Michael Whalen: Teaching Music Supervision – Q&A

Composer, music supervisor and sound designer Michael Whalen has scored over 500 television scores, feature and short films, including the opening theme to the ABC News morning show Good Morning America, music for The Oprah Winfrey Show, Martha Stewart and the news magazine Inside Edition.

He’s been nominated for eight Emmys® and picked up two, including a 2008 win for PBS’ acclaimed 8-hour series America at a Crossroads – for which he also recently won the BMI Award.

Not too shabby, we think!

He joined us as an adjunct instructor at The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music this summer to teach a brand new course called The Soundtrack Auteur.

The innovative course, designed as an entree for students to begin to think about careers in the growing field of film music, particularly as music supervisors, looked at the often-neglected history of trailblazing film composers who also work in the pop music field, folks like Quincy Jones, Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman.

We decided to take this opportunity to ask Michael about his experience teaching this summer:

Q: Hey Michael. How did you arrive at teaching at The Clive Davis Department?

MW: I had heard about the programs offered in the program from some of my friends and colleagues. The courses offered are unique and taught by some of the most experienced people in the industry. Artistic Director Jason King helped me shape the Auteurs course.

Q: What exactly is a “Soundtrack Auteur”?

MW: The focus of the class was studying the history of film & TV music through the eyes of popular music. A “Soundtrack Auteur” is someone whose artistic point of view actually influences what we think soundtracks can SOUND like. Because it’s a Clive Davis Department course, we focused on artists working in pop and their influence on on film and vice versa.

Q: How important is music supervision these days in the overall scheme of the music business?

MW: Hugely important. I believe that this is the “golden era” of music supervision right now. There is a lot of great work being done and it’s shaping our cinematic experiences. It’s way more than taking a popular song and throwing it against a scene. Unlike supervision in the 1980s, much of the work is infused into the films and it’s being done a level of sophistication not seen (or heard) before.

Q: What makes a great music supervisor?

MW: A great music supervisor must be a great idea person – - working inside the director’s vision of the film. They must have great resources in the industry in terms of contacts and friends to execute the ideas that are developed. Finally, they must have a handle on bringing in the songs within the budgets they are given – - anyone can think of great music for a film without the constraints of dealing with money – but can the film afford it?

Q: What was a highlight moment in the class?

MW: Talking about composer and producer Jon Brion (the multi-instrumentalist producer behind Fiona Apple and the score to films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.) It was really cool to see an artist at the cusp of breaking through which Jon will certainly do soon – he is amazingly talented. One of the challenges of the class is there is no text that actually covers the points that I cover and some of theories I am developing. I have started outlining a book on the subject.

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island what three film soundtracks would you take with you?

MW: (Deep sigh…) Wow – just THREE??? The Road to Perdition by Thomas Newman – it’s sublime. The Hours by Philip Glass… I know many of the cues on this are adaptations of his classical music – but it is the whole feeling that is most deeply moving and wonderful. E.T. by John Williams…. Perfection….

Q: What can we look forward next from you?

MW: I am scoring and music supervising a indie feature this Fall. I am finishing a terrific theatrical doc about the United Auto Workers that I am scoring and supervising. And I have my “best of” CD coming out in November.

Michael Whalen’s website.