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F8′s siggraph debut has cause lots of buzz around this short film. Jason Wen, F8′s creator hooked us up with an interview with the talent behind the music on his film. Check it out!

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Have you created soundtracks for films before?

The 12 minutes of f8 are my first attempts at adding music to a film. I didn’t really know why the hell Jason Wen would risk any inconvenience by having me work on it, while so many easier soundtrack avenues existed. Most of my experience in music itself stems from rock bands. Maybe the Wen brothers were as curious as I as to how it would all turn out. These days, anyone with a fair amount of software can hit a button and have an “atmospheric” or Enigma/Vangelis 101 loop trail-off. Oddly, soundscapes have been thrown into popular music, and with the right bass drum program, become a hit or a flop; but a bit dated regardless. This film appeared to have a difficult yet breathtaking stamina. I wanted to underline the sensations in the film; not make it a dance party with silly ass beeps and shit.

How did you get involved with f8?

I met Jason Wen through his brother, Howard, who hung out at the same local dives I did. Howard told us both that we should work together on f8 and that I apply music which I only rarely did for a project called Jump Rope Girls. Jason used a part of a song from a ’99 Jump Rope Girls release, which was put out locally, in the trailer. The track appeared to have found a perfect home within his eerily majestic alien world. I signed up without hesitation. Days later, I broke my hand taking down a chump gangster pickin’ a fight in a parking lot downtown. My first broken bone. Right hand. Playing hand. What a knucklehead.

How was the music created for the film?

I had to do the music and a number of rock shows soon after the incident. Most of the guitar on f8 was effected with mainly single notes. This was about all I could do while in agony, playing with a compromising clamp/handbrace. I rely on the guitar for most ideas, but luckily f8 called for other instruments less dreadful on a broken hand. A QY70 pocket synth was applied as was live violin and tom drum performances by Lauren Elledge and Chris O’Guinn respectively. For Chris and Lauren, it was basically improv over a drum loop. I would describe what I was going for and let them build on that. Lauren was instructed to help underline darker and more haunting vibes. The drums were easier battle or tribal vibes performed with just two floor toms and Chris improvising to the loop I had going. The violin and toms were both recorded using a Russian microphone called an Octavia 219. Afterwards, I edited the performances that fit best with the scenes. For the guitar, I played a Gibson Epiphone Sheraton II through a Gt-5 Boss effects pedal. In a particular scene, some of the sonic bomb noises were composed of a couple of guitar feedback tracks tweaked somewhat. Vocals were used a bit on a couple of scenes, though more for sound and atmosphere. The human voice has this knack for capturing great feeling through just a few whispered or belted out vowel sounds. The living voice added something to the theme of the film so it stayed. The soundtrack was recorded entirely with Pro Tools LE powered by a beige Macintosh G3. The only other music was from a previous record I had done with cohort Don Relyea of RopeLab.

What were your most memorable scenes?

Though only around 12 minutes in length, some scenes became my favorites: the heavenly sensation of the first breath, the battle mode and chaos which ensues between the hero and probebot during their confrontation, the wonder that is felt in the golden fields. Yeah, I could ramble on about a couple more!

How do you feel about the experience?

For the most part, I had a complete blast doing the music. I have been wanting to do a soundtrack since I was a kiddo. No dialog and a difficult plot to grasp made the experience a highly unique challenge. Jason, Howard and Andrew are extremely talented artists. I am honored to have worked with them. For no budget and little equipment we didn’t do too bad. Now I just want to do more.

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