I learned a great deal from them, and implications in my current music are very deep. I learned the importance of melodic writing and orchestration from them. They taught me how the form of a film will dictate your musical structure. Christopher Young was very good about bringing in his scores and playing us the musical examples. I was then able to ask very specific musical questions regarding real music cues. There is no better learning than when talking about actual scores.

You recently scored the short film "A Chistmas Caper". Can you tell us something about this project? How much time did you have to compose the score and How did you approach the score?

I wrote this score before and after work on 'Wallace and Gromit.' The material was very clear after working on the film 'Madagascar.' I knew what they liked and the tone had already been set. In addition, the movie was during Christmas time, so was asked to use some period source music to help set the tone.

You also wrote music for the new Wallace & Gromit movie. There are five credited composers. What was your part in this score? Wallace & Gromit is a typical british film. How did this influence the score?

I thought it would be difficult to get into the British comedy and musical stylings but that wasn't the case. I had already studied the works of Elgar and Vaughan-Williams and that helped a great deal. We ended up using a lot of 'brass band' arrangements and such to reinforce the nature of the film. If anyone has seen 'Brassed-Off' you would understand. Also, the comedy can be very subtle which makes for an interestingly different approach. It was wonderful recording with British musicians in British halls. We did one day at Abbey Road to record the brass. Edward Elgar was the first composer to record in Abbey Road studio 1 and I think the sound of that room enriched the score as well.

You wrote a lot of music for short films, documentaries, trailers etc. This kind of music gets rarely released on cd. Does it trouble you?

It doesn't bother me so much. I am attempting to compile a CD of some shorter pieces to get some of the short film music out there that I believe is quite interesting.

As member of Media Ventures you collaborated on several high profile scores like Gladiator, The Ring or Pirates of the Caribbean. How does the working process go? Do you get special scenes to write music for or is it really a teamwork of some composers working together on a single piece of music?

This process can vary quite greatly. Sometimes we work together on the same piece and other times not. For example, during Pearl Harbor, sometimes the composers started with 'piano maps' of the cues for them to orchestrate. On The Ring (1), a lot of the cues used themes by Hans Zimmer, but the horse chase needed something else which was not from existing material.

I listened to some of the audio samples on your home page. There are a lot of different projects and styles. Do you have a special favorite you would like to see released on cd?

I did a short film called Untitled 003: Embryo. I am quite fond of that score and one day I hope to have it orchestrated out and recorded properly. It was a film I did very early on here at the studio. It won a lot of festivals around the world but not a lot of people are familiar with the score.

I believe a lot of film composers are pidgeonholed by producers into a certain genre or type of scoring. Are producers asking you yery often to write in the typical "Media Ventures"-style. And if yes, is it a burden for you?

Well, it depends on the project. I am scoring an animation right now that is so far from what people tend to think of as that 'style.' Sometimes you get asked to do that but more and more I try to steer away from it. I was asked to do that for the Main Title to Socom 3: US Navy Seals, and a lot of the rest of the score is very far removed from that. I'd say it happens a lot less these days not that there are more varied types of films and hence their scores.

Could you imagine to write music for the concert hall one day or do you prefer film music?

I haven't written concert music in a while. I am planning, however, to arrange suites from my scores that are performable in the concert hall. I am currently working on The Mars Underground first to see if will work. There is a chance I might be doing some concert music in the near future, I have a few pieces that I never finished with that end specifically in thought.

Do you have a dream project or is there a score you wish you had scored?

One of my favorite film scores is the Delerue score to 'Joe vs. the Volcano.' It has a wonderful theme to it. Very magical! It makes you believe in the power of music.

Mr. Dooley, Thank you for the interview. (mr)