MUSIC FOR FILM

“The first album I ever bought with my own money as a kid was John Williams masterpiece Jaws. Okay, maybe it was Kiss’ Love Gun, but certainly Jaws was in that first grab of vinyl I wore the grooves off of. My obsession and appreciation for film scores, and music in general, is borderline obsessive. Long before YouTube, ITunes and Spotify gave access to everything and anything you could want to hear, getting your hands on a film score involved a lot of hunting and searching through garage sales, bargain basement sales at record stores you’ve never heard of, or getting ahold of some elusive bootleg tape that may or may not be floating around. I once held a tape recorder up to the speaker of our little 13 inch TV to grab Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Capricorn One when it aired as the Sunday Night Movie on network TV. The lengths I went to to hear the work of my heroes — mostly the 3 J’s, as I like to refer to them: John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner — was well worth it. To capture their magic and have it on hand to inspire me and propel me on my creative journey seemed worth any sacrifice. There isn’t a job on a film production I can’t do. Of all of them, composing the score is the most satisfying and enjoyable. Unlike a screenplay, which starts with the intimidating BLANK PAGE, writing a score starts with the essence of a story and structure already in place. The only job is to discover the underlying essence of it and give it a voice. Luckily, I haven’t wanted for employment. Being the director of a film means I also have a say in who gets to score it. The fact that financial necessity has always narrowed the field down to only me. But it has also afforded me the opportunity to lend my talents to other projects, helmed by directors who have appreciated my contribution on their own merits, and not just because I work cheap. At the end of the day, it is a joy to create music. If it resonates, inspires, or satisfies someone other than myself, that’s just icing on the cake.” -Paul Schuyler March 2018