Ambience, Electronics and Orchestras:
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Contact Ray Costa, Costa Communications, 323-650-3588
The new Stephen Hawking bio-pic, The Theory of Everything, features a score by the Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Although scoring films is one of Jóhannsson’s primary endeavors, he also concertizes and releases his own albums.
MC: The Theory of Everything stretches across over three decades in the life of Jane and Stephen Hawking. How were you able to unify the music across this timespan?
JJ: It is very much an odd love story with this thread of theory, science, mathematics and physics. This is echoed in the use of certain patterns that recur. It starts with a four-note motif that develops throughout the intro and then reappears in various versions––deconstructed and retrograded versions.
MC: Does concertizing and working on other projects help you in scoring?
JJ: Absolutely! I would miss going out in front of an audience and writing for orchestras and doing pure music. Every time I go and do my own record some of that gets reflected in the next film score. These two facets of my life feed off of and nourish each other. I am happy to do both.
MC: How does one acquire the knowledge to score films?
JJ: You have to understand the film medium and have an instinct for what works: How music works in relation to the image and the story and how to support the story and find the sonic or musical identity for a film. That is learned by doing––you have to score a few films before you have a sense of it.
MC: What about dealing with the politics of filmmakers, studios and executives?
JJ: Filmmaking is a collaborative medium. Knowing how to work with people takes time to learn. And also not to lose your own vision for the music––and to keep your voice in this environment. There are a lot of people who are involved in the music decisions. To be able to navigate and to keep your voice is tricky.Fascinating
Rhythm.
