Horror movies &stuff Interviews "Live Animals" Composer Mark Williams
We got an opportunity recently to talk with Live Animals Composer Mark Williams. "Live Animals" is the forthcoming indie horror film which tells the terrifying story of a group of college kids, who must decide what price they are willing to pay to gain their freedom after being kidnapped by a ruthless White Slave trader.
MR. H:You were a very intricate part of putting this film together. You produced it, did the sound design, and composed the music as well. How exhausting is the entire process of having your fingers in so many different aspects of a film, albeit an indie?
MW:It's pretty tiring I'll admit. It's harder on the family life more than anything. Even though we didn't have much money we still treated the movie like there was a lot of money attached. Jeremy and I made time in the day when the time really didn't exist. When you don't have any assistants working for you at all, it's maddening to take a project from 'inception' to 'delivery to distributor.' Jeremy and I on a daily basis ask each other, "What the hell are we doing?"
MR. H:What is the most difficult part of being a composer? What is the easiest part? And what is the most fun part?
MW:First of all, Jeremy was by my side 95% of the time. He's not very musical so all of the actual writing and performing falls on me, but Jeremy is great at guiding the musical momentum of a scene. He's knows how he wants the music to feel even before he hears it.
The hardest part of being a composer is when you play a composition you really digg for people and they don't like it. It happens a lot, I'm used to it. The easiest part, honestly, is putting accents on scene breaks. The most fun is when I can pull out the electric guitar and delay pedals and do crazy sounds like you would hear in a '70s rock opera.
MR. H:When in your life did you eventually discover you were good at composing film scores?
MW:For me, writing music is just something I've always done. I have no formal training, but I listen to ALL kinds of music all the time. My influences range from Bach to Beck, Mozart to Ellington, Van Morrison to Tampa Red. I never aimed toward a career at scoring films, I just fell into it over the last several films I've produced with Jeremy. I never considered my self good. I just did what was necessary for the movie to be the best it could be.
MR. H:Who are your biggest influences when it comes to film score composers of the past and present?
MW:James Newton Howard's work on The Village. Hans Zimmer and Mr. Howard on The Dark Knight is frighteningly good. I always enjoyed John Barry's music in the James Bond movies. I'm a big fan of Steve Jablonsky's scores on the Texas Chainsaw reboots and Transformers. And last but not least, the most prolific writer of movie hits of our time John Williams.
MR. H:What does the sound score and track of "Live Animals" consist of?
MW:The original score is a traditional orchestral score with accents of electronic sounds and percussion. The original songs included throughout the picture are all from independent artists. We use two songs from Austin, TX based band Mice and Rifles, "Balance" and "Carefree Americans." These tunes added the perfect atmosphere to the scenes in the barn. Memphis rap group 1 Hu$$le provided the title track for the movie. The groups leader 'JayMunn' also makes a cameo as Amell's Helper in the buying scene. Actor Christian Walker provides the Cash-esque track "Destiny Lies" which tells the story of an Edgar-type character. Jung Shin, another Memphis-based band, adds a backdrop for the bon-fire montage that helps open the story.
MR. H:How would you describe the score of "Live Animals" in three words?
MW:Dense....Haunting....Dark.
MR. H:What is the most difficult part of composing the sound score for a horror film, versus another genre of film?
MW:No matter what you lay down for a scene you are bound to one thing. It has to make people uneasy. Even during the happy, carefree scenes in horror movies your audience is waiting for bad things. They're waiting to be unnerved. That has to be there in the score in some form or another.
MR. H:You've also done some acting as well, appearing in "Big Bad Wolves". Which is more fun for you, acting, or composing?
MW:I have acted in some of our early attempts at movies, but composing is much more my thing. I'm no actor.
MR. H:You also composed the music for "Shutter". Did you bring any of that films mix over for "Live Animals"?
MW:I pretty much left Shutter behind me. I wanted LIVE ANIMALS to be much more of a rhythmic, revolving type of presence. Lumbering, machine-like at times.
MR. H:On a scale of 1 through 10, how scary would you say "Live Animals" is?
MW:It's hard for me to say personally. I can never watch this movie objectively, but I can say that 80% of the people I've talked with that have seen it would give it at least a 6-8. It's not the kind of scary where the creepy camera movements reveal things that make you jump out of your seat. It relies more on the disturbing nature of the subject matter.
MR. H:How long did it take you to come up with the perfect score for "Live Animals", and how long did it take you to decide on what you specifically wanted for the films music mix?
MW:It was a several month process to work through the score multiple times. Jeremy and I would make a full pass through the movie, change some things, and then go through the whole thing again. I knew from the beginning that I wanted many of the scenes in the barn to have the sounds of an old, creaking slave ship.
MR. H:How expensive is it to compose a theme or score for an indie picture?
MW:I would suggest on an indie picture that 25-45% of your total budget should go to the Sound of the picture. From the dialogue recording to sound mixing and music.
MR. H:Where did you do your mixing at?
MW:I did the sound mix for the music at my personal studio at my home. I think the final mix at some points has around 80 tracks producing the sound you hear. It was fun indeed and much more ambitious, in terms of sounds, than anything we've worked on. I really enjoy mixing.
MR. H:What horror films have you seen that have had brilliant musical scores, and what horror films have you seen where you have said to yourself..."I would've scored it differently" or felt the score didn't match what was happening in the actual film?
MW:Hostel has a brilliant score! I can't really think of a film off-hand that didn't work in the music department though.
End.
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