Darryl Sloan has kindly offered to share his latest movie; "Don't Look in the attic" with Macidol members. This free download is only half of the story though. In an exclusive interview, Macidol member Darryl shows you how to create suspense for your movie scores and also shows that even Apple's GarageBand software can be used to good effect to produce professional silver screen results.
Introducing Darryl Sloan
Darryl Sloan is a well known and respected member of this music community. He is an independent film-maker, musician and author. Darryl is currently finishing off a new novel which is to be published in 2006. Don't Look in the Attic is a Midnight Pictures producton; Darryl and his friend Andrew Harrison have been creating horror and science fiction films under that name for fiteen years.. In a bizarre turn of events this may be the the last Midnight Pictures production, even though the film has recieved critical acclaim and is short-listed in the Guardians Film Making competition.
Don't look in the Attic Interview
Don't look in the Attic is a short film exploring the dark and mysterious goings on in a suburban attic. It uses music as a great tool to create suspense and will have you gripping the edge of your seat or hiding behind the sofa. So tell us Darryl what gear did you use to create the soundtrack?
Darryl: "I used an Apple iMac G4 connected to a Technics P30 digital piano with a simple MIDI interface. My main piece of software was GarageBand (with two add-on packs: Advanced Modular XLd and the AMG SynthPack), which I used for every part of the soundtrack. The only other music utility I used was Felt Tip SoundStudio, merely for final volume adjustments.";
How did you sync the movie and soundtrack?
Darryl: "This is where I am unashamedly primitive. After composing a few bars, I would play the film in Quicktime simultaneously with my GarageBand recordings, just to get a feel for the video and music together. However my 800 Mhz machine just couldn't take the pressure, so I ended up setting up a VCR and TV beside the computer, with a copy of the movie on tape. Although it's not as accurate as using an application like Apple Soundtrack, which allows music and video to be synchronised from the word go, I can still get away with it. Because music is a structured form, you usually end up timing an emotional change in a scene to a specific bar of music, rather than to the split second when something happens on the screen – except, of course, the bits that are designed to make the viewer jump, and there's more than a few of those in "Don't Look in the Attic"; they have to be synched to the exact frame. For those, I composed separate pieces of music, even if each one was only a single note on the keyboard. That way, I had perfect freedom to position it with razor-sharp accuracy later. In the end, all of the music was imported into Adobe Premiere on a PC, where the film had been edited, then each piece was dragged along the timeline to its rightful place."
What is the biggest challenge you faced with the soundtrack?
Darryl: "If you've ever watched a film without its soundtrack, it is a flat experience; the music is a large part of what creates the atmosphere. The biggest challenge for me is to capture the right mood in every scene and enhance it as much as I can."
"Were you involved with the dialogue and on location sound recording? If so - any tips?"
Darryl: "Yes. My best advice to aspiring film-makers is to go ahead with whatever equipment you've got. It might surprise you to know that this film was recorded on an ordinary household digital camcorder, with nothing more than a directional microphone attached on top. We really needed an overhead mic, but had to make do. And the sound quality came out pretty good. For the attic sound effects we did various experiments, such as putting the camcorder in the cupboard, then scraping various objects across the door. Afterwards, we adjusted the sounds in Premiere to give them more bass, etc."
"Do you compose as you watch the film or did you develop your ideas and themes seperately first?"
Darryl: "I usually have some ideas in my head, even during the shooting. I knew from the beginning that subtely was the key in a film of this nature, as it relies on anticipation and menace rather than outright horror. When the filming was completed and it was time to get down to the hard work of composing, I began by spending some time selecting the instruments I wanted to use throughout, then saving these in a single GarageBand file, with no bars of music recorded. Each day, as I began a new piece of music, I would open the same file, so that I would be using the same instruments. This saved time and also gave the whole soundtrack a sense of consistency. Each day I would compose a few bars in a single instrument, then replay them while watching the film on tape. If things felt right, I'd build on that, otherwise start again – trial and error. This is the area where things can sometimes get pretty frustrating."
"What makes a successful thriller/horror movie soundtrack? Who are your favourite composers in this genre?"
Darryl: "One thing I'm sure of is that it makes very little difference whether you are conducting an orchestra or sitting alone with a synthesizer. In fact, there's something to be said for the latter. A lot of orchestral soundtracks have a very full sound, but are generic and forgettable (but maybe that's down to the composer more than anything). Conversely, one of the most famous horror film soundtracks of all time is John Carpenter's "Halloween". And yet it's so simplistic. Carpenter just hit on the right notes to send chills up the spine. This simplicity also created an identity for the film. Carpenter is probably my biggest influence, along with Tangerine Dream ("Miracle Mile", "Near Dark") and Goblin ("Suspiria," "Phenomena"). Orchestral composers that I like are James Newton Howard ("Unbreakable," "Signs"), and Thomas Newman ("American Beauty," "Road to Perdition"). Bottom line: you need an ability to compose music for the whole spectrum of human emotions, particularly unease and terror. That means you have to develop a skill at writing the sort of music that no one would willingly sit and listen to for pleasure. Unless you're warped, like me, of course."
"How did you get involved in making soundtracks?"
Darryl: "In the 1980s I owned a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, a computer whose sound chip was little more than a buzzer capable of generating basic music notes. It's a wonder than I grew interested in music at all. Nevertheless, the seeds were sown when I experimented with a program called Music Box. The turning point came when I bought a Commodore Amiga 500 in 1988. This was the first computer capable of generating realistic sounds. A freeware music app called SoundTracker was doing the rounds, and I quickly got to grips with it. I don't know why I homed in on music in particular, because on a creative level I had always been more interested in drawing and painting. But for some reason I couldn't get enough of SoundTracker. Everything I know today about music was self-taught from those early Amiga days. Around the same time, my friend Andrew Harrison was keen to get into amateur film-making. We spent over two years of our lives making a film called "Zombie Genocide," and I was the natural choice for composing the soundtrack. Today, some fifteen years later, we've make five additional films, and I've written the soundtrack for each one.
"Do you find soundtrack production more difficult than working on a stand-alone piece of music?"
Darryl: "Definitely. When composing a soundtrack you are dictated by the atmosphere which a scene requires. When working on a stand-alone piece you have complete freedom to take the music anywhere you wish."
"How has Don't Look in the Attic been recieved?"
Darryl: "We've only shown it at one film festival so far. It made it to the finals and reached third place. Very positive reviews have also sprouted up on a few internet sites. This was a risky film for us, because it was an intentional departure from our usual blood and gore fare, to see whether we could make a film which would hold its own on pure atmosphere. For me, "Don't Look in the Attic" is what a good horror film should be - scary without being offensive. I'm really pleased that people like it so much.
"How did you develop the musical ideas for DLITA?"
Darryl: "I kept thinking about the dreamy piano piece which Thomas Newman wrote for the film "American Beauty" and wondered if I could use similar instrumentation to create something with a creepy mood. So, I modified GB's piano, applying loads of reverb and adding a distortion effect. The latter is usually reserved for electric guitars, but in this case it really worked when the piano was played very gently. This sound then became a large feature of the whole soundtrack. Dario Argento's film "Suspiria" was also heavily in my thoughts. The movie is essentially an adult fairy tale, and the soundtrack (by Goblin) is intense and suffocating. The main title on "Don't Look in the Attic" was composed in a similar style, with a repeating piano riff and a thumping tom drum."
"What particularly struck me was the sparse and minimal quality of the soundtrack. Was it a deliberate 'less-is-more' idea? How do you know when you have got the balance right?
Darryl: "Hah! There's a whole lot of reasons why the music turned out this way. Partly it's my SoundTracker roots (a decade of making music on a computer which is only capable of generating four notes simultaneously has a tendency to etch itself into your musical style). Partly it's due to my personal liking for John Carpenter's minimalist synth scores. Partly it's due to having to work fast to meet a deadline (Andy, the co-producer, always books the date for the premiere before the film is finished!). Partly it's due to the fact that my poor 800 Mhz iMac just can't cope with too many tracks. I wish I could tell you that I had some grand reason for doing it this way, but I don't! It's true, however, that sparseness can effectively communicate a sense of loneliness and isolation, but that's more of a happy accident than anything else. However, having said all that, I'm really pleased with the end result."
"Has working on this film given you a fear of attics?"
Darryl: "Nope. Even though the location of the film was my own house - and I live there alone - I'm too rational-minded to be bothered about it. However, I'm thinking about selling the house at some point, and when I exit it for the last time, I'll be sure and leave behind a copy of the DVD for the new owner. No sleeve, no explanation; just the DVD."
"You are wicked! lol So what's next Darryl?"
Darryl: "Midnight Pictures, our little "company," has reached a point where we want to break away from our amateur roots and make a real feature film with a real budget. But for now, we're taking a break. On the music front, I'm thinking of putting together a CD album of royalty-free horror film music, for the benefit of other indie film-makers not fortunate enough to have an in-house composer. And if that isn't enough, I also dabble in writing fiction, and am halfway through penning my second novel."
"What is the single most important piece of software/equipment that you use in your soundtrack compositions that you could not live without?"
Darryl: "I would have to say GarageBand. It's not that I can't live without it, just that it has gone a long way to putting the fun back into music-making. After the Amiga, I used a PC for a number of years, but got frustrated with the complexity of my music software. Not that I couldn't use it; I just got fed up having to tweak so many parameters before I could get an instrument to sound decent, and I hated having to wade through so many features, ninety percent of which I would never use. Making music became a technical exercise rather than a pleasure. With GarageBand, you can get great sound without too much effort, yet there are still plenty of things you can do to improve your songs. It hits a really good balance. All I need now is a faster Mac!"
"Yeah, I think your not alone their Darryl! On behalf of aspiring movie makers everywhere, I would like to thank you for offering Don't Look in the Attic to share with the Macidol members - great stuff".
Download the Quicktime Movie
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Don't look in the Attic Trailer Download 3MB
Don't Look in the Attic Movie Download 170MB
Visit Darryl Sloan for more information or listen to Darryl's Music.
