Four SOCAN members are nominated for the Iris Award for Best Original Music at the 19th edition of the Québec Cinéma Gala that will be broadcast on Sunday, June 2, 2019, on ICI Radio-Canada Télé. We asked each of them three questions about their work.
Philippe B for Nous sommes Gold by Éric Morin
This is singer-songwriter Philippe B’s first nomination, and he’s just starting as a film composer: he penned the music for a short by Simon Laganière, followed by his first original score for a movie in Chasse au Godard d’Abbittibbi, a feature film also directed by his friend Éric Morin – who, in a past life, played drums for Gwenwed, a band that also featured Philippe B.
What were the biggest challenges in composing this original score?
The one challenge that was specific to this project, and that I won’t encounter again, is that we fabricated a band. We created a band out of thin air, and I had to compose songs for a band that doesn’t exist, and its hypothetical singer. I had to start writing the songs before the financing was secured, which means I didn’t even have a casting [to guide me]. I had no idea who my lead singer was going to be, what his voice sounds like, and his singing style. I had to write songs for a band that has its own personality, but I had no idea if my lead singer was more like Ian Curtis, Robert Smith, or Peter Murphy. The singer’s role was cast very late, but I was lucky that he was a real actor, and a real singer, with a very special, very low baritone voice. I had to adjust, because everything I’d written was an octave higher.
How did you collaborate with the director-producer?
Éric [Morin] is quite directive, he has quite a clear idea of what he wants – as was the case on his previous movie project – and he wanted something quite traditional. For this movie, he had a clear idea of what the music would evoke: it was the sound of a ‘90s band playing music from the previous decade, like The Cure or Joy Division. It’s the mix I was looking for, something centred around a melodic bass. He was very precise in his instructions, even when we spoke during the process. Then, the peculiar thing was, I had to write lyrics; I didn’t know who the actor was going to be, but I had the character, the script – in other words, a form of identity that was going through stuff, human interactions. I had a starting point.
What are you proudest of, in the end?
Some of the reactions [to the movie] that we heard were that it feels authentic and true. The songs are part of the film, not just stuck in it. That was our main worry from the start: even if they’re actors and not musicians, the band’s existence had to be believable.
Frédéric Bégin for 1991 by Ricardo Trogi
Composer Frédéric Bégin is to director Ricardo Trogi what screen composer Bernard Hermann was to Hitchock: his appointed collaborator, after composing the original scores of the 1981/1987/1991 trilogy and Horloge biologique, winner of the Best Music Jutra award in 2006. He also won three Gémeaux awards honouring his music for the TV series Les Étoiles filantes 2 and Le Berceau des Anges.
What were the biggest challenges in composing this original score?
I think it has a lot to do with the movie’s genre. Composing a score for a comedy-drama is especially tricky. You don’t want to overstate the humour, but you need to stick to the rhythm of any given situation, which may be dramatic. And during touching scenes, the music needs to remain understated – because it’s not a major drama, or a tragedy of a period piece, either. You need to find the right balance between humour and drama and try to avoid doing more than what the images are showing, and the actors are acting.
How did you collaborate with the director-producer?
Ricardo and I have worked on a lot of projects. He usually shows me his scripts ahead of time, sometimes even before their final version, so that we can talk about his musical needs. Ricardo will have me work ahead of time using storyboards, because that allows him, down the line, to edit his movie using music that was imagined, composed, specifically for his movie. It’s a real privilege to work with a director right from the onset of a project, because that way, I don’t get stuck with existing music that you have to follow, even though you have other ideas.
What are you proudest of, in the end?
I’m happy that I managed to set the tone, not just for 1991, but for each of the three films. And also because I feel I set the right tone for each special scene. The black-and-white scene at the end of 1991, for example; the scene about the character’s hair loss. where I used a ‘70s horror film-inspired music. It’s an exercise in style that combines with the narrative I’d already established in 1981 and 1987. It jumps from one style to the next, but it all makes sense.
Peter Venne for Avant qu’on explose by Rémi St-Michel
This is the first nomination at the Québec Cinéma Gala for film composer Peter Venne, whose prior work, since 2013, has been composing for documentaries, shorts, and feature films, for directors from Québec and elsewhere.
What were the biggest challenges in composing this original score?
With a movie like Avant qu’on explose, people will see the genre first, a teen comedy, and disregard all the film’s actual qualities – it’s quite a serious film in the end. The same goes for the music: composing for a comedy means composing more utilitarian music, music that is at the service of a joke, a punchline. When you compose for a comedy, you need to be able to jump from one style to the next: classical bits, calypso, rock, swing… Composing for comedies is hard.
How did you collaborate with the director-producer?
First, Rémi St-Michel is a good friend, I did the music for his first shorts, and he’s one of the guys I’ve worked with the most in my life. We’re already comfortable with each other, so it was super-easy and harmonious to work together. It was a project between friends, even though we had a $4 million budget, and a lot of pressure on him, we didn’t hold back from our usual monkey business – like back in the day, when we did shorts with zero budget, just for fun. There are some stupid jokes in his movie that we scored just as stupidly, even though we had a budget and “standing.” We followed our gut instinct!
What are you proudest of, in the end?
With this movie, we were more into an apocalypse movie than a teen movie. We had to come up with a smooth musical transition, and it worked out well, because the film is well-edited. The music needs to be knitted together with the image. Ultimately, I’m proud that it was such a fun experience, that we managed to make such a major project a pleasant experience.
Philippe Brault for La Disparition des lucioles by Sébastien Pilote
Not only is this the first Iris Award nomination for composer, arranger, and producer Philippe Brault, but it’s also his first original score for a fiction feature film.
What were the biggest challenges in composing this original score?
Initially, the challenge was composing something very orchestral, inspired by classic movies, but on a Québec independent film budget – which means coming up with a lot of clever tricks when it comes to orchestrations… I spent a lot of time studying film music before I started composing, and I even studied the influences of those composers. For example, I studied Wagner, who was a major influence on Bernard Hermann’s style. I did my homework. Next, I needed to make sure the tone of this orchestral music would fit the movie.
How did you collaborate with the director-producer?
It went the way I prefer, and which I haven’t always experienced in prior screen composing endeavours – which were not feature films, but still. I discussed the project with Sébastien way before shooting even began. I was even involved in the script breakdown process with the whole team. I was involved very early on, and I think it’s a good strategy, since I was able to come up with ideas and first drafts even before the editing started. It’s a way of working that I really enjoy, and that’s closer to the way I work for dance or theatre productions, where there are more interactions.
What are you proudest of, in the end?
This project was a great gift. The movie gives a lot of space to the music, and when there’s music, it’s not just in the background, behind dialogue. One thing’s for sure: I’m really happy that this music really brought something to the table, that it took the movie somewhere else. I’m just happy to have penned my first full feature film score.