That “Other” Williams
The Film Music by Alan Williams
Interview by Randall D. Larson
(as featured in the Winter 2001 issue of Soundtrack Magazine)

You may have seen his name on an especially intriguing documentary or a cute family film, enjoyed the spark and flavor of the music that underlined the narrative or the drama. For several years now, Alan Williams has been quietly providing some of the most interesting scores for family films, TV-movies, IMAX documentaries, and smallish features, adopting a fluidity of melody and enough varied nuances of texture and style to make his work defy categorization. Alan Williams grew up in Colorado and began studying classical music at the age of 7. He’s been scoring films since 1993. Interviewed last October, Alan described his approach and experiences in film scoring.

Q: What led you into film music?

Alan Williams: From a young age, I knew I wanted to write music for films. Film and music are the two most powerful mediums. When they are combined there is nothing more emotionally stimulating. I am one of those guys who actually trained to be a film composer. I studied classical piano since the age of 7. I received a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Brigham Young University and then did graduate work in Film Scoring at the University of Southern California.

Q: How would you describe your personal musical style, as it applies to film composition?

Williams: I think melody is the most important element to my approach as a film composer. Although I have worked on a varying array of film projects, I approach each one with melody foremost in mind. I feel it important to try and come up with some type of melodic content that embodies the emotional content of a film. Although there might be many different nuances to the drama and emotion of a film, the building blocks of a score come from one or two underlining melodic ideas. 

I don't know if I have a specific "style" because the musical style varies from film to film. I do try however, to capture the essence of the story with a melody.

Q: What influences do you feel have affected your approach?

Williams: I have been influenced by music from a variety of composers since I was a young. The music of Vaughan Williams has certainly influenced my melodic sensitivities as a composer. The use of rhythm by composers such as Stravinsky and Goldsmith has been influential as well.

Q: You have scored a variety of dramas, television movies, children’s films, and documentaries, each of course with their own unique needs. Do you have a particular preference as a composer, or is the variety to your liking?

Williams: Variety is a good thing because it forces me as a composer to come up with fresh ideas. With the unique needs of films in many different genres I have the opportunity to expand my base as a composer. I can experiment with musical elements that cause me to stretch as a composer. I think this is invaluable for a composer. Getting comfortable writing the same type of score again and again weakens the music for the film. That having been said, I certainly have films that I enjoy more than others. Dramatic films with good stories are the ones I most enjoy working on the most. I find it more rewarding being able to get into the characters and the story and to help add the intangible dramatic and emotional elements from the music that you are not able to do with say a documentary film.

Q: How do you approach a documentary, such as AMAZON or the new KILIMANJARO? Is the function of music different in a nondramatic film like a documentary, versus say a dramatic feature film?

Williams: Although documentary films such as the IMAX score I have written are not traditional dramatic films, I approach the music as if it were a dramatic narrative. For AMAZON and KILIMANJARO there were not a lot of dramatic elements from characters in the film, but there were many opportunities to treat the river or the mountain as a character itself. By thinking this way, I approach it the same as if it were a dramatic feature. I still work on creating a melody that encompasses the particular location as if it were a character or underlining emotion of a feature story.

Q: ISLAND OF THE SHARKS was an especially pleasing documentary score, rich in melody. There seems to be a John Barry influence here. Was this due to a temp score?

Williams: The film was temped with Barry. The filmmakers wanted a romantic theme for the sharks, showing their grace and beauty. It seems that whenever a score has a long, broad melody it's reminiscent of a John Barry score.

Q: Was the temp a problem for you on this score? Do you find it awkward when a temp score may dictate an approach not necessarily of your own choosing?

Williams: Most of the time composers don't enjoy temp scores. They do serve a purpose however. They can point a composer in a particular musical direction that the director wants to go. The problem arises when the filmmaker WANTS the temp as their score. A composer can be handcuffed by this. There have been cases when I have felt that all I was asked to do was rewrite a piece of temp music. That is a real problem. A composer should be hired to collaborate with the filmmaker and compose an original score, not rewrite an existing score.

Q: What kind of musical research have you had to do to create authentic sounding ethnic music for some of these scores such as AMAZON or DEAD SEA SCROLLS?

Williams: I try and familiarize myself with as much music as I can. When called upon to write a score with ethnic music, I do a lot of listening to both indigenous instruments and to musical styles.

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