Film Composer

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. It seems arbitrary to limit yourself to just one of the two when there are so many creative applications for both. Digital is immensely flexible and convenient, while analog has a certain character and imperfection that is very difficult to emulate digitally. In my experience, they are actually very complimentary to one another.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: My favorite part of this job is the satisfaction of collaborating with a whole team of talented creatives. I love helping visual storytellers bring their ideas to life with music that is as unique as the story it serves.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Take a minute to think about what the role of music is in your film. Are you looking for something big and bold like a main character? Is it a subtle backdrop that gently leads the audience along without drawing too much attention to itself? Maybe you want the musical style to be influenced by the time period the film takes place in? Or perhaps you're looking for character themes that evolve as the characters grow and develop?

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: I'd have to go with my Mac Studio, Arturia MatrixBrute, Korg Wavestate, Elektron Syntakt, and my custom modular synth. While not exactly the ideal configuration, I'd be able to cover a pretty wide range of sounds with these tools.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: During my time at Berklee, I was studying to become a session guitarist until a hand injury brought my practice routine to a complete stop for a few years. It was during this time that I went all in on composing music, as well as recording, mixing, and mastering for other artists. I worked as an audio engineer for several years until I got my first film scoring gig back in 2017. Ever since then, film scoring and music for media has been my primary focus.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Less is more. Sometimes things we perceive as problems in a mix are actually problems created in the composition process. Don't be afraid to work by subtraction rather than addition.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I compose cinematic music that ranges from electronic to orchestral and everything in between.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is my ability to evoke specific emotions in an audience using both sound and silence. Sometimes it's less about the notes you play and more about the notes you don't play.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Every story is unique and every film needs something different. Because of this, I focus a lot on creating custom sounds rather than relying strictly on commercial sample libraries and factory presets. I have years of experience working with all kinds of different sound synthesis techniques and will create a palette of sounds that is unique to your film and the story you want to tell.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I first start working on a film, I think a lot about things like timbre and texture. To me, the most important part of the process is building a palette of sounds that make sense for a particular film. This becomes an important foundation that everything else, like melody and harmony, is built on top of. In more practical terms, this means limiting myself to a handful of instruments and other studio tools and recording as much material from them as I can before I even think about syncing anything up with picture. During this process, the things that work and the things that don't become a bit more obvious, which then leaves me with plenty of raw material recorded so that I can start sculpting these sounds into an actual musical cue.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have been collecting gear for my studio since around 2015 and finally had the chance to set up a dedicated attic space in the summer of 2021. A big part of my workflow revolves around making custom sounds using modular synthesis, sampling, granular processing, and a variety of other techniques. Because of this, my studio is filled with analog synthesizers, various acoustic instruments, a whole collection of obscure effects pedals, as well as a custom Eurorack system. I also make use of Dante networking to run audio between a main computer that I compose on and a secondary machine used for visual sync with picture.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: My work is heavily influenced by the more electronic side of cinematic music. Some of my favorites include Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, Mac Quayle, Marc Canham, and many others.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I compose original music for all kinds of visual media, though I work most commonly on narrative short films and features.