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Patrick O’Malley enters his room, puts on his pair of black full-size headphones, sits at his Yamaha keyboard piano and begins to play. After a few measures, he enters some notes in the Finale 2009 document on his laptop. Satisfied, he takes his headphones off and plays what he’s written.
O’Malley, a sophomore, is a music composition major. But he’s not just a concert composer; he also writes music for film.
That’s right, film scores. From the iconic and sweeping Star Wars theme by John Williams to the light and upbeat tune for Up by Michael Giacchino, film scores can sway an audience’s mood, draw in their attention and emphasize the best moments in a scene. What would The Lord of the Rings be without Howard Shore’s melody? And would any horror film be as scary without creepy music in the background?
Though the Bienen School of Music includes a music composition department, it does not offer a program for film scoring. According to Assistant Professor of Composition Hans Thomalla, the school focuses primarily on honing the fundamental skills of composition, which students can use to branch out into other categories like film scoring.
“There is quite a difference in writing for film and writing instrumental music, or other traditional art music,” he said. “You would need a different faculty, different courses, different experiences, and that would be a pretty big investment. We just train the students in music and composition and the more traditional side of it, and some of them just venture out on their own.”
Ellen Schantz, the Director of Communications and Marketing for Bienen, added in an emailed statement that film scorers make up a very small percentage of the total number of composers.
“Adding a discreet film scoring program for such a small population does not make sense for most schools,” she wrote. “The interest most often develops later on, after [students] have lived and explored a bit. Therefore, most major music schools offer a solid technical grounding in composition and the opportunity to find one’s unique creative voice, all of which will benefit a student no matter what style he/she ultimately adopts.”
Despite the lack of a film scoring program, O’Malley is determined to study the art by himself, and he’s not the only one. Junior Andrew Kim is another one of the few music students persistent in pursuing film composition.
“Here, there aren’t any film scoring programs, so you have to teach yourself just by going out there and getting experience,” Kim says. “It’s very good for me and for Patrick because there aren’t too many people who want to score for film, and it gives us a lot of opportunities. It seems that Patrick and I do the bulk of the film composing.”
O’Malley scores for NSTV’s feature-length movie and is working on a film called Message Received, a senior directing project. Kim, a member of the a capella group Extreme Measures, also petitions regularly to compose for films and has scored an animated film, a documentary and a horror film.
Both were involved in music throughout their lives – O’Malley played the string bass for various orchestras, and Kim participated in boy choir. The two also attended a summer arts camp, Interlochen, albeit at different times. It was there that each became convinced to study music composition in college.
As their experience scoring for films developed, the two have begun to develop their own styles. O’Malley says that his compositions tend to mix traditional methods with contemporary techniques, an approach obvious in his latest composition, “Snapshot.” He looks up to Elliot Goldenthal, the composer behind films like Public Enemies who is well-known for his ability to blend classical and contemporary music.
“What I try to do is find a balance between traditional styles of writing and more dissonant stuff you’re not going to hear in a regular classical music concert,” O’Malley explained. “I never want it to be just straightforward, nice and pretty, or just straightforward crazy. I always want to mix the two to some extent. It makes the piece more interesting, in my opinion.”
As for Kim, he says that a good piece of music should be original and have “musical cohesiveness.” He names Danny Elfman, the scorer behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, as his inspiration.
“A very good film score can function as a sole piece of music without the film,” Kim says. “You have these composers that are very electronic or you have composers that are more rock band-oriented. I come from a very classical background, and when I score films, I’m usually leaning towards strings, winds and brass more than electronic sounds.”
Both hope to continue composing for film by going to graduate school and studying at an official film scoring program. The two say that they hope to one day work for a feature film and are eager to continue their art.
“For film composing, you have to be like a chameleon, you’ve got to be able to write in a lot of different styles,” Kim says. “I enjoy the whole process; I just like it all. I like working with the directors and the finished product is the best part. It’s rewarding.”