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
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Scoring Strong Characters | Midsummer Music Matinee
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Stories often feature characters with prominent characteristics that can inform their unique sound palettes. In this panel, we’ll dive into the creative decisions composers make when working with strong characters, from villains in superhero films to dinosaurs from millions of years ago.
Featuring composers Tyler Strickland (Edge of the Earth), George Streicher (Corrective Measures), Amit May Cohen (Zombies 3), and Kara Talve and Anže Rozman of Bleeding Fingers Music (Prehistoric Planet).
Moderated by Film.Music.Media Founder Kaya Savas.
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Aldo Shllaku | Composer: The Comeback Trail
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Composer Aldo Shllaku sits down for a great conversation about his score to the star-studded comedy The Comeback Trail! We discuss his childhood, his family having to escape communism, planting roots in a new country, finding his passion for music, and how he decided to go into composition.
We talk about Aldo's early days of his career, and how he got his foot in the door working with Christopher Young. Aldo also shares why being mentored or being part of a music team is the best education someone can have in the industry.
Aldo goes into great detail about working with writer/director George Gallo, and what goes into their lasting collaborative relationship. We also discuss how he approached scoring the comedy with a full orchestra with 100 musicians from around the world, and why the score needed to be thematic while homaging the classic sound of Hollywood. You can check out Aldo's score, which is out now!
Aldo shares so much insight here fueled by his passion for music and movies!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Monday Aug 08, 2022
Dominic Lewis | Composer: Bullet Train
Monday Aug 08, 2022
Monday Aug 08, 2022
Our good pal Dominic Lewis is back to take into his latest score for Bullet Train! The Brad Pitt-starring action/comedy/thriller comes from director David Leitch who brings his style and vision to the table.
Dom takes us deep into exploring all about the process of working with no temp, writing material before shooting, writing and producing songs in the film, the approach and tone of the score, finding the emotion within the style of the film, recording elements on analog to achieve a certain feel, chugging tequila to get his vocals where they needed to be, blending genres, recording vocals, and so much more!
We also briefly chat about his score to Baymax! on Disney+, and what it was like returning to the world of Big Hero 6 after working as an additional composer on Henry Jackman's score to the film.
As always, this one is tons of fun with a BOATLOAD of insight from one of the most passionate and original musical voices in the industry.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Thursday Jul 28, 2022
Henry Jackman | Composer: The Gray Man
Thursday Jul 28, 2022
Thursday Jul 28, 2022
Our good friend Henry Jackman joins us for another great discussion. This is Henry's 9th time as a guest on Film.Music.Media, so if you're looking for more extensive discussions on his past projects be sure to check out our past interviews.
For this discussion we rewind back to Henry's days as an album producer and programmer before he ever even thought he'd become a film/tv/game composer. Experience old stories about how Henry worked on albums with artists like Seal, Sally Oldfield, Mike Oldfield, Coolio, Conner Reeves, Michael Gordon, and others.
Then we dive right into Henry's continued collaboration with the Russo brothers, and hear some stories from their past collaborations on films like Captain America: Winter Soldier and Cherry.
Then we dive right into their latest collaboration for The Gray Man starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, which is now streaming on Netflix. Hear about how Henry worked several months on The Gray Man suite before they even started shooting to help shape the mood and tone for the film, plus some of Henry's favorite scenes and set pieces to work on in the film and what he was going for with his approach.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Theodore Shapiro | Composer: Severance
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Spoiler Warning: Skip 29:22 - 30:48 to avoid some Severance spoilers. There is an audible warning before spoilers within the interview as well.
Theodore Shapiro's versatility as a storyteller spans across genres from slapstick screwball comedies like Dodgeball all the way to nuanced character dramas like The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. Recently he re-teamed with director Ben Stiller for the acclaimed Severance on Apple TV+. The series is a wonderfully executed thriller that blends science fiction in a grounded modern reality with plenty of social commentary on top of well-developed characters and storytelling.
Theodore shares a bit about his path to becoming a composer including taking us into his general approach. We discuss the great traits he loves in his regular collaborators like Paul Feig and Ben Stiller, and why he loves working with them.
Theodore tells the story of how he first met Ben Stiller, which led him to scoring Dodgeball and eventually working with Ben when he was in the director's chair on Tropic Thunder. We look back at projects like Tropic Thunder, Zoolander 2, and do a bit of a dive into Severance.
For Severance, we examine the approach Theodore took musically including how that intense season 1 finale was crafted, developing character arcs, working on the source music in the show, how the extraordinary main title sequence came together, favorite moments, and much more!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
The Newton Brothers | Composers: Midnight Mass
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
The Newton Brothers are back on All Access, this time to go in-depth about their magnificent work on Mike Flanagan's brilliant Midnight Mass miniseries that you can currently stream on Netflix. While the series premiered last fall, it was Film.Music.Media's #1 television score on our Best Scores Of 2021 list so it's an absolute pleasure to have Taylor and Andy back to talk about their score.
Taylor Newton Stewart and Andy Grush make up The Newton Brothers (named after their shared love of Isaac Newton), and on this All Access we revisit their long-lasting collaboration with writer/director Mike Flanagan going all the way back to Oculus in 2013.
We start by testing how well the two know each other in another round of the "Composer Newlywed Game" that we recently played with Matt Margeson and Dominic Lewis in a previous All Access.
We jump into Midnight Mass where Taylor and Andy take us into the incredibly unique scoring process that initially started as only recording versions of traditional hymns, but then expanded to score when Mike Flanagan realized that just having hymns was not enough to craft the emotional arcs of the characters. Hear the story of how Andy lost his voice recording the hymns, and his moments of anxiety when Mike Flanagan asked him to play a small cameo acting role in the series. The duo also talk about how horror as a genre allows certain creation and experimentation that other genres don't always provide, and why Mike Flanagan's work is more along the lines of character drama rather than pure traditional horror.
It's always a pleasure to catch up with Andy and Taylor, who have shown their amazing versatility as musical storytellers across so many wonderful projects.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Friday May 27, 2022
Lorne Balfe | Score Producer/Co-Composer: Top Gun - Maverick
Friday May 27, 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
Lorne was a guest on Film.Music.Media for the first time 11 years ago, and he was the very first All Access video interview over 7 years ago. We've had many great conversations over the past decade, so it's a true pleasure to have Lorne back for a new All Access.
For this conversation we discuss what has changed in the entertainment industry over the past decade, and what it means for younger people starting their careers now versus back then. We also discuss how integral music editors are on films and television, and why Lorne wholly believes that every aspect of filmmaking is a team effort including scoring.
We dive into Top Gun: Maverick and how Lorne worked with Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer on the music for the film. He shares how they had to adapt during the pandemic, and the key to making a team effort be cohesive to serve the story.
Lorne also talks about how much of a fan he was of 90's action films especially those from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. We talk about our shared love for 90's action, and how Lorne is now working with people like Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer on different projects. We also talk about Lorne's scores to Bad Boys For Life, and how he made sure Mark Mancina's theme was front and center. Lorne also talks about working on Michael Bay's Ambulance.
As always, it's a pleasure to have Mr. Balfe as a guest and this conversation is a fantastic insight and reflection on some of his current projects.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Thursday May 26, 2022
Natalie Holt | Composer: Loki / Obi-Wan Kenobi
Thursday May 26, 2022
Thursday May 26, 2022
Composer Natalie Holt is one of the busiest composers working today, and she joins us for this fantastic All Access to take us behind her career and projects.
Natalie discusses her early career working for composers like Ilan Eshkeri and Martin Phipps, and what she learned from that time being part of a composer's music team. We dive into her process and how she finds the starting point for a project. We also discuss how she approaches television arcs, thematic structure, the importance of music editors, working with directors, and much more!
Natalie takes us behind her score to Loki, and what it was like to craft a score for one on Marvel's most iconic characters. She explores how she found the tone and atmosphere of the series, what Loki needed as a character, and what she found both rewarding and challenging.
We also touch briefly on her score for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Natalie shares what a dream it was to work with John Williams and have him be part of the limited series.
Natalie is an extremely passionate and talented storyteller and it was such a joy to have her take time to explore her career and process.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Monday May 02, 2022
Cristobal Tapia de Veer | Composer: The White Lotus
Monday May 02, 2022
Monday May 02, 2022
Cristobal Tapia de Veer's life journey has taken him down many roads, and even he didn't expect to end up as a film and television composer. In this All Access interview, Cristobal talks about how his career in producing pop music led him to a chance meeting that set him on the path to his most creatively rewarding projects.
Cristobal just won the 2022 ASCAP Composer's Choice Awards for television score of the year and television theme of the year for his score to The White Lotus. The annual ASCAP Screen Music Awards feature the "Composer's Choice Awards" that are voted on solely by the ASCAP composer and songwriter community.
We discuss Cristobal's general approach to composition and musical storytelling, how he loves to experiment and work solely by himself without any assistants or music team, and much more!
We also dive into Cristobal's score for The White Lotus, which is the acclaimed miniseries from writer/director Mike White that you can stream right now on HBO Max.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Shie Rozow (Composer: The Last Of The Winthrops)
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
Sunday Apr 03, 2022
The wonderfully talented and fun Shie Rozow joins us for an All Access interview that shines a light not just on Shie's personal career but also on the crafts of composing and music editing as a whole.
Shie tells his personal story of growing up in Israel and moving to the United States where he found his career path as a composer and music editor. We first dive into what exactly a music editor does, and Shie explains every part of the craft and how he approaches it from temp score editing to conforming cues.
We then explore some of Shie's recent work as a composer including the feature documentary The Last Of The Winthrops. We also look at some of the short-subject docs that Shie composed like One Day You'll Go Blind, Body Language, and Legacy: The Life Of Canto Robledo.
Shie is one of the most talented storytellers and musical professionals working in Hollywood today, and this interview is a treasure trove of insight from someone who has paved their own unique career path.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas