Interview: Emmy Winning Composer Geoff Zanelli talks TRAFFIK and Composing for Film

Emmy-winning composer, Geoff Zanelli took the time to talk about his experience composing for Deon Taylor's upcoming film TRAFFIK and his process when composing music.

How did you decide to become a composer? Did you always know this is what you wanted to do?

I was a late bloomer when it came to music. I didn't play an instrument until I was about 15, but it took less than a year for me to commit to music as a career.

One thing I realized early on was if I kept playing in bands like I was doing in my teenage years, the best I could hope for is a few hit records, which I'd then have to go and perform for decades. The idea of playing my 30 year-old hits to pay the bills just didn't appeal to me, and that's if things go right!

What DID appeal to me was experimenting with forms of music that weren't locked into the shape of pop songs, and using instruments and styles that weren't necessarily mainstream. That naturally leads into film music. That's really where a great deal of experimentation is going on.

Is there a certain genre of film you like composing for best?

I get excited when I'm able to shift gears, so really my favorite genre to compose for is whatever is different from what I just finished.

I feel at home writing in all sorts of genres, but I do consciously aim for projects that are very different from each other, because the "newness" of what I'm able to write is important to me.

How much creative freedom do you get with your pieces?

I get a lot of creative freedom, even though music for any type of media is collaborative by its very nature. There can be dozens of creative people, all of whom have input on the final score, but usually what happens is I watch the movie, or read the script if it's early enough, and then I disappear in my laboratory for a while to come up with what I think is the sound of the film.

After I share that with the filmmakers, it turns into a creative conversation which lasts until the score is finished. There's a lot of trying out new ideas, but I find so often that my first reaction to a film, once it's been put into music, will form the core of the final music. It evolves, but hopefully I get it started in the right direction with just my own ideas.

Do you have one process that you stick with when composing, or does it change project to project?

Actually, I really work to try to find something new in the process each time. That's what excites me. I think the thing that will never change, though, is that my focus is on the story of the film, and on writing something that is very specific to that unique story.

What I mean by that is, I don't think you can take my score from, say, TRAFFIK, and stick it in another thriller with great results. It's for TRAFFIK, and only TRAFFIK.

I'm sure there's some thread that runs through all my music, but hopefully the end result of anything I do is very specific to the story I'm trying to help the filmmakers tell.

You scored Lionsgate's upcoming film, TRAFFIK. How did you get involved with that project?

Deon Taylor, the director, had heard my music from DISTURBIA. I think his editor, Melissa Kent, played it for him. I had worked with her before on LOUDER THAN WORDS and I think it was a combination of her talking to Deon about how I worked, and Deon already loving what I did with DISTURBIA.

So I went and saw the film in a rough state, and signed on to do it. I think Deon is doing something great with the way he works. He's very inclusive, and he's a prolific director. We're already doing our 2nd film together!

Deon Taylor wrote and directed the film, what was it like working with him?

Deon is very supportive of everyone he's working with. We were able to agree on an approach to this film quickly, and it really went smoothly. I think we both knew that the score needed to support the story, and that there was a real danger in overusing melodies.

The story is about human trafficking, which is just horrible to even think about. The word that came to my mind was "disgust." So what does that mean for the music? It means there can't be anything pleasant to latch on to if the scene is meant to turn your stomach. I aimed for gritty sounds, but real ones as opposed to synthetic. I wanted it to feel tangible and acoustic as much as possible.

There's also a love story in the film, and that's the place where it was alright to play melodically. The score walks the line between that beauty and the darkness that plays the sex trafficking aspect.

TRAFFIK is a thriller, I'm sure that affects your decisions when creating a score. How did you approach this project?

I think some of my approach I've talked about already, but one thing that stood out to me in this story was Brea's character, played by Paula Patton. I really responded to the idea that she is her own heroine.

Her fiancé John (Omar Epps) helps, of course, but it's Brea's strength that's important to the story and not just because it's topical these. I think audiences are going to respond to her standing up for herself.

Did you use any unconventional instruments or objects to create the score?

I played cello on this for the first time, having never before played one. That was one of my ways to incorporate acoustic and gritty sounds into the score. It comes out ugly when I play, which is in line with that disgusting sound I was trying for!

There was a lot of experimentation with that. Sometimes I'd go and mangle those performances even more in the computer, shove it through an amp or pitch it way down or otherwise torture it. I found that more satisfying than using a synthesizer for this. It was born from a real, acoustic sound, so your ear takes it in a different way.

This is part of what I mean about being specific with my scores. In other projects, a synthesizer would have been the right approach, and I've certainly used them before! But TRAFFIK just wanted more reality. Human trafficking is a real thing that happens to real people, sometimes just down the street from you. Just that truth is terrifying to me, and I thought acoustic sounds would bring that to life.

This isn't to say that there aren't any synth elements in the score, just that my aim was to keep that grit in the real world whenever I could.

Is there a favorite piece you've done?

One of the more emotional pieces is called "Semi." That one is a little less 'disgusting' than other cues in the film, but I felt good about it. It's stark, just a slow descent during a key, tragic moment in the film.

Who is the one person, alive or dead, you'd love to collaborate with?

Well, I'm lucky. I get to work with a lot of the people I admire already! Hans Zimmer, Steven Spielberg, David Koepp, Mark Ronson...

But I love Alfonso Cuaron's films, and Wes Anderson and Alejandro Inarritu.

And Tom Petty's death hit me pretty hard last year. I loved his simplicity, everything he did just cut straight to the point. I would have loved to have a conversation with him.

Do you have any advice for aspiring composers, like anything you wish you knew when you were starting out?

The main thing for aspiring composers is to get involved, any way possible, with film music. For a lot of people that means getting an internship with a composer. That's what I did when I was 19 or so. Hans Zimmer took me on as an intern while he was writing THE LION KING, and that led to almost every other opportunity I've had!

Do you have other upcoming projects you could tell us about?

Sure! I'm working with Chris Roberts on the score for a huge video game called STAR CITIZEN: SQUADRON 42. Deon Taylor and I are doing our second film, as I mentioned earlier, which is called MOTIVATED SELLER. That one's great! You'll see Dennis Quaid in a role like never before!

I also am scoring a pair of animated films called RED SHOES & THE 7 DWARFS and 10 LIVES. And another thriller booked for the end of the year! So I've kept very busy since PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES!

Thank you for reaching out to me about TRAFFIK. I'm very proud to be part of it, and I think people are going to really enjoy the ride when they go see it. It's intense!

Geoff Zanelli's website: http://geoffzanelli.com

IMAGE Courtesy of Geoff Zanelli