Battle chess music
What ended up receiving approval from Scott was scoring contextually, as I described earlier, which ultimately helped me write my way out of episode 1’s basement. There were months I felt I was stuck in the basement with Beth, even to the point where Scott called me and said “You’re scoring the wrong movie.” It was a fantastic note, because it forced me to have to rethink my approach. I was hoping to have a kind of “Game Template,” where a certain music would play in every iteration. Here is where I encountered a big chasm as the first chess matches were sent to me.
#BATTLE CHESS MUSIC MOVIE#
First, you are writing to the script and sending the cues back and forth, until Scott approves. But, once the movie is actually assembled, much of the music has to change character in order to adapt to the translation from the script stage to the screen. There seem to be two phases in being involved early on.
It wasn’t so much writer’s block, but rather not nailing the tone the story needed. Were there any moments when you were composing for the show that you ran into writer's block? If so, how did you overcome it? Whatever was important in the story was what was informing the musical needs of the game, helping add a needed freshness to the over twenty or so games that needed score. Is she completely hung over? Then score the uneasiness of those aware of this in the room. Is she attracted to an opponent? Then score her emotional state. What I mean by that is the music for each game was borne out of what was happening to Beth in her life. Is she just playing any opponent? Then score the moves. So what ended up working was scoring the games contextually. It was something special, and to say the least, challenging, as we were going to have to make the game of Chess exciting on screen for those who play it - and even for those who don’t. The moment I read Scott Frank’s teleplay, I knew getting to work with him in telling Beth Harmon’s story would be one of the great thrills of my life. I have always loved underdog tales like Rocky, or Rudy. Can you share how you approached the score so it helped enhance that experience to the viewer? You've shared with us the question, how can you get an audience to be interested in the game of chess. Scott is very straightforward with his comments, and it is a welcome relief, since we are both aiming for what works best. I think about it as the kind of relationship where you can ask for someone's honest opinion, and whatever they say, you won’t take offence.Įven though The Queen's Gambit is a limited series, it feels like a film. There is so much worked out in these early stages, mostly what is not suitable, either tonally, or instrumentally. He watches/listens, and decides if the tone is effective or not. We also have an unorthodox way of collaborating, in that I will choose a few scenes, make an iMovie of the script, and score it. As soon as a sketch is written, I will send it over to him for feedback. What's your relationship like with the director, Scott Frank? Were you in contact with each other constantly whilst you were writing the first set of ideas?Ībsolutely.
To me writing is also research, and the first thing I did after reading the novels was to watch as many chess films as I could, as well as documentaries, in order to study what decisions had been made by the directors/composers in these previous iterations. It became clear to me then that I was going to have multiple melodic lines to horizontally imitate the game - point/move, counterpoint/response. After reading the novel, the realization came upon me that I was sort of in trouble, since classical music was mentioned and referenced quite a few times. I read it as soon as I received an email from Scott letting me know it would be the next thing we would work on. The first thing was Walter Tevis’ great little novel, The Queen’s Gambit.
When you started to sketch your initial ideas for the music, where did you go to find your inspiration? Were you watching anything particular, for example? So it felt like family, all of us aiming for the same goal - to help realise Scott’s vision. Getting to work with folks who took such great care in bringing Walter Tevis’ novel to the screen was inspiring to watch and learn from. They are each among the best in their field, and Along with Scott, I was able to work with editor Michelle Tesoro, and sound supervisor Wylie Stateman, as well as music editor Tom Kramer, all of whom I had collaborated with on Godless. I have been very fortunate to work with Scott Frank on two previous projects, and it was a very easy decision to have another opportunity to collaborate with such a master storyteller. How were you brought onto the project? What was it about this show that interested you?