CONTENTS

– TOM KIDD
Brian Tyler
Scores for Frailty, The Fast and The Furious, Call of Duty: MW3
rian Tyler has been
reading Music
BConnection ever since
he started out in the business,
back in the mid-‘90s, in the
days when he was trying
to decide whether to be a
musician or a composer (http://
briantyler.com).
His education fit him well,
whether earned through MC,
UCLA where he received his
Bachelor’s Degree or Harvard
where he earned his Master’s
Degree. Recently nominated
for “Film Composer of the Year”
by the International Film Music
Critics Association, Tyler has
composed and conducted for
over 50 films. His work has
included scores for Eagle Eye
for producer Steven Spielberg,
the box office hit The Fast and
The Furious, The Expendables
and Rambo, directed by
Sylvester
Stallone, as
well as the
best-selling
video game of
all time Call of
Duty: Modern
Warfare 3.
He also wrote
the music
for Steven
Spielberg’s new
20th-Century
Fox series
Terra Nova.
Hits always
garner praise for a composer.
This aspect can be either
confusing or amusing, but Tyler’s
approach is straightforward.
“It’s hard to tell when a movie is
going to be a hit, so you give it
your all,” he says of the process.
“It’s always interesting to see
what the critics and audiences
say. Sometimes the movie score
lives on and inspires people to
see the film and sometimes vice
versa.”
Tyler’s approach has served
him well ever since his debut
film, the 2001 psychological
thriller Frailty, starring Bill
Paxton—who also made his
directorial debut with the film.
Nobody knew anymore what to
expect from this intimate horror
piece than from any other film in
production. For his part, Tyler says
he “had no idea that Frailty would
be the key to my getting larger
studio films. You can really draw
a line between them.” A box office
and critical success, Frailty won
“When you’re hired for a film, it’s like
you’re joining a band. The director may
not speak music, so the composer has to
learn how to speak film.”
Tyler a World Soundtrack Award
in 2002 as well as The World
Soundtrack Award as Best New
Film Composer of the Year.
One result of his accolades
and attitude has led to Tyler
being offered
projects that
are particularly
heavy with
score. His
approach to
each is the
same. “You
try to make
the film as
good as it can
be but also
concentrate on
the musicality,”
he says.
“You have to
be unafraid
of making
a mistake
because otherwise you don’t
say anything and end up with
musical wallpaper.”
No composer wants to blend
into the background of a film,
yet the composer’s job is, at
its core, to assist the director
to realize his or her vision.
Any aspect of filmmaking
requires a tricky balance
between art and commerce.
“It’s the director’s vision but
the composer is trying to help
the film overall,” Tyler says.
“They may have expectations
of the music but you throw
them something different. I will
always try to present the music
as something that helps the
film. In the end, it’s great when
everyone agrees on something
that seemed like a surprise.”
Tyler has learned through
experience how to present
his art, but also how to work
efficiently. The key is education.
“You have to both love film
music and learn film music,” he
advises. “When you’re hired
for a film, it’s like you’re joining
a band. The director may not
speak music so the composer
has to learn how to speak film.”
The best way to learn the
language of film, to Tyler, is to
immerse oneself in the world of
film. “About half of the composers
I know started as assistants or
interns to other composers,”
he says. “Companies tend to
promote from within.”
Contact Jeff Sanderson,
jeff@chasenpr.com
44 November 2013 musicconnection.com