(Cinemusic interview continued)

How did you prepare for Kilimanjaro?

Can you explain the choices you’ve made concerning this score? How did you approach it? The preparations for the score consisted of a bit of research on East African music and instruments. From there, the musical choices came from the director and myself. The director wanted the main theme to have African elements but also convey the majesty of the mountain. I love combining ethnic instruments with the traditional orchestra. I also added choir for both the traditional African vocals in the main theme as well as for the more “spiritual” and “dramatic” parts of the film. Percussion is a big part of the score as well. Rhythm is as important in my scores as is melody. Working with African rhythms and percussion was a real treat.

Did you prepare a demo for Kilimanjaro? Are you usually asked to prepare demos?

Yes I prepared demos of the score. Directors always want to hear demos before we record with the orchestra. It has become the rule.

Was Kilimanjaro “temped’ ? Have you ever been given a film without a temp score?

Yes. Most films I do come with some amount of temp music. I was fortunate when I wrote the score to “Princess and the Pea” because it was not temped. It was very liberating to write without a temp score.

You said that you can experiment with musical elements that cause you to stretch as a composer. Is there a particular style that would be challenging for you?

Probably my next film. Every project comes with its own set of challenges. I have been fortunate to work in a wide range of genres. This has given me opportunities to write in many different styles. However, I think that every project makes a composer stretch. If not, he’s playing it too safe. Rewriting the same score gets boring.

Have you been impressed by film music these days? Which composers or scores in particular?

I am not impressed with a lot of the film music today. I think that there is too much music in movies and certainly not enough memorable scores. It seems a lot of filmmakers are wanting atmospheric, groove-driven, texture scores. These elements are great but too many times a film is lacking the emotional connection with a memorable theme. Then the development of the theme provides the emotional payoff. Unfortunately a lot of the scores are not written from a thematic point of view. The result is a lot of cues put together to form a score rather than a cohesive “musical” big picture with themes and motives being developed to construct a complete work.

Soul Assassins is a very intense action score. Can you explain the choices you’ve made on this one? Was particular challenges did it present?

This was a very interesting score. Techno music was something I was not a fan of nor I had I listened to much of it. The director was very specific about the musical choices especially with regards to the pacing. There were many complex edits. The music had to keep the pace going for the entire picture. Although there was really only one memorable theme from the score, many of the other musical elements served as the motives for the score. They ultimately became the building blocks for the score.

You have done many IMAX films. (Amazon, Mark Twain’s America, Islands of the Sharks, and more recently Kilimanjaro) Do you approach them differently than a “regular film”? Is this something you would like to pursue?

I really don’t approach IMAX films any different than other films. I begin with writing a theme that encompasses the entire film. This is no different than writing a theme for a regular film. Music serves the same purpose in IMAX as it does in features. I treat every project the same with respect to the construction of the score regardless of whether it’s a documentary or feature.

You appear to be more at ease with the orchestra as a medium to convey your emotions. How do you deal with synthesizers? You compose with them?

I do feel at home with the orchestra. I love the orchestra. I love the power and intimacy of the orchestra. I do enjoy the electronics as well but only to be used as another instrument in the orchestra. It is very exciting to combine the orchestra with the electronics. I do use the synthesizers and samples a lot as I have to demo all of the cues. The beginning stages of composing however, always begin with just the piano.

The songs you wrote for The Princess and the Pea are very much in the tradition of musical theatre. What was it like to undertake that challenge?

This was a big challenge. I previously didn’t have any experience with musical theatre. I knew that the songs were a very important part of the film. In animation, music plays a larger role than in a live-action films. The songs would be the most important part of musical approach. Since the songs were written before the scenes were animated, I was on the project from the beginning. I would write the music first and then David Pomeranz would work on the lyrics. We would then get together and “fine tune” the songs. These songs had to develop the characters while furthering the plot and remaining musical and memorable. We spent more time writing the 7 songs than I did composing nearly 60 minutes of underscore.

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