Selected Works for Film and Documentary

The Only Time We Have. Directed by Amy Enser. (Short Dramatic Feature) An old man remembers his son and that fateful day when his son was drafted into Vietnam. Featured short film at the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival.

Beating Batten (link). Directed by Zuzana Gedeon (link). (Documentary) This is a section of a 12 minute documentary of Zuzana Gedeon's experience rearing and eventually losing a daughter to Batten Disease. I was tasked with offering the final musical comments of hope and love in an extremely trying family situation. I was touched by this project as I have two young children of my own and have friends who have sadly had children who have passed. The realizations and answers in this documentary are powerful.

Rocket Man Directed by Wade Chitwood. (Steampunk Super Hero Spoof) In this selection, Rocket Man has arrived on the Enemy Prussian Zeppelin and is sneaking around while looking for the evil Baron. I wanted to play around with movement in almost a cartoonish way but at the same time heighten the element of danger.

Marilyn's Dress. Directed by Tanya Savard. In this instance, the opening of the film presents a barren yet simple life. The girls, pure, are all in white, and dance without care. But a danger lurks within. I was aiming for a very vernacular style with the fiddle playing and guitar parts. The music calls for violin, cello, flute, and english horn with pre-recorded synth, bass, etc.

Rocket Man Song. Directed by Wade Chitwood. Lyrics by Jenny Littlefield. Music By Lee David. Arrangement by Brad Hawkins. Composers for film are often asked to write for a mood, or certain action, or even under dialogue, but it is the rare and challenging requirement to write for a song that is already placed in a film. It's one thing to write music for a punch or a crash but entirely more difficult to set music that will adjust nicely to a song that fluctuates in tempo and to chords that you must transcribe and notate, all while capturing the implicit musical style. This is a section that no one else wanted to score, though once it was recorded many on the project viewed it as a highlight of the film.

Cane. Written and Directed by Danny Davis. Capturing a terrible childhood memory that is tied to a lingering physical impediment, while still showing the humanity and resolve of the main character was tricky. This was my very first film cue. My advisor explained that the musical styles were too disparate. Eh, I like it and have included it here.