I’ll be the first to tell you I’m no musician. I’m a filmmaker, who has a great appreciation and passion for the score. I believe the soundtrack to be the backbone of the film experience. It must be understood and respected by the director, not merely put off to someone who knows how to make it “sound good”.
I was homeschooled as a child. I had plenty of opportunities to pursue musical education, but I found no interest in it. I did, however, love listening to movie soundtracks. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” would pummel me with its trumpets and timpanis as I contended with complicated algebra problems; “Star Trek”, with all its various fanfares, would inspire me to dream of the future as I studied the past.
Then, at the age of 16, always having been interested in telling stories, I discovered what it was I truly wanted to do with my life – make films. And, as I delved into the world of digital media, creating quick short films and videos, I was quickly disinterested with the notion of using music from CDs or other sources to quickly slap on a background track. I wanted something new, fresh, original, for each of my pieces. I spent many an hour searching online for free MIDI programs, and came across my first love in scoring, “Anvil Studio”. Primitive, cheap (actually, free), and limited, it nonetheless was all that I needed, in fact, more than I could handle, as I dived into writing music…when I couldn’t read it.
I won’t bore you with the details, but I quickly grew from one program to the next, always learning more about MIDI processing, scoring, and how to read the project, understanding that the music itself was already there – I just had to write it. Still, to this day, I cannot read music, and instead write by sound. Perhaps I could write faster if I took the time to learn how to read, but to be honest, I’ve come to enjoy the guessing process. And have found programs to work with my handicap.
I went from Anvil Studio coupled with a sampler called “Wingroove” to Finale Allegro, to Finale, learned how to use it with Acid Pro and the full Garritan Personal Orchestra, and finally, now, have moved to a Mac platform and am utilizing the GPO with Logic Studio.
I’m still at heart that 16 year old boy who just discovered he can make his own music for his own movies. Every time I sit down to knock out a score, I get a little thrill. I might not be the best, or a pro, or even worth anyone else’s time, but I love it. And isn’t that reason enough to do anything?
[Soundtrack]
