NBCUni 9.5.23
Composer Alexander Arntzen

Composer Alexander Arntzen: Scoring an Action Film

Composer Alexander Arntzen has been busy. In addition to working on the feature Last Man Down, his latest projects include original music for the films Initiation (2020 SXSW Film Festival), A New York Christmas Wedding (Netflix) and Victim(s), and TV projects that include SyFy’s Expiration Date and CW Seed’s Cupid’s Match and Saving The Human Race.

Composer Alexander Arntzen

Composer Alexander Arntzen

Directed by Fansu Njie, Last Man Down takes place as a deadly pandemic decimates the planet. At the same time, a former special forces soldier must protect a wounded woman from a crazed commander who killed his wife years earlier.

Let’s find out more from Arntzen on the score and his process…

Can you describe Last Man Down‘s score?
It’s all-out kinetic energy from the start until the finale. I think you will very much feel the score and its presence in scenes, especially the action. It’s a mixture of classic orchestral heroic and villain themes from ‘80s and ‘90s action films combined with modern electronic elements like pulsating synth basses, piercing lead keyboards, distorted pads and the use of a shotgun cocking effect for a visceral bite. Overall, it’s just a score that kicks ass and doesn’t hold back an inch.

Composer Alexander ArntzenWhat sort of traditional instruments did you gravitate toward for the Last Man Down score?
The orchestra was a big part of the sound of the score. Really big and beefy string and brass patches were critical in giving it the heft and size that I wanted the role of the orchestra to play. Also, using solo trumpet and horn were major features for the heroic scenes.

Plus, I used a great Tina Guo sul ponticello patch that makes the instrument sound rather uncomfortable and evil once paired with the right reverbs and other effects during the villain-theme cues.

You used some synths for Last Man Down. Can you tell us which ones specifically?
For the synth basses, I used a mixture of Logic Pro Retro Synth analog bass patches that I messed with and modified in various way to get the exact sound I wanted. I also used Omnisphere, not only for other basses to double that one, but for various atmospheres and synth lead lines as well. I also used a patch from Wave’s Codex synth that has a cool, keyboard-like instrument, which was great for the melody line on a couple cues.

How do you start your writing process and on what instrument?
I am a piano principal, so I always naturally gravitate to that when thinking of themes. Ideally, I write those ideas outside of the studio on an actual piano so that I am not tempted to start messing with synths and other instruments first. I want to make sure that the purest idea of the music will still make sense and make me feel something without all the bells and whistles that will come later.

Alexander Arntzen

You incorporated the cocking of a shotgun into your score. How did you think to do this?
I’ve always loved using found sound in my scores ever since I heard a typewriter in the score for Atonement. I figured, considering the nature of Last Man Down, the use of firearms is a rather massive portion of what this film is based on. Also, there is more than one scene where the characters are getting their weapons ready for battle, so it made sense to include this as a unique aspect in the rhythmic nature of the score.

We read that you got to do an action version of “In the Hall of the Mountain King”? Can you talk about this and how you put your own spin on this version?
Similar to the shotgun SFX, this idea just seemed to fall into my lap rather easily. The main actor, Daniel Stisen, is Norwegian. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” was composed by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. I thought about what that classic piece of music, which has mostly been used for comedic effect during increasingly chaotic scenarios in film, would sound like in an action movie during a shootout. This was the result!

You have said that you think this is one of your best scores to date. What are you most proud of about the score?
This score has all the elements that I would want in a score of mine, and they are firing on all levels. You have traditional hero and villain themes, interesting synths and textures, and the use of found sounds, all of which ground us in the world of the film in the most appropriate way possible while also elevating the stakes of the entire movie. It’s a very complete score from top to bottom in that sense.

How has the composing world changed since you first started, if at all?
I’m not sure the composing world has changed as much as my own process has since I started. I think over time I’ve picked up various tips and tricks with workflow and philosophical ideas from other composers I’ve worked for, along with a lot of my own discoveries. I’ve moved from having a more casual process to a much more refined way of going about building a score from the ground up.

Composer Alexander ArntzenThis doesn’t mean that I’ve made the steps to write music for film and TV too clinical. I’m being more precise about what I need from the filmmaker through conversations in order to create the proper score — and it leaves more time for creativity and possibilities at the end to create the best and most authentic possible music for the story.

Do you have a favorite part of your job?
My favorite part has to be when you’re finally in the middle of creating the music after all the conversations leading up to working on it. At the end of the day, conversations and theories eventually need to be tested. So when I finally get to sit down and try out the various ideas, themes and sounds against the picture, that’s when the rubber meets the road. Either what we wanted the music to be works to picture or it doesn’t.

Obviously, it would be most rewarding if what we think will work does, but it is also the surprises and discoveries along the way that are by far the most fun part of the process of film scoring.

 


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