WATCH

I love scoring films--collaborating with film directors, producers, editors to bring stories to life. Music plays a key role in supporting the soul/inner meaning of a film. First and foremost, the goal of a good score is to escort the viewer into the story being told. Ironically, the thing about a well scored scene is that you don't necessarily notice the music at all. Instead, your full attention is on the story. However, watching that same scene without the music, you experience a completely different story. See for yourself! Here are some scenes from films I've scored - before and after music.

1. RIVER PLANET (Ganges cue)
From director Melinda C. Levin: “River Planet is an international documentary exploring the very different ways humans and wildlife interact with the water arteries of our planet. Vast and historically important rivers are under immense environmental stress, yet are celebrated and honored by the communities that live on them. The Amazon, Danube, Ganges, Mekong and Rio Grande rivers illustrate how fragile and culturally important these waterways are.”

2. THE PRISON WITHIN (Open cue)
From Director Katherin Hervey & Producer Erin Kenway: “We are asking the audience to set aside what they think they know about incarcerated people. Most people in prison are first a victim. Anger and violence stems from untreated trauma. When our justice system excludes the notion of rehabilitation, it necessarily perpetuates the cycle of violence by failing to address trauma. And the fallout from untreated trauma ultimately affects the entire community. This film serves as an example of how all people can change, how we can evolve as a community, and the power of connecting to the humanity in others, even those who have committed harm.”

3. THE PRISON WITHIN (Internal cue)

4. Jane Goodall Institute (Interstitial)
Celebrating the success of a wildlife sanctuary made possible by the Jane Goodall Institute.

5. FRED’S ROMAN HOLIDAY (Internal cue)
From Director Eric Neudel: “Fred's Roman Holiday tells the story of an elderly man, who early in life was labeled with a developmental disability, and his poignant return to Rome late in his life. This embodies the lost opportunities of a human being confined to a state facility.”

6. SEEING THE ELEPHANT: The Civil War Multimedia Production (Battle cue)
Written for full 360 round screen, 18 speaker audio mix. The image you see on screen is a work print - representing the round screen (in the actual theater, viewers are seated in the center literally surrounded on all sides by the battle.  Extremely powerful). Directed by Bob Noll, Boston Productions.

7. THINGS WE DON’T TALK ABOUT (Film open)
How do you score an opening to a film that already contains a song on camera?  The song (written and sung by Marsia Shuron Harris), as well as the footage, relay the energy of celebration.  And yet, this scene ultimately needs to foreshadow that very serious issues continue to affect women and girls.  The score here speaks directly to the power of harmony to relay the inner nuance of a story. Directed by Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost.

8. THE GUYS NEXT DOOR (Trailer)
Filmmakers Amy Geller and Allie Humenuk explore gay marriage and parenting, surrogacy as a path to having children, and the redefinition of what it means to be an American family.

9. FOOD NETWORK (Holiday Interstitial)
Director Glen Kesner wanted a hip hop treatment for this footage.

10. SHADOW OF THE HOUSE (Camera Obscura cue)
From Filmmaker Allie Humenuk: “Shadow of the House is a documentary about looking closely. Filmed over seven years, it is an intimate portrait of photographer Abelardo Morell, revealing the mystery and method of his artistic process. The narrative skips across time and space from his early childhood escape from Castro's regime to his status as a world - renowned photographer. The film explores his daily working life as an artist and his eventual return to Cuba after 40 years of living in exile. Shadow of the House uncovers the deep layers of a man who is pushed to confront his past and his familial allegiances as it explores his unique artistic vision.”