Making Beautiful Music Together

04/02/2010

I've been getting lots of comments about the narration of LIFE, but no one's mentioned the music. You may not notice it as much, but you'll find it plays an integral role in this series if you listen carefully. I spoke with the delightful Fred Karns (left) and Richard Fiocca (right), who composed all the music for LIFE, and in between laughs, I learned quite a bit about how they tackled this monumental task.

How did you become a composer?

Fred: I grew up in Washington, DC and originally wanted to be president, but I ended up taking a different path. When I went to the movies as a kid, I would often pay more attention to the soundtrack than the plot, so I have always been fascinated by film music. I learned to play the guitar and started out as a musician, but after getting more involved with writing music, I eventually became a composer Richard: Well, there was really nothing else I was good at, and I didn't want a typical 9-to-5 job. I took several music courses -- Berklee, Julliard -- but I got most of my real musical training as an apprentice to an orchestrator named Phil Lang who was a famous -- this is something of an oxymoron -- Broadway orchestrator. The best thing I learned from Phil -- although I learned a lot about writing music from him -- was not to be an orchestrator, because you do all of the work but get none of the credit. [Laughs]

How did you both get involved in working on this project?

F: Susan Winslow [the Executive Producer of LIFE] was given the task by John Ford, who was president of the Discovery Channel at the time, to make the series work for an American audience. I had written some additional music for other recent BBC nature series for Discovery -- like Wild Pacific and Nature's Most Amazing Events -- taking music that worked for British audiences and altering or amending some of it to make it more accessible and lively for the Discovery audience. So I was asked to take a look at the first episode of LIFE, listen to the original George Fenton music, and give them a suggested direction. They listened to my suggestions about the kind of music I thought would work, and Discovery liked the direction I came up with. It was different enough from what was done for the BBC version that they asked me to rescore the entire series. I accepted with the contingency that I could get Richard to work with me as a partner -- which they agreed to. It was a little weird because Richard and I only knew each other over the phone at that point, but we'd gotten to know each other pretty well over the years, and we wanted to work together on this. I have a very short list of composers with whom I'd want to do a project as difficult as this one -- unbelievably compressed delivery schedule, a lot of music, a lot of pressure. Richard's the only name on that list.

R: I think Discovery hired us because they knew we could do it. There was a certain comfort level they needed for this project, and it involved a grueling schedule. Apart from the fact that it was a huge series for Discovery, and very high profile, it was a different kind of project right from the outset. Not only would we be composing a soundtrack, but the music was going to be performed by a live orchestra at the premiere. They were comfortable with our backgrounds and knew we could get it done -- although I did have some doubts myself when Fred first approached me with it -- and I really think that's what sealed the deal for Discovery.

F: It was a very daunting assignment, even for experienced guys like us.

Logistically, how did you divide up the work?

F: Susan and I screened the films, spotted them for music placement, and had discussions about what kind of music to use. That was largely her effort -- she had a strong vision for this whole project. I wrote up the notes for all the cues, and then I would call Richard. We had a music supervisor in NY to assign things back and forth between us and coordinate with orchestrators and copyists.

R: It was actually pretty casual. Fred would go through with Susan and then we'd have a conversation where we'd say, "This looks like something I'd like to do, and this looks like something you'd be good for," and we'd just divvy it up like that.

F: Richard would get these notes from me and often call me back and say, it looks like you're taking on too much work for yourself, and I'd step back and say, "You're right." I'd get so excited about the music that I'd want to do it all. So we had this good check and balance system between us. We did that all the way through the project and it worked.

FOR MORE OF THE INTERVIEW: CLICK HERE!

Comments

[toto toilets]

Wow. Thats some awesome organisation skills there. These guys are amazing.

[paxil birth defects]

Yeah... I'm going to have to agree with JB on this one ^^^

[Armil@broadway theatre tickets]

I can really say that the level of interest on music is now 99.9%! I am really more inspired by this. I am willing to take a risk!

Thanks for sharing!

[Dressmaking Tips]

This is awesome. Berklee is a great school too!

[Nike Air Max TN]

You may remenber the four proverbs:
No pains, no gains.
No pleasure without pain.
No rose without a thorn.
No smoke without fire.

[Tori]

Where can we purchase / download the soundtrack?

[karen]

who sings the opening song to "life"? what are the words? is that on a cd? thank you, karen j. mcpherson

[Kat]

do you mind telling me the name of the songs displayed in the life wolf video?

[JB]

Sadly, your choosing Oprah as narrator of LIFE is a complete turn-off. Of all the great narrators out there like Peter Coyote etc, you chose Oprah? I just came across the program last night and could-not-believe the voice I was hearing. She has too much emotion in her voice and too much emphasis on her own amazement. Your brilliant photography and production captured it all. You didn't need Oprah's over-emotional wonderment to communicate nature's wonder. Did she force you to pick her? Did she help fund the project? Was there somebody else you were considering? I can't imagine what would have prompted you people to make such a choice. Regardless, I am watching the program, but with the sound off and my own music in the background. Certainly will not be renting or purchasing.

[We Clean Long Island]

I have to say that this show "Life" has got to be the most fascinating show I've seen since "National Wildlifes Wild Kingdom". The music is superb and Oprah's narration is perfect. The unbelievable footage is remarkable. I'm hooked to this REALITY show! Thank you. I'm voting that this be viewed in our school systems for a fantastic learning experience.

[Bob]

wonderful filming and most interesting however the back ground music is much too loud to br able to here the narriator,dissapointed!

[Chester Bowman]

It took me a few days of watching,but I Truly Enjoy Mike Rowe Thank you C.G,Bowman