Film.Music.Media

Greg Nicolett | Potionomics / T.O.T.S

Composer Greg Nicolett proved his versatility very early in his career, which has opened the doors to some amazing opportunities where his music and talents as a storyteller shine.
For this interview we sit down with Greg to learn more about his path to becoming a composer, and discuss topics such as how a career in the entertainment industry can take a lot longer to achieve certain goals vs other career paths.
Greg shares a lot about his work on the hit indie game Potionomics, and how he was also allowed to place his music within the game which is not always the case in game production. Greg's background as an editor also expands his versatility in post production.
We also talk preschool! A genre and demographic that hardly gets any attention or spotlight. Greg takes us into his work for the Disney Junior series T.O.T.S, and what the process is like working on a preschool show including the process and working with songs.
Whether you see Greg making an appearance in Rob Cantor's viral "Shia LaBeouf" Live (no really, check out the pianist!) or hear his music in a Disney production, Greg brings his passion to his work every step of the way.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Carter Burwell | Composer: The Banshees Of Inisherin

Carter Burwell is one of the most iconic auteur composers working today, whose sound is instantly recognizable from the first few notes you hear. Carter's unique voice also attracts unique filmmakers from the Coen brothers, Spike Jonze, and of course Martin McDonagh.
For this interview we focus heavily on the work Carter has done with McDonagh with In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, and The Banshees Of Inisherin.
Before we dive into Carter's scores for McDonagh, we take a look back at Thick Pigeon. Carter recounts stories of how he and Stanton Miranda formed Thick Pigeon as a musical group that came onto the NYC music scene before Carter was pulled into the world of film composition. Carter reflects back on his early career a bit, and how he ended up scoring films like Psycho III and Blood Simple.
As we dive into McDonagh's films, Carter takes us into his approach for The Banshees Of Inisherin and how the score's simple approach and sound was settled upon. We also touch upon his absolutely unique a cappella inspired score he did for Lena Dunham's Catherine Called Birdy.
Carter also talks about what he has coming up in the future including re-teaming with Ethan Coen, who is currently in post production with his next film.
It's been a few years since we had Carter as a guest, and it's always a massive treat to get to hear all of Carter's wonderful insights.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
 

Jason Graves | Composer: The Devil In Me

Composer Jason Graves has paved an incredible career path over the years, with a strong focus on scoring games. We take a walk down memory lane as Jason talks about his early years being mentored by composers like Elmer Bernstein, the ins and outs of scoring games, how working on Until Dawn with Supermassive Games led to The Dark Pictures Anthology, and how he approached the latest installment The Devil In Me.
We also talk about scoring video game tie-ins to movies like Flushed Away and King Arthur, and how he always tries to get the composer of the film's blessing and insight before doing a game like that. Jason also talks about how it feels that the Dead Space remake is upon us, and how touched he is that they decided to re-use his original score in the remake.
Lots of amazing insight and great stories from one of the most prominent composers in gaming!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Dominic Lewis | Composer: Spirited / Violent Night

Our friend Dom Lewis is back again to lift our holiday spirits up with not one, but TWO new scores that aim to spread some festive cheer. We dig into his scores to Spirited and Violent Night. One is a musical comedy, the other a violent action flick done in the spirit of Die Hard.
For Spirited, Dom scored his first musical and we talk about the composer's role in a musical when it comes to navigating around the songs that were written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. We also discuss leaning into that heartwarming feel of Christmas scores without getting too schmaltzy, plus the excitement of writing a big orchestral score with choir that taps into the genre.
For Violent Night we talk about creating a score that embraces the Christmas feel, but how it needed to be over the top in a very operatic way for this balls-to-the-wall action flick that subverts the genre. Dom talks about all the differences in writing this score vs Spirited, including how he recorded himself for the entire choir and recorded an original song.
It's always a pleasure to have Dom sit down and chat, and such a nice way to kick of the holiday season!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Jimmy LaValle aka The Album Leaf | Composer: Something In The Dirt

Jimmy LaValle (aka The Album Leaf) didn't expect to ever become a film composer, but the type of music he was writing pushed him into the realm of screen music.
We talk all about Jimmy's unconventional path to becoming a composer, how The Album Leaf concept started, growing up in the 90's music scene of San Diego, his old days of touring with bands like Sigur Rós, his process for composing scores, and we dive into his approach to scoring Something In The Dirt. We also discuss his continued collaboration with directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson.
Jimmy's unique sound palette and voice as a musical storyteller has gained him an incredible following of fans, and his wonderful insight into his process is nothing short of inspiring.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Tutti Music Partners | Orchestrators: The Lord Of The Rings- The Rings Of Power

Orchestrators Jonathan Beard and Henri Wilkinson take us deep into the world of orchestration as we examine how they (along with Ed Trybek) took composer Bear McCreary's massive score and brought it to life.
Jonathan, Ed (who could not join due to scheduling) and Henri together are Tutti Music Partners, one of the most prestigious orchestration teams working in the entertainment industry.
Jonathan and Henri delve into a side of music that is rarely talked about, and that is orchestration. Learn all about the process of how an orchestration team works with a composer to realize the vision of the score.
The dynamic trio have a long and trusted relationship working with Bear, so of course Bear brought them in to orchestrate The Rings Of Power. Due to Bear's demanding schedule, Tutti Music Partners also oversaw the recording sessions for the score and take us into that process as well.
Jonathan and Henri illuminate every aspect of orchestration, examine some of Bear's themes in terms of orchestrating, talk about recording choir in one of Tolkien's languages, how their duties were split across the 6-8 months they worked on the project, and much more!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Adam Lukas & James Everingham | Co-Composers: Frozen Planet II

Composers Adam Lukas and James Everingham take us into their score for the awe-inspiring Frozen Planet II, which they co-composed with Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music.
Learn about Adam and James, and how they found their path to composing. Adam and Lukas also discuss what the process is working at Bleeding Fingers Music, and how the duo became a perfect match when paired to co-write the score for Frozen Planet II.
We break down the production pipeline process for scoring an iconic BBC Earth docuseries, and how Adam and James worked with Hans Zimmer as well as featured vocalist AURORA on the score. Adam and James also talk about helping to create the custom "Fractured Strings" library with Hans Zimmer and Spitfire Audio that was utilized in scoring Frozen Planet II.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Ben Lovett | Composer: Hellraiser

Composer Ben Lovett joins for an All Access discussion that takes us into his musical world!
We chat about how Ben got into music, what the pivot point was to start scoring films, and how he works with directors on projects.
We also dive into his score for Hellraiser directed by long-time collaborator David Bruckner. Hear Ben talk about his approach, his respect and research for the original novel and original film adaptation, honoring Christopher Young's score, putting his own voice into this adaption, and much more!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Steven Price | Composer: Our Planet Live In Concert / My Policeman

Oscar-winning composer Steven Price sits down for a brand new All Access interview that takes us into recent projects such as Our Planet Live In Concert's upcoming US Tour, Beast and My Policeman.
Steven breaks down his amazing score for Netflix's Our Planet, which focuses on climate change and humanity's impact on the natural world. We discuss how Steven approach the score for the series, how he navigates that iconic David Attenborough narration, and how different sound palettes are used for different natural habitats.
We then talk about the journey of taking his score from the series and adapting it for the stage with Our Planet Live In Concert. Steven talks about how the live-to-picture event reimagines Our Planet for a single-viewing concert experience that still covers all the major moments of the series.
We also talk about recent scores such as Beast and My Policeman, and the different approaches Steven took with those films. We also dive into Steven's general approach to composition, working with directors, and so much more!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas

Miriam Cutler | Composer: Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down

Composer Miriam Cutler's passion and versatility has made her one of the most prominent composers working today, especially in the world of documentaries. It's absolutely wonderful to have Miriam back as a guest on Film.Music.Media.
Miriam tells some fascinating stories of her unconventional path to becoming a composer. Hear about her early days in the 70's as a performer when she joined up with Richard and Danny Elfman and their street theater group The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. This was before Danny Elfman reformed the group into the band we all know Oingo Boingo.
Miriam shares how she was very much into journalism and being part of the feminist movement, and how her path eventually led to composing. This led to an early career doing sleazy horror pictures, which was enough for her to hone her skills and eventually move her career to focus on documentary scoring.
We also talk about projects like her recent score to Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down and the Oscar-nominated RBG, including what working on a documentary is like and how it's completely different to your typical fictional narrative workflow.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas