Film.Music.Media

All Access: Heitor Pereira (July 12, 2015) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Our second episode of "All Access" finds us sitting with composer Heitor Pereira in his studio. We cover his approach to his colorful score to the worldwide sensation Minions, and how he tried to deconstruct his melodies from Despicable Me 1 & 2. Beyond that Heitor shares how he immigrated to the USA via a boat from Brazil all the way to New York City to begin his musical path. Other topics include his love for melodies, working with a temp, trying to break into other genres, and every angle of his unique approach to scoring. Heitor even breaks out a guitar to demo his melodic improvisation. We discuss the importance of hard work and support from the people around us as he tells us that his film music career wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the support of his friends and collaborators. Heitor is one of the most fun and passionate people in the world, and this in-depth and fascinating conversation opens up his world to us. Enjoy!
Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Heitor PereiraRay CostaAlbert TelloSarah ChildersCosta Communications
 
 

All Access: Lorne Balfe (July 8, 2015) *Video Interview Available

[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
On the first episode of "All Access" we visit Lorne Balfe at his studio to sit down and talk a bit about his score to Terminator: Genisys. The conversation evolves as we chat about the usage of very famous themes from past entries of a franchise, presenting music to directors and producers, composing music for action, big budget vs small budget filmmaking, scheduling, creativity, and even what the best late-night snacks are. Lorne also demos some music and rhythmic structures!
Interview Produced & Presented By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Lorne BalfeKelly JohnsonRay CostaAlbert TelloSarah ChildersCosta Communications
"Film.Music.Media: All Access" is a brand new video series. We'll be taking you into the composer's studios to sit down and discuss not only recent projects, but deep and meaningful conversations about film music and the entire world of film. Each video interview will be uniquely different, will have a relaxed and organic approach, and offer a glimpse you don't get in our regular audio interviews.

Composer Interview: Elliot Goldenthal (June 18, 2015)

Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal takes some time to chat about his newest score to Julie Taymor's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The unique take on the Shakespearean classic was performed live on stage, but was shot cinematically to be edited into a film. This presented Elliot with a completely new way of writing music. The film plays for a special one-night only event via Fathom Events on June 22nd at theaters around the country. Beyond that, Elliot also composed a 3-act ballet adaptation of Othello as well as another play directed by Julie Taymor starring Anne Hathaway called Grounded. Elliot discusses how he wrote the score for Grounded just from Anne Hathaway's voice. We also discuss his Symphony In G# Minor, which was released on CD/Digital last month. Elliot describes what goes through his mind when he writes a symphony vs film or stage. And finally Elliot gives his thoughts on the complaints Harry Gregson-Williams made when Michael Mann's Blackhat was released and to Harry's surprise had most of his score replaced. It's a true honor to have Elliot back on Film.Music.Media for another insightful and supremely interesting chat.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Elliot GoldenthalJeff SandersonRyan MazieChasen & Company

Composer Interview: James S. Levine (June 9, 2015)

Composer James S. Levine takes some time to talk about his background and how he found his path to film music. He talks about his early days working with Hans Zimmer and learning the ropes through that path. James reflects on his scores for American Horror Story and Glee, and discusses his evolving collaboration with showrunner Ryan Murphy dating all the way back to Nip/Tuck. James talks about working on the first 3 seasons of American Horror Story, and how he treats each one as its own thing. We chat about his work on Glee where he reveals his love for musical theater, and how he and the crew felt like they were back in high school making that show. James also mentions his current shows that are keeping him busy like The Last Ship (co-composed with James Dooley) and Rizzoli & Isles. A really fun chat with one of the premiere talents in film and television today.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:James S. LevineJana DavidoffCW3PR

Composer Interview: Mac Quayle (June 9, 2015)

Mac Quayle takes some time to talk to us about his background and journey to film composing. Mac formed a close collaboration with Cliff Martinez and learned a lot working on many of Cliff's scores. He jumped into the spotlight by taking over on American Horror Story: Freak Show where he delivered a very unique and immersive score for that season's storyline. Mac continues his collaboration with Ryan Murphy as we discuss what he will be cooking up for Scream Queens premiering this fall. Mac also has done impressive work in films such as the documentary Autism In Love. A really informative and interesting chat with a great composer who has established his voice very quickly.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Mac QuayleJana DavidoffCW3PR

Composer Interview: Evan Roth (May 27, 2015)

Composer Evan Roth takes some time to speak about his new feature score to the documentary Maree V. State. We also chat about how he began his path in music and how he pursued becoming a film and television composer. From his approaches and techniques, we cover how Evan takes on each new project. We also chat about his successful work in commercials where he describes how commercial scoring is some of the best training a composer can get. Enjoy this great interview with a bright young talent in the industry.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Evan RothBrent Harvey

Composer Interview: Gabriel Mann (May 27, 2015)

The awesome and talented Gabriel Mann chats Modern Family, Rectify and The Exes in this in-depth interview that explores Gabriel's background into film scoring and his current works. Gabriel shares his unconventional path to becoming a composer (by dropping out of med school), and candidly speaks on the hectic time of year known as pilot season. Gabriel has successfully walked away from pilot season with a handful of new shoes including Angel From Hell, Rosewood, Dr. Ben and School Of Rock. We talk about his upcoming work as well as his current slate. A supremely entertaining and informative interview with one of the most prominent and busiest composers working in television today.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Gabriel MannChandler PolingKrakower Poling PR

Composer Interview: Dominic Lewis (May 13, 2015)

If Dominic Lewis is not on your radar, he should be. Dominic has been a go-to collaborator for some of Hollywood's biggest names including John Powell, Henry Jackman and Hans Zimmer. He is also one of the most impressive talents and voices as a composer in the industry. His premiere score to the hit animated film Free Birds instantly perked up everyone's ears. He was also behind the teen comedy The DUFF and now the big-screen adaptation of the hit series Spooks. US audiences may not know what Spooks (also known as MI-5) is, but the ever popular UK spy series aired for 10 seasons, and now has a big screen continuation starring Game Of Throne's Kit Harrington called Spooks: The Greater Good. Dominic and I chat about how he got the job (with a little help from his friend John Powell) and how he wanted to break the mold of the modern spy genre. Dominic shares all of his tricks of creating an organic electronic soundscape by recording modems, phones and mouse clicks for percussion. The score is refined and intense even in its subtle moments, and we chat about how happy he was as a composer to have a 100% locked picture to write to. It allowed Dominic to build longer tracks and cues without the worry of the edit changing, and therefore having the music fall out of place. We also chat about his upcoming Amazon Prime series The Man In The High Castle based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Dominic co-composed the pilot (viewable on Amazon Prime) with his friend Henry Jackman. Now that the series has been picked up, he explains the thought process he's going through as he begins work on the rest of the season. Another fun and fascinating chat with one of the most prominent and on the rise composers in the industry.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Dominic LewisStéphane Humez

Composer Interview: Tom Holkenborg [Junkie XL] (May 13, 2015)

Even though Tom was a guest on Film.Music.Media very recently, we had to have him back to talk about his masterful score to Mad Max: Fury Road. Tom (also known as Junkie XL) shares the fantastic and rare approach he was able to do working with master auteur George Miller as he brought his classic Mad Max universe to a new audience. Tom worked 18 months on this score and was part of George Miller's collaborative process as he went back and forth scoring to picture as well as the picture shaping around his music. Tom shares how he came up with that descending main theme we heard in the trailers, and all the different layers he added to make the music work. Tom has also built a reputation as a mad music scientist by doing some always amazing sonic experiments on his scores. Here is no different as we discuss how he recorded animal noises (including his own dog) to give the bad guys an animalistic and tribal presence. We discuss it all, from Taiko drums to wailing guitars and mathematically precise action arcs. Mad Max: Fury Road is a masterwork of action scoring, and it's always a blast to dig into the process with the fantastic Tom Holkenborg.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Tom HolkenborgRay CostaAlbert TelloAsenath NakayamaCosta Communications

Composer Interview: Solomon Grey (May 13, 2015)

Tom Kingston and Joe Wilson are the UK-based musician/composing duo that may be better known for their amazing and unique songs in the electronic genre, but they are prominent new voices in the composing world as well. Tom unfortunately couldn't join us, but here Joe Wilson takes some time to chat about their score to the BBC/HBO co-production of The Casual Vacancy. This miniseries is adapted from the critically praised novel by J.K. Rowling. Joe describes one of the most inspiring and creatively liberating scoring processes you will hear about that is pretty much non-existent in Hollywood today. The duo traveled up and down the English and Irish countryside where the story takes place well before production started. There they recorded soundscapes, melodies and organic sounds with the local people and locations to build the score for The Casual Vacancy. This then became the blueprint for the show. Joe sharing their wonderful journey on this project is an amazing story and a must-listen for all aspiring filmmakers and composers. And it was great to hear from such a unique musical talent who is breathing a fresh sense of style and composition into film and television. Be sure to catch The Casual Vacancy on HBO/HBO Go/HBO Now and hear Solomon Grey's unique and emotionally infused score at work.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Joe WilsonChandler PolingKrakower Poling PR