Film.Music.Media

All Access: Atli Örvarsson (September 4, 2017)

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
On this episode of All Access we sit down with composer Atli Örvarsson whose journey to becoming a composer started all the way back home when he was a young boy in Iceland. We discuss Atli's career journey and some of the great projects he's been a part of. Atli talks about starting out working for the great Mike Post and getting his start writing music for classic shows like NYPD Blue and Dragnet. Atli talks about how he was introduced to Hans Zimmer and how that phase of his life took him into an amazing world of working on big budget Hollywood films, and all the challenges that came with it. Topics such as approach, structure and different genre scoring are discussed using examples from scores like Stuart Little 3, Vantage Point, A Single Shot, The Edge Of Seventeen, Chicago Fire, The Hitman's Bodyguard and much more. Atli also shares the personal story of scoring Rams, which was an Icelandic movie that filmed on location in the village where his mother was born. It was a return to Atli's roots in many ways. Here Atli also talks about how he and his wife decided to move back to Iceland, and how he balances his home life in Iceland and part of his work life still in Los Angeles. Atli is one of the most kindest and talented composers, and his life journey and career are an inspiration. It was great chatting with Atli again and to have him as a guest on All Access was even a greater pleasure.
Interview Conducted By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Atli Örvarsson Chandler Poling Adrianna Perez White Bear PR

Composer Interview: Ronit Kirchman (August 25, 2017)

Composer Ronit Kirchman has accumulated a wide array of skills from being a composers that is also a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and orchestrator. Her talents as a storyteller can be heard in her scores for Zen & The Art Of Dying, Finding Neighbors, The Golden Age Of Fish and now on the critically acclaimed mini-series The Sinner starring Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman. Ronit shares her story of how she came to be a film and television composer and she pursued the career. We discuss some of her past projects and how she approaches her writing specifically on the mini-series The Sinner. We discuss where the first note comes from, how she structured the score, and how the tone and style helped flesh out the characters. Ronit is an extremely original voice in the industry and it was such a pleasure to talk to her about her work.
Interview Conducted By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Ronit Kirchman Chandler Poling Adrianna Perez White Bear PR

Composer Interview: Joel P West (August 9, 2017)

Joel P West found an unconventional path to becoming a film composer. He burst onto the scene with his emotionally nuanced score to Short Term 12 with director Destin Daniel Cretton in 2013 while the both of them were kickstarting their careers. Fast forward 4 years later and we're honored to have Joel back on Film.Music.Media as a guest. We revisit his path to becoming a composer, a career that found him vs the other way around. Joel talks about learning different techniques and approaches with the films he's scored since the last time we talked. We dive into The Glass Castle and how he worked with director Destin Daniel Cretton to get the music to a place that emotionally supported the narrative without doing too much. Joel P West's unique voice as a storyteller comes from a background you wouldn't normally associate with a film composer, but he's proven his abilities time and again. It was a great and special experience to catch up with Joel since we interviewed him at the start of his career, and now get to explore how he's grown as a composer.
Interview Conducted By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Joel P West Chandler Poling Adrianna Perez White Bear PR

All Access: Steve Jablonsky (July 18, 2017)

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
The one and only Steve Jablonsky joins us for a fantastic All Access interview. We sit down and Steve shares his unique path to film scoring as he grew up in the Los Angeles area, and was surrounded by film from an early age. He tells the story of how he he phoned up Hans Zimmer's studio to see if they needed any assistant work and how he ended up working for Harry Gregson-Williams for a few years, and through that he learned the business from the ground up. We discuss the early days of working on massive films like Armageddon and Bad Boys II as an additional composer, and how Michael Bay hired him to score The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake based off of great recommendations. Steve shares fun and inspiring stories from many of his scores such as The Island, Pain & Gain, Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, all the Transformers films, Steamboy, D-War, Gears Of War 2 and Desperate Housewives. We also discuss Steve's process for thematic writing and how he approaches certain films from different genres. Steve is one of the kindest and most talented composers working in the industry, and his versatility has been displayed in almost every genre. It was such an honor to have Steve return as a guest on Film.Music.Media, this time for this wonderful All Access interview.
Interview Conducted By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Steve Jablonsky Jeff Sanderson Chasen & Company Lori Castro

All Access: Brian Tyler - Episode 2 (July 15, 2017)

 [Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Brian Tyler (and his cat, KC) join us for another All Access as we catch up on his latest scores, plus dive deep into some fascinating topics. Brian recalls his first jobs ever from starting in construction and finally working his way up into the industry. He dove in by doing coverage on scripts no one had time to do, and learned filmmaking from the ground up before finding his path in film music. We discuss typecasting in the film music industry and how Brian as a composer has had to escape genre typecasting many times in his career. Brian discusses working with the late Bill Paxton and the friendship that they shared, and even shows us the very same piano that Brian used to play his themes on for Bill. We also discuss how to keep a score from falling apart if the edit of the movie changes, and Brian shares some examples from The Mummy including re-writing the main character's theme and replacing it throughout the score in 1 weekend. We talk about composing for ensemble casts, and where the unifying theme comes from on scores such as Power Rangers and The Fate Of The Furious. We also delve deep into music psychology and why Brian got his Master's Degree in Philosophy at Harvard, and how he applies that to what he does in life. Brian is truly one of the most fun, talented and smartest composers working today and his conversations are always a blast!
Interview Conducted By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Brian Tyler Jeff Sanderson Chasen & Company Ave-Marie London KC (Brian's cat)

Composer Interview: Scott Doherty (June 9, 2017)

Composer Scott Doherty takes some time to take us into his world and share about his path to composing including writing the score for Netflix's Orange Is The New Black. Scott's unique path to becoming a composer is a fascinating one. We talk about his involvement in the composing band American Matador, and how as a band they were involved in music for hit series like Real World. Scott then shares how he got work writing additional music on Weeds for composers Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay, and how that collaboration led to him being invited to be part of a composing trio for Jenji Kohan's Orange Is The New Black. Scott's career is a fascinating one, and it was great to explore his approach and processes.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Scott Doherty Sabrina Hutchinson Defiant PR

Composer Interview: Fred Coury (June 9, 2017)

Composer Fred Coury's path to becoming a film and television composer is a fascinating one. Fred was the drummer for the rock band Cinderella and had an entire career as a rockstar before moving his focus to composition. Fred discusses his approach and process for the NBC series The Night Shift as well. We talk about the process of transitioning from being on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans to working alone in a studio. Fred talks about how his skills as a drummer and his background in classical composition helped him when he started writing to picture. Fred also shares the amazing story about how fellow rockstar Gene Simmons got him his first job as a composer to write for Gene's reality show. Fred's story is an inspiring one, and he brings an amazingly versatile background to the music he writes today.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Fred Coury Sabrina Hutchinson Defiant PR

Composer Interview: Brian McOmber (June 9, 2017)

Brian McOmber's voice as a composer is unique, but he has followed a similar path by coming from the world of being part of a band and now being in a career as a composer. Brian is the former drummer of the band Dirty Projectors, and now has built up a collaborative relationship with director Trey Edward Shults. Brian discusses his work on Trey's first feature titled Krisha, and now how he approached scoring It Comes At Night. Brian explains how he built the very layered and atmospheric score, and how he knows when a piece is finished when writing in that style. Brian talks about his background as a drummer and how he applied that to his skills as a composer. Brian's path to composing is an inspiring one, and he shares all the ins and outs of how he started his unexpected career as a film composer.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Brian McOmber Terra Lopez Terrorbird Media

All Access: Geoff Zanelli (May 25, 2017)

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Geoff Zanelli is one of the most prolific and busy composers working in the industry. He is also one the kindest, hardest working and supremely talented people in this industry and his career is a reflection of that. We sit down to discuss it all, from the early days of cleaning the bathrooms at Media Ventures / Remote Control Productions, becoming John Powell's assistant, and all the way to helming Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Geoff recounts some amazingly fun stories from his films with David Koepp, working with David Duchovny, Into The West, The Pacific, the madness of The Lone Ranger and William Tell Overture, his history on the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise and more. Geoff was in fact our very first interview ever on Film.Music.Media, so it was an honor to go all out here with this immensely inspiring All Access.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Geoff Zanelli Zak McNeil Emilie Erskine Jordon Von Netzer Impact 24 PR

All Access: Elik Álvarez & Freddy Sheinfeld (May 2, 2017) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
On this All Access we dive into the world of two composers who have successfully established both a composing partnership as well as their own solo career paths. Elik Álvarez and Freddy Sheinfeld are behind some of the most popular animated series such as Ultraman: Tiga, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The two of them have also worked on fantastic nature documentaries hosted by the great David Attenborough including Kingdom Of Plants, Galapagos, Micro Monsters and David Attenborough’s Conquest of The Skies. While Elik and Freddy frequently work together with the amazing Joel Douek, it’s their bond and friendship over the years that has made their story a unique one. They are both from Venezuela but didn’t even realize they were both from the same country at first until others told them. Hear their unique journey of moving to Los Angeles, getting their degrees, going through composing bootcamp by composing for animated series such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, starting their own company and still maintaining their careers as solo composers. Elik and Freddy are two extremely talented musical voices, and their insights shine an amazing light on what it’s like to carve your own path in this industry.
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Elik ÁlvarezFreddy SheinfeldBeth KrakowerThe Krakower Group