(Meridian Magazine interview continued)

I asked Williams if there was every any doubt in his mind about his ability to work in film. "Absolutely not," was out of his mouth before I could finish my sentence. Williams was quick to say, "You've got to have self-confidence in this business. After wanting to be a composer for many years, then spending many years studying and preparing in school, then working on numerous student films for several years, you just feel like 'Put me in the game coach!' The most frustrating thing is to know you've got the skills and the ideas and yet you're not in the game." Williams continues, "The sports analogy doesn't translate exactly, because if you are good in sports, you will get to play. That is not necessarily the case in Hollywood. There are many talented people around, but some just don't get the breaks and others do."

Hollywood has embraced the concept of agents and, although agents could completely go away and business would still carry on, it has proven a useful and effective system for film artists. Williams appreciates the fact that when he sits down with a director, his conversations can be focused on the creative aspect of his job. Having an agent negotiate the details of salary and budget allows Williams to attend to the purely artistic aspects of writing music. Williams will discuss the details of a contract with his agent and attorney (yes, he has one of those too), but this separation of the finances from the creative process allows for an artist to use his talents without the threat of money or other concerns interfering.

The Creative Process

So, what then, is the process of scoring music for a film? "Sometimes the composer is brought in early on to read the screenplay. Much of the time directors are not concerned about the music until it is time to be concerned about music, which is after a picture is shot. Music is the last thing added," says Williams. "I might be hired early on to develop thematic material, but I can't write the specific score until I have the scene in front of me. The music is frame accurate and must literally change tempo and character on frame. One of the hard parts of the process is to make it sound musical when three or four bars of romantic music must shift suddenly to scary music."

Scoring music for a film goes way beyond the technical know how. Movie making is a keenly directed effort, and Williams must often work within the specific vision of the director. "Some directors know exactly what they want and others are not as sure," says Williams. "My job is to add music, which is the drama and emotion, into the film via the vision of the director. So I have to understand that vision, and translate it into the score."

"No two motion pictures are the same," Williams continues. "They might be similar genres, but many times they require different musical approaches or styles. Many composers have their own musical styles; still they are able to do a wide range of genre projects. Nonetheless, you can identify stylistically who the composer is, even though the types of music vary greatly from film to film." Williams notes that, "You have to follow the film and make it flow from one scene to another." Most musicians don't have these types of constraints in writing their music, hence an even greater need for consummate composition skills.

I wondered if Williams felt stifled, limited or compromised by having to work within someone else's framework. "No, it is actually a stimulating challenge to be pointed in a direction and told to be creative within that direction," he says.

My eyes wander back around the home studio; black couch, immaculate wood floors, and CD soundtracks hung neatly along the wall. How is it done? Where do the notes come from? How does one actually come up with the tunes? What is the inspiration for these flowing melodies and poignant pieces that pull at the heartstrings? "Well, that's the 64 million dollar question," quips Williams. "I react emotionally to what I see. The story and characters are all part of the inspiration musically. Some themes and melodies come very fast and sometimes it is really tough work. If anyone tells you differently, they are lying."

According to Williams, the hardest part of the process is coming up with the movie’s main theme. Imagine coming up with the theme to Star Wars, Indiana Jones or 2001: A Space Odyssey. The theme is the part that is labored over more than any one other thing. The thematic material is the building block of the entire score. It serves as the foundation for the entire musical score, and nothing can be done until the theme is in place.

Williams adds, "Once you have that, it is just a matter of being a composer and writing to the scenes. You've got your arsenal of themes, or one really great theme, and it is then just going through the course of developing and varying the music to fit specific emotions. Hopefully the theme is good enough to use in a romantic, sorrowful, elated, tense, etc. way."
And, of course, Williams has a whole orchestra from which to choose his specific instrument, or instruments, for the piece. Williams explains that each instrument or combination thereof, has a different effect upon the listener and can create a different emotion. There can be completely dissimilar emotional responses based upon the arrangement or orchestration of the music.

Rewards

Sounds like a high-pressure job, to be sure. I wanted to know what the most enjoyable part of the process was. "Hands down, the recording process," Williams is quick to reply.

"There is nothing better than standing in front of an orchestra with something you've labored over for 4 or 5 weeks, and hearing some of the world's foremost musicians perform it," declares Williams. I can easily picture Williams at home in front of a 95-piece orchestra; baton in hand he comfortably commands a roomful of artists. His piercing blue eyes are as direct as his approach to the music and it is quickly apparent who is in control. "It is just really exciting," Williams becomes most animated talking about the recording process. "The music comes to life because there is so much more musical camber around you; percussion, strings, woodwinds, brass. Everyone on stage is playing off the same page and it is so wonderful because they are responding and reacting to each other. That is why some performances are better or different than others, because of the interaction between the musicians and conductor."

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