I've been an indie movie producer for almost a decade now. I've learned a lot about the industry and its ups and downs - like every creative profession. One thing I've always wanted to do was get a film idea of my own produced and made.
That journey started almost 9 years ago with an idea that I had worked out with a horror friend of mine (who also happens to be a screenwriter). I floated him out the skeleton of an idea I had for an indie horror film with a role we specifically wanted for an actor friend of ours. He took the idea and ran with it, and returned a killer script that we knew would be fun low budget, and potentially easy to make.
After production hell and being passed around to at least 3 different directors, the film ended up getting shelved, mostly due to creative differences and financial roadblocks. The biggest issue though was that we wanted to make sure whoever took on the film really believed in it. That didn't happen - until 9 years later.
I'm so stoked to say that the film not only gained traction again from development hell, it's actually moving forward. It has been funded, cast, and I am happy to announce that I will be a co-producer on it as well as composing the music score for the film. This will be the first feature film that I have composed, a dream come true, so I am very excited and a bit nervous - although surprisingly not as nervous as I thought I would be. The executive producer, who I've known for a decade has moved on to directing major Hollywood films has kindly brought me on for this, a dream of mine for a long time. I can't wait to knock this score out of the park!
On a side note, I am being a bit vague here because even though the film has been added to IMDB and is greenlit, we haven't made an official press release about it yet. So until then, I'll just keep the details close to my chest.
Over the last couple of months, I have been thinking about the story, trying to capture the tone in my mind for the score. I've been composing several ideas and there are so many directions I could go. In the movie business, even the composer is tasked with making sure that they are getting the director's vision into the music. I'm looking forward to the first spotting session (where the composer and director chat about the direction of the film, tone of the film, and ideas for the music). After talking to the producer, it looks like they are giving me a lot of creative freedom with the score, and I'm super excited about it.
I'm thinking cinematic drones, textures, pads, strings, horns, drums, and eerie sounds. I'm also hoping to include some music from bands I am associated with, including my own heavy industrial band "Brain Matter". We have a song that was partially written for one of the characters in the film.
I just love how films in the late 90's - early 2000's included some killer music from bands for the soundtrack. My record label has also greenlit us using any band in their catalog, so financially we have some good options too. The particular song by my band Brain Matter did, (Internal Unrest), would sound tight for the song that kicks off the ending credits. It's got a slick industrial beat and some raging guitars. The lyrics were inspired by one of the main character's struggles as well. We'll see what the director thinks.
So that's a little update on the newest production and music project I have going on. Please bookmark my blog and be on the lookout for more details on this project and my other projects. Check out some of my music samples or email me at metoyermedia@gmail.com if you'd like to collaborate or need a score for your project.
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