Film and TV composer Jonathan Beard — whose recent work includes orchestrating Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Lost City, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and King Richard — recently won an Emmy from San Francisco/Northern California Chapter for his work on the documentary 3 Seconds in October. The doc uses interviews, formerly confidential police investigative files, civil litigation records and other materials to unveil a second-by-second account of the shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez and a years-long campaign by police and public officials to justify it.
Composer Jonathan Beard
While Andy was walking in his neighborhood returning a plastic toy gun to a friend, a deputy saw Andy and fired eight shots, hitting the boy seven times and killing him instantly. The film reveals how local police and public officials used certain tactics to convince the public that the police shooting was justified.
Beard’s task in scoring 3 Seconds in October was to musically support director Ron Rogers’ story with care and commitment and then get out of the way. The score is built around a piece called “Elegy for Andy,” which serves as the main theme. The piece features a solo cello, piano and subtle analog synthesizers, which weave together in a musical expression of pain and hope.
We reached out to Beard to talk about his typical workflow, his work on this documentary film and what it means to be a composer. “The composer is charged with providing the musical accompaniment – or “underscore” – for a film or show. It is usually instrumental, though not always, and while a film may have pop songs in it as well, an instrumental theme that you might associate with a film usually comes from the underscore.”
Let’s find out more…
Can you walk us through your workflow for the documentary 3 Seconds in October?
We built the original score for 3 Seconds in October primarily around an extended main theme, which we could reapproach musically in numerous ways throughout the documentary. That piece is a combination of acoustic solo instruments and electronics and shows up in numerous iterations and interpretations during the film. There are some other moody electronic cues as well. I wrote the main theme after living with the film for some time, watching it through repeatedly and letting its troubling subject matter seep into me. But I didn’t initially write it in sync with any particular scene in the film. Rather, I first attempted to compose an extended piece of music that represented the totality of this story as we know it thus far, which could then be adapted to different portions of the film as needed.
The score is built around a piece called “Elegy for Andy.” Can you walk us through the sound and the instruments you used? What was the hope the score would express?
Yes, “Elegy for Andy” is the main theme, and it anchors the score. This is a film about police, policies and political will, but at its core it’s about the killing of an innocent young boy. A sheriff’s deputy killed that boy just a little over a mile from where I grew up, so this story has a strong personal meaning to me. My parents still live there, and it was a tragic and traumatic event for the community — with repercussions still being felt and the outcome of the larger story still being written. With this bit of music, I wanted to engage with the somber tragedy of a senseless death and also evoke a touch of hope: that the ultimate outcome from this tragedy, and too many others like it, might — might — lead to systemic positive change.
In regards to instrumentation, “Elegy for Andy” is anchored by a solo cello, a solo piano, and some electronically altered violin-esque sounds that I designed for a soft crying effect, which is achieved through quietly and simply bending from one note to another. That crying effect serves as a counterbalance to the main melody heard in the cello. In addition, there are a number of analog synthesizers subtly involved, as I often have in my compositions.
What direction were you given by the director? How did you work together?
Working with Ron Rogers was wonderful. He trusted me musically and was a partner in every way – never dictating what the music must be, but searching with me to find the right tones throughout. Ron has been working on this film for more than seven years, and his dedication to this project has been admirable. We are thrilled that it is getting the Emmy recognition and attention it’s receiving. It was truly a pleasure and an honor being invited to work with him on the film.
Composer Jonathan Beard
How did you find your way to composing?
I began to realize that I wanted to compose music in middle school, which not coincidentally is also when I started falling in love with film music. While I have composed a decent amount for media, I also compose concert works and chamber music. One of my favorite things to do is combine a small ensemble of acoustic musicians with electronic sounds and textures to create an electroacoustic chamber ensemble. I’ve taken this approach in both film and concert music settings.
What about orchestrating?
I absolutely love orchestration and arranging, and the beauty of film music is that so many different genres, styles and musical colors can meet in that world. The majority of my work in media music is as an orchestrator, and I love collaborating in this way.
Can you talk about working in different genres?
My love of both electronic sounds and acoustic instruments can be described together as a fascination with timbre – or the sonic “colors” that can be created in combining different instruments and sounds together. In the film and TV world, the variance of different genres is, of course vast, and you wouldn’t necessarily compose or orchestrate the score for a zany comedy the same way you would for a documentary. As such, a vast playground exists, within which one can explore different approaches to using an orchestra or different sizes of an orchestra or unexpected solo instruments from around the world, and more, based on the type of film you’re dealing with and its musical needs.
What is your process for scoring? How do you begin? On what instrument?
It varies from project to project, but I almost always start out sketching by hand and exploring possibilities on one of the instruments I play decently well. In the case of 3 Seconds in October, the main theme is built around a somber cello melody, which I knew was going to be featured throughout poignant moments of the score. So I began at the cello.
Do you write based on the kind of project – spot, game, film, TV, doc — or do you just write?
I write inspired by the project. As we discussed regarding genre, there are certain approaches that just wouldn’t be appropriate in certain cases, so while I won’t have a stock idea of how music is going to sound for a given project, I’ll definitely approach it from a sonic landscape that is realistically imaginable for that project.
What are some past projects you’ve worked on that really challenged you as a composer?
Every project is its own unique challenge! That said, I recently completed my first opera, titled “Cesare, Child of Night,” so it’s at the forefront of my mind right now. That would rank high on the challenge list. Some concert or stage works can take years to gestate, and that piece was no exception!
What are three pieces of technology or instruments you can’t live without?
Ha ha! Does my computer rig count? It’s pretty impossible to create music today without some specific music software at some points in the process, so an honest list would need to start there, I suppose. I love my analog synthesizers, my most favorite of which would still be my Minimoog – an absolute classic instrument, hands down. And my cello, of course, which was the first instrument I ever learned. I’ll throw in a plug for really good pencil erasers as well. Anyone who’s written or orchestrated music by hand will know why!
