Film.Music.Media
Film.Music.Media features interviews with today’s top film, TV and game composers. We sit down and talk extensively with today’s top composers working across all visual media. Get to know the people behind some of your favorite soundtracks! Video versions of our interviews can be found on our YouTube channel.
Episodes
![Composer Interview: Rich Vreeland [Disasterpeace] (April 2, 2015)](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/1941329/FMM_Logo_Podcasts_300x300.jpg)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Rich Vreeland [Disasterpeace] (April 2, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Rich Vreeland (better known as Disasterpeace) is the composer behind the fantastically bold and unique score to the horror sensation, It Follows. We chat about how Rich got into music and how he stumbled into video game scoring, which in turn led him to film scoring. Rich shares the unique process for It Follows and how he worked with director David Robert Mitchell to achieve what the film needed. In this situation Rich worked closely with a temp track that he embraced with open arms, and it really helped him find the pulse of the film. He then was able to apply his own unique style to craft a score that is boldly of its own world. Rich explains that he was very unfamiliar with the horror genre and horror scores in general, so that made it easy not to fall into the genre formulas that plague most modern horror films. Rich also shares the origins of the name Disasterpeace. From the emotional intent of the music to the challenges he faced on the score, Rich goes through what made It Follows such an amazing experience. The film is getting some of the best critical acclaim of any horror film of recent years, and much of what makes the film work so well is the boldly original score from Disasterpeace.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Rich VreelandJean-Christophe ChamboredonMilan Records

Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Fil Eisler (March 23, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Fil Eisler returns to Film.Music.Media for a chat about his most recent work including the season's biggest smash-hit series, Empire. We dive-in to discuss Fil's approach for a show that isn't afraid to hide what it is. Empire is a drama with soap opera qualities, and we discuss what is needed from the score on a show such as that. Fil also talks about how the score must work with the songs appearing in the series as well. Beyond the world of Empire we also chat about Fil's other series, UnReal on Lifetime that airs this June and looks to rebrand the network's image which from the melodramatic shows/movies it's usually known for. On the film side of things, we chat about his scores for the dramedy Growing Up And Other Lies starring Adam Brody and horror/comedy Kitchen Sink starring Vanessa Hudgens and Bob Odenkirk. Fil has been a guest many times, but we never run out of things to discuss. Each new project is always testing the versatility of this smart and talented composer who continues to impress.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special ThanksFil EislerJana DavidoffCW3PR

Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Patrick Doyle (March 11, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated Patrick Doyle is one of the industry's most respected film composers, and one of the warmest and friendliest people out there. Patrick takes some time to discuss his simply wonderful score to Disney's Cinderella, which sees him re-teaming once again with director Kenneth Branagh. Patrick shares how he followed the path to becoming a composer, and how he met Kenneth Branagh while working in the same theater company. We discuss what it's like collaborating with a director from the beginning of both their careers, and how the process between them remains the same after all their films. We dive into Cinderella and how Patrick decided to approach the music to one of the most well-known stories of all-time. Listening to Patrick explain his creative process is a true delight.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Patrick DoyleBeth KrakowerWilliam Scot "Grecco" BrayKrakower Poling PR
![Composer Interview: Tom Holkenborg [Junkie XL] (March 11, 2015)](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/1941329/FMM_Logo_Podcasts_300x300.jpg)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Tom Holkenborg [Junkie XL] (March 11, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Tom Holkenborg (also known as Junkie XL) is on an unstoppable roll as one of Hollywood's most in-demand composers. With such hits as 300: Rise Of An Empire, Divergent and much more under his belt he has become one of the prominent sounds of the industry. Tom takes some time to chat about his most recent score to Run All Night starring Liam Neeson. We discuss the unusual process that this score had including the quick 4-week process, as well as compiling a conceptual score after only hearing the plot from an executive at Warner Brothers. Tom shares how that 1-hour musical compilation of ideas got him the job. He talks about researching classic gangster films, including those of composer Ennio Morricone in order to learn how to mesh intensity with emotions. Tom is one of the most clever and innovative musical minds working today and this interview is a great exploration of his creative process. We also pry a bit into Tom's upcoming scores to Mad Max: Fury Road and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Tom HolkenborgRay CostaAlbert TelloCosta Communications

Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Cris Velasco (February 15, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Cris Velasco takes some time to chat about his recent scores to Assassin's Creed: Unity - Dead Kings as well as his work with Clive Barker on the Book Of Blood digital comics. Cris shares about how he found the calling of music composition in college, and why he chose to pursue video game scoring. We discuss his approach and process for video game scoring including what every type of gameplay requires from the music as well as his trick on how to avoid the annoying music loops that gamers hate so much. Cris then discusses his approach for Dead Kings, but even more fascinatingly discusses the process for scoring a digital comic with Clive Barker. Cris Velasco's music has always stood out from the rest because of his impressive melodic structures and emotional pull, and it was an honor to chat with one of the titans of the video game music world.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Cris VelascoGreg O'Connor-ReadTop Dollar PR
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Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Matthew Margeson (February 10, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Matthew Margeson takes some time to talk about his fantastic new score to Kingsman: The Secret Service, which he co-composed with friend and collaborator Henry Jackman. Matt shares his path to film composing and reveals his love for Broadway and musicals, which was the source of his love for music. He got to realize his dream by doing additional orchestrating for the recent Disney adaptation of Into The Woods. We talk in-depth about collaboration, and how he found his path working as an assistant to high-profile composers including Henry Jackman. Matt talks about all the things you will learn being an additional composer, and how that evolved into a fantastic working relationship with Henry. We discuss Kingsman and everything the movie needed musically, including working on a stylized project with director Matthew Vaughn. Matt is a fantastic talent who has shown extreme versatility and a strong style very early in his career. His grasp on film music shines through his work, and it was a pleasure to chat with him about his process.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Matthew MargesonRay CostaAsenath NakayamaAlbert TelloCosta Communications
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Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Eric Serra (January 23, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Eric Serra is one of the most iconic sounds and talents in the film music world. For this all-encompassing interview we discuss how he was reluctantly dragged into film music by an early acquaintance named Luc Besson early in his career, which ended up leading him to find his true passion as a composer. Eric shares so many interesting stories from scores like The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional and working on GoldenEye. He shares the origin of his signature "cohhhh" sound that permeated his soundscape on a few scores but then went on to be used by and to influence other composers as well. We discuss different creative challenges that he has faced, be it from finding ways to reinvent his sound or how to deal with producers to protect his music in the mixing stage. Eric was visiting Los Angeles from France, but was kind enough to sit down for this amazing chat over some drinks at the Caffe Primo on Sunset Boulevard. A different atmosphere than our usual interviews with one of the most unique and influential talents in the film music world.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Eric SerraElaine SchockMeredith LouieShock Ink
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Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Joseph S. DeBeasi (January 23, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Joseph S. DeBeasi jumped into the Hollywood spotlight over the 2015 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend with his work on the underscore for Clint Eastwood's record-breaking film American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper. In this fascinating interview Joseph shares about his musical path, and how he has made an amazing career as a music editor working on huge projects. Through a series of fortunate circumstances he found himself working with one of the greatest filmmaking legends of all-time. We dissect the unusual process for American Sniper, which was anything but traditional when it came to the music. The musical process for Joseph was to find the emotional undercurrent, this had to work as a companion to "Taya's Theme", which Clint wrote as well as with the sound design of the entire picture. From trying an orchestral approach to tossing everything out and re-working from an electronic approach, we discuss the fascinating process behind the movie and Joseph's musical goals for the task at hand. Joseph's fine-tuned abilities to pin-point the tone and emotions of what's on-screen are evident in his work on American Sniper.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Joseph S. DeBeasi
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Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Geoff Zanelli (January 16, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Emmy-winning composer Geoff Zanelli takes some time to talk about his two recent scores to Mortdecai and The Scorpion King 4: Quest For Power. For Mortdecai we discuss Geoff's continuing collaboration with director David Koepp as well as co-scoring with Mark Ronson. The collaboration with Mark was a unique one, but Geoff found that it reawakened a part of his musical background he hadn't tapped into for a while. We chat about the stylistic approach of a film that draws inspiration from the comedy capers of the 60's, and how it needed to be rooted in modern times. We also discuss the benefits and the hindrances of focus groups, which every film goes through. Geoff shares how on The Scorpion King 4 he learned to let loose and score a B-movie, which only had the intention of being campy and tongue in cheek. The question of "What other job on a film besides a composer would you ever want to do?" is also answered. Geoff was the very first interview ever on Film.Music.Media, and over the past 5 years we have never run out of interesting and fun things to discuss. Enjoy!
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Geoff ZanelliEmilie ErskineCW3PR
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Friday Sep 15, 2017
Composer Interview: Alex Ebert (January 16, 2015)
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Golden Globe-winning composer Alex Ebert takes some time to chat about his recent score to A Most Violent Year. Alex talks about how he started an interest in filmmaking, but then decided to pursue singing and songwriting with his bands IMA Robot & Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes. He tells the story of how he ended up with J.C. Chandor on All Is Lost and how that collaboration started. We delve into his process for A Most Violent Year. Alex is definitely a noteworthy talent and his work stands out from the rest.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Alex EbertRay CostaAlbert TelloCosta Communications
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