composing suddenly enter his life. Carlos takes some time to share his fantastic story of how he composed the score to his first feature with A Walk Among The Tombstones, and how that collaboration with Scott Frank let to their newest project titled Godless. Carlos goes deep into his process of he crafted the score for Godless, a western mini-series that is currently streaming on Netflix. Scott is such a warm and fun person that getting his insight on the process and the industry is extremely engaging and inspiring.
 
Interview Produced & Presented By:
Kaya Savas
 
Special Thanks: Carlos Rafael Rivera, Beth Krakower, The Krakower Group

All Access: Daniel Pemberton

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
On this All Access we sit with the extremely talented Daniel Pemberton who has quickly blazed his own path by always aiming to create new sounds and approaches on the scores that he composes. Daniel talks about finding his interests in creating sounds and music, and how that led to him pursue a career as a composer. Daniel shares a story of how he met John Powell by coincidence when his girlfriend was doing a photoshoot with John's wife, Melinda. The two chatted on a bridge at 2am and Daniel learned a lot from John that evening. We go on to discuss many of Daniel's projects such as his scores for directors like Ridley Scott and Guy Ritchie. Also why Daniel decided to remain in the U.K. and not relocate to Los Angeles. This interview was also conducted on the day it was announced that Christopher Plummer would be replacing Kevin Spacey in All The Money In The World, and Daniel gives his thoughts on Ridley's bold skills as a filmmaker. From composing on a small game called The Movies to honing his inner Ennio Morricone to find the right sounds for Guy Ritchie, we cover lots of great stuff in this fantastic chat.Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya SavasSpecial Thanks: Daniel, for taking an Uber deep into Burbank to make this interview happen even though you were only here on business for a quick trip! Also to Ray Costa and Costa Communications.

Writer/Director Interview: Martin McDonagh

SPOILER WARNING: Please note that we discuss major plot points from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in this interview. Please watch the film before listening.
With films like In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh has very quickly become one of the best auteur filmmakers working today. His dialogue is sharp and focused, and his characters are so individually unique and organic. Over his three feature films he has also established a great working relationship with composer Carter Burwell. We were able to catch Martin very briefly on the phone for a quick discussion on his writing process and how he works with Carter. Martin talks about why he pursued filmmaking after becoming known as a playwright, and how his Oscar-winning short film helped launch his career. We discuss his writing approach and technique to make sure each character feels authentic with their own voice and how he doesn't listen to music during his actual writing time. We then talk about how he and Carter Burwell work together, and how as a director he has full trust in his composer and doesn't interfere in the process beyond giving him his initial direction. Martin is such a great storyteller and a filmmaker who utilizes score in such a brilliant way; it was fantastic to have him as guest for this quick chat about his process.
Special Thanks: Martin McDonagh, Paula Woods, Knight Hall Agency Ltd

Composer Interview: Gordy Haab

Gordy Haab has composed some great memorable scores in film, TV and video games. Gordy along with several other composers tackled the extremely popular Star Wars: The Old Republic video game which was a great stepping stone that lead to Gordy taking the reigns on Star Wars: Battlefront and now the recent followup Star Wars: Battlefront II. Gordy also recently scored Halo Wars 2. We dive into his background and how he found his path to film composing including a focus on his video game scoring approaches. We discuss the immense amount of pressure that comes with following in John Williams' footsteps for a AAA Star Wars game. Hear Gordy explain how the addition of a single-player campaign allowed him to venture into new territory in Battlefront II plus all the work that went into making it feel like a Star Wars experience.
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Gordy Haab, Sabrina Hutchinson, Defiant PR