{"id":701,"date":"2010-10-20T01:13:04","date_gmt":"2010-10-20T05:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=701"},"modified":"2010-12-27T20:39:13","modified_gmt":"2010-12-28T01:39:13","slug":"james-michael-dooley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=701","title":{"rendered":"JAMES MICHAEL DOOLEY"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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With the 2006 release of Columbia\u2019s remake of the underrated 1979 cult film,\u00a0When a Stranger Calls<\/strong>, composer James Michael Dooley has taken another step in furthering a solo career, amid his continuing involvement in high profile projects with Hans Zimmer, such as the recent film adaptation of\u00a0The DaVinci Code<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dooley\u2019s fruitful and collaborative association with Zimmer might give the impression of another action specialist in the making, but for anyone whose heard the music for the American remake of\u00a0The Ring<\/strong>, it\u2019s clear the cues written for that film were composed with an unusual affinity for strings; beautifully mining the vibrato of the instruments to create bass-friendly tension, and enhance the film\u2019s algae-coated photography and slow progressions, as static and normal images become contorted and well-timed shocks for theatre-trapped audiences.<\/p>\n

The producers of\u00a0When a Stranger Calls <\/strong>originally sent out an open call to agencies for young and aspiring composers, or as Dooley regards, \u201cPeople who didn\u2019t have as much experience, which is kind of odd, when you think about it. Why would you want to take your shiny new $15 million dollar movie, and give it to someone who didn\u2019t have a hundred movies under their belt?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me later on that they were having lots of problems getting it just right, and they knew they were going to go through a lot of revision processes in trying to get [the film] exactly the way that they wanted; because it needed to be scary enough, and there wasn\u2019t much action in the beginning. They knew it was going to be a great challenge, and they wanted somebody who would be really eager, and really dig to prove something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having worked on\u00a0The Amityville Horror <\/strong>(2005) with chief composer Steve Jablonsky, and\u00a0The Ring<\/strong>, with Zimmer, Dooley knew his experience within the horror genre would be a major asset to an already glossy production \u2013 even though the target audience was the youth market.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really happy that they wanted a classical score for this elegant movie. Thank God they kept it consistent\u2026 Sometimes when it\u2019s done well, songs tell story,\u201d he explains, but often the proliferation of songs means a movie \u2018strokes a particular demographic,\u2019 thereby limiting a film\u2019s exposure to specific theatrical and home video audiences.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0original film, the first twenty minutes follow the babysitter\u2019s arrival, the increasingly threatening phone calls, the realization of the caller\u2019s whereabouts, and the arrival of the police, before the film jumps almost a decade later to the child-killer\u2019s recent escape. The entire narrative is tied together by a superb, close-miked score by\u00a0Dana Kaproff<\/a>, who used a chamber orchestra, and cool metallic percussion.<\/p>\n

For the 2006 remake, the filmmakers chose to focus only on the babysitter\u2019s terror in the luxurious, spacious, and isolated house, and open up the film by showing the friends who later become her distant support network when the calls, and trauma, begin.<\/p>\n

The decision to elongate the babysitter\u2019s crescendo of fear and isolation from 10 minutes to almost 40 in the remake later became a bit sticky for preview audiences. \u201cIn the beginning,\u201d Dooley explains, \u201cthe movie is very beautiful. It has this really great sheen to it\u2026 and there were temp cues that they used off [my demo CD] \u2013 these long melodic cues which were profound in\u00a0Ring<\/strong>, and had this haunting quality to them- [but] when they got the preview numbers back, people were saying that the movie wasn\u2019t dark enough in the beginning; so we went in and revised that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s closing music, Aftermath, alongside the mordant version in Fateful Drive, are perhaps hints at the more melodic and overtly tragic thematic material that existed in the original score conception; but a decision was made to acknowledge the film\u2019s innate, if not obvious qualities: be less subversive, and \u201cgo dark right at the beginning,\u201d as the composer recaps.<\/p>\n

Dooley acknowledges that the mood, tempo, and shocks in a horror film are always in need of surgical tweaking, and if a film fails to affect audiences during test screenings, one of the first casualties is the film score. \u201cIt\u2019s easily by far the cheapest thing to fix. You don\u2019t want to go and open that scene up and get all those people back\u2026 [so the approach is] \u2018Just re-write it. Make it better.\u2019 It\u2019s a lot easier, especially when you\u2019re in post, [to fix] all those scares that might have any kind of flaws in them.\u201d As he pointedly admits, it\u2019s often the music that\u2019s the first thing to be adjusted.<\/p>\n

The final score for\u00a0When a Stranger Calls<\/strong>, represented by an hour of music on Lakeshore\u2019s soundtrack CD, is regarded by Dooley as \u201cpretty much a melting pot score. Before I started writing, I watched the movie, and I was saying, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m in trouble. I have no idea how to mock this up to do any kind of demonstration of a cue. Because there isn\u2019t a sample library on the planet that could handle it, I went to Prague and recorded string effects for eight hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to all the things that we did in Prague, [we went to Seattle and recorded] all the big hits and all the big tunes and all the scratchy stuff\u201d \u2013 essentially the refined, chilling orchestral effects horror fans love in a good score. In cues like Exploring, elements from both recording sessions, sweetened with synth effects like \u201cbells, booms, glassy effects,\u201d meld into the kind of atmospheric underscore Christopher Young employed in his classic early work, and in more recent gems, like\u00a0The Haunting of Emily Rose<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At NYU, Dooley studied the specifics of orchestra, earned two degrees in classical composition, and had the good fortune of studying under Young, whose own work bubbled with ideas from modern composers, including\u00a0Krzysztof Penderecki<\/a>, and\u00a0Gy\u00f6rgy Ligeti<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dooley also developed a keen interest in minimalism, a movement that sought to explore diversity through restriction, as within specific rhythmic patterns, notes, textures, and tempi. \u201cI\u2019m a big minimalist fan, especially in things that you\u2019ll hear in\u00a0Mars Underground<\/strong>, where obviously you\u2019ll see that I\u2019m a big fan of\u00a0Philip Glass <\/a>and\u00a0John Adams<\/a>. The genius of making that work [goes all the way back] to\u00a0Erik Satie<\/a>, the French minimalist who\u2019s also very appealing to me, and is part of the things that I\u2019ve been most actively studying lately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes down to this idea of craft: that music is [trained] art and skill and emotions. When you have an 80 minute score, of which I\u2019ve been facing 6-7 of them a year now, how do you do it, and get all the emotions out and get all the material to relate? It\u2019s not like, \u2018Okay, I have to write another cue and get something done.\u2019\u201d Dooley feels a composer must stop and ask, \u201c\u2018How do I take the material that I have, and stretch it to make it more cohesive?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c[Minimalism] always has this very integrated thematic material that\u2019s played with. Obviously, if you listen to Mozart, Bach and Beethoven, [you’ll find] there\u2019s a small amount of material, but used very, very well. Once you come up with a good idea, use it; hammer it home. If you look at a movie like\u00a0Casablanca<\/strong>, it\u2019s got one theme in it, and that\u2019s because there\u2019s great skill.\u00a0Suspect <\/strong>(1987) is amazing, too.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Michael Kamen\u2019s\u00a0Suspect <\/strong>is largely comprised of a percussive, eruptive suspense motif, and a fragmented melody that\u2019s left incomplete until the End Credits. Not dissimilar to Dooley\u2019s own efforts in minimalism, Kamen heavily employed tangential variation and recombination after some intriguing exercises in deconstruction.<\/p>\n

Like Glass, whose minimalism figured in the documentary and visual narrative works of Errol Morris and Godfrey Reggio, Dooley is perfectly comfortable in drawing inspiration from the movement in non-fiction projects, like\u00a0The Mars Underground<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny,\u2019 he says, a little bemused by the feature film\u2019s odd continental predicament. \u201cNo one has seen this movie, and I\u2019ll tell you, it\u2019s a great documentary. It\u2019s been released worldwide in every place, except, I believe, the United States\u2026 There\u2019s lots of European markets that have picked this thing up,\u201d he says, including Discovery Channel Italy.<\/p>\n

Mars Underground <\/strong>combines high-definition animation \u2013 like the launching, landing and unraveling of the Martian land rovers,\u00a0terraforming<\/a>, and human colonization \u2013 with various interviews. As Dooley explains, \u201cIt also touches on all the political and scientific [aspects]: stories about how to get to Mars and the government\u2019s response to withdraw funding, NASA\u2019s plan, the disgruntled ex-NASA people who say NASA is too bloated to do it because of their infrastructure,\u201d and cheaper ways to accomplish the mission, via private sector funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is quite critical, but it\u2019s done from an equal playing field. There is a\u00a0Mars Society<\/a>, who gets together and talks about the plans and the research; it\u2019s kind of like going to a Trekkie convention, [but] there are so many people who have put great ideas forth on how to make this happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe movie was done in this Errol Morris documentary style\u2026 Originally I was like, \u2018Oh God, I just don\u2019t want to be Philip Glass light,\u2019 but it was a great opportunity to take that minimalism\u2026 and try to do this with some contemporary edges on other sides. There\u2019s this great big fast build, [whereas] minimalists have a tendency to be a bit slower\u2026 I was trying to take those ideas \u2013 of the Satie and John Adams \u2013 to another light.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Dooley\u2019s involvement with\u00a0Mars Underground <\/strong>came through a friend who had worked on the screenplay, and although the composer was searching for a needed break in his busy schedule \u2013 i.e., a real vacation after a taxing schedule \u2013 the film left a very potent impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat day I was writing, and I\u2019m still very proud of [that opening piece],\u201d which pretty much follows Dooley\u2019s style in writing a memorable, propulsive minimalist theme with a contemporary feel. Because he owns the music outright, the composer was able to release a soundtrack album, via outlets like CD Baby and buysoundtrax.com, and was stunned when it sold more than 500 copies, \u201cand for a movie that nobody has seen. It\u2019s a little bit fantastic. I\u2019m still kind of in awe at the response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dooley also confesses the film fell within his broad interest in science. \u201cI\u2019m a huge science freak\u2026 In school I was going to be a doctor; I went pre-med at NYU in addition to my classical music studies. I realized that just because you love something doesn\u2019t mean you should do it for a living, but I still read a lot on physics; [those subjects] calm me down in some bizarre respect after a work day of toiling over notes and harmonies\u2026 It\u2019s very relaxing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sony\u2019s PS2 video game\u00a0SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs<\/strong>, Dooley used his analytical mind to apply organized, logical concepts to what remains one of his toughest projects: writing about 3 hours of score.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty intimidating,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I first got the cue sheet, I said, \u2018Oh, wow\u2026 Look at the cue sheet\u2026 It\u2019s a lot of music\u2026 Okay guys, I\u2019ll see you tomorrow.\u2019 I actually had to go home, and have a private panic attack, because I didn\u2019t want to freak out in my studio \u2013 so I freaked out at home. It was hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of cues.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he first approached the score, he thought, \u2018This is not going to work if you beat someone to death with heroicism; it\u2019s too much,\u2019\u201d and he chose a model James Horner had successfully established in his own militaristic-themed scores.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at movies like\u00a0Clear and Present Danger, <\/strong>or\u00a0Glory<\/strong>, there\u2019s always a passive side to the military, because that humanizes the whole thing,\u201d he explains. Sony responded favorably to his design, in which a character\u2019s insertion into the game is initially scored with aggressive material, yet a player\u2019s demise (or extraction) by another teammate yields a passive cue, giving the massive score for multiple players and game levels an important balance.<\/p>\n

There is a wee bit of irony as to how video games evolved into sophisticated productions, with specially commissioned scores and album releases (although Dooley\u2019s music for SOCOM 3<\/strong>, as of this writing, remains unavailable on CD).<\/p>\n

During the early years, video game creators lived under the large, dominant shadow of filmmakers. Dooley muses that it\u2019s as though they were quietly saying among themselves, \u201c\u2018The film guys have all the money, they have all the good-looking people, they have all the power. We just make these little things that go blip-blip, like\u00a0Combat<\/strong>,\u2019 and as they started to make money, they said, \u2018Wait: we want those big things too. We want the big cinematic orchestral thing, too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And as elements from big screen entertainment systems were being adopted as the standard for gaming, so too did the incorporation of layered Dolby 5.1 soundtracks, with dynamic sound effects, and music to power the home subwoofer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the video game industry understands now that they are really leading [parts of] the entertainment industry,\u201d continues Dooley, \u201cand I also think they\u2019re trying to get those big themes and big talent, now that they have bigger money, and also create a bit of an emotional attachment to their games, just as films do. (Not that video games need to get more of a fan base; they seem to be doing quite well, and people are very passionate about their products.)\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a commercial product or a personal indulgence, creativity brings forth a strange mix of dissatisfaction, melancholy, and the need to transcend the average.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people who make art are not happy where they are,\u201d he theorizes. \u201cFor example, you work on a TV show, but don\u2019t think of it that way: make it feel like a film. Or, if people are on a video game, don\u2019t write it like a video game: write it like a film. And on a film, don\u2019t treat this like a film: treat it like a play.\u2019 It\u2019s kind of weird; rarely do you get something like, \u2018This is a film, so score it like one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a coping mechanism or an earnest desire to boost the quality standard of a specific creative work for a commercial product, the final results must fulfill practical requirements, yet make it distinct from the competition. When core elements exceed those rudimentary standards, you ideally get an engrossing game with characters, an existing mythic past, and plenty of sophisticated sounds and visuals that support You as the star of your own Choose Your Own Adventure epic.<\/p>\n

As an orchestrator, arranger, and composer, James Dooley\u2019s lighter side has recently been associated with several animated projects, including\u00a0Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit<\/strong>,\u00a0Madagascar<\/strong>, and the seasonal spin-off short,\u00a0The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper<\/strong>, released in 2005.<\/p>\n

In 2006, the composer returned to the animation realm via the new DreamWorks short,\u00a0First Flight<\/strong>, about a bird\u2019s attempts to get airborn; and the German animated feature\u00a0Urmel aus dem Eis <\/strong>(to be released as\u00a0Impy\u2019s Island <\/strong>to English language audiences), which deals with cute dinosaurs on an isolated tropical island.<\/p>\n

Based on the children\u2019s books by\u00a0Max Kruse<\/a>, the feature film required cheerfully melodic material from Dooley. \u201cI love these movies\u2026 where things are heavily thematic. When I first got the movie, I listened to all my James Newton Howard animation music; I was really trying to get my head around doing things with good themes. James\u2019 music is tuneful and meaningful, without being overtly cartoony. I was going to try and do my thing, but you\u2019re always kind of paying homage to someone else, as far as when you study to get better.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I went in and did all these really great pieces, and then a couple of them got thrown out \u2013 of my first 5 pieces, I think 2 got thrown out \u2013 because [they said they wanted] no music in the beginning. I thought, \u2018What do mean, no music in the beginning of the film? Let\u2019s put song there.\u2019 So then I went and recorded songs, and it was tough, because we were just trying to find the tone of the movie, and once we got it, it was pretty smooth sailing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the evil king is there, you play the evil king theme; and when the happy dinosaur gets rescued, play the rescue theme.\u201d But as he carefully points out, \u201cthe key to getting a movie like\u00a0Impy<\/strong> to work is that you have to set up a couple of the themes to be misleading: they\u2019re on an island in the South Pacific, so I wrote an island theme which ends up becoming the rescue theme later on.\u201d While thematically cohesive to the score as a whole, a contextual change \u2013 perhaps not on a conscious level \u2013 can evoke surprise, and through specific variations, connect relationships, or add discreet subtext. \u201cThose are the things that you really have to plan ahead before you just go in, and [not] just start writing tunes and putting them all over the place.<\/p>\n

Dooley\u2019s score is currently being mastered for an August CD release. \u201cI think there\u2019s some good writing in there,\u201d he says, \u201cand it\u2019s a really great chance to flex your muscles and make things a bit sprightly and enthusiastic. When you\u2019re working with kids\u2019 music, of course you need your tender themes and your big broad themes. As far as my thematic material\u2026 I\u2019m very proud of the score.\u201d.<\/p>\n

KQEK would like to thank James Michael Dooley for speaking about his latest work (and for letting 5 minutes become 30), and Tom Kidd at Costa Communications for facilitating this interview.<\/p>\n

For more information on James Dooley, visit the composer\u2019s\u00a0website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To read a detailed interview with the composer concerning\u00a0SOCOM 3<\/strong>, visit\u00a0GameZone.com<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information on and screen shots from\u00a0Urmel aus dem Eis <\/strong>\/\u00a0Impy\u2019s Island<\/strong> (in German only), visit the\u00a0Falcom Media Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

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

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related external links (MAIN SITE)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

CD: \u00a0Mars Underground, The<\/a> <\/strong>(2005) — <\/strong>The Ring \/ Ring Two<\/a><\/strong> (2002)<\/p>\n

DVD\/Film: \u00a0Mars Underground, The<\/a><\/strong> (2005) — \u00a0When a Stranger Calls<\/a><\/strong> (1978)<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Exclusive Interviews & Profiles \/\u00a0Composers . With the 2006 release of Columbia\u2019s remake of the underrated 1979 cult film,\u00a0When a Stranger Calls, composer James Michael Dooley has taken another step in furthering a solo career, amid his continuing involvement in high profile projects with Hans Zimmer, such as the recent film adaptation of\u00a0The […]<\/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":[26,22,29,4212],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-bj","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701"}],"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=701"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":729,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701\/revisions\/729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}