Screen composer Ashley Irwin discusses the Oscars, Clint Eastwood, and next week’s Screen Music Awards

The annual Screen Music Awards are presented by APRA and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), and will be held in Sydney next Monday, December 9.

Emmy award-winning Aussie composer and Screen Music Awards Music Director Ashley Irwin has enjoyed a storied career, this year being elected as President of The Board of the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) – the first non-American to score the role. Ahead of the Screen Music Awards, Irwin chats to TMN about the industry, and the unusual career of a screen composer.

TV and film scoring is a field that seems to offer no clear entry point. How did you get involved in it,  and what would be your advice to those wanting to pursue this line of work?

I started my musical life a keyboard player/arranger. Once I began working in recording studios it wasn’t to long before I was writing arrangements for records and commercials. From there, it wasn’t long before I started working on film and TV projects, first as an arranger and ultimately as a composer. But everybody’s path is different. Some composers make relationships with bidding directors in at film school and these days, others are discovered by directors on sites like iTunes and Soundcloud. I’ve even have friends who’ve been approached through Facebook. There are no hard and fast rules as to the right or best way to break in.

You worked in Australian TV before making the move into American feature scoring. How did this come about? Were you offered a project, or did you decide to follow this path?

Before I started composing for film and TV, I was producing records and had done some work recording in the US. When the TV industry collapsed at the end of the 1980s, local TV series were really impacted financially and overnight the music budgets were slashed in half. It seemed if I was ever going to make the move that was the time to do it. My son was about to start school and I had a friend in the US who offered to sponsor my immigration status, so I went for it.

You’ve scored the Oscars for numerous years – what does this job involve, and how are you briefed on such a job?

Every piece of music played by the orchestra has to be arranged and or orchestrated. The most obvious musical moments to the audience are the production numbers and the performances of the nominated songs, but all the play-ons and play-off are required too. And in the various categories where there are five nominees, each movie has its own piece of music and so there are five pieces of music compiled on two or three pages for each category. Then there’s the music the TV audience doesn’t hear on the air as the orchestra plays to the house during the commercial breaks to keep the vibe in the room up. So there’s always a lot to do and most of it can’t  be done till thee nominations are announced. As far as instruction, there is always a musical director who liaises with the producers and director. I take my instructions from the MD.

When you score for film, what is the first step you take, and how early in the overall project are you brought in?

It’s always different and mostly depends on the director. Some directors like you onboard from script stage while others don’t even begin to think about music until they start to cut the film with the editor. Some are musically literate and others have no idea what they want. If possible, I prefer to view the film at least once without the director present so I can formulate my initial ideas to present with any undue influence from the director or any “temp music” (music temporarily mixed with the picture that will ultimately be replaced). But some directors simply aren’t secure enough to allow the composer that opportunity.

What’s the most surreal thing you’ve found yourself doing in regards to your professional work?

Believe it or not, it’s actually working with the musicians and recording engineers I grew up listening to in high school and now having the opportunity and privilege of hearing them play my music.

As MD of the Screen Musical Awards – how long do you work on this in the lead up? What does it involve?

We’ve been discussing the musical performance components of the show for several months but as with any awards show, we couldn’t do much more until the nominations were announced. After that, I had to first decide what instruments would make up the orchestra and then select the best players available. As far as writing music, it’s much the same drill as the Oscars or any award show, just on a smaller scale.

How did working with Clint Eastwood come about? What is he like to work alongside, professionally speaking?

Word of mouth. Clint and I use the same music editor so once his arranger/orchestrator retired he was looking around for someone new and my music editor suggested me. Clint’s a very musical guy and a pretty good jazz pianist. I think he would have preferred to be a musician had things worked out differently. I’ve told him I find his use of music in his films to be very European in approach. He creates mood  by playing from point A to point B, rather than catch any specific cuts or action. I sometimes wonder if this is because he was influenced by all the Spaghetti Westerns he made early on. It’s a very effective style and I’ve learned much from working with him.

What’s the main difference when scoring a video game as opposed to a film?

The simple answer: films are linear and video games are not. The music in a video game has to be created in such a way to allow for changes in levels of intensity and be able to jump from place to place yet still make musical sense. Also, music for video games is almost always written to storyboards before the game even exists, whereas the score in film is one of the last stages before the film is mixed.

Is there a film score you’re most proud of?

I really like the score I wrote for a small independent film that was released in the US last year called The Pardon. It’s set in the south and based on the true story of the first women to be executed in Louisiana in the 1940s. It stars John Hawkes and Jaime King. It gave me an opportunity to blend swamp/bayou music with traditional dixie jazz and then some gospel elements.

Which film score outside of your own work are you most in awe of, and what about it impresses or moves you?

I’m always impressed by Nino Rota’s score to The Godfather. The way the music functions in that film is exquisite. The same love theme works on so many levels: whether the viewer is seeing sheep being herded in Sicily, Michael’s affection for Apollonia or people being slaughtered, it doesn’t matter. It always works perfectly to convey the appropriate feeling. Genius.

The 2013 SCREEN MUSIC AWARDS will be held at the Sydney State Theatre on Monday December 9.