So many indie films use very simple scores that effectively tell the story. We decided we wanted a fuller sound to enhance the grand scope of the look of the film and underlying heartache and struggle of our main character. TK understood exactly what we were looking for and we're so lucky we all had that connection because he had a very short period of time to write 16 original orchestral pieces - two weeks I believe.
Since the post-production was based in NY and TK lives in LA, we had to work remotely, constantly uploading new versions of each cue, emailing and calling each other back and forth and truthfully, it was hard to keep up with him. Thankfully he was so patient and giving throughout this process and the end result is absolutely beautiful. I am deeply moved each time I listen to our score. You can hear a few of the tracks from our film on his website, www.snowingmusic.com
Robin (Producer) and I flew out to LA for the recording and mix of the score. We recorded a few cues and completed our mix at The Village Recorder in West LA - where there's so much history of rock-n-roll coming out of the walls you can feel it. It's been home to Bob Dylan, The Stones, Pink Floyd and the list goes on and on. We also recorded a large portion of the score at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank. This beautiful Studio hosted our amazing 19-piece Orchestra consisting of 15 Strings, 2 Woodwinds and 2 French Horns. Watching TK conduct the orchestra while observing his talented team work in the recording room was a gift. His team consists of Matthew St. Laurent (Orchestrator), Shin Miyazawa (Sound Mixer and Recordist) Jorge Velasco (Digital Sound Recordist), Judy Yoo (Music Production Coordinator), Scott Smith (Mixing Assistant Engineer) Ron Vermillion (Music Copyist) and Brendan Dekora (Scoring Assistant Engineer).
This experience was amazing, surreal and one of my favorite chapters in the making of NONAMES. This little film has a big score and sometimes, I do believe the stars align so that creative artists find each other to collaborate on projects like ours to create something very special. TK is already doing outstanding work and has his whole career ahead of him. There will be quite a few awards on his shelves on years to come, mark my words.
And now, a word from TK himself...
To me, scoring NONAMES was like writing a symphonic tone poem. The film is incredibly well crafted and doesn’t need the music to patch up any weak spots. Hence it really gave me, as the composer, liberty to write music that stands on its own while contributing an emotional layer to the picture.
The entire score is based on a single motif, which unfolds itself through the main title cue. From there, I was able to manipulate the thematic material to reflect the subtle tones and emotions of each scene. Working on the score this way was a truly artistically rewarding process, and one of the main reasons why I sought after the project.
Kathy had a very strong (and tasteful) vision for the score and I decided to rely heavily on the piano and string orchestra to create an intimate yet posh tone to the music. Overall the score is very subtle and understated to give space for the beautiful visuals play itself out on screen. The last thing I wanted for the score was to bombard the film with sonic clutter, an unfortunate trend seen too often these days. Hence the composition and orchestration is kept very simple and light, taking well-placed broad strokes instead of overly intricate writing. Through our creative collaboration, I believe Kathy and I were able to come up with a score that compliments the film very elegantly.
An independent film of this caliber doesn’t come along too often, and it was absolutely a privilege to be a part of the team. From the moment I saw the first frame of the opening montage to the final hours of mixing the score, NONAMES reminded me why I chose this as my profession.
