Composer Michael Giacchino Spreads the Love
'Star Trek' Director J.J. Abrams and Composer Michael Giacchino
Recently Michael Giacchino was nominated for ‘Film Composer of the Year’ in the upcoming 2009 World Soundtrack Awards for his scores to Star Trek, Up, and Land of the Lost. But those aren’t the only scores he worked on throughout the year. He also composed the scores to three short films, the television shows Lost and Fringe and more.
So how does he find the time to manage such an overwhelming, deadline driven workload? Like many other film and television composers, Giacchino spreads the love.
Take Fringe for example. Although Giacchino created the basic music template in the Fringe pilot he handed the opportunity to score the series off to his assistants, Chad Seiter and Chris Tilton. Tilton actually took over the second half of the first season of Fringe and is scoring season 2.
“It would be impossible for me to do everything I’m doing and Fringe,” says Giacchino. “It’s a great opportunity for Chris and Chad. I trust these guys — I can just say, ‘You know enough already of how I like to work and what I like that you’ll know what decisions to make.’”
For feature films Giacchino works with longtime orchestrator Tim Simonec.
“Orchestrating for Michael is very much a refining process,” Simonec explains. “And you do have liberties within that refining process to be very creative.”
But for TV work, Giacchino and his crew must orchestrate their own writing.
“There really isn’t an orchestration budget for any of the television stuff,” Tilton says.
Giacchino’s scores are recorded by 81-year-old veteran mixer Dan Wallin, whose career dates back to his years broadcasting live big band gigs in the 1940s.
“Dan isn’t simply the guy who pushes the buttons and sets up a couple of mics,” Giacchino says. “He can build mics — he built the speakers that I use. He’s an engineer in the true sense of the word.”
Despite being a veteran, Giacchino stresses that because Wallin is never comfortable reusing old sounds and techniques he continues to learn and develop new ways to record.
“He’s always trying something, and then he says, ‘I think you’re gonna like it,’” laughs Giacchino, who counts on such creativity to help complete the director’s vision with his music.
“No matter what the project, I’m working with characters and story. Our job is not to write music; it’s to tell stories.”
Famed composer Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean / Batman Begins / The Dark Knight) agrees.
“The musicians are the last actors on a movie,” Zimmer says.
Source: Variety
