| So
many movies, so little time: That's the dilemma facing Los Angeles-based
composer Brian Tyler, who's contributed music to over a dozen
movies in the past two years alone, including Sirens, Simon Sez,
and the upcoming Panic. To make matters even more complicated,
he can't quite seem to figure out what his specialty is. Or, as
he puts it, he has a bipolar music background.
His grandmother was a concert pianist, he's had his share of formal
training including a Bachelors Degree from UCLA and a Masters
from Harvard and he's right at home composing for and conducting
an orchestra. His parents raised him on Zeppelin and Hendrix,
and he cut his teeth in teenage garage bands.
It's not a matter of struggling to find a niche, but merely of
wanting to indulge both sides of his musical personality.
Both are my home, he says. "If I'm doing a classical score
like 4th Floor, then the next project that comes along I try to
do the photo negative of that score in terms of sound," Brian
says.
In fact, that's partly how he chooses his projects. "I'll
actually go thriller, drama, edgy romance, comedy, thriller .
. . and it kind of circles like that," he explains. |
| By
the time these projects get to him, they're usually behind schedule
and on deadline. He'll typically have just four weeks to complete
a score (though he's had as little as eight days) but the fast
and furious pace appeals to him as much as the chance to cross
genre lines does.
For all his formal training, and the inevitable backlog of material
that is trying to find a home, Brian still relies mostly on pure
inspiration when he writes. "When I watch the picture, all
of a sudden music starts happening," he says.
For that reason, his work is far from done. "I really am
liking each score I do kind of better," he concludes. "But
I'll always want to do more and better, so that's hopefully where
it ends up heading." |
