Award-Winning Music Composer

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I'm proud of my work on the indie Christian film "The First Step" by Studio 220 Films. Despite having a budget of only $6,000 for a 50-minute film, the cast and crew did an exceptional job and produced a great film. I was the principal composer for this project, which was one of my very first scoring gigs. It went on to win an award for "Best Original Score for a Short Film" at the Life Fest Film Festival, and I feel blessed to have been a part of it.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working with a client on a proof of concept to use to get funding for a full feature film.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: I know a great mastering engineer named Elliott Sabbagh. He is an instructor at Dark Horse Institute, where I graduated as valedictorian of my audio engineering class.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: My answer will be funny since my setup is currently 100% digital, but I would say analog in most cases. I'd ideally want a hybrid setup, but I currently don't own any analog gear. I say analog, just because I think it tends to sound better than the recreations. There's a reason you can buy a plugin for around $100 when the gear it's replicating can be $2,000 and more, and part of that is definitely the sound.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: Satisfaction. I have musical preferences, and, while that is a part of the reason you hire me, it's your film at the end of the day. I do view the scoring process as a collaborative process, but the director always gets the final say of whether the music is working for them or not.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The thing I like most about my job, and the reason I got into this, is how much storytelling power music has. I love the fact that my music has the potential to make or break a scene. That knowledge is scary sometimes, but it just goes to show how much I can impact a story simply through my musical choices.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: I can't really think of a common question that I get from my clients other than the usual things about whatever may pertain to the project like rate, how fast I can score, etc.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: I'm not actually 100% certain about this one. My kneejerk reaction would be to say that some people in the industry think it's easier than it is, just because of the fact that music is one of the most common areas for filmmakers to cut their budget. I know there are absolutely other reasons for that as well, but like I said, that's just my kneejerk reaction.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: An important question I discuss with clients early on is their budget. For me, it's crucial to address this question early because it sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. I’ve decided to almost never take on free work anymore, as I want to be taken more seriously as a professional. There are occasional situations where I might consider free work, but there are several qualifiers for such cases, and 9.5 times out of 10, people asking for free work don’t meet those requirements.

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

A: In conversation, be transparent. Don’t spring things on the person you’re working with. If you’re trying to establish a mutually beneficial working relationship that lasts for years, avoid hiding things in your contract. That’s a sure way to damage the connection and potentially lose other industry connections, as the person in question might share their experience with others.

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

A: A laptop, an audio interface, a MIDI keyboard, a pair of mixing headphones, and a microphone. This is assuming that all the connecting cables would be included XD.

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

A: I grew up in a musical family. All of my brothers, as well as my parents, either played an instrument, sang, or did both. I did both, and I also found scores fascinating while watching movies with my family. I paid close attention to how the score helped tell the story. I began my journey in film composition using the family iPad and GarageBand. I had a blast creating my own covers of my favorite film scores and eventually upgraded my equipment and bought Cubase. Since then, I’ve been continuously working to sharpen my skills as a composer. I’ve been doing this for about six years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'd say my style is really focused on melody and chord structure. I don't really know how else I can answer this.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I would love to work with Tina Guo. She is a phenomenal cellist who has worked on many Hans Zimmer projects, and it's a dream of mine to have her record for one of my scores.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Whenever I work on a project, I always use some buss compression. My go-to is the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor. I have a setting that I like to use (just barely compressing to glue everything together a bit) and I apply it at the very beginning of the process and mix into it.

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

A: I normally work on cinematic music for film.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say my strongest skill is communication. I pride myself on transparency, respect, and consistently keeping my clients up to date with my work process.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I’d like to think I bring a fresh perspective and a creative mind. I am constantly listening to other songs and genres for inspiration in my craft.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typically, I'll receive a rough cut of the film. Most of the time, the scenes are locked in terms of timing, but color grading and dialogue work haven't been completed yet. From there, I write the score. I usually send updates to my director early to ensure we stay on the same page throughout the process.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a relatively simple setup, including a MIDI keyboard controller, Cubase 13 Pro, and Pro Tools Studio installed on my powerful PC, a modest pair of studio monitors, and a quad monitor setup that allows me to expand my workspace while scoring.

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

A: My top inspiration would be Hans Zimmer. Like myself, he had nearly zero classical training, yet he became one of the most prolific composers of the day.

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

A: The most common work I do is film scoring, though I have done work with games, podcasts, and theatrical productions as well.