johnvelghe.com » documentary

Clyfford Still

johnv — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:54:26 +0000

This instrumental composition, Clyfford Still, was used in the documentary film “The Next American Dream” and a few other places. I started writing this song on my birthday. It was built around the piano line that sort of mimicked the sound of my dog, walking across the wooden floor above my head. He was 14 years old at the time. I lost him not too long after this track was done, so it stands as not only a memory of him, but a work of some emotional importance for me.

[wpaudio url="http://augusthour.com/music/clyf_0606.mp3" text="John Velghe - Clyfford Still"]

Please enjoy it. Please don’t steal it.

Winding Down a Film

johnv — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:39:14 +0000

Films are tricky animals. Comlex beasts with tentacles and teeth. Winding down the composing project becomes less a matter of creativity or musicianship and more a matter of making sure all those little details are working together.

I’m mastering the finals for “The Next American Dream.” Which means I’m at the stage in the process where it’s really easy to find things I don’t like as much anymore but the producers plan on using in the film. It’s the point at which you remember that this isn’t yours. So you just have to burnish the edges, make it sound its best, and then release it.

I’ll be anxious to see the finished product, and see if I did a good job of being unnoticed. Because that’s the mark of good writing for film.

Scoring “The Next American Dream”

johnv — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:38:31 +0000

So I’ve been asked to score a documentary. It’s called The Next American Dream. (this is the trailer I scored) Of course I accepted. The film, set to air on PBS in April, is a documentary about how we will build our environment in the future. It features Chris Lienberger of the Brookings Institute

The question is, how does one compose music for the future? Or I guess, how does one conceive of a soundprint for what America will be like in 50 years?

Right now, where we sit, with all the ugly news, it sure seems like the tendency is to write something dark. But I’m an optimist now aren’t I?

What I know now is that we’re looking at America as a family. A great big family full of good and . . . well . . . mistakes. And families have a past, a present, and a future. Families all have their share of mistakes and screwups. We all have our crazy uncles, and bizarre moments in our history.

So a lot of what I’m thinking about for the score is built around the music of family. I think that will always be there. The kind of music a family surrounds itself with will change, but it will always be there. The instruments may change, the songs will be varied, but they’ll be an ever-present part of how we continue down this experiment we call America.

It’s a great opportunity, and when I think about it in the terms of America as family it seems much more promising.