Film.Music.Media

Composer Interview: Sean Callery (August 23, 2012)

Emmy winning composer Sean Callery takes some time to talk about his work on the hit series, Homeland. Sean received his 12th Emmy nomination for his main theme to the show. We talk about how he found his way into music and ultimately composing. He discusses his methods and approaches on shows like 24 and Homeland, and the differences between cable and broadcast network television. Through that Sean reveals the importance of working with great showrunners and how that makes the difference when you're in the midst of composing a television series. This was truly one of the best interviews I've had and it's extremely informative. A fun chat with an amazing and talented guy. Sean's other credits include 24, Bones, Medium and La Femme Nikita among many others.

Composer Interview: Geoff Zanelli (August 18, 2012)

Geoff was the first interview ever on Film, Music & Media done via email back in 2009. Now we chat again about his recent score to The Odd Life Of Timothy Green. Geoff tells us his inspirations for the music and what he wanted to achieve with the score. The music is clearly his most personal score yet and everything that he shares in this interview reflects that. Geoff Zanelli has really created a heartfelt and memorable narrative here, and it was a real pleasure to be able to have him back on F.M.M. Geoff shares how fatherhood helped him connect with the story and allowed him to write in his true voice. We also discuss how John Toll's cinematography influenced how he approached the music plus working with director Peter Hedges. It was a real joy to speak to Geoff about this wonderful score.

Composer Interview: Michael Bacon (August 9, 2012)

Composer and songwriter Michael Bacon takes some time to chat about his music and methods. We discuss how he got started in music and what led him to film composing. As an established documentary composer he shares some insight into his process for scoring many documentaries over his esteemed career. We also chat about his band with his brother, actor Kevin Bacon and what that journey means to him. An incredibly insightful chat with a great musical storyteller.

Composer Interview: Reza Safinia (August 1, 2012)

Reza Safinia has had an impressive career in the music business for a long time first starting in the pop music scene. We discuss his transition from that part of the industry to film composing. He shares what he looks for in a film for musical inspiration and we discuss his score to the Sundance hit, Filly Brown. He shares his approach for the film and what it's like to have a screen film at Sundance. He also shares some insight for his upcoming film, Snap. A great and insightful interview.

Composer Interview: Adam Peters (July 16, 2012)

Composer Adam Peters takes some time to chat about his recent collaboration with director Oliver Stone. His music can be heard in Oliver Stone's Savages and is an integral part of the entire soundscape. He shares what it's like working with Oliver, how he got the job, what his goals were and how his music needed to interact with the many songs Stone used throughout the movie. He also reflects on his time working with Hans Zimmer on the Rango score. An incredibly talented musician with a great ear for textures and colors in music. Enjoy this immensely enlightening interview.

Composer Interview: Fall On Your Sword (July 12, 2012)

The composing duo Fall On Your Sword (Will Bates & Phil Mossman) take time to talk about their scores for Lola Versus and Another Earth. We chat about how they met and how the name "Fall On Your Sword" came to be. Will and Phil talk about their process and the musical goals for Lola Versus and what they wanted the music to do for the character. We also discuss the use of vocals in film scores and what the vocals in their music meant for the story. A very refreshing interview from a talented team of composers.

Composer Interview: Brian Tyler (July 1, 2012)

Brian Tyler is one of the busiest and most successful composers working today. He's behind some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood and has the honor of being the composer of the highest grossing entertainment entity of all time on any medium with Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We talk about his current projects including The Expendables 2 and his recent task of rearranging Jerry Goldsmith's Universal Studios logo fanfare for the 100th Anniversary. We chat about his upcoming July concert where he has expanded the fanfare into its own piece. He shares how he got his big break at so early in his career and even shares some recent things he deals with on a daily basis with an example from The Expendables 2. We also chat about his scores to TV shows like Terra Nova, Hawaii Five-O and Transformers: Prime. Brian is truly a great guy and is a lot of fun to chat with.

Composer Interview: Danny Elfman (May 27, 2012) [Audio Sourced From Video]

(Audio Sourced From Video) Composer Danny Elfman talks about Dark Shadows in this intensive Q&A moderated by Jeff Bond. Hosted at Warner Brothers Studios, Elfman goes into great detail about his relationship with Tim Burton and much more. He also answers questions from fans. Please excuse the shaky camera work and choppy editing. I did not come prepared to film this, but due to my great location decided to capture it so other's could experience. Enjoy! This is not the full interview as some parts were omitted due to lack of focus and time.

Composer Interview: Elliot Goldenthal (May 22, 2012)

Oscar winner Elliot Goldenthal takes some time to talk about his concert for the Film Music Festival in Krakow, Poland. We discuss what it was like reflecting back on his body of work and the preparations it took to ready the music for a live performance. We touch on his scores for Alien 3 and Batman Forever, and how he crafted such iconic scores in the midst of huge recognizable franchises. His reflections on working with David Fincher on Alien 3 were particularly interesting. He also shares his next film that he's working on with Julie Taymor. A true legend of the medium and it was an honor to interview him for a second time for F.M.M.

Composer Interview: Kevin Mathei (May 19, 2012)

Composer Kevin Manthei takes time to talk about his hit animated shows like Ultimate Spider-Man and Invader ZIM including what the turn around is for an animated show. We chat about what led him to be a composer and how get got his start. The veteran video game composer also talks about what has changed in the process from the very first video game he score to his most recent one. We also discuss "brand" and "genre" sounds, and he shares what its like for a composer to work on a popular video game tie-in" like Tron: Evolution way before the movie even comes out. A great chat with a very talented composer.