Good for Nothing (film score)

Good for Nothing (IMDB link) was my first, and third-to-last feature film score. I feel incredibly lucky that this project and my second film score White Lies, led to lifelong friendships with the film-makers I worked most closely with.

I'd wanted to write music for film for a very long time, and had what I imagine to be a very common set of misconceptions about what it would be like. I was dropped in the deep end with Good for Nothing; as a Western there was not a lot of talking, and a need for a lot of music. Westerns are often described as horse-operas, where the arias are sung with the eyes.....

"Set in the American West, Good for Nothing follows the compelling story of Isabella Montgomery, a refined English woman forced to journey to her uncle's ranch following the death of her father. However, her life takes an unexpected turn when she is kidnapped by an outlaw during the escort.

Though faced with peril and danger, Isabella's resilience shines through as she navigates the treacherous landscape of the Wild West.

‍Good for Nothing garnered critical acclaim and recognition, with the film and director Mike Wallis earning a place in Leonard Maltin's esteemed list of 'Fifty Notable Debut Features of the Past Twenty Years' in his best-selling book, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.

The film's premiere at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in January 29 2011, marked a significant moment, introducing audiences to a captivating blend of Western grit and cinematic artistry.

As the story unfolds, the complexities of the characters and their relationships are brought to life, thanks in part to the evocative score. Good for Nothing invites viewers to embark on an immersive journey, transcending time and place. It is a testament to the power of collaboration and the combined efforts of the cast, crew, and musicians."

The film was offered to me by an immensely talented composer Tom Mcleod, another lifelong friend and collaborator. Tom had been working on scoring this film with producers Mike Wallis and Inge Rademeyer, but had been offered his own TV show based his brilliant alter ego Tommy Love (not the DJ). Tom moved to Auckland to work full-time on his dream project and need to find a replacement composer for Good for Nothing.

Mike and Inge took a gamble on me, an untested film-composer. This was their breakout project, their first film, into which they invested everything they had. From day one they were (and remained) fantastic to work with. Amazingly talented and especially wonderful human beings.

I dived in and started exploring existing models (like Ennio Morricone). I really had no idea what I was doing, but I loved the movie, and there was a lot of space for music! We worked together a lot as the music evolved and had some very helpful session with one of the executive producers Jamie Selkirk (of Lord of the Rings fame). We had a massive boost to the score through the support of Neil Quigley at Victoria University of Wellington. Neil was Pro-Vice-Chancellor, managing the Research portfolio of VUW, and an huge supporter of my work during my time there. Victoria University's support made it possible for us to record with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Mike Wallis had a specific vision for the sound of the music score. He wanted the 'world' of the movie to feel as real as possible. Meaning, no musical instruments that wouldn't exist in that world; i.e. acoustic instruments only. We had one cheat, which was during the Desert Scene, where Joe Callwood played electric guitar with some slight distortion. It just worked so well we chose to include it.

The score itself is built around guitars, charango, mandolin, banjo, with a range of guitar styles, bringing together wonderful players; Joe Callwood, Justin 'Firefly' Clarke, David Downes, and The CodeBreakers (Blake Noble and Peter Faure) - who I bumped into busking on Manners Street in Wellington while out for a walk desperately trying to work out what to do with the scene near the end of the film where The Man travels wounded taking Isabella to safety.....and there they were!

Another instrument featured in the score is the dulcimer (played by Jeremy Fitzsimons). This was largely due to Hans Zimmer's featuring of the instrument in Sherlock Holme's (recently released at the time). I was struck by the rustic and earthy quality the instrument brought to the world of that film.

And of course there was a lot of percussion. And a top-rate symphony orchestra.

This far out from the process I just remember the great moments working with Mike and Inge, collaborating with and recording the musicians, and the engineers (John Neill and Graham Kennedy). And an incredible post-production experience at Park Road Post. I can't imagine a better introduction into the world of film-scoring.

Oh, and the stress. Yes there was a lot of stress, and pressure, and anxiety, and impostor-syndrome, a permanent fight-or-flight state - basically Indiana Jones running in front of that massive boulder avoiding being crushed flat....24/7.

I remember one Sunday I asked David Downes to come over and help with a cue. We spent the day creating the groove and harmony for The Posse. David has always been one of my very favourite people to collaborate with. We started working together very young, and I've always found him the ultimate combination of easy-work-with, immensely talented, quick, and fun. Here's what we came up with.....

After working on the Olympics score and the publicity that came with that, I was offered many films to score. The very first film I was offered was "Black Sheep". I was approached by Producer Philippa Campbell. After reading the script I knew I wasn't the right fit for it. It was scored by the mega-talented Victoria Kelly, and when I went to see the film I knew I was right about not scoring it; Victoria had created the perfect score, absolutely in tune with the the style and nature of the film. I could not have done as well.

Since then I've accumulated boxes of scripts of movies I was approached about but never scored. There were two reasons for not scoring them;

1. I didn't connect with the script or the creative team

2. I really wanted to score it, but it fell through.

A few notable examples of films I was approached for, but never scored:

Cliffs of Freedom (eventually made but with another composer). I wrote some demos which they loved, but in the end went with someone local (in Hollywood). Here's one of the demos:

My Name was Judas (this was going to be directed by writer of Taxi Driver, and the Last Temptation of Christ - Paul Schrader)

A Mistake

Hillary

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There are many more.....