The Music Man Pt. 2

Composer Charles Dennler's a pretty cool guy. He's due to pick up this year's BIFF Award for Excellence in Music for Film. We just finished editing an interview we did with him by phone from his home studio outside of Denver. Even though he was battling a cold and felt like hell he never once tried to hurry things up or pull a ruse to get us off the line (Oh, wow. Spielberg's on the other line. Sorry, I just have to take this...).
Nope. Quite the opposite, in fact. He took the time to indulge our full broadside of geeky movie music questions. Actually, this was more a conversation than an interview - a conversation with someone who is obviously extremely passionate about the marriage of music and film, sound and vision.

Here's a taste:

Mark Shaffer: I’m a huge fan of film scores and composers. Who are your influences or do you draw more from your own experience as a musician and composer?

Charles Denler: Well it’s certainly a little bit of both. My mentor once told me, “Good composers are completely original but great composers copy great composers.” I try to spend some time every day studying great composers – Beethoven, Brahms, a lot of Bach. But then I also study contemporary composers like Ennio Morricone –

MS: Ah, The Maestro.

CD: His score for The Mission is probably one of my all time favorites and the reason I am film scoring. I remember seeing The Mission back in the ‘80’s and something snapped in me. It took a few years to surface, but when I heard that music it just stirred my soul. Definitely Morricone and – of course – John Williams. I listen to a ton of John Williams. He’s the most lyrical composer in history. His music is amazing. I don’t know if we’ll ever see those days again where the themes [in film] are so brilliant.

MS: I agree and this is strange: just before we began this conversation, I posted a preview of this interview on our film blog after listening to some of your work and I actually mentioned Morricone and Williams.

CD: Wow, (laughs) that’s funny.

MS: Incidentally, they’re two of my favorites. Their stuff is incredibly iconic.

CD: It is. It’s lyrical and thematic. You know, I’ve told my agent and my friends and producers and directors I work with that if you want “sound effect music” don’t call me. I won’t do it. I refuse to do it. I believe that there’s still a place for melody in film – something that’s not part of the sound effects library they’re using to sweeten the film, but something that actually gives the film a signature sound. There are still a few films out there that do that and a few directors who look for a signature theme for their film. 



By the way, Denler's favorite Williams score is Jurassic Park. Catch the entire interview in the special BIFF edition of Lowcountry Weekly in print and online February 16th.

In the meantime...
Charles, this for you:

So what are your favorite film scores? Composers?

BIFF's Music Man

Before we begin...
Sure the Packers won last night and it was a great game (unless, of course, you were pulling for the Steelers). The commercials are always a draw for us, even if our team's not playing, and this year's crop of mini-movies (that's what they are) was pretty good. The one that's still with us the next day...

"Darth, it was your father..."


Back on point
We're amassing quite an impressive list of filmmaker interviews for the Feb 16th print/web edition of The Lowcountry Weekly showcasing The Beaufort Int'l Film Fest. Next up is American composer, Charles David Denler.

Composer Charles David Denler

Denler will be honored with the Jean Ribaut Award for Excellence in Music for Film at the Feb 19th Awards Gala. Denler's name may not ring as many bells as John Williams or Ennio Morricone, but he's definitely an artist with that sort of potential. Here's a slice of his bio from the BIFF website:

With nearly 100 films and television programs to his credit, Charles' multiple Emmy Award-winning music can be heard all over the world. His ability to work in a wide variety of genres, and his collaborative work sense, has made him a top choice among producers and directors. Charles' classical training and strong proficiency with contemporary sound allow him great flexibility and versatility as a composer.

You can check out the Emmy winning composer's resume and sample his work right here and enjoy Denler's funky score for this short animated film:

We'd like to think that maybe one day soon we'll sit back in a darkened movie theater and munch our popcorn to Denler's score for a feature film shot in the Lowcountry...

- Mark Shaffer

Sound And Vision

This has absolutely nothing to do with movies or even the Beaufort Int'l Film Fest. It's just a great song and kind of our unofficial theme for BIFF 2011...

...and yet film is very defninitley a marriage of sound and vision. During the recent Beaufort Film Society event at Saltus we were briefly party to a conversation between a pair of film professionals, one an accomplished cinematographer and the other a much sought after sound designer and editor. Of course, the good-natured argument centered around which was more important - literally - sound or vision? They can argue the point until Megan Fox's Oscar speech. The ultimate answer is that sound and vision are co-dependent in the modern age of film.

Which brings us to one of the finalists in the Feature Film category, Beaufort's own Michael Givens Angel Camouflaged. Michael wrote, directed and photographed the movie. And since music is a big part, we're pretty sure he appreciated his sound editor, too.

Michael tells us his leading lady, Dilana, is flying in from South Africa for BIFF. Frankly, we're slightly terrified at the prospect.

 
Read the Lowcountry Weekly interview with Michael here and link to the BIFF website for schedule and ticket. Buy now, don't wait.

Boffo Night for BIFF at Saltus

That's Lantz Price, Demi Moore and Chip Dinkins at the Feb 3rd Saltus event for the Beaufort International Film Festival and the Beaufort Film Society. Demi's the only one who looks like she's not having any fun, probably because she's only a one dimensional projection. But we're not here to criticize her acting abilities...

BIFF's Ron Tucker. Lowcountry Weekly Editor, Margaret Evans

We're here to praise everyone who showed up to make the night a big blazing success and sample a phenomenal menu by Chef Brian Waters.

Chef Brian Waters, Adagio Creative's Carrie Carper and Saltus G.M. Tony Otero

This was a great warm up for the 5th annual BIFF and we've got plenty of surprises to come. Stay tuned...
Meanwhile mark your calendar for the evening of Feb 18th for the SC premier of Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good with director Jonathan Flora...

We'll see you at the movies.

For Love of the Movies, etc.

Here's the plan: 
Eventually this blog will migrate to The Lowcountry Weekly homepage and end up here - hopefully before BIFF. We're sussing out some nagging software issues regarding video. So until further notice we'll stay put 'cause we have video...

There are few organizations on the planet as dedicated to the art and preservation of film than The American Film Institute. The AFI is also relentlessly dedicated to the real reason most of us lay down the money at the theater: the shear fun of the movies. Each year the AFI honors achievement in film & television. They also put together these magnificently edited montages. Enjoy a few favorites in preparation for the Beaufort International Film Festival:

Check out the AFI Website for more or search AFI on YourTube. See you at the movies.