Interview with Cliff Martinez from Sundance 2012

One of the most exciting assignments I received was a chance to sit down with the incredible composer, Cliff Martinez. We met at the Sundance Film Festival Headquarters in the Park City Marriott Hotel. I was initially concerned because I knew this was the hub of the festival and finding a quiet place to chat would be close to impossible. We decided on speaking in this tranquil swimming pool area that had glassed ceilings giving us the warmth of indoor heating along with the beautiful sunlight from above. Cliff had just come back from an early morning screening and mentioned he was running on a few hours of sleep as his duties as a Jury Member of Sundance were starting to take its toll on Day 6 of the festival, however Cliff was pleased to sit down with me for this interview. We discussed his work on DRIVE, CONTAGION, his working relationships with his directors and his experience as a Jury member at Sundance 2012.

CHECK OUT OUR SUNDANCE COVERAGE

Sundance 2012: The Raid by Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese (In-Film Score Review)

THE RAID
Directed by Gareth Evans
Music by Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese
Review by: Bradley Winston

One of the most anticipated films at Sundance, The Raid, is a flurry of flying fists, feet and sweat all to the rhythmic score provided by Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese. Praised as “relentlessly exciting*” and “an action masterpiece**,” the film has left audiences out of breath and clutching their still-beating hearts thanks to the non-stop adrenaline rush that director Gareth Evans provides.

As a rookie member of an elite special-forces team, Rama (Iko Uwais) is instructed to hang back during a covert mission involving the extraction of a brutal crime lord from a rundown fifteen-story apartment block. But when a spotter blows their cover, boss Tama (Ray Sahetaphy) offers lifelong sanctuary to every killer, rapist and thief in the building in exchange for their heads. Now Rama must stand in for the team’s fallen leader Jaka (Joe Taslim) and use every bit of his fighting strength – winding through every floor and room to complete the mission and escape with his life.

The score is relentless as the action. Paired with the action, the music takes you on a thrill ride that you never want to end. Primarily an electronic score of drum machine beats and unique sounds, the music could easily be trapped in a techno pit like the Chemical Brother’s score to Hanna, but the heart-warming strings and soft piano touches in the human-element moments of the film draw you back to reality to realize you care about these human-punching bags and want the lead actor, Iko Uwais (“Rama”), to defeat his enemies and get home.

The main theme introduced early on in the film, continually teases the audience with a feeling of unfinished melody as the characters fight their way up a 15-story building. We don’t actually hear the entire theme played out until the final credits when the score blends into an original song produced by Shinoda sparks to life and eases us back to reality. The cord tension pulls at your subconscious so much that when you finally hear the full melody and the action is finally over you can actually relax and let the experience of the ride wash over you.

The Raid marks Mike Shinoda’s first score as a film composer. His career is primarily known as being a member of Linkin Park and contributing many influential songs to movie soundtracks over the years. Joseph Trapanese collaborated with Daft Punk on the riveting score to TRON: Legacy and recently contributed to five tracks on M83’s latest double-album release, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” as well as scoring projects like The Bannen Way and the upcoming animated series TRON: Uprising.

The Raid will release in theaters on March 23rd nationwide. There are no plans to release a score soundtrack at this time.

Austin Wintory's Win's Best New Film Composer

If you have not heard of AUSTIN WINTORY, you better keep an ear open. He has recently won the “Best New Film Composer” award at the first annual Hollywood Music Awards. Also his recent project, CAPTAIN ABU RAED won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic. If you need some convincing of his talents, just check out his official site where there are a few pieces from his award winning effort (plus a whole lot more.) Below is the official press release:

“Best New Film Composer”

Austin Wintory scores Captain Abu Raed

Winner of the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic


Los Angeles, CA – Film composer Austin Wintory scores the award-winning feature film, Captain Abu Raed, from director Amin Matalqa. The film, Jordan’s first-ever entry in the Academy Awards’ foreign language film category, premiered in the U.S. at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received the World Cinema Audience Award. In addition, it earned Wintory the title of “Best New Film Composer” at the first annual Hollywood Music Awards. In describing the score, Wintory said, “It's meant to feel like a fable that could be told by any culture on earth, and so the orchestra seemed the best route to accomplish that.”

For Captain Abu Raed, Austin Wintory wanted the score to have a universal appeal. He achieved that by balancing traditional Arabic instruments, such as kanun and tablas, with a rich orchestral palette and Western instruments like sleigh bells and castanets. He recorded with the Hollywood Studio Symphony and world-renowned vocalist Lisbeth Scott (Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia). In addition to earning the “Best New Film Composer” award, Wintory’s score has been recognized as an Oscar contender by the Los Angeles Times.

Austin Wintory’s love of film scores began at the age of ten in Denver, Colo., when he first listened to Jerry Goldsmith’s classic scores for Patton and A Patch of Blue. In high school, he taught himself to compose, orchestrate and conduct, before studying at both New York University and the University of Southern California. Wintory, at the young age of 26, has received accolades for his scores to feature films, short films and videogames, including fl0w, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. He has several upcoming film projects, including the comedy Knuckle Dragger, holiday film Make the Yuletide Gay and dark drama The Sunset Sky.

Captain Abu Raed tells the story of a lonely airport janitor (Nadim Sawalha) whose life changes after he finds a discarded captain’s hat at work and wears it home. When the poor neighborhood children assume he is a real pilot, he forms a friendship with them by weaving fictional stories about the world outside of Amman, Jordan, based on books he has read. As he attempts to make a difference in their lives, Abu Raed faces attacks from Murad (Hussein Al-Sous), a young boy who calls him a liar, and develops a relationship with Nour (Rana Sultan), a real female pilot with troubles of her own. Captain Abu Raed is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice.