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You've recently scored the movie Maturing
Youth - so first of all, what's that movie about?
About a single man, Roger, who gets interrupted in his apathetic way of living when his ex-girlfriend and son literally appear at his doorstep. She
leaves both of them, frustrated at Roger’s lack of initiative and duties.
Without revealing too much, the movie revels in the “working” relationship
between Roger and his son. And whether Rodger lives up to that is something
you’ll have to find out by watching the film!
Do talk about your score for Maturing
Youth for a bit, its style and influences?
I scored Maturing Youth with elements of both comedy and drama. More
serious moments would highlight arguments, moments of reflection, and
disappointment. While other silly more comedic moments would show humorous
moments - such as Roger chasing his son around the house.
I went back and forth between lots of piano and guitar to match the
existing soundtrack and music that was licensed. The instrumentation
allowed me to capture the quirkiness when needed, but also the more
serious, dramatic moments.
Much of my influence comes from composers who address such a wide range
of scoring in a single movie or TV show. An example would be scoring a
comedy in one moment and being able to jump into moments of epicness such
as Robert Duncan scoring the TV series Castle and Paul Leonard
scoring the movie and show Limitless.
How did you get involved with the project in the first place?
I applied to a composer ad I came across on Craigslist - so the numbers
game actually does work!
I actually had applied to another project, which I believe they had
crewed up for, but the producer of Maturing Youth,
Chase [Michael
Pallante] [Chase Michael Pallante
interview - click here] made me aware when he found out I was comfortable with writing
for pianos, guitars and integrating elements of pop into the score. And
sure enough I fell in love with the story and was able to write the music!
Now
how did you (and do you usually) approach composing the score for the
film, to what extent do you familiarize yourself with it (and its theme)
beforehands?
It’s never the same for every project and depends on a variety of
factors. A big one has to do with when I’m brought in on the project. If
I’m brought on earlier on, I can start writing demos and get familiar
with the story earlier - sometimes getting to meet the cast and see
read-aloud sessions!
However, I find myself, more often than not, brought on the project
towards post-production. So I’ll often get inspiration from different
films and try to get a story and vision from the filmmakers I work with.
In the case of Maturing Youth,
I spoke extensively to Chase
[Michael Pallante] about the direction, and learn that I had to weave in
and out between songs and score for the film. Additionally, I’d go to
highlights of the film, such as Sadie’s phone call and try to develop
themes and recurring sounds to bring back and forth in certain sections.
Courtesy of R&F Entertainment
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What
can you tell us about
Maturing Youth's
director Divoni Simon [Divoni
Simon interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? I actually haven’t met Divoni [Simon], mainly
because I’m not based in New York (I’m based in Los Angeles).
Although, it was amazing what Divoni [Simon] was able to put together on
set and get out of the cast. I mainly interacted with the producer. Chase
[Michael Pallante] [Chase Michael
Pallante interview - click here] was very professional, but also flexible, which really
was a blessing when it comes down to the creative process. He was very
prompt with his emails and provided a very clear picture as to what kind
of style of music as well as when he needed it. We would go back and forth
between different scenes and occasionally combine the scenes to make sure
the movie, as a whole, would work together. We did that until all the
music was combined and we were happy with the full outcome.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
I’m currently working on finishing up a virtual reality experience
called The Chimerical Era. Unlike most virtual reality
experiences, it’s done in a more cinematic style, where most VR is done
interactively or more as a game. It’s steampunk and has lots of actions,
so you’ll definitely have to stay tuned and do a Google search! It will
be coming out by next year and will be airing in various festivals.
Another project, Escape, is a comedy about 4 strangers, each
very different and dynamic, trying to complete a space-room challenge. It
is a finalist for the 24-hour film festival and will be screening by late
August.
What
got you into making music in the first place, and how did you get into
scoring movies from that?
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Courtesy of R&F Entertainment |
School of Rock! The passion, the energy, the music, and really
everything about it turned me on to music. I loved the idea of sharing
emotions with an audience - and there I discovered my love for the guitar
and jamming with other musicians. Where I found I didn’t express myself
well in day-to-day communication, I found music was my true way of doing
so.
I then got into music production after my friend showed me, and had
well prepared me for getting into scoring, which I discovered in a film
scoring class, taught by Adam Schoenberg. He was much of the reason I was
able to pursue my passion. I collaborated with a couple directors in
school and was able to use that material as reel to get other jobs and
make close friends and connections. Scoring had all the elements I loved -
storytelling, collaborating with a wide variety of people (both musicians
and filmmakers), and getting to write a wide spectrum of music, as stories
and concepts can vary a lot.
What can you tell us about
your filmwork prior to Maturing
Youth?
Most all of my past works have been short films; although, I did act
and sing in one episode of Key and Peele titled Acapella Skit. I
also have written music for a talk show and continue to do so. It’s
called So Janelle, airing on TFC and The Lifestyle Network.
Musicians who inspire you?
So many! Just to name a few: AC/DC, The Darkness, Simple Plan,
Krewella, Lucas Joyner, A$AP Rocky, G-Eazy. Film composers include: Junkie
XL, Robert Duncan, Hans Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith and Paul Leonard.
And
since this is primarily a movie site, your
favourite movies? All the movies for the Back to the Future
series, School of Rock, and favorite recent movie would be Greatest
Showman! ... and of course, films you really
deplore? I can’t say I hate any films, but B-films such
as Sharktopus - yes, you’ve heard correctly (half octopus, half
shark/Jaws) - are fun to laugh! Your website, Facebook, whatever else?
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Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
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The links below
will take you
just there!!!
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You can visit the relevant links such as my website and social media
below:
www.alexellsworthmusic.com
www.facebook.com/alexellsworthmusic
www.instagram.com/alexellsworthmusic
www.twitter.com/aellsworthmusic
Films Official Website:
www.MATURINGYOUTH.com
Facebook: "Maturing Youth" @maturingyouthfilm
Instagram: "Maturing Youth" @maturingyouthfilm
#maturingyouth #rfentertainment
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Just
that I’d like to thank all the people who have made it possible to
pursue film scoring and songwriting, including my mom and dad, the Maturing
Youth crew, my Uncle Larry and my friend and teacher Adam
Schoenberg. Thanks
for the interview!
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