Christopher Young
Christopher Young is an award-winning film composer. He is known for his work on horror movies such as Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddie's Revenge, the Hellraiser series and Urban Legend, but his music is also heard in other great films such as The Shipping News (for which he was nominated a Golden Globe in 2001) and Creation (now playing in theaters).
TheCelebrityCafe.com's Allison Manchel spoke with Christopher about his joy of making music, his diverse filmography, and how he helps young composers with a love for movies.
Allison Manchel: How do you get inspired to write music for certain films?
Christopher Young: Well, what I think what makes composers for films different than other kinds of composers is that our minds are musical minds that are provoked by the moving image. Stick a film composer in front a piano with blank music paper and he won’t know what to do, but run some image in front of him and his brain knows what to do. That’s the way my mind works. What inspires me is that I can't stop my mind from thinking when I watch a moving image.
There is the issue of not delivering on time, which can always put the fear of god in us and inspire us to get music written. We have a limited amount of time and a specific amount of music that has to get done in that limited time and so we set a schedule. On a less poetic side, we are kind of like music machines.
AM: What is your favorite part about your job?
CY: My favorite part is that, first of all, I’ve been so bloody blessed that I am doing really what I was meant to do but also what I want to do. I was meant to do this and I just happen to love doing it. I’m one of the select few that get the opportunity to get calls to write music. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m still in demand. What more can a human being ask for?
My second favorite part is knowing that my music is being heard by millions and millions of people. We’re sort of like the invisible emotional manipulators. What makes it cool is that I influence millions and millions of people.
AM: How did it feel to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for your music?
CY: It was pretty cool, getting nominated is always a swell thing. You know, it’s a good time. You go to these parties and all of a sudden you’re really a part of the team.
AM: You also received a Richard Kirk Career Achievement award. What was that like?
CY: When I first moved to LA, it was a big deal for me just to go to the BMI award dinners as a guest of a member. I could not help but be amazed that I’ve been so blessed that all these years later, not only did I work my way up to the front table but I actually got onto the stage. When I was on the east coast I was searching for like minds and people that were also interested in film scoring like myself. It wasn’t until I came to LA that I felt like everyone here was as crazy as me.
AM: Music is a very important part of movies; it sets the tone and emotions. When you are writing a score for a movie, what is the process you go through when composing?
CY: Usually you read the script only to prepare yourself for the interview to get the job. You read the script, everybody has different images, but it’s not until you see the film that you really know what it’s all about. If I’ve been hired during preproduction then I’ll be encouraged to write music to inspire the director, or if there are actually scenes with actors playing instruments and they want me to write the music for them to play on screen. Excluding those moments, generally a composer will read the script, go and talk about the movie, get the job, and then wait and see the movie until he starts writing. It’s all about responding to the visual at the end of the day.
In Europe, it’s different. Composers will often read the script and write the music to the script, and the director will cut the music and put it against the picture and fit the movie after the fact. The outcome of the relationship of the movie and music is very very different. I don’t know. I would love to be given the opportunity to try to do a score that way, but in America that’s not the way it works. Directors are always wanting the music to correspond in a direct matter to the image.
AM: You have written the music for many types of films—from horror, to sci-fi to romantic comedies. Is there a genre you preferring composing for? If so, Why?
CY: I’m one of the truly blessed guys to be a composer who’s able to work on a multitude of different types of movies; that’s highly unusual. What normally happens is that composers get type casted, they show that they can do a certain thing pretty well and that’s what they get calls to do. In my case, I’ve done little bits and pieces of all different types of films. Is there one in particular I prefer? Without a shadow of the doubt, it’s those great dramas that we all love to be a part of because those are the ones that have the greatest impacts on the people. I have a love-hate relationship with horror movies, on one hand there is something extremely rewarding about watching people jump out of their seats in a scary movie and knowing it’s primarily the music that made that happen. One of my greatest moments was a test screening of Sweet November and that was a romantic story and I remember going to a screening of that and I was sitting right next to a couple and there’s music playing and their saying goodbye to each other and the woman just started sobbing. And it was like, 'Oh wow,' I just felt very lucky to have provided music that inspired that kind of response. Dramas are the top of the line, there’s just nothing more rewarding than stimulating those kinds of emotions from the audience. They’re all good, but drama is my fave.
AM: For Creation you had to work with an 80-piece orchestra. How did that work out?
CY: That’s pretty large for film music, for sort of an epic period piece that’s a standard size. Being a feature guy and being able to use an orchestra is again a blessing. I have worked on films that had even larger groups, especially that those that use choir can get over a hundred.
AM: Do you enjoy teaching at USC? What is your favorite part about teaching new composers?
CY: There’s a graduate film scoring program that they offer there. It’s the best in the world for sure and I’ve been affiliated with that for many years and I adore teaching, and I adore getting involved with composers that are fresh and new on the scene and doing my best to encourage them and make them feel much more confident about their chances of success. It’s sort of my mission. If I wasn’t composing, if I wasn’t getting calls to do scores, I would turn my attention to teaching and mentoring.
AM: You also give a lot back; you have a house that gives cheap residency to young composers.
CY: I have a building for composers that want to get into the LA scene or want to check it out. It’s not free rent but it’s a low-budget rent. I wish it could be free. They get to stay there for four months. Composers come from all over the world to stay there. It’s been a very positive experience for all of them.
My dream on that front is to get a much larger space. The space I’ve got now holds about six people at one time, and I would love to have an apartment complex that could have 20 people at one time.
AM: What inspired you to become a composer?
CY: You know, all I can say in regards to that is that I can never remember a moment where I did not have music in my head. It was always there, whether it was my own music or someone else’s. I don’t know why it was there, but it was always there, and it’s always been a pretty damn good friend.
Whenever I’m in a situation when I’m feeling uncomfortable, what comes to the rescue is music. It calms me down.
I felt like I consciously chose to be a composer, because what the hell else was I going to do? My parents weren’t thrilled. They finally came around, and I can’t blame them. My heroes were always composers. That was the magic that made life bearable. Not that I don’t love life, but it’s hard to imagine life without music.