Doug at his home studio. Once upon a time someone said that music is the pathway to the soul and they weren't wrong. In my opinion it's one of the most powerful tools, maybe even the most powerful tool after actors' performances that a filmmaker has.
The tone of the film can be swung and dictated to the audience in a matter of seconds with music, the composer can mould how your film feels more than nearly anyone else. My task to find a composer was therefore not without a small sense of trepidation.
Fortunately, I needn't have worried because I found Doug Berwick. We talked about the film, its influences and the tone we are trying to achieve - for me it is important for the film's soundtrack to encompass virtually the entire scope of the noir genre from The Maltese Falcon up to the modern neo-noir era of Elliot Goldenthal and Hans Zimmer. This is not for the sake of referencing or tipping-the-hat but simply because that is the feeling of The Alpha Invention; it is an amalgamation of the different times of the genre visually and in its plot so it is important that the music reinforces that.
Doug's compositions seem to have that blend of the modern with inflections of the past it was obvious that he was our guy. After some initial pieces sent back and forth through email we sat down last Sunday and tweaked the music to the picture. It is quite an experience watching a talented musician play music in real time to your film as it plays on the screen. It allows for a great amount of experimentation and freedom which the vocabulary of a temp track, no matter how good, just can't match.
Doug will continue to add layers and tweak his compositions but with that almost done we head onto sound design. The finish line is near! MT
The tone of the film can be swung and dictated to the audience in a matter of seconds with music, the composer can mould how your film feels more than nearly anyone else. My task to find a composer was therefore not without a small sense of trepidation.
Fortunately, I needn't have worried because I found Doug Berwick. We talked about the film, its influences and the tone we are trying to achieve - for me it is important for the film's soundtrack to encompass virtually the entire scope of the noir genre from The Maltese Falcon up to the modern neo-noir era of Elliot Goldenthal and Hans Zimmer. This is not for the sake of referencing or tipping-the-hat but simply because that is the feeling of The Alpha Invention; it is an amalgamation of the different times of the genre visually and in its plot so it is important that the music reinforces that.
Doug's compositions seem to have that blend of the modern with inflections of the past it was obvious that he was our guy. After some initial pieces sent back and forth through email we sat down last Sunday and tweaked the music to the picture. It is quite an experience watching a talented musician play music in real time to your film as it plays on the screen. It allows for a great amount of experimentation and freedom which the vocabulary of a temp track, no matter how good, just can't match.
Doug will continue to add layers and tweak his compositions but with that almost done we head onto sound design. The finish line is near! MT
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