Through The Red Door Wins Best Score at AOF Festival

I am excited to announce that my score for the neo-noir thriller "Through The Red Door" won best score for a short film at the 2011 Action on Film Festival! I'd like to thank festival director Del Weston and his team for a wonderful festival experience. And I am grateful for the amazing musicians who contributed their talent to the project: Christen Dugger (vocals on "Madly in Love"), Thomas Hanson (Trumpet), Amy Martens (Flute) and Preston Shepard (Horn). You can purchase the award-winning score here.

"Through The Red Door" has been an official selection of Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Dances With Films, Action On Film Festival, Columbia Gorge International Film Festival and Route 66 Film Festival.

Through The Red Door (Short Film Trailer)

I have not posted in a while on this blog because I have been writing, directing (and now scoring) a short psychological thriller titled "Through The Red Door". Here is the "hot off the press" trailer with my brooding Hitchcock like score.

Wheel of Knowing

Mike Sewell and Ben Barber's inspirational dramedy, "Wheel of Knowing" had its first screening last night in Sacramento, CA. The film tells the story of Melanie, the "perfect" mom who finds her life turned upside down when she takes her Alzheimer-inflicted father into her home. The film has humor and drama and I wrote a score that carefully balances both. There is a major carnival-theme that peeks in and out of the score ("Opening Titles", "Sam's Carnival Dream", "Win the Bear For Malanie", "Breakthrough") as well as a plucky theme for the father Sam, a sweet theme for Lauren and the family, a quirky theme for Gwen, a villainous theme for Lynn (and for rebellious Brad) and more. The cues start out lighter and more comical and get more serious as the film progresses and Sam's illness becomes much more severe. Humorous cues like "Sam Arrives in CA", "Sam At Church" and "Gwen's Car Towed" are offset by dramatic cues like "911", "I Need You to Believe" and "Breakthrough"; the last cue, "Lauren's Coma", begins with Sam's comical theme and then dives into a suspenseful and powerful musical finale.

Indelible

It's been awhile since I've updated this. I just recently finished a short film for Alissa Chiavarond called "Indelible." It was a period piece set on the Silk Road in the 16th century. The film had a quick turnaround (essentially a long weekend).

Acquired Wins Audience Choice Award at Festival

Desmond Faison's film "Acquired" won the Audience Choice Award at the Cinema City International Film Festival ( which is one of America's top 25 film festivals according to Film Maker Magazine). Trailer: http://fincfilms.com/acquired.html

Congratulations Desmond! Clips from the score to "Acquired" below.

Live and Try in L.A.

I'm composing the finishing touches on Christianna Carmine's satirical dark comedy Live and Try in L.A. I was asked to do a mixture of Spaghetti Western and elevator muzak to give it is tongue-in-cheek flavor. It opens with low and dark ambience that brings in the Shirt Theme. "Totally Cliche Job" puts a saloon-style piano in the middle of an easy-listening waltz while "The Waiting Room" brings this theme into Latin groove muzak. "Showdown in the War Room" and "Drive into the Desert" bring an air of Spaghetti Western. The end credits is a quirky celebration of the absurdity of life.

Players Are Working Again

...And the Players are working again!