Feature Film Composer

A cue can work beautifully on its own and still be wrong in the context of an entire feature.

Music that feels appropriately dramatic in one scene might feel excessive after watching the ten minutes that precedes it. A theme introduced too completely at the beginning may lose some of the emotional impact it could have had later.

That’s why I think about the score across the entire film.

Where should we remain restrained?

Where should the music become more emotionally present?

Which musical ideas should appear early only in fragments?

When has the audience developed enough of a relationship with a character for the complete theme to mean something?

A feature gives us time to develop musical ideas in much the same way the film develops its characters.

Before writing, I want to understand the director’s vision.

That usually means conversations about the story, emotional arc, existing temp music, references, instrumentation and what the director wants the audience to experience.

Then I prefer to start making music.

Rather than spending too long discussing what the score might sound like, I’ll often begin with an important scene that can help us discover what the film actually needs.

It might be a major dramatic moment, an important character scene or a sequence that represents the musical world of the film particularly well.

We can explore the instrumentation, theme, texture and emotional language against picture—and refine the identity from there.

I’m also looking for the idea that makes the score specific to this film.

Sometimes that’s a theme.

Sometimes it’s an unusual combination of instruments.

Sometimes it’s a texture or sound that wasn’t originally anticipated.

The objective isn’t to make something unusual simply for the sake of being different.

It’s to find something distinctive that serves the picture so naturally that, once you hear it, it feels like it belongs there.

When a film calls for melody, I believe a strong theme can create an identity in a way texture alone often cannot.

But not every character needs a theme.

The right approach depends entirely on the film.

A score might revolve around one central musical idea. Another might benefit from different themes for characters, relationships or places. A story that moves between cultures or environments may allow the instrumentation itself to evolve as the film changes.

Often I’ll introduce only pieces of a theme early in the film.

As the audience gets to know the characters, the musical idea can develop with them. When the fuller theme eventually arrives, the audience already has a relationship with it—even if they aren’t consciously analyzing why.

Cohesion can also come from recurring instrumentation, textures, harmonic language and variations derived from the same musical material.

The goal is for dozens of individual cues to feel like they belong to one film.

I believe a great feature score should deepen the emotional experience of watching the film without continually asking the audience to notice the music.

The score should help create the emotion the director is trying to communicate.

But my highest goal is a little more ambitious.

I want the music to have enough identity and musical integrity that it can stand on its own, while remaining restrained enough that it never overwhelms the picture.

If someone finishes the film emotionally affected by the score—and perhaps later realizes they can still remember or hum its theme—that is an extraordinary outcome.

My strongest musical instincts tend to live in stories with dramatic weight.

A feature score is both a creative undertaking and a substantial production.

Before getting deep into writing, I want to understand the scope: how much music we’re creating, the complexity of the score, recording requirements, schedule, budget, personnel and the director’s expectations.

That allows us to design the production around the film rather than discovering logistical problems when we’re already halfway through it.

Depending on the project, the scoring team may include orchestrators, score preparation, engineers, assistants, musicians, recording personnel and a score producer.

My job is to remain deeply involved in the creative decisions while making sure the production surrounding those decisions can actually execute them.

Good planning also creates something particularly valuable:

I want directors to feel comfortable telling me when something isn’t working.

Sometimes filmmakers hesitate because they don’t know the musical terminology for what they’re hearing.

That’s fine.

Tell me what you’re feeling.

Tell me what the scene is supposed to be doing.

Tell me that the music feels too sad, too heroic, too obvious, too restrained or somehow simply wrong.

Part of my responsibility is translating those reactions into musical decisions.

I also believe collaboration means contributing ideas—not merely following instructions.

I’ll bring options, musical concepts and creative opinions to the conversation. Sometimes that might mean an unexpected instrument, a different texture or an approach neither of us originally anticipated.

But those ideas come after understanding the director’s vision, not instead of it.

The goal is an open creative relationship in which ideas can move quickly in both directions and everyone remains focused on the same thing:

There are extraordinary composers at every stage of a career.

What experience adds to a feature production is not simply another credit on a résumé. It can reduce the uncertainty surrounding execution.

Can the score be completed on schedule?

Can a recording process be organized efficiently?

Can the right team be assembled?

Can revisions be accommodated without derailing delivery?

Can the composer remain focused creatively while dozens of production details are happening around the music?

I bring both the musical and operational sides of that process to a project.

At the same time, I don’t believe experience should make a composer less adaptable.

If another composer’s musical voice is clearly the right voice for a film, that filmmaker should work with that composer.

If my musical instincts connect with your film, then my goal is to give you both sides of the equation: