Can you remember the first time a film score made a big impact on you?

When I was a kid, probably a little younger than I should have been, my mom and I would stay up late watching old movies. She loved horror and sci-fi, so I remember watching things like The Omen and hearing that satanic choir tilt liturgical music on its head, or trying to pluck out  the theme to A Nightmare on Elm Street on the piano. But the one that I remember stopping me in my tracks was Goldsmith’s score to the original 1968 Planet of the Apes. The score was so alien yet so familiar, jagged melody and strange harmony. It wasn’t till I was studying music when I was older that I learned that the term was “atonal”, and that influences my work even until today. 

How would you describe your style of composition in three words?

Atonal. Thematic. Punk Rock

How do you balance your own musical voice with the director’s vision for the film?

To me, the score is almost like another member of the cast. It doesn’t have to be in every scene, but it needs to serve a purpose when it is there. I really try to work with the director to make sure I am hitting the correct emotional underpinning to the scene. But again, like a good actor, you hope that the director chose you because of your particular set of skills and what you bring to the table. Film is arguably the most collaborative art form, and I think at the end of the day you have to do whatever is best for the film. 

Do you write to picture immediately, or do you compose thematic material before seeing the edit?

If I can, I will always join a project as early as possible. There is something about the freedom of coming up with themes just on a script or even just the early concept of the film. Again, like an actor might do, you can can get a feel in your head for how you will play the character, and it allows you to come up with ideas that can truly make the score your own, and still gives you enough time to work out other ideas if the director doesn’t like the direction you are going. And if they do, then you just made post production go much quicker. 

What non-musical sources (literature, art, nature, etc.) inspire your compositions? 

I believe that if you are paying attention, inspiration can come from anywhere. I’ve been inspired by all sorts of art from Goya to Frank Stella, literature and math books, even the rhythm created between the rain and the windshield wipers. There’s so much music all around, but sometimes you use your other senses to hear it. 

Top three film scores and why:

So it might be the most vanilla answer a horror fan can come up with, but Bernard Herrmann’s PSYCHO (1960). Everyone talks about the shower scene, and for good reason, but to me, the rest of that suite is peak thriller. Also, you cant forget the genius of doing a monochromatic score, only strings, for a monochromatic movie. 

Since I already mentioned Goldsmith twice, The Omen and Planet of the Apes, either of which could take this spot, but I will mention Alien (1979). The score, especially the main title theme, is somehow disturbing and apprehensive about the void of space and still optimistic about man venturing out into space in the first place. 

I thought long and hard about this last spot, and just because of how influential he has been to me I have to give it to Danny Elfmann. So many good scores to choose from, but I have to give it to Beetlejuice (1988). Everything about that score embodies Elfmann’s madcap, and zany energy but never looses that edge you would expect from a movie about malevolent bio-exorcist.