My desire to write music for film predates me even putting pencil to manuscript paper for the first time. Even though I had been listening to film soundtracks and scores for years, it’s hard to describe the impact of what James Horner’s score for “Braveheart” did to me. For the first time, I went from appreciating the impact of a great soundtrack to thinking, “What if I was responsible for that impact?” It would still be several years before I composed music myself, but the itch was implanted.
My first film scores were for short films my friends and myself made. They gave me a chance to experiment and follow my own impulses in how best to serve the story. You can find those films online- to varying degrees, they illustrate some of my own musical ideas, and concepts of what film music can do, in action.
In 2014, I rekindled that dream to write film music academically. The three online courses I took for my Certificate in Film and TV Music gave me a stronger foundation in the theory behind creating film music, but when it came to networking with other filmmakers, nothing really came of it.
In February of this year, I received an email I didn’t expect from someone I have become friends with over the years. My first interactions with writer-director Brian Ackley came after I first saw, and responded positively to, his feature film, “Uptown”. Over the years, we’ve talked about films like “Payback” and “Bringing Out the Dead”, as well as another feature he directed, “Alienated”, and “2050”, which he wrote, and I recorded an audio commentary for. (I’ve also reviewed his 2019 film, “Til Death Do Us Part”.) This wasn’t an email to review his next film, though; it was to write the music for his next film.
“Player, PhD” is a romantic comedy about a janitor (Gabard, played by Maxson Gibbs) who pretends to be something different to impress women. When he meets Maffi (Joselie Saint-Hilaire), he continues the ruse. Maffi feels like the right one, though, and this time around, his playing might get him into trouble.
Light is not necessarily my strong suit as a composer, and when it comes to scoring a comedy, light is important. That meant this was going to be a challenge. But it was one I decided to embrace, as the opportunity to push myself, and fulfill a lifelong dream, was one I wanted to take on.
An independent production, “Player, PhD” has an Indiegogo campaign going to raise money for post-production and marketing, if you’d like to read more, and contribute to the process of bringing the film to audiences.
I’ll have more when the film gets ready to release. Until then, thanks for listening.
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
brianskutle.bandcamp.com
“Creative Beginnings” at CDBaby
“Dark Experiments” at CDBaby
“Sonic Visions of a New Old West” at CDBaby
“Beyond the Infinite: A Musical Odyssey” at CDBaby
“Storytelling” at CDBaby
“Arpeggiations & Atmospheres” on BandCamp
“Classical Cinema” on BandCamp
