(Soundtrack Magazine interview continued)

Q: How closely have you worked with producers or directors on scoring documentary films? Is there a difference in the composer-filmmaker relationship on a documentary versus what you find on a feature film?

Williams: My experience has always been that of working closely with the filmmaker. It doesn't matter what the film genre, directors have a vision of their film. They have lived with it much longer than I have and have an idea of what the music needs to do in their film. Whether it’s a documentary or an action picture, the director and producer always have taken a collaborative roll in the music process. All of them hear thematic material before I proceed with writing the score. Nowadays, they all want to see a demo of the score before we go in the studio and record with the orchestra.

Q: What particular challenges does the IMAX format pose for you as a composer?

Williams: I love the large-format venue. For a composer it truly is a dream. First, every single nuance you put on tape, you know you are going to hear in the theater. IMAX theaters have the best sound systems in the world. Also, the music plays a much larger roll that it might in a dramatic feature. I find I have fewer car chases and loud sound effects to contend with than I would in a feature. One of the best phone calls I have received was from the dubbing stage of AMAZON. The director called to say that they were dumping the narration for the last 3 minutes of the film and were just playing my music. That never happens with a feature.

Q: How does the need to have a larger than life sound, matching the large scale of the visual image, affect your compositional or orchestrational approach?

Williams: It all depends on the subject matter and what the filmmaker wants the audience to feel. Most of the time, the large screen calls for a large sound. Working with large orchestras to achieve this has been fantastic.

Q: At the same time, does the large format or the fact that everything is SO big and SO discernable offer you any logistical challenges in orchestration or recording that the relatively smaller scale of, say, a documentary or children's film might not present?

Williams: Actually, the only consideration is the recording and mixing in surround. Most of the same considerations are made when I record any feature since they are always delivered in surround. The only difference is that IMAX theaters are far superior in their sound systems so you have to be very sure where things are planned and how they are balanced. For instance, on AMAZON and KILIMANJARO, there are some very large drums and when they are played loud, you actually shake in your seat in the theater because their presence and force is so great. It's pretty cool to literally "move" the audience with your music.

Q: There has got to be a good story behind the score for ADVENTURES OF SPACE BABY AND MENTAL MAN. How do you approach a children's film, as a composer? Are the needs different than that of an adult drama? Does the younger audience dictate a different approach?

Williams: Well SPACE BABY is an interesting film. It's your not-so-typical story of a boy who fights the evil of the universe and saves the world. As you know, I have worked on a number of so called "family films." I like to think of them as this rather than kid films. Kids nowadays are quite sophisticated and I have been able to write scores to these films that are equally sophisticated. These films also have allowed me to write some very fun yet intelligent music. I have found myself sometimes trying to convince directors that there story is appealing to a wider audience than just kids and the music should also reflect this. In almost every case, when the music can be dramatic rather than cute, the story is better and the audience, especially kids react better to the story. I think music knows no age limit.

Q: What can you tell us about your latest fairy tale score, THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA? What kind of score did you write for this film?

Williams: I am very excited about this project. About 3 years ago I was approached to write the score and songs for this animated feature. After reading the script and then seeing the character designs, I was very excited about being a part of a great story that I knew would appeal to a wide audience. I began by writing 7 original songs with lyricist David Pomeranz. Since the songs had to be written first so that the animators could animate to the actual singers, the songs have been completed for nearly two years. To date, they might be my best work as a composer. I am very proud of them. The songs are for character solos, choir and orchestra very much in the tradition of musical theater. I'm finally beginning to work on the score that is a very traditional symphonic score. Lots of big dramatic and emotional moments along with fun, whimsical, and action-packed sequences. You might say, there's something for everyone in the score.

Q: What was your toughest assignment so far?

Williams: I don't know if I have one toughest assignment. I have however, had a couple. First, writing the songs for PRINCESS were especially challenging since I had no real prior experience writing songs for musical theater. SOUL ASSASSIN was also a challenge for a couple of reasons. The director and I have known each other for quite awhile. He came to me and said he wanted a techo-action score. He knew I didn't have much experience in this genre, but he said he wanted me to do the film. It was a tough project - a 90-minute film that had almost 85-minutes of very intense action music. It was a very fast-paced film and the music had to do a lot of things.

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