The Screen Composer of the Year is given to the composer whose current material has received the greatest number of performances in the year, combined with critical success, diversity, and a robust new body of work. Winner Andrew Lockington discusses how he recorded howler monkeys in their natural habitat, and also recorded the African Childrens’ Choir on tour, while looking for unique sounds to use for the award-winning score to a No. 1 North American box office movie, Rampage, which stars Dwayne Johnson.
Photo by Brad Ardley, via Zoom
Screen Composers Guild of Canada podcast
Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday September 23rd, 2020
Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) has created The Screen Composer’s Studio, a podcast about the musical storytellers behind some of your favorite films, television shows, videogames, and more. In each episode the SCGC takes you behind the screen, and talks to the musical magicians who bring these stories to life. These hidden giants may not often bask in the limelight, but you’ve definitely felt the power of their work. Find out how they shape emotional journeys, give colour and shade to beloved characters and worlds, and enhance the viewer’s experience in a way only music can.
Past SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore who’ve been featured in The Screen Composer’s Studio include Amin Bhatia, Mark Korven, and Darren Fung, and the latest episode, launched today, offers a conversation with Judith Gruber-Stitzer, formerly of the band Wondeur Brass, who’s scored more than 80 films, TV productions, live-action shorts, cartoon series, commercials, and theatrical and dance productions. She eventually became one of the National Film Board of Canada’s most prolific composers, scoring Oscar nominated films Animal Behaviour, Wild Life, and When The Day Breaks (which also own the Palme D’Or at Cannes), among many others. Gruber-Stitzer resumé also boasts many live-action projects, including two films by the legendary filmmaker Robert Altman.
In the podcast, she discusses her work with that iconic director, as well as her perspectives on working both as a composer and sound designer on projects, her take on how rhythm affects audience perception, and what it means to be a woman in an industry still dominated by men.
Listen to the episode, and others in the series, here.
Photo by Brad Ardley, via Zoom
SOCAN Awards 2020 Video Interview: T-Minus
Story by Howard Druckman | Monday September 21st, 2020
Songwriting producer T-Minus has worked with Drake, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Camila Cabello, Travi$ Scott, and Justin Bieber, among many others. He talks with us about how he contributed to “The London,” performed by Young Thug featuring J. Cole & Travi$ Scott, and his work with J. Cole on “Middle Child” – both of which won SOCAN 2020 Rap Music Awards.