Film Scoring for Documentary: Life on the Burma Border

I was excited when film producer Mark Belinsky approached me in May to work on his documentary about the Thai-Burma Border. He visited me in Baltimore, we discussed the project, and he showed me a rough cut of the video. At that point, we started conceptualizing of what music could do for the picture. Because of the environment and the context, we decided that only acoustic instruments would be appropriate.  I was to compose the score.  It took me three attempts, but in the end all parties were happy with the result, and the film is now in it's final stages of development.

The first attempt, I prepared the old 310 piano with a pentatonic scale. I used screws, which I screwed between the strings of certain keys, and positioned them so that the hammers would hit the screws rather than the string, giving the notes a bell-like quality. I set up my work station so I could play and watch the film at the same time. I recorded two takes, each the entire length of the cut of the film I had. The first, I played free, reacting to what I was seeing on the screen. The second, I played to a click track, using many of the ideas I had begun to develop in the first take. I overdubbed some bass, edited some sections of takes together, and placed them in the film to enhance the vibe of whatever scene was playing. This method, although fun and interesting, was too abstract for what was appropriate for the film.

For the second attempt, I invited my good friend and extraordinary musician Josh Shapero over to play along with the film, and record some extra takes. We recorded flutes, bass, bowed percussion, and jaw-harp. Josh is a good reference for music from that part of the world, and had a good ear for working with the instruments we were using. However, the product of our work was too generally "Asiatic," and did not sound specific enough to the region we were composing for.  A problem for the first attempts was that the compositions lacked unity. The instruments, harmony, and textures were consistent, however, there were very few recurring motifs, melodic riffs, or structural ideas.

In the mean time, our friend Joan Spirytus was working on a narrative film at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) called "Popcorn." She asked Baltimore musicians Ben Frock and Jon Birkholz to compose some music for it. In an afternoon, without ever seeing any of the video, Ben, Jon and I approached the music with a few simple concepts and melodic ideas. We recorded these ideas in layers with several instruments, and then mixed versions - just guitar, guitar with accordion, accordion with rhodes, etc. It was an efficient and effective way to work, and when it was synchronized with the film, it enhanced the narrative.

With this experience of scoring for another film, I re-started my work on the Thai-Burma border project with a fresh concept. This time, I put the film aside for a minute, and worked on the composition. I checked out as much Thai and Burmese traditional music I could get my hands on. I transcribed melodies, scales, and rhythms. I found that the mixolydian mode was very common, as was a scale that I understand as "the black keys plus C," which I translated into a major (lydian) mode of F#, and a minor mode of B-flat. With these harmonies in mind, I composed a couple of motifs of my own, and experimented with putting them over different roots, which changed their harmonic flavor. 

What is with the human obsession with rhythm? I decided that whether or not a percussion track is heard in the final version, all of the compositions should be recorded in strict time. Instead of pulling up a metronome, I went into the organic sound lab archives, and found a few tracks of Alan Munshower and I playing conga, shaker, and tambourine at different tempos. I looped the percussion (in very long loops, so it is hardly noticeable that looping was used), and began to record over them. I recorded Hohner pump organ (which was eventually not used because it is too loud and ugly), Ocinara (also not used because I could not get the correct pitches out of it), vibraphone, bass, and a mandolin-like instrument Derv lent to me and I tuned to a baritone tuning. I recorded several versions of the composition, and edited different takes together. Then, in mixing, I mixed the percussion in and out, and used different flavors of double-bass (arco or pizz).

In the end, I had three compositions, very well structured, with vibraphone, percussion, mandolin, and bass. Different modes were used at different tempos, and very clear motifs were repeated, embellished, and built upon. The compositions had a unifying effect, and complemented each other very well. Whether or not they had a percussion track mixed into them, they moved forward because they were recorded in time. Some of them had a more melancholy feel, where others resonated beautiful hope.

Perhaps the most interesting stage of this creative process was meeting Mark in New York to synchronize the music with the final cut of the film. He had staked out a friend's video editing studio, and we set up shop for two days of listening, watching, and experimenting. A great consideration was the use of silence - when does the music enhance the scene, and when is the absence of music more effective? 

I was invited to eat with the documentary team - Liz Hodes, Emily Jacobi, and Mark - at Liz's apartment in Brooklyn. I love New York, and I have great respect for people who go there with dreams, survive, and are able to make their way. But, I do not know if it is the place for me. I feel trapped on the island when I am there. I like a city that you can walk out of, and eventually hit the woods. Maybe someday I will get over it, but for now, I will be happy visiting for a few days to gig or work on projects.  On the Fung Wah bus, I was reading "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman, and I kept imagining trees growing out of the streets, and herds of caribou returning to Manhattan island.

They had a few screenings of the film in NYC, and I hear that the music was well received. I really enjoy this kind of work, and I find it rewarding when it works well in a collaborative environment, and it is appreciated by a larger audience. I would say that in the future, the business side of the project (contracts, figuring out who owns what and who gets what) is taken care of at the front end. Then, nothing can get in the way of the creative process, which is what this is all about. The music industry is confusing, and the film industry is complex, and the two together present goliath-like intimidation from a business/legal standpoint.  If you have any experience in film scoring or the legal issues surrounding synchronizing music with film, please share because I am still learning.  Despite the legal complications, from a creative perspective I find that the marriage of audio/music to video/film is complementary, inspiring, and powerful. 

Mark and Emily work out of their production company, New Words.  Check their website for updated information on this documentary, "Don't Look Back:  Life on the Burma Border."