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INTERVIEW with COMPOSER PAUL HASLINGER

Can you tell us about the type of musical direction you sought to establish with your score for "Vacancy?"

Paul H: Director Nimrod Antal wanted the score to work first and foremost on a psychological level. It was therefore important to find a musical language that could work mostly ‘behind the scenes’, while also delivering support for tension and dramatic peaks.

The remote location, and the depiction of vintage technology in the film (the motel’s old video equipment and run down condition) suggested to me the use of relatively unsophisticated, crude sound sources. We solicited the help of a great Foley artist here in town, Greg Barbanelle, and recorded a wide variety of hits, scrapes, bowed cymbals and such. These were then processed and edited by my longtime collaborator Brian Williams and made into musical ammo for all elements of danger and threat. In contrast, I used Violinist extraordinaire Jacques Deregnancourt to give voice to the couple’s sophistication, and to reflect their growing sense of despair and doom with increasingly extreme playing techniques. Over the course of the movie, these two sound groups start to merge into one another, dissolving their differences, until they finally unite in Amy’s and Mason’s direct fight for survival. A bowed spike-wheel merging with the sound of an abused violin – what could be more pretty than that?

When working on suspense films, such as "Vacancy," how critical is an effective underscore toward the pacing, and ultimately the success, of these types of movies?

Paul H: I think it is the use of sound overall that makes a difference. For instance ‘silence’ is one of the most effective dramatic devices, but it will only work if sound effects and dialog play along.

With each of my projects, I try to have a dialog about overall sound strategy and concept before I start to write any music. This is a collaborative effort, it requires a director who cares and understands the dimension of sound, and a sound supervisor who is interested to explore new ideas. With Nimrod Antal and Chic Ciccolini, I was lucky to have both on Vacancy.

In these instances, how challenging is it for a composer to create music that suits the tone of the film without drawing too much attention to itself. In other words, is there a certain sense of balance that needs to be created?

Paul H: Yes, definitely. And finding this precious balance starts with understanding the story being told, and ends with the discipline to see a creative concept through production to a successful application in the final dub mix. And even then, there could still be transfer problems, as happened to me on one screening for Vacancy. It really never stops and Murphy never sleeps.

Music, of all the arts, is maybe the most slippery one… it evades control. Add to this the film process, with its many production steps and collaborators, and you get a sense of the many battles one has to go through before delivering an effective film score.

Moving on to another recent score of yours, "Shoot 'Em Up." Was it an enjoyable process to write a score for a film with so much energy in it?

Paul H: Most definitely! It was clear that this score needed to find the right balance between dark comedy and action. I was fortunate to work with a great cast of musicians, Justin Meldal-Johnson, Jason Falkner and Steve Tavaglione among them.

We recorded the band at NRG studios here in North Hollywood. Following that we recorded individual overdub sessions at my own studio. For this type of score, I generally aim to create and produce it album-style: I try to over-write a fair amount of material, so that in the end from 100% written and recorded, only approximately 30% end up being used in the film.

With any project, I find there has to be a phase of exploration, of ‘anything goes’.

If the early writing is dominated by too much conceptual determination, in my experience one ends up with less ‘unusual’ ideas. There IS a point however, at which one HAS to introduce discipline, slim down and define your selection, to establish your language and thematic statements for each particular project.

Most film scores created today, in my view suffer from one of 2 extremes:

In my case, of course, both apply! ;)

What type of approach do you take when you're asked to write music for a modern film? Is there a certain blend of resources you like to employ?

Paul H: With the advance of music technology, I feel the composer has become much more of a music director and producer: we have a set of ideas in our mind and with the help of some hard and software, we are able to communicate and demonstrate these ideas and applications to our partners in crime. Everything has become modular, and that is as much of a blessing as it can be a curse. Personally, I enjoy the craziness that comes with having thousands of options… the studio definitely is my first instrument, and it is my main tool to make strange ideas into audible realities.

Currently, it seems that most scores use a blend of electronics and orchestra. How influential do you feel the work of Tangerine Dream was toward the acceptance of using electronic music in modern cinema?

Paul H: Tangerine Dream certainly played their part, but I think they were trailblazers as much as part of the problem with early applications of electronic music in film: they helped establish the cliché of electronic music being relatively crude compared to traditional symphonic music. And this has been and still is a problem of perception: you can see effects in the game community’s desperate efforts to ‘sound expensive’, i.e. traditional orchestral.

I grew up in Austria, so I was surrounded by the sound of orchestra. The sense of distribution and flow, so essential to the success of this sound, always came natural to me. And just as natural was for me the conclusion, that this ‘balance’ should be achievable with different means, and that the result, not the source of individual elements, should count for its success. This is my aim today in film music, I have a long way to go, but I think I’m perhaps one step closer than when I was working with Tangerine Dream.

In an interesting twist, video games were once known for purely electronic soundtracks but now, these soundtracks often sound more like cinematic offerings. In your opinion, do you think video game scores might ever surpass movie soundtracks in popularity with the listeners?

Paul H: Define ‘cinematic’ ;)

I quite enjoy working for games, mostly because the story-telling structure is so different.

While I get a script for a film, I get an Excel spreadsheet for a game, detailing every elements and particle in the games design. As a person living the life of curiosity, I love that!

All this being said, I don’t think games have quite the same global cultural effect like movies. This is in part because games are made for a large but selective group, compared to anyone who can catch a movie in a theater, at home, on the internet.

Gamers are more dedicated, almost religious, and that’s why that market is so lucrative. But in the big picture, I still believe movies are the main myth-making machine of our time. You go to Europe, or Asia, or anywhere on the planet, and you get a quick sense of just how powerful the influence of film, more than ever, really is.

Getting back to your recent projects -- are you pleased with the CD releases of "Vacancy" and "Shoot 'em Up?"

Paul H: Yes – they are quite different in tone and style obviously, but I do like the way each of them came out. For me, a soundtrack has to be able to bring back the atmosphere of the film, AND be able to run as a purely musical sequence and make sense as such. And to me, both of these soundtracks accomplish this goal.

If you prefer one over the other will depend mostly on whether you preferred one film over the other.

For your soundtrack albums, how much of a say do you typically have with the arrangement of the music on each? Is it something that is worked out primarily with the Producer?

Paul H: The parties involved are typically the film company’s music department, a record label and the composer. I usually keep full control over any additional production concerning the soundtrack release. It makes sense, given my background in album production.

Looking ahead, do you have any future project news that you would like to share with us at this time?

Paul H: Right now I am working on a new film for Sony Screengems called ‘Prom Night’, Nelson McCormick directing.

Next up will be Susan Montford’s directorial debut ‘While She Was Out’ (Starring Kim Basinger, Lukas Haas), as well as ‘Wolverine’, a game score for Activision.

Thank you for the interview!

Paul H: My pleasure.