Greetings! ScoreKeeper here presenting a super-casual conversation with one of cinema’s most sought after film scorers. From Harvard to Hollywood, composer Brian Tyler’s ivy-league roots are sprouting musical branches through an eclectic array of genres from modestly budgeted independent films to cash-swollen Tinseltown blockbusters. Last September I was in Austin, Texas, attending one of the most stupendous film festivals known to me…Fantastic Fest! I got a call from a representative at Paramount asking if I would like to interview Brian Tyler who was in town to help promote EAGLE EYE (2008) screening later that night at the Alamo Drafthouse. I had met Brian once before in Los Angeles but never had the opportunity to formally interview him so I said, “Sure. That would be…fantastic!” I had less than an hour notice so I grabbed my recording equipment and heading over to the Driskill Hotel on 6th Street in downtown Austin.

I hadn’t seen EAGLE EYE nor had I heard any of Tyler’s music for the film. With no time to prepare proper queries, I simply sat with Brian on opposing couches nestled in the corner a large atrium and partook in a good ol’ fashioned conversation. It never did feel much like an interview. We gabbed and babbled, geeked-out about movies, and yammered about whatever came to mind. I had debated for the longest time whether or not it was even possible to properly transcribe our conversation for publication. Many overdue months later and with some much needed assistance, I have finally converted my exchange with Brian into adequately readable text. I really enjoyed talking with Brian that day and I hope you will too!

ScoreKeeper: So Brian…Why are you here? I know EAGLE EYE is playing tonight but composers don’t usually jet around the country attending their film screenings. I’d like to say...“Bravo!” That’s pretty cool you’re here. Brian Tyler: Actually, I was thinking about coming a little ahead of time. I was looking at Fantastic Fest and it’s really my kind of thing. As you know, I’m a total film geek at heart. That’s my whole world. The cool thing about EAGLE EYE playing here is that it was made by film fans basically. As I score more studio films I never thought I would have the chance to play at something like Fantastic Fest and be able to get back to where I started…things like SIX-STRING SAMURAI (1998) and Slamdance and before that, South by Southwest. When I saw this was playing here in Austin I was like, “Oh man!” This was a good excuse to get back out because it has been a long time since I had been here. I was just conducting this score not too long ago. While recording the tracks and everything it just seemed right. Why not?
SK: So this is like a mini-vacation for you? BT: Not really. [Both Laugh] BT: I’m playing hooky. I’m on some major deadlines right now but I wanted to support the film. I heard DJ (Caruso) and Alex (Kurtzman) were coming. I had become friends with them throughout the scoring process. They are my kind of movie people and it will be fun to see this in a setting like no other. I’m hoping to go to the theater to see it when it opens on opening night. I usually go to a bunch of theaters when something opens but that’s always in LA. It was even great to go out to Roger Ebert’s festival in Illinois and see a couple films of mine there. Just being able to go to festivals is something I really miss.
SK: Austin has to be, hands down, my favorite city to watch a movie in. The audiences here just eat it up. Fantastic Fest to me – and I’m sure you’ve heard all the hype too – is one of the best festivals I’ve ever attended. I’ve pretty much written off all other festivals just so I can be sure to attend this particular festival each year. BT: I was looking at the list and it’s rad. It’s mind boggling! I just got here and there are all these things I want to attend. The list is just insane. Stuff you just can’t see anywhere else.
SK: That’s the key. There are things that I have seen at this festival that I have never had the opportunity to see since. Those are the film experiences I really cherish. So yeah, next time try to play hooky the entire week. BT: Because you could do it all day…
SK: Four or five films a day. It’s bliss…So tell me a little bit about EAGLE EYE. Now, I obviously haven’t seen the film nor have I heard any of the music so I’m asking questions here totally blind. How does it compare to your other works? BT: You know EAGLE EYE…I had heard about the film being made and I knew a little bit about the story. It was a cool story Steven Spielberg came up with years ago…fifteen or twenty years…It was quite a while ago and his idea at the time was more science-fiction. The movie never got made. Now contemporary society has caught up with what the story is. Now it’s not so much science-fiction…it’s more real. So I had been hearing about this story for awhile. Once I got in there and started talking with DJ (the director) and Alex Kurtzman (the producer) about the drive of the score it certainly sounded like something that would be right up my alley. It was something that I wanted to expand upon with what I had done before with certain other scores.
SK: Like what? BT: EAGLE EYE brought together two huge components of the classic action thriller. I had done classic throwback scores like FRAILTY (2001). That was more of a throwback to the quasi-thriller romantic side of Bernard Herrmann’s VERTIGO (1958) and other films that had that classic “wrong-man-framed” kind of sound. Then, at the same time, there was this whole emotional component in the story which I really love getting into. Sometimes that doesn’t come up with the scores I do. I love doing movies like ALIENS VS. PRETATOR: REQUIEM (2007) but there’s not as much of an emotional component to it. It’s more hardcore. Because EAGLE EYE is about loss that part of the story works like gang-busters. I was able to do these themes which are completely contrasting to the action. As a piece of music I really feel it’s my strongest work because I was able to tackle all of these different things.
SK: You mentioned Steven Spielberg and his involvement with getting this story off the ground. Did you have direct experiences with him? If so, what was that like? BT: It’s unbelievable working with Steven Spielberg. It’s like meeting your idol and asking him questions and seeking advice about things. We found that we have a lot of musical references in common. We would talk about our favorite scores like THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947). He really wanted me to do something that was right along the lines of what DJ and Alex wanted which was a score that was symphonic, that has themes, and doesn’t hide in the corner. There’s somewhat of a trend in movies now where the score is supposed to be like wallpaper and you don’t notice it…“The best score is when you don’t notice the score…” Come on! The best score is when it makes your movie better and it makes you feel something, regardless. In NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) how can you not notice the opening titles building with the music? You notice it there and it works!
SK: Yeah, you just summed up one of my biggest complaints about the direction of modern film music. I’ve been hearing more often lately from composers and filmmakers that say, “Well…we don’t want the music to be manipulative. The worst thing music can be is manipulative.” Excuse me?? I can’t speak for anybody else but I go to movies so that I can be manipulated. You’re asking me to invest myself on a personal and emotional level with a story you’re trying to tell…that’s going to take some serious manipulation on your part as a filmmaker. Manipulate me! Please! That’s the very nature behind why music is needed in film in the first place. Otherwise, I’m left to merely observe the film and quite frankly, that’s not enough. BT: If you want real life you can go hang out at the bus stop and just talk to some guy. This is heightened reality. Music is emotional manipulation. Even things like anxiety…That’s all emotion. Music for any other purpose except emotional manipulation is pointless. You might as well not have music in the scene. If there’s a scene that’s neutral…What am I supposed to say here? I don’t want to just tread water musically. I can’t tell you how many times I’m asked to do that. EAGLE EYE isn’t like that. The music is right there telling every part of the story with what DJ shot.
SK: Is it purely acoustical? You tend to blend acoustic textures with electronic textures in your score. I presume you’re doing the same with this one? BT: There are some electronics. It’s primarily acoustic. It’s mostly symphonic but there are a lot of percussion instruments that I always like to play. There are even some new ones on this. I played a hang drum and different tuned instruments and bells. I also played the cello both acoustic and electric on the score. This will be the first score of mine that has come out that I have played the cello on.
SK: That’s not your primary instrument, is it? BT: No, no, it’s not. It’s my newest. My primary would be piano. That’s what I write mostly on. My first instrument is the drums and I play percussion on everything that I do. I used a lot of drum corps marching drums. This was the first time I used tuned marching drums. We couldn’t record that with the orchestra because it would be so loud that you wouldn’t hear anybody else so I played all of the drum parts ahead of time and recorded them in my studio. Then I went and conducted the orchestra in Los Angeles at Sony…a big ninety piece orchestra. There are all sorts of elements in the score.
SK: When it comes to scoring big Hollywood action films there are defined expectations behind both the sound and the function of the music. As a composer who dabbles in these high-octane action films as well as diversifying yourself with smaller independent films, is it more difficult to fit the mold of expectation or break away from it? BT: For me I think it’s more difficult to fit the mold only because I work really hard at trying to establish my own sound in my own style of composing. I have never worked for a composer and I think that actually helps in that regard…being able to just find your own way. For me, if I hear a temp score that has been put in a movie I listen to it once and then turn it off. I don’t want to be unduly influenced so I can do whatever I think is best for the scene and that may mean… [Alex Kurtzman walks up and the two chat for a bit about a local scavenger hunt tied in with Fantastic Fest and then discuss what they’re going to do for dinner. Brian introduces Alex to me and tells him I’m with Ain’t It Cool News. We then continue with the interview…] BT: He’s very tuned into Ain’t It Cool, that’s for sure.
SK: Oh, really? BT: Oh yeah, that’s for sure. He knew who you were and everything. He was like, “Oh cool…” It’s funny because you probably have no idea how many people read your…
SK: I do not at all. None. BT: It’s the same thing with me and writing scores. This is my day…I’m in a room. I write music. It’s the exact same as in 1997. For me time just moves on and I keep writing a new score. But then I’ll go online and I will see occasionally – I try not to look – but I’ll see a thread or a message board about me and it’s somewhat controversial in nature. I’m like, “…but I try so hard! This is what I do twenty hours a day!” I try not to jump in. It’s weird. I just read a review today, weirdly enough, where the reviewer was talking about a film I didn’t score and was basically saying that it was trying to be like “…action-composer Brian Tyler.” It was totally surreal. So yeah, people read you.
SK: It is very surreal. I’m a composer and I’m very passionate about film music and thankful that I have the opportunity… BT: You reach zillions though!
SK: Well, I’ve always loved to write about my favorite subject. One day it happened and I was given an instant audience. I write what I’m passionate about and leave it at that. I think to myself, “Eh, maybe a couple of people will read it…” BT: Alex Kurtzman – who was instrumental in bringing me on the movie – drives around in his car listening to scores. That’s how he knew my scores. He drove around with it. Then to know that Steven Spielberg is such a score fan and they do…they read…
SK: The internet is a funny thing. We all know there is a certain level of criticism that infiltrates the net. Some of it warranted. Perhaps some of it not. I have actually been on forums and read negative posts about “ScoreKeeper at AICN”…I’m thinking, “Really?” I cater to a small niche of film music enthusiasts by providing reports, interviews, news, and occasional contests. You can agree or disagree with what I write and that is totally fine with me. But why read it if causes you so much consternation? BT: That is lame. You’re a conduit…
SK: If you don't like it you don’t have to read it. BT: The last thing I read that you posted about something I did – it was just an informational thing – like maybe about RAMBO (2008) or something like that and then it was [makes screeching noise].
SK: The AICN talkbacks I’m used to. That’s the brand. That’s what makes it fun and interesting. BT: So where were we before Alex showed up?
SK: We were talking about finding your style in spite of expectations. BT: Here’s the thing…This has been a phenomenon for me that’s really developed in the last three or four years…When I do a film, it’s usually temped with my own music and that’s why they got me.
SK: Is that better? BT: It’s weird. I don’t know if it’s better. It’s just more surreal because I originally wrote it for something else. EAGLE EYE was wall-to-wall with a lot of stuff. I think the thing that made it easier was I would say, “You know, that gives me the confidence to know that they like my music.” They are not hiring me for some other reason. They really think it works best with their film. I feel like I can do something even more different when what it’s temped with is mine. I feel I can go way off the rails and use my instincts. It doesn’t always work out but on this it was amazing. We were all on the same page from the get go and it was a lot of music!
SK: Will there be a CD release? BT: Yes. Thank God. They scrambled like mad to get it out. I think it really works nicely as an album. There are quite a few themes and some of the main themes still takes five tracks to even touch on for the first time. It reminds me of STAR WARS (1977) where you didn’t hear the “hope” theme until you see the twin suns. I really wanted to take it back to that. Knowing that Spielberg works with John Williams…for me is insanely intimidating.
SK: Spielberg is a filmmaker who totally understands how music works in film. BT: Oh my gosh, does he ever…He gets it. The rival to Spielberg, for me, would be Hitchcock. But Hitchcock eventually dumped Herrmann whereas Spielberg – being the genius that he is – has held onto Williams the whole time. He knows what music does for a film and he knows what John brings to it. The bar was set really high. It was an intense process.
SK: Describe the collaborative process between Steven, DJ, and you. Where you actually playing mockups for Steven? BT: Yeah, DJ was always first. DJ was the guy that would come in along with Alex. They would come into my studio and I would play music back to them. It’s like bringing your children out front for critics and asking them, “Do you think my child is ugly?” By the time it gets to the stage where I play it for the director, it’s gone through the harshest critical deconstruction and self-flagellation from me. I’m my worst critic. I will throw out five hundred things before I get to the one. By the time I play it for them I don’t know what else I would possibly do. It’s actually frightening. It’s one of those things you just wheel it out there – and thank god because I put my heart and soul into it – and they were down with it the whole time.
SK: One thing I have always wondered about – and this pertains specifically to you – is that it seems to me, more and more composers are choosing not to conduct their recording sessions. Twenty years ago or more that would have been unheard of. You do conduct your own music. Why do you do it and what do you think is the cause and effect of other composers who chose not to? BT: It’s definitely getting more rare each year. For me, the reason I conduct is the same reason I play a lot of the solo instruments on my scores…because they are really personal. It’s the same with conducting. I think people underestimate how different music sounds when you have a different conductor. I’ve tried it before. I sit back and let another conductor who has maybe seen my music for a day or two conduct the sessions whereas I slaved over ever note for an infinite amount of time working on the score. They don’t know the movie nearly as well as I do so they conduct it as their interpretation of the music. For me, it’s the most bizarre thing in the world. It doesn’t sound like I want it to sound. To have that direct connection with the orchestra is like I’m playing the piano. It’s just that the keys are members of the orchestra. Another thing I found when I sit back in the booth and someone else is conducting is every five seconds I’m on the clicker saying something…just one thing after another. Honestly, I don’t know how people do it. Hanging out in a nice leather recliner with a clicker saying “do this” or “do that” may be easier but I don’t think you would get that personal touch that you would otherwise. If you’re the composer and you are writing everything and then at the last second hand it off to someone else you will hear the music through that kind of sonic lens. If it’s the same guy doing it on many different scores, inevitably part of that voice is going to be heard.
SK: I feel the same way. Perhaps that’s because I conduct all of my music as well. My passion for conducting is merely a shade less than my passion for composing. I could almost become a professional conductor and be happy with my life. I can understand an example here or there where a composer does not choose to conduct but I can’t help but wonder if it is an essential skill currently in decline. BT: I know what the orchestra sounds like. I’m out there. If you stand right in the middle of an orchestra – unless you are deaf – you are going to be able to hear everything. The booth hides tuning problems because you don’t have it three dimensional. It’s recorded. You’re actually going to make it more perfect by being out there. You can actually tell who did the wrong note. You can ask, “I think it was either you or you…do you have a B-natural?” There’s a lot of reasons why I think that’s the way to go but also some people don’t feel comfortable up there.
SK: Right. I can certainly understand that. BT: It’s nerve-wracking at first.
SK: It’s not for everybody. Again, I think the balance is perhaps not what it should be. I think more should try or more should… BT: Did you do a lot of performing before becoming a composer as well?
SK: Yes, but I didn’t like it. It’s funny. I actually hated performing until I got into conducting. BT: Wow, that’s amazing.
SK: It’s a very weird thing. I think it’s because I didn’t start taking piano until I was in high school. When I got to college, that was my principal instrument. I had only been playing for less than four years so I was very uncomfortable. It was hard work with a lot of obstacles so I ended up not finding much satisfaction in performing. Composing had always been what I loved to do until I discovered conducting. To this day, I don’t feel an urge to want to perform on my instrument. Composing and conducting though is a weird kind of paradox… BT: Exactly! I played a lot on stage so it wasn’t as nerve-wracking. I think maybe that’s just part of it…Nerves up there. The first time I conducted for a film my baton was visibly shaking!
SK: There’s really nothing easy about it. I tell people who don’t really understand what conducting is that “It’s like playing seventy-five instruments at once without ever touching them.” BT: It was crazy. The first piece I conducted I had another conductor on board but he had to leave to fly back home in the middle of the session. He handed me the baton and said, “Go for it Brian!” I got up there and it was the most insanely slow piece which is the worst thing you want to do when you are conducting. Every little hiccup you see. You see the baton shaking. It was a rite-of-passage kind of thing. I got over it but man it was nerve-wracking.
SK: Do you miss performing? BT: There’s always that side of me.
SK: What style? BT: I did both. The weird thing was it depended on what instrument it was. When I was a drummer it was rock. I played in a lot of bands. I did jazz. I did metal. I was in original bands. I played with a lot of pretty hardcore bands there were closer to Slipknot to Rage Against The Machine. I liked doing drum solos. I also played rock guitar. Piano was completely classical. I toured Europe and did concertos. It makes sense that I am a film composer I guess, right? I was split down the middle and it didn’t occur to me at the time. I didn’t know “Which do I do? They are so different that I can’t merge them…” Well, I can now. It’s really relegated to conducting and there’s nothing more exciting.
SK: What else do you have coming out this year? BT: DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION (2009) is going into the final stages. I’m just starting my process, but I think I’m seeing the cut that… I’ve got FAST & FURIOUS (2009)… I’ve got THE KILLING ROOM (2009), which is one of those small films that takes place in basically one room. It’s crazy and really good.
SK: You have done some big films prior to EAGLE EYE. Do you feel this is another step up the ladder? BT: Yeah, I think so. It really delivers. It’s got a good amount of buzz around it but it delivers. The great thing is when you are working with Spielberg, he gives you a shield in order to do the right thing. He believes in the people that he hires and he lets them do their thing because he knows he was in that position at one point. I think DJ has really come up with something great here and I’ve got my fingers crossed.
SK: Was this your first time working with him? BT: Yeah. It was funny, I was introduced to him as a possible choice and we just hit it off immediately. It’s strange how we see film the same way. We would both be sitting there watching something and we would both say the same thing. It was that way during the very first meeting and it just felt like “Oh, this was just meant to be then.”
SK: That’s really what the whole business comes down to…who you connect with. BT: You want to vibe with the person. I think you take on movies for a lot of different reasons. The ideal situation is that you work on a film that you think is creatively great with somebody you can also hang out with. You’re going to spend all of your time for the next four or five months or whatever with them and if you don’t like them…boy that could be…
SK: Well Brian…Our time is almost up. Before you go would you mind signing my BUG poster? BT: Oh awesome. That’s the polarizing score of my last few years.
SK: This played at Fantastic Fest two years ago. It really blew me away. One of my favorite films of the festival that year. BT: It’s awesome.
SK: I could go on another half hour just asking you questions about this score. BT: I love working with that guy (William Friedkin). He’s tough…and what a performance too by Michael Shannon.
SK: Yeah, Michael was there at the screening. The audience was really enamored with his performance…Ashley Judd’s too. BT: She was great.
SK: Thanks for your time today. I’m looking forward to the screening tonight and wish you much success. BT: Thanks! My pleasure. I’ll see you later tonight.

I’d like to thank Dan Goldwasser for providing photographs from Brian Tyler’s various scoring sessions for the films EAGLE EYE, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, and FAST & FURIOUS. Click on the preceding film titles to view more photos of Brian Tyler at work or visit ScoringSessions.com to view more photographs featuring other composers in the studio. Soundtracks for EAGLE EYE, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, and FAST & FURIOUS are all currently available. I’d especially like to thank Brian on behalf of Ain’t It Cool News for taking the time on that beautiful day in Austin to chat with me. It was my sincerest pleasure.

ScoreKeeper!!!