Tracksounds was able to catch up, via cell phone, with composer Christopher Lennertz as he spent a few days vacation on the East Coast.  Christopher Lennertz shares about how the early portion of his budding film music career is going, the pluses and minuses of being a part of a composing team, and his passion for conducting.

 

CC: What has your experience, as what some might call an “up and coming” composer, been like?

CL:  Well, I just turned thirty, so I’m in a situation where I’m just thankful that I have opportunity to write movie scores for a living. I’m not working under the same sort of budgets, like a James Horner is, so that puts me in a challenging position of having to do a score with thirteen people as opposed to one hundred. At the same time, it allows me to do cool things like writing an entire score for a string quartet and guitar.

CC: You definitely have to be more resourceful and creative in that situation.

CL:  Absolutely! I think I’ll be better prepared when I finally get the big one though!

CC: Do you aggressively pursue the “Big One?”

CL:  My main goal is to do features (feature films), but, you know, that has more to do with developing relationships with film-makers. I think coming out to Southern California and going to USC, I’ve met a lot of film-makers who are also “on their way up” right now. I think all I really need is one of those independent films that end up being very good at a Sundance or other film festival and then gets a theatrical release. That’s what happened with John Ottman with THE USUAL SUSPECTS.  Actually, there are a couple things on the horizon for me, but, of course, I can’t talk about them yet!

CC: Video game scores are becoming increasingly popular. Have you considered that avenue?

I have, as a matter of fact. I just don’t really know anyone in that business!

CC: Do you think your style of composing lends itself to the video-game medium?

CL:  I think my proficiency is in epic, thematic music, not the minimalistic, wallpaper sort of music, which some directors love and want. I worked with Basil Poledouris for about two years and to me that is what is all about…that sort of CONAN THE BARBARIAN, big, huge orchestra thing. You just can’t forget that score!

Elmer Bernstein, another teacher of mine at film school said to me, that if you can’t whistle it on your way out of the theater, then you haven’t done a good job. To me that’s what I love about film scoring and if that style is incorporated into a video game, then I think I'd fit.

CC: It seems that there is room for big, orchestral scores in the video game business. Michael Giacchino seemed to have taken game-music to another level with his work for the MEDAL OF HONOR series.

CL:  Yes, he has done some great work! I was in Seattle doing the score for BEER MONEY, which was actually the day after he (Giacchino) left. He had just done MEDAL OF HONOR: UNDERGROUND and the musicians were still playing some of the music that he had written as we set up. It just struck me as really big, wonderful, movie music. I would love the opportunity to do something like that…if there are any video game people out there (reading) this! (laughs)

CC: Would you say that it is true with the film-music world, that its not what you know but who you know?

CL:  Well, there aren’t a whole bunch of people out there doing this (film music) who aren’t good. If there are, say, 4,000 people out there who are good, then out of that 4,000, there are probably 400 who have the social and self-promotional skills to actually get work. Now, out of those 400, there are probably 40 to 80 or who “really” well connected…or potentially, even lucky.

If you look at any successful composer in this business you will see that they each have their own sort of charm. Hans Zimmer has a very different, European charm while Basil Poledouris has this your-friend-from-next-door sort of charm and then Danny Elfman has this creative-rock-star-charm. I don’t think you’d find anyone who is very successful in this business who you couldn’t sit down to dinner with and later see what it is about them, outside of their music, that makes them bond with a director. It is that “bond” that keeps directors coming back to them to do more and more scores.

CC: Do you think being a part of a Media Ventures or Asche & Spencer sort of composer-group has any advantages?

CL:  There is definitely an advantage, especially regarding Media Ventures, for those composers coming from Europe who don’t really know anyone in the US. For them, if they connect with Hans Zimmer, who is pretty generous about giving credit to these composers, and then recommends them for films he personally can’t do, it is a big advantage. I’ve worked with Mark Mancina a lot, and Hans Zimmer really made his career. So I think there is an advantage to that, if that is where you start.

Personally, since I have already been on my own and have a good agent, I couldn’t see myself jumping into something like that. Still, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.

CC: Well, what if two or three of your close composing-buddies decided form a similar group? Would that be more appealing?

CL:  Not necessarily. I did one project in a co-composing scenario with a close friend of mine and I think, in the end it didn’t sound like either one of us. It didn’t have an identity and was a bit generic because we were both trying not to take over too much artistic ownership. We had an extremely short time to do this and almost ended up killing each other in the process. I value my friendships, so I don’t think it is worth putting them in jeopardy like that.

CC: Now you’ve done a good deal of conducting as well.

CL:  I really love to role of conductor as well. I still conduct other people’s works. I have conducted quite a few things for Bryan Tyler. I conducted one day for Michael Kamen for 101 DALMATIANS, when he couldn’t be there.  I just love doing it, because I love the orchestra.

CC: Now from perspective of a composer, how hard would it be for you to allow someone else to conduct your music?

CL:  I would have a problem with it. I know what I want to hear. At the same time, I completely understand why people don’t conduct their own scores. Some, like James Newton Howard, prefer to be in the booth so that he can hear every little nuance…and when you’re conducting you can’t necessarily hear them. So I understand that, but for me, it’s more of a matter of fun and control. I love being that close to the players. I like be able to look at the French Horn player before the solo and give him a nod, just so he knows that it all rests with him for the next eight bars. That’s something that only I know, because I wrote it.

CC: Now, what kind of look would you give him to communicates that?

CL:  A lot times what you’ll do, if it’s a big, sweeping thing, is widen your stance, take your baton, and motion in a much more circular and fluid manner. Even if you breathe in deeply and look at the musician when you do it, they will breathe in deeply as well.  The musicians know that they are suppose to play out with more emotion and power. Some of these musicians are just so good at picking those subtleties up. Even if you open your eyes a little wider or give them a little hint like that, they'll play with 20 or 30% more emotion, just because you’ve given them the opportunity to do so.

CC: Any particular conductor influence your conducting style?

CL:  My hero was Leonard Bernstein. I was watching conduct in New York and it honestly looked like he was going to have a heart-attack and pass out by the end of the concert! There was just all of this emotion that poured from every move and the orchestra just followed that. It was just amazing to me. It is such unique experience to be that connected to people who are speaking with musical tones instead of spoken language.

I’ve also seen Bruce Broughton and Basil Poledouris at work, as well as Michael Kamen (whom I’ve orchestrated for). I also studied conducting in a master class with Jerry Goldsmith and I saw him actually conduct STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT. In that master class, I got to conduct the end credits for that film…after he did, of course. It was interesting to compare and contrast the differences between how I conducted it with how he did.

CC: Before we finish up here, talk a bit about some of your recent scoring projects.

CL:  I just finished another movie for VH-1, entitled WARNING:  PARENTAL ADVISORY, which is all about the 1980’s censorship hearings regarding Frank Zappa and all of that. It was directed by the same man who directed HOUSE OF YES, Mark Waters, which was a pretty cool indie film. He was a great guy to work with and I think I’ll work with him again.

CC: Is it airing now?

CL:  It aired mostly in May (2002), but it will come to DVD and VHS soon.

CC: What is your approach for scoring this film?

Well it’s interesting, because we took a sort of comedic approach to the score, so, surprisingly it has a bit of an Elmer Bernstein edge!

CC: Really? As in the “jazzy” Bernstein?

CL:  Yes. They actually temped it with GET SHORTY.

CC: Do you feel directed or limited by having to work from a “temp” track?

CL:  It depends. Ideally, I’d rather not work with a temp track. That said, when there doesn’t happen to be a lot of time, temps can be helpful. In the case of WARNING:  PARENTAL ADVISORY, we did the entire score in fifteen days. So in that instance a bit of temp score helped me follow what they were looking for - a comedic, jazzy score.

Now given enough time, I’d prefer that they don’t do a temp. What the temp does accomplish is that it keeps me from having to do trial and error. I’d love to spend a week doing the “trial and error” myself.  I'd do three or four different styles for the director to go over, say, of the title sequence.  The director could then say which direction he’d like to go. Of course, then you’re going to get a more interesting and more original score.  This is why I like to work with directors over and over, if I can, and get brought onto movies early. Then, while they are still editing, I can jump in and do those sorts of things.

CC: What else do you have coming up?

CL:  I worked with a director, John Butler, last year on a film entitled BEER MONEY, which aired on USA networks. He is doing another movie for the Sci-Fi Channel, SAINT/ SINNER, which is a Clive Barker production. It’s a bit of a horror film, but it has time travel, demons, and religious overtones. In this case, we have enough time, so here we can come up with several ideas early on and don’t have to rely on a temp score.  I'll be heading off to Budapest, Hungary to record the score!  I'm pretty excited about that!

CC: Well, thank you so much for you time and all the best to you in upcoming projects!

CL:  Thanks Chris and take care.