Film.Music.Media

Composer Interview: Chris Hajian (July 25, 2016)

Composer Chris Hajian's talent and versatility can be heard in films like The Take, Yonkers Joe, First Position and now The Infiltrator among many other great projects. He is reconnecting with director Brad Furman for the new crime thriller starring Bryan Cranston. We chat about Chris' approach to the film including how he aimed to make the score feel vintage but not distinctly of the time period. Chris also discusses many other topics like why ambient scoring can be more appropriate versus using melodies, why he thinks there is too much music in modern films, and how he was able to build a successful career in his hometown of New York City when many people only see Los Angeles as the film capital of the world. Chris is such an inspiring composer, and getting a little glimpse into his processes is extremely enlightening. It was such a pleasure to have Chris return as a guest.
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Chris HajianChandler PolingMaike EilertWhite Bear PR

Composer Interview: Hélène Muddiman (July 10, 2016)

Composer Hélène Muddiman has brought her unique sounds and talents as a storyteller to many different films and TV series over the years. Her work on notable films like the drama Skin, the documentary Hair and reality series The Only Way Is Essex showcased her great versatility. Hélène also worked with John Powell on his scores for Happy Feet 2 and Ice Age: Continental Drift. Her most recent score is to the drama Bliss!, about a young girl searching for her unknown father. Here we discuss her upbringing and how she found film music, her work on Bliss!, working with directors, being able to sympathize emotionally with characters, and how important it is to have role models in life as you pursue your passion.
Interview Produced & Presented By: Kaya Savas
Special Thanks: Hélène Muddiman Ray Costa Andrew P. Alderete Costa Communications
Photo Credit: Ray Meese

Director/Composer Interview: Nicolas Winding Refn & Cliff Martinez (June 20, 2016)

Nicolas Winding Refn and Cliff Martinez are one of the best director/composer duos working in the industry, and are bringing the spotlight back to auteur filmmaking in a time where studio-curated franchises dominate theaters. The two have worked together on Drive and Only God Forgives, and The Neon Demon marks their third collaboration together. In this unique interview we get to hear from both Nicolas and Cliff together. We discuss how they met, why they work so well together, what it means to be an auteur in today's industry and their process for working on The Neon Demon. Enjoy this short but sweet interview from two auteurs who are blazing their own path.
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Nicolas Winding RefnCliff MartinezBeth KrakowerThe Krakower Group

All Access: Jeff Rona - Episode 1 (June 15, 2016) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
For this episode of All Access, we sit down with the amazing Jeff Rona for a deep conversation about his career, his projects and the current state of the industry. Jeff talks us through his early beginnings and how he gained experience as a ghost writer for composers, we candidly discuss the ghost writing process and his views on the helpfulness of it to young composers. We discuss White Squall, which was Jeff's first big score and how nervous he was when he had to present music to Ridley Scott. We also discuss The Regatta Suite, which Jeff composed for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the journey behind it. We also go into great detail with Jeff's current score to Season 2 of Powers, which is available on the Playstation Network. The conversation of superheroes pops up, and why they are relevant in today's pop culture. We dive into all those topics and more with one of the best and most versatile composers working today. Enjoy!
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Jeff RonaKelly Seal

All Access: Lyle Workman (June 2, 2016) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
On this episode of Film.Music.Media: All Access we visit composer Lyle Workman whose sound and skills have essentially defined a whole genre of modern comedy. We talk about his musical career as a session musician and how it all led to film composing when a chance encounter ended up nabbing him the job to score The 40 Year Old Virgin. We discuss working with Judd Apatow including on the new Netflix series Love. We discuss his approach to comedy such as his work on Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek. Lyle talks about how the industry can typecast composers, and the challenges of trying to show off your range in other genres. Lyle has carved a defining path and sound in comedy scoring in an era where the “R-rated” adult comedy reigns supreme, and getting his insight makes this interview fascinating and fun.
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Lyle WorkmanRay CostaAndrew P. AldereteCosta Communications

Composer Interview: Victor Reyes (June 2, 2016)

Composer Victor Reyes takes some time to chat about his recent score to the miniseries adaptation of John le Carré's The Night Manager. We talk about Victor's path to film composing and his approach to the craft. We go into detail about scoring The Night Manager and how he approached scoring the miniseries. We discuss some of John le Carré's other novels that have been adapted and the challenge that comes with scoring a John le Carré story given their dense plots and character arcs. Victor also shares some differences and similarities between Spanish and American cinema. It's a great honor having the passionate and talented Victor Reyes as a guest!
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Victor ReyesRay CostaAndrew P. AldereteCosta Communications

All Access: Heitor Pereria - Episode 2 (May 16, 2016) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Heitor Pereira returns as a guest to Film.Music.Media's All Access series. If you haven't checked out Heitor's first All Access interview, be sure to do so! This time around we discuss two of Heitor's recent projects that include The Angry Birds Movie and the documentary Sonic Sea. Get to hear and see Heitor's melodic process from conception all the way to the final product. Heitor demos his bird call flutes that he used to create the themes and melodies in The Angry Birds Movies then plays us a piece from his score. Following that we talk about his score to Sonic Sea, the powerful documentary examining noise pollution in our oceans and how it's killing mammal life underwater. Heitor plays us some samples from his score and his thought process behind the cue structures. We finish up by sitting down in Heitor's acoustic instrument room where he samples some of his favorite and most unique instruments that he uses to start melodic ideas and build sonic textures. It was such a pleasure to have Heitor Pereira be our first returning guest to the All Access series where this time it's definitely less talk and more play!
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Heitor PereiraLeah DennisRay CostaAndrew P. AldereteCosta Communications

All Access: Brian Tyler - Episode 1 (April 6, 2016) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Brian Tyler is one of our favorite guests here at Film.Music.Media, so it's an absolute joy and honor to have him be part of the All Access series. Get ready to experience a fully immersive and detailed interview focusing on Brian's path to film scoring plus many industry trends and his views on them. Brian shares that while music was his true passion, he never went to school for it and got his education in completely different fields. Brian grew up in a family surrounded by music and film, and that left its mark on him very early. We talk about the popularity of superhero films and why Brian believes they are as popular now as ever. Plus we discuss how after so many car chases and shootouts, how do you make action scoring unique and different each time you approach a new action film. We also discuss some of his upcoming projects like Criminal, Now You See Me 2 and his upcoming concert in London. Many of the other topics discussed include negative criticism, director relationships, scoring for ensemble casts of characters, interacting with his fans, balancing business and creativity, performing live and his alternate artist name Madsonik. If you were ever looking for the definitive interview with Brian Tyler, then you found it!
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Brian TylerMarissa FernandezSeth Glennie-Smith

All Access: Fil Eisler (March 17, 2016) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Fil Eisler has quickly become one of the most versatile and sought after composers working in the industry. His range for storytelling can be heard in almost any genre such as TV shows like Revenge and Empire, and in films like Newtown and How To Be Single. This All Access is truly special as we welcome back Fil to Film.Music.Media and converse with one of the most fun personalities in the composing world. Fil talks about his childhood, being born Czechoslovakia and then his family moving to England at a very early age. We discuss industry trends such as reboots and remakes since Fil is currently working on CHiPs based off the classic TV series. Fil gives insight to the challenge of scoring comedies as well. We then go into great detail on his work on the powerful documentary, Newtown. Newtown is an emotional look at how the community of Newtown came together following the tragedy of the Sandy Hook mass shootings. It's a heavy subject, and Fil talks about how he ended up wanting to bring 17 composers together to work on the score to symbolize a community. Gun control is a passionate subject for Fil, and we talk about how he hopes the documentary will spark a debate to better society. We touch upon violence in film and television, and some grand overall views of what the film industry is doing right these days and possibly what they are doing wrong. Even though the subject matter is heavy at times, this is one of the most enlightening and engaging All Access interviews on Film.Music.Media. And it was such a great pleasure to sit down with Fil Eisler once again.
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Fil EislerJana DavidoffCW3PR

Composer Interview: Hanan Townshend (March 17, 2016)

One of the most prominent and rewarding director/composer relationships in recent years has been with legendary auteur director Terrence Malick and composer Hanan Townshend. Hanan takes some time to chat about his most recent collaboration with Malick for Knight Of Cups. Hanan tells the story of how he simply answered an ad for a composer for an unnamed director, and it just so happened to be for Terrence Malick. We discuss what it's been like working with one of the most secretive and reclusive directors of our time, and how Hanan approached scoring Knight Of Cups. Some of the challenges scoring a Malick film of course are that Hanan isn't scoring to picture, and has to navigate between Malick's use of classical pieces. Hanan provides some amazing insight here and talks about the discussions he and Malick had, and what Hanan wanted the music to accomplish. Hanan also sheds some light on Malick's upcoming projects. It was a true pleasure to welcome back such a fantastic composer to Film.Music.Media.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Hanan TownshendJC ChamboredonMilan Records