{"id":692,"date":"2010-10-20T00:59:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-20T04:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=692"},"modified":"2010-12-27T20:39:50","modified_gmt":"2010-12-28T01:39:50","slug":"elia-cmiral-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=692","title":{"rendered":"ELIA CMIRAL (2006)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Exclusive Interviews & Profiles<\/a> \/\u00a0Composers<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

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Composer Elia Cmiral talks about his latest horror score,\u00a0Pulse<\/strong>, which fuses electronic and modern orchestral writing. Though best-known for his popular scores for\u00a0Apartment Zero<\/strong> and\u00a0Ronin<\/strong>, Cmiral\u2019s horror and suspense work includes\u00a0Bones<\/strong>,\u00a0Stigmata<\/strong>,\u00a0They<\/strong>, and\u00a0Wrong Turn<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mark R. Hasan<\/strong> :\u00a0Pulse <\/strong>is a remake of the Japanese film\u00a0Kairo\/Pulse <\/strong>(2001). Had you seen the original film before scoring the American project?<\/em><\/p>\n

Elia Cmiral<\/strong> : I\u2019d seen it, but it\u2019s so different. While story is very similar, the only inspiration I got from the Japanese version was the technological aspects, and the strong isolation between people.<\/p>\n

MRH<\/strong>: With the Japanese film, the pacing is much more measured, and the shock sequences are very gradual. The filmmaker exploited very simple images that gradually come out of darkness, and the score itself is similarly minimal and chamber-oriented for greater intimacy. Your score has more of a technological slant, and I guess that\u2019s partly because the role of computers and technology are much more prominent in the American film.<\/em><\/p>\n

EC<\/strong>: That\u2019s right. There\u2019s much more weight on the use of cellphones and text messages. The whole movie starts with people sitting in a caf\u00e9, and one of the young kids is sending text messages to the person sitting next to him; that\u2019s kind of the paradox where, instead of talking to each other directly, they\u2019re hiding behind text machines and voice mail and leaving messages. You never know if a person gets it or not; they\u2019re kind of hiding.<\/p>\n

MRH<\/strong>: I find that many American horror films today tend to be about shocks and special effects, and I wonder, because you\u2019ve scored a number of horror projects, if it\u2019s very hard to find a movie with a good story and characters?<\/em><\/p>\n

EC<\/strong>: It is difficult in horror. Actually, for me, horror is not just smashing and cutting off heads and splashing blood on the wall; it\u2019s the psychological pressure of something unknown that you don\u2019t know how to deal with. That is terror for me, and I think\u00a0Pulse <\/strong>has it because it has a very interesting story about the kids and the phantom coming through the Internet, through the computers, and through wireless technology. I think it\u2019s extremely interesting because we are sending so much information, so many personal opinions and emails. How do we know who is reading it? We really\u00a0don\u2019t<\/em> know.<\/p>\n

MRH<\/strong>: One free email service uses ads that are based on the software that reads the content of your email, and then strategically places the ads related to the content of the email; while it\u2019s not an individual reading your correspondences, your email is still being scanned, which I always find a bit creepy.<\/em><\/p>\n

EC<\/strong>: I think it is extremely creepy. We\u2019re surrounded by computers and all this automated technology which has become in one way part of our lives. How much control do we have? That\u2019s a good question. There\u2019s a very interesting line in the movie where the main character, Mattie, asks the guy how long he\u2019s been watching the images on the computer, but the question is \u2018How long have\u00a0they <\/em>been watching us?\u2019 which is a very significant line.<\/p>\n

MRH<\/strong>: Do you find that an emphasis on graphic violence is an aspect that sometimes turns off composers?<\/em><\/p>\n

EC<\/strong>: Yes, it\u2019s true, but on the other hand, when I\u2019m writing I usually don\u2019t have the film\u2019s final graphic images, so it doesn\u2019t really affect me so much.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: Some critics have a dislike for horror films, and their bias sometimes extends to the music. Instead of horror films having a very melodic score, they tend to contain experimental concepts, and there are critics who regard horror scores as lesser works, which isn\u2019t really fair, because in order to create a good score, there\u2019s a lot of careful thought that has to go into the sound design, the mood in a scene, fragments of any themes, and constructing effective shocks.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you find that it\u2019s unjust to view horror scores as lesser works compared to your standard drama or action score?<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: Well, I would like to see every person who has this opinion to sit in front of a computer and try to write it, because he would discover that it\u2019s so difficult. Here\u2019s the main problem: when you are writing for an orchestra, you are dealing with familiar sounds \u2013 chords, tempi, etc. \u2013 but in horror you are combining orchestra sounds and scary sustained chords with sudden and sharp piercing sounds\u2026 It\u2019s a big challenge to then squeeze-in some emotional theme for the main character, and avoid being cheesy and cheap.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen some horror movies where the score the composer wrote used pre-programmed sounds from the computer and synthesizers, adding a little groove and a little hit; it sounds cheap and cheesy. But to do it right is a lot of work; much more work than dramatic music or action music, or even comedy.<\/p>\n

For example, last year I did\u00a0The Reading Room<\/a><\/strong>, which was a very nice and warm family drama for the Hallmark Channel. I believe I have a sixty-five minutes score for strings, some woodwinds, some piano solos. I wrote everything in three weeks; every note, no problem, all done. It was so fast, so quick, so easy for me. Meanwhile, the\u00a0Pulse <\/strong>score I rewrote three times, and I was on the picture for almost six months.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: That\u2019s a very long time.<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: Because the movie was re-shot and re-edited. There were a lot of new versions. I actually did one movie in between while I was waiting for them to finish reshooting, but it was tremendous work. When you have a certain pulse and tempo in a long sequence and they recut it and cut a couple of frames in the middle, you are losing the pulse and the tempo. It\u2019s not like, \u2018In this sequence I can just play parts fast or slow and make it fit.\u2019 You have to rewrite it if you want to do the best job that you can do, and I always try to do the best, so I had to rewrite it. I can\u2019t just cut out part of the bars and say, \u2018Here it is.\u2019 I don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: I\u2019ve found that with the more recent examples of horror scores, the more outstanding ones can be deceptively simple, like\u00a0Wolf Creek<\/strong>, or\u00a0The Descent<\/strong>. In the case of the latter, David Julyan used a very large orchestra to gradually alter a simple theme.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s a work like\u00a0Wrong Turn<\/strong>, which I thought had some beautiful, dense writing \u2013 very primal \u2013 for large orchestra, with a powerful sound for a film that stayed vicious all the way through and had a very energetic drive.<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: I love the score, and I loved working on\u00a0Wrong Turn <\/strong>because I love this edgy, contemporary, twentieth century language for orchestra and the incorporation of West Virginia elements, like dulcimers and drums. It was great to work with [producer] Stan Winston.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: I imagine that for every shock moment in the film, whether it was gradually or created through a large sonic cluster, a lot of thought and a lot of effort went into crafting those sounds. It\u2019s not something that can be assembled simply. You have to think it out very carefully.<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: Yes, and with every hit and every surprise and every suspenseful build you want to be a little bit different. You don\u2019t want to use the same clusters, the same colours, the same instrumentation. I see the score as a dramatic development, like building a church: not every little window has to be the same\u2026 You don\u2019t want to have all the time \u2018Boom-boom-boom.\u2019 You need to see the whole picture, and not hit every single scary moment.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: Are there specific areas in a horror film or a suspense film that you look for in order to get inspiration? For example, do you find that when you watch a horror film, there\u2019s a certain sequence that maybe for you sets the tone of the film? Or is it the characters and their situations or their emotional trauma that clarifies the film and your score\u2019s voice?<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: When I see the picture for the first time, I try to study and see the human emotions instead of going with the effects. I think it\u2019s important because they are people; they\u2019re scared, something\u2019s happened with the main character, and I try to think how does this person feels. With a horror movie, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m writing any different than in films like\u00a0Stigmata <\/strong>or\u00a0Ronin <\/strong>or\u00a0The Reading Room<\/strong>. The human and emotional aspects are important, otherwise I feel I\u2019m doing sound design and crescendos and booms and accents, and nothing else.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: My last question just sort of deals with the many orchestras that you work with, both in Europe and the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n

I wonder if you\u2019ve found certain orchestras are a bit more flexible or creative when dealing with a horror score; either due to the kind of training that students undergo in that country, or whether it\u2019s more of a specific musical heritage, where the culture is more open to performing experimental writing?<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: That\u2019s an interesting question. I think it comes first of all from musical training. In a lot of Western countries, the training for violin is not romantic (like Tchaikovsky or Beethoven); they go much farther, which opens the door for orchestras to see the clusters and glissandos and strange things they\u2019re already familiar with.<\/p>\n

In horror or contemporary scores, a large part of a score is actually electronica, and the orchestra doesn\u2019t hear it [during the recording session.]. So it\u2019s up to the composer in the control room to visualize and [make the orchestra] fit the electronica pre-recordings; so when you put it together in the mix, they fit together with the right gestures and performance.<\/p>\n

When recording in Prague with a less experienced orchestra, you sometimes have to explain every single contemporary or strange thing you ask them to do in the time allowed for the recording.<\/p>\n

Another aspect of recording [is the\u00a0click track<\/a>]: you have to be comfortable in playing with clicks and not play exactly on the click, but still stay in tempo. That\u2019s another craft that musicians trained here in Los Angeles and in a couple of other places [possess].<\/p>\n

I think there are two aspects to recording film music: one is the technical level of the orchestra; the second one is how well they are used to playing, sight reading, getting fast into shape, and being able to understand the composer\u2019s language.<\/p>\n

Some orchestras are good with one, and less with the other one\u2026 I recently did two scores in Prague, and it was not bad at all; they did a very good job. I was actually surprised because I came with some unusual writing and playing, which they performed very well and very fast, but the dream players are here in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

MRH <\/strong>: Many composers have expressed high respect for the Los Angeles musicians.<\/em><\/p>\n

EC <\/strong>: How can you imagine any better training than playing and recording film scores every day? You master your instrument, but you also need to master your recording technique, which is very different from playing in an orchestra and playing concerts.<\/p>\n

In a concert situation you play maybe a twenty minutes symphony from beginning to the very end; you have the conductor there, and you just play. In a recording situation, you sight read, stop, deal with the changes, play it again, stop, more changes, record several takes. It\u2019s not easy\u2026 It\u2019s very different from symphonies and concert work. To be a good recording musician you have to be trained for this particular situation.<\/p>\n

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KQEK.com would like to thank Elia Cmiral for speaking about his latest work, and Tom Kidd at Costa Communication for facilitating this interview.<\/p>\n

For more information on\u00a0Pulse<\/strong>, click\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Additional interviews with Elia Cmiral include his work on\u00a0Habermann<\/a> <\/strong>& Forget Me Not<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0The Deaths of Ian Stone<\/a> <\/strong>& Tooth and Nail<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

All images remain the property of their copyright holders.<\/p>\n

This interview \u00a9 2006 by Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Exclusive Interviews & Profiles<\/a> \/\u00a0Composers<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Exclusive Interviews & Profiles \/\u00a0Composers . Composer Elia Cmiral talks about his latest horror score,\u00a0Pulse, which fuses electronic and modern orchestral writing. Though best-known for his popular scores for\u00a0Apartment Zero and\u00a0Ronin, Cmiral\u2019s horror and suspense work includes\u00a0Bones,\u00a0Stigmata,\u00a0They, and\u00a0Wrong Turn. . . Mark R. Hasan :\u00a0Pulse is a remake of the Japanese film\u00a0Kairo\/Pulse (2001). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[22,27,25,4212],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-ba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2014,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions\/2014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}