Interview with film composer Cody Westheimer

By Michael Meloni

Listen to Cody Westheimer’s music and it's hard not to be thrown into the driver’s seat of a car chase, a search for lost treasure, or a frantic dash for life. At just 29 years of age, composer and multi-instrumentalist Westheimer is undoubtedly one of Hollywood's most passionate and talented film composers working today.

I got to chat with Cody last year and welcomed the opportunity to find out more about how he creates music, the art and business of composing, and how others can get their foot in the door.

Hey Cody. So how’d you get your first paying job?

From a director I worked with at USC. The first two with him (both student films) were freebies, but then he landed a TV Pilot.

How important is a formal education for someone in your line of work?

Incredibly important, I think. If you're going to score movies right, you really should get educated. Sure, there are famous exceptions, but it's hard to argue that learning about counterpoint, orchestration, form, etc is vital to writing top-notch music. To me, it's rare to call someone a good composer if they're lacking any of these key elements. Plus, you'll make contacts while you're in school. Get educated at a respected music school. You won't regret it.

At what stage of a film's production do you start composing? Do you get to see a script or footage, or is it based on some sort of brief?

It varies... There are some projects that I come on at the script stage; there are some that I come on 2 weeks (or less!) before the final mix! More often than not I do my work to a "final cut." I use quotes here because quite often there are many "final cut(s).” This involves some (hopefully simple) re-timing of cues when I get a new "final" cut, but it's usually no biggie. I'd say more than half of the films I've scored have been this way. There are of course exceptions.

Take THE RUNNER for example. I watched the first assembly and came up with my main theme. Shortly thereafter I got a very rough cut and began writing the score. The director/editor, JB Benna, took my music and cut to IT - highly unusual in my experience - but ended up really serving the film well.

You did music for the 'National Lampoon's Cattle Call.' That sounds like a load of fun. What sort of sound did you want to achieve with it?

I had a blast working with the director, Martin Guigui. From day one, at our very first meeting, we were having a good time. In fact, I have no idea how we ever accomplished anything! We were always cracking jokes and laughing. This project was a real breakthrough for me. I got to hang out on set while they were filming, help them drop in temp music. By the time I actually started actually scoring the film actively I had known Martin for a full year.

We ended up completing the score just over 4 weeks after the final cut. We had a blast recording a 30 piece string section, woodwinds (including my cousin playing sax) drums, guitar and of course... me playing tuba (Just ask any director I've worked with that has a remotely funny film... I'm always trying to lay tuba tracks down!). We ended up creating a pretty neat comedy score - some funny action music, a romantic love theme, some quirky themes, mischievous ideas and sounds, etc.

Does composing for television differ from film?

Absolutely. I have to be careful here, but the timelines are usually much shorter than film, so you can imagine the impact that has on the creative process. Bottom line, in my experience you end up relying on your "bag of tricks" a bit more than in film. In film work you usually have a little more time to create new items in your bag. Did I just say that? (laughs)

Seriously though, there are exceptions, with some TV composers doing some really amazing and interesting things on ridiculous timelines, but as a general rule (in my opinion) TV emulates Film and not the other way around. Don't get me wrong, there's something incredibly rewarding about TV work. Churning out 5-7 minutes of music a day - especially when it's music you can be proud of - that makes you feel pretty good.

What sort of studio setup do you have?

Ah. Where do I start? I guess I should admit that I've got a little problem. I'm a gearhead. I love my toys. That's one of my favorite parts about the gig - the studio. I moved into my house a few years ago and converted the guesthouse (which was literally a beaten shack upon move in) into to my studio. A lot of work - I'm a big DIY guy.

With the help of my mom and dad it took us about 2 full months. We installed floors, put up a wall, painted, fixed the roof, installed electrical, etc. Last year I got to do a little remodel - I installed a hand-me-down custom desk (thanks JNH!) put up acoustical treatments and my fav, installed a 5.1 monitoring system. Mixing in surround is a blast.

My studio is based around Digital Performer running on a G5. I've got 3 PCs running Gigastudio and a few other synths.

For recording, I have a pretty decent signal path - Millenia pres, which I adore and some Audio Technica mics (including the 4060 - amazing sounding, I think). I've got an old (well, 6 years) Panasonic digital mixer - the DA7. I think the A/D's on it are really smooth and transparent. I love recording my own live instruments - especially strange ones. I've got a collection that's always growing. An autoharp, toy piano, melodica (my fav!) mountain dulcimer, numerous guitars and even some bagpipes. Let's not forget the world flutes. I'm always on the lookout for new flutes to noodle around on...

As a film composer, can you be typecast for jobs in one genre like an actor or director might be?

Sure. Of course. I'm not too worried about that. If you were to tell me I'd only write comedies the rest of my career I think I could deal with that. Same for actions or dramas. To do what you love - even if it's just one style - that's the dream. However, that's far from ideal, and I think composers are typecast because of that attitude.

I try and market myself as a Jack-of-all-trades. I've been really lucky at this early stage of my career to have done a little of everything. From dark to bright, slow to fast and small to big. I do really like going from project to project and hopefully doing something profoundly different on each one. That's what keeps it exciting for me.

You've been studying the Japanese shakuhachi. What sort of impact has it had in your music?

I started playing the Japanese bamboo flute, the shakuhachi way back in 1998. My original plan was to write a piece for it. That didn't work out too well the first try. But I met Bill Shozan Schultz, an incredible shakuhachi master who would end up becoming my teacher - and my dear friend.

While I've kept up playing on and off the last 8 or 9 years, I've had many spurts where I've studied the sacred music ('honkyoku') quite seriously. I love the sound and feeling of the instrument - the solo repertoire. However, I've tried to keep my study of Japanese music separate from my career for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I've used the shakuhachi a lot in my music, but I've been clear to myself from day one that I'm not studying the instrument to benefit my career.

I think the most profound difference between Eastern and Western music is the sense of time. Toru Takemitsu, the prominent Japanese composer who is one of my main influences, spoke of silence in music as a breath. His music often has long pauses that are so impactful. The same goes for shakuhachi music. There are some extremely poignent pauses in the repertoire. This HAS absolutely impacted my film music - know that silence can be as powerful as the opposite.

The other thing about shakuhachi - the instrument is based on color. Pitch is not synonymous with note in Japanese music. There are many notes that have the same pitch, but they sound very different. I relate this to orchestration. A flute and clarinet can play the same pitch, but they are different colors (obviously.) With the shakuhachi they might be different notes.

How much freedom do you have when composing for a job?

This varies like crazy. There's one director I work with who gives me so much freedom it's almost paralyzing. Where another maybe so specific it's a challenge to write something that feels original. Ultimately, in between is ideal for the process, but either method can result in a great outcome.

For example, if the director gives you absolutely no input that leaves you with tremendous latitude. Well you've got to have the utmost confidence in what you're doing. It does give you the potential to really push the norm, but the question is always looming, "what if they don't like it - and don't like it so much that they fire me?!" Thankfully, that has not (yet!) happened.

The one score that pops out in my head is BENNY BLISS. We just said, "We should have music here, here and here. Maybe something quirky." That was about it for the guidance. Well, who knew that "quirky" would consist of recorder, autoharp and hand held percussion? If we had tempted it with something or had gone into further detail we may have never had come upon that instrumentation - which, by the way, ended up sounding really cool!

The other way, when there's "Temp-love" involved, is challenging in the opposite way. It's taking a style or piece and making it your own - often figuring out how to make it your own is a challenge. But both ways (and everything in between) I find to be very gratifying in the end.

And what advice would you offer those wanting to get into the industry?

Get educated. Part of getting educated is working with student directors. Then give it your all. Unless you're one of the lucky few your success will come from hard work. This job takes a tremendous amount of dedication and commitment. But you get to do what you love.

On behalf of all of our readers, cheers Cody!

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Check out Cody’s website and listen to his music at http://www.codywestheimer.com/.

You’ll understand why he’s somebody to watch.

Studio: http://www.newweststudios.com/

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0922755/

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Back 01.07.2008