The Composer Success Series: Composing for TV, VR, and Theme Parks – with Ariel Marx, Matthew Carl Earl, and Christopher Thomas

For the TV industry, we have award-winning multi-instrumentalist Ariel Marx. Speaking about composing for virtual reality games and experiences is award-winning composer Matthew Carl Earl.
Interested in composing for theme parks? Award-winning composer Christopher Thomas has you covered.

The Composer Success Series is dedicated to helping you succeed as a composer – offering inspiration, advice on getting started and advancing your career, creative tips and tricks, helpful resources and lessons learned, from some of the industry’s most successful composers for film, games and beyond.
 

Ariel Marx:

A n eclectic composer and multi-instrumentalist, Ariel Marx draws from many genres and often combines orchestral and rare instruments with electronics to create unique worlds of sound. Her scores have premiered in films at Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Tribeca, Woodstock, Criterion Channel, as well as Amazon, Netflix, HBO, and is a Sundance Film Music and Sound Design Lab fellow.

Her composing credits include the mini-series A Friend of the Family on Peacock, American Horror Stories on FX, Children of the Underground mini-series on FX, Hulu mini-series Candy, the Roku Original docu-series What Happens in Hollywood, and more.

Learn more about Ariel’s work and awards at www.arielmarx.com/

• How did you get started in the composing industry? What was your very first score-to-picture gig, and what was that experience like for you?

I’ve been a musician my entire life, so the composing process has been long in the making. After undergrad, I decided that I wanted to pursue composition for screen in a professional way, which led me to get my Master of Music degree at NYU. It was there that I met several filmmakers studying at Tisch and Columbia. I did a film with Columbia alumni Daniel Nickson and Reka Posta — which then led to working on The Tale (on which Reka is also a producer) that premiered at Sundance and was later bought by HBO.

I did a film with Columbia alumni Daniel Nickson and Reka Posta — which then led to working on ‘The Tale’

That same year I worked with NYU filmmaker Shawn Snyder on his first feature To Dust, which later premiered at Tribeca (winning the Audience and Best New Director awards), and was distributed by Good Deed Entertainment, and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.

• Any advice you’d share on how to land a composing job in the film and TV industries?

This industry thrives on interpersonal connections and word-of-mouth recommendations. I think the best thing young composers can do is meet as many young filmmakers as possible.

…meet as many young filmmakers as possible.

These early connections are vital and grow to become long-lasting collaborations, and these projects can be critical entry points into the industry.

• What were some essential lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?

You never know where the next gig will come from.

Put your all into every gig, and take creative risks.

I think the biggest and most successful lesson I’ve learned all revolves around actively forming relationships with colleagues in your industry, and proving yourself to be a hardworking, and generous collaborator. Put your all into every gig, and take creative risks.

• Any favorite tricks and workflow tips that help when composing for film or TV?

Being highly organized is key. If you are organized, your composing process can flow without challenge. You want to create a system where the majority of your energy goes into composing.

Also, if you are an instrumentalist, play on your own scores when appropriate. This is a wonderful way to incorporate and develop your individual voice.

• What are your favorite sites and resources for composers?

There are endless resources, but to name a few — sample library companies often put out great educational content, such as Spitfire, and their newsletters and magazines.

You can also join the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and the Alliance for Women Film Composers, and many other organizations that champion and support composers.

Your Performing Rights Organizations (BMI / ASCAP / SESAC) are also great resources.

• What’s one special thing you did to become a successful composer?

In the beginning of my career, I worked with many different early filmmakers and created strong collaborative relationships that have grown and flourished. Try to meet as many collaborators as possible.

Matthew Carl Earl:

Matthew Carl Earl has scored Virtual Reality games/experiences such as Star Trek: Dark Remnant and Men in Black: Galactic Getaway VR simulation ride at Dave & Buster’s.

He is the Lead Composer at Hexany Audio in Los Angeles. The studio supplies music, sound, and dialogue for video games and other interactive experiences.

Matthew won a 2018 HMMA Award for ‘Best Original Score – Mobile Video Game’ on Arena of Valor: Flip the World, and earned a 2020 MPSE nomination for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR for Special Venue’ for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (2019).

Learn more about Matthew’s work and awards at matthewcarlearl.com

• How did you get started in the composing industry? What was your very first VR game score, and what was that experience like for you?

In the beginning, my composition work was all for my band at the time, Xanthochroid, but I always had the thought of becoming a media composer. So, I put together an online portfolio and created a lot of tracks that I thought sounded like video game music. I then offered to do some free work for a local art college (Laguna College of Art and Design) on a game their students were creating. That game and the whole team was invited to an award ceremony where I met some developers who came to the event looking for talent. These developers became my first clients.

I put together an online portfolio and created a lot of tracks that I thought sounded like video game music.

I continued to freelance for only about 6 months before I met Richard Ludlow and joined Hexany Audio, and I’ve just been with the company since!

My first VR game I think was a VR zombie shooter developed by VRstudios around 2015-ish. I thought it was pretty cool that VR was making a comeback at that time and wanted to put a lot of effort into those first scores. We continued to do many more super fun VR projects with them spanning a ton of cool IPs such as Men in Black and Star Trek.

• Any advice you’d share on how to land a composing job in the VR industry?

As for landing a job in the VR industry, I think it’s pretty similar to the traditional video game industry in that you should be attending as many conferences and events as possible, show face and have a killer portfolio if someone ever asks to see your work. But never be pushy and try to shove your business card into people’s hands, people remember this behavior and will turn them off to you.

…never be pushy and try to shove your business card into people’s hands

One of the differences with VR is the fact that many of these VR developers are looking for composers with a bit of technical knowledge of implementation and using various middleware programs to achieve an immersive musical effect. So knowing a bit about this side will go a long way.

• What were some essential lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?

One of the big lessons I’ve learned is that career growth takes a long time, and you never know where people are going to end up and who is going to end up being a potential client. So don’t be rude, mind your manners, and make sure all your work is killer.

don’t be rude, mind your manners, and make sure all your work is killer

Another thing I realized before I started working professionally is that nothing is going to happen unless you make it happen, and that was the realization that made me put my work together into a website in the beginning and start doing some free work to have some real video games with my work on it.
 

• Any favorite tricks and workflow tips that help when composing for VR?

My philosophy when it comes to VR music usually is to try to stay as out-of-the-way as possible. I try to create music that only adds to the experience and atmosphere that the game is trying to achieve without drawing attention to itself.

…create music that only adds to the experience and atmosphere that the game is trying to achieve

But on the other hand, many people have different ideas regarding this, and it (of course) depends on the style of the game. Some of the VR games I’ve worked on have very bombastic and in-your-face scores.

And actually, some games may even lend themselves to some more creative ideas like panning in the 3D space. For example, placing different instruments around the world in the game so you can focus on different parts of the music just by turning your head and looking at them.

• What are your favorite sites and resources for composers?

I’ve always loved Orchestration Online for studying orchestral music. It’s a really great forum on Facebook and the website is an awesome free resource with videos and articles about score study and orchestration knowledge.

Also, join groups with other professionals in the industry on Facebook, talk with them, share ideas, and most importantly look at what others are doing that seems to be working really well, and then ignore the things that aren’t working so well.

• What’s one special thing you did to become a successful composer?

A lot of my success came from just growing with my company, Hexany Audio, from the beginning. Though, doing free work in the beginning (just to put in a portfolio) definitely helped with getting noticed.

just keep pumping out amazing-sounding work and don’t give up!

In the end, everyone’s road to success is completely different and what worked for me may not work for others, so I really think the best way is to just keep pumping out amazing-sounding work and don’t give up!

Christopher Thomas:

Composer Christopher Thomas’s work can be heard in theme parks all over the world. He has written music for the Evermore Adventure Park, Knott’s Berry Farm, Queen Mary Chill, Dreamland (UK), Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, Dent Schoolhouse, and The Void 4D virtual reality games.

He recently collaborated with the Invertigo Dance Theatre on their quirky “Sugar Plum Jam” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles (for the televised LA County Christmas Special).

His compositions have been performed and recorded by the Carnegie Hall Festival Orchestra, Hollywood Studio Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Rose City Chamber Orchestra, University of Southern California Symphony, Angeles String Quartet, Central Oregon Symphony, Missouri All-State Orchestra, Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra, Fear No Music ensemble, Willamette University Chamber Choir, Oregon East Symphony, A-Sharp Youth Symphony, and various American festival ensembles.

He recently premiered a series of concert works in France, Belgium, and Germany. His Symphony #1 (the Malheur Symphony) was the subject of a TED Talk in 2019. His works are published with The FJH Music Company, Walton Choral, Wingert-Jones Publications, and Carl Fischer Music.

Christopher won a Hollywood Music in Media Award, Gold Medal Prize at the Park City Film Music Festival, Best Film & TV Music award at eWorld Music Awards, and has been nominated for a Film & TV Music Award. He has written music for several Emmy-nominated films, and for Woman Rebel, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award. In television, he works as a composer, orchestrator, and conductor for studios such as Sony, ABC, FOX, CBS, and HBO.

Learn more about Christopher’s work and awards at www.christhomasmusic.com. Or, at his theme park music site www.adventuresoundtracks.com

• How did you get started in the composing industry? What was your first theme park ride/attraction that you composed music for and what was that experience like for you?

I got into the composing business through film and television. My day job has always been writing and orchestrating film music. After several years in film, I stumbled into theme park music quite by accident.

To my surprise, the CEO of the LA Haunted Hayride (Melissa Carbone) called me back a few weeks later.

In 2010, I attended the LA Haunted Hayride (at Griffith Park) and loved the show. I left a complimentary message on their hotline, not expecting anything back. To my surprise, the CEO of the LA Haunted Hayride (Melissa Carbone) called me back a few weeks later. We got to chatting, then she asked me to hang up and meet her immediately at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank. We got to talking music, and soon realized we were planning a score for the next year’s show.

After the 2011 LA Haunted Hayride season, with its first-ever original score, I was getting calls to work with theme parks everywhere.
 

• Any advice you’d share on how to land a composing job in the theme park industry?

First, know your craft. You must be prepared to handle jobs of all sizes and styles. It’s a lot like film music that way. You may be recording a metal band one day and then conducting an 80-piece symphony orchestra the next.

get to know…the good people in the Themed Entertainment Association.

Second, know the theme park industry. Learn more about how attractions are designed, how different kinds of show controls work, and deliver music that you would want to hear on a world-class ride or experience.

Finally, get to know the community – from creative teams at various attractions to the experience design teams, and the good people in the Themed Entertainment Association. The TEA has more events and conferences than you can imagine and many programs for emerging talent in the industry.

• What were some essential lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?

While I have much to say on this topic, there are a few standout categories that I think are worth sharing.

1) Don’t give up so easily! I constantly see people jump into the business and quit after six months or less. Our culture sees musicians as either overnight sensations, or you’re a nobody. This is completely wrong. You are starting a business, and it takes time to grow a business. You will eventually find your footing in the community, and develop trusted relationships. Do not run from failure, but embrace it warmly. The more rejection you risk, the more rewards you take away!

The more rejection you risk, the more rewards you take away!

2) Don’t follow trends. It is common “knowledge” that musicians must conform to the latest, hottest trends to fit in and survive. However, the truth is that you can’t afford to sound like everybody else. You become invisible and infinitely replaceable. Plus, high-end creatives in film and theme parks are always looking for something new and unique. If they wanted Hans Zimmer, they can afford to just hire Hans Zimmer. Lean into your music’s unique qualities and your life experiences to create a new way forward. Say something that only you can say. If you can do this, that will be the day your career really takes off!

3) Focus on craft, not facade. Remember, clients with major film or theme park projects aren’t impressed with your Instagram feed. They are only impressed when you deliver great work. They know what quality sounds like, and your image-crafting efforts won’t convince them otherwise. This means deeply understanding their vision, and becoming a humble servant of the project. I don’t mean for this to sound so harsh, but here it is: don’t get so obsessed with yourself. Instead, devote everything to the quality of your work! Remember, your success is contingent on the success of the projects you work on. So make the project rock!

…your success is contingent on the success of the projects you work on. So make the project rock!

4) Finally, don’t be afraid to live creatively. Let’s face it, this business is chaotic and it can be hard to survive. If you need a luxurious car and fancy house to be a happy person, then this business isn’t for you. The real question is what is meaningful to you? What does an authentic life look like for you? For me, it was unlimited time for creative exploration and writing as much music as possible. I really don’t want much more. Therefore, I inventively designed a life around my core values and interests. My daily life seems strange and confusing to most people, but it’s allowed me to survive and be very happy. The good news is that your business and resources will eventually grow. Don’t give up just because people around you elect for a mainstream life. Come rain or shine, you will be living a very unique life on your own terms.

• Any favorite tricks and workflows tips that help when composing for theme park rides/attractions?

For sure, there are several layers in which I look at themed attraction work.

1) Schedule in Reverse. Create a schedule by working backward from opening night. For example, here’s an overview of what a project in reverse would look like: 7. opening night, 6. music installation, 5. final mix delivery, 4. mix week, 3. recording week, 2. score and part preparation week, and finally, you’re left with 1. composing time in the present.

Take careful notes during the design process, and tailor your creativity to the flow of the experience.

2) Creative Delivery Methods. What I mean by this is how you design your music around the needs of a scene. With theme parks, we’re often not delivering a single, full-mix track. Often, you’re delivering music in many small bits or interchangeable layers. The music you write and deliver is completely dependent on the type of experience you are scoring. Take careful notes during the design process, and tailor your creativity to the flow of the experience.

3) Get close to the creative team. Speaking of taking careful notes, enjoy access to the creative team designing the experience. Because of the lengthy time-scales themed attractions require, you have the benefit of getting close to the experience designers. This gives you an intimate sense of their vision as it develops, and will push your creativity in the right direction. Get in at the ground level and develop the music alongside the experience itself.

There’s no room for thinking small in this business.

4) Dream big! If you ever attend a “blue sky” session with experience designers, you will truly know what it means to work with theme parks. Themed attraction designers don’t know the meaning of the word “limitation.” Yes, we all know limitations do exist. That said, what they don’t accept is a solution less than spectacular. It’s amazing how they can design a stellar experience out of any resources they have. For composers, the same rules apply. It doesn’t matter what your resources really are. There’s no room for thinking small in this business. We make magic in the themed attraction industry. Bring that spirit and energy to your work, and aim to be larger than life!

• What are your favorite sites and resources for composers?

I really don’t follow a lot of this kind of thing, and I wish I had more advice and links to share here. (I say this even as I’m launching an extensive masterclass series on scoring for film and starting a book on theme park scoring.)

Ultimately, there’s no singular location you will learn everything you will need to succeed. I’ve noticed, more often than not, when a resource springs up it will promise shortcuts and quick tips. This is not how greatness is achieved. You must dedicate years of study to great music, and really learn the craft. That doesn’t necessarily mean a university degree, but it does mean putting in a similar period of commitment.

…shortcuts and quick tips. This is not how greatness is achieved.

Seriously, learn to write a melody, use modulations, and how a real orchestrate works. Follow composers who put the craft first; their music will be your guiding light.

Trends come and go. Artists who have navigated decades of success are who you want to be learning from. (That said, I do invite any serious composer to visit my course to get a head start. I will not promise a quick and easy path forward, but I do promise to put you on the path to real results!)

• What’s one special thing you did to become a successful composer?

Easy, it’s two things. I’ve never cared what other composers think about me and spend all of my energy on creative growth.

The road to success is paved with excellent writing and top-notch collaboration.

Appearances to the outside world are an immense waste of time. If you’re not fully focused on bettering your musical expertise and your originality, then what good are you to your clients?

I know there’s immense pressure to spend time marketing and branding yourself. The truth is you get work from showing results. That means happy clients and stellar quality in your composing. What your friends, family, and other composers think about you gets you nothing. The road to success is paved with excellent writing and top-notch collaboration.

• Charlie Clouser – composer on the Saw franchise, Fox’s Wayward Pines, CBS’s Numb3rs, & NBC’s Las Vega
• Sherri Chung – composer on The CW’s Batwoman and Riverdale, NBC’s Blindspot, and CBS’s The Red Line
• Cindy O’Connor – composer on ABC’s Once Upon a Time
• Inon Zur – composer on Fallout, Dragon Age, Prince Of Persia, Outriders, and The Elder Scrolls.
• Pinar Toprak – composer on the Captain Marvel, The Wind Gods, and The Tides of Fate
• Nainita Desai – composer on The Reason I Jump, American Murder, and For Sama
• Jonathan Snipes – composer on A Glitch in the Matrix, The El Duce Tapes, and Murder Bury Win
• Gareth Coker – composer on the Ori franchise, Studio Wildcard’s ARK: Survival Evolved, & the upcoming Halo Infinite.
• Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson – composers on “The Book Thief,” “Between the Lines,” & Disney Animation’s Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
• Daniel Kluger – composer on the play “The Sound Inside,” “Oaklahoma!” (2019), & “Judgement Day”
• Jason Graves – composer on Dead Space, Tomb Raider , Moss , and more.
• Peter McConnell – composer on Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project, Broken Age Act 2 (2013), and Psychonauts 2.
• Winifred Phillips – composer on Lineage, Assassin’s Creed, Total War, God of War, The Sims, and LittleBigPlanet.
• Ronit Kirchman – composer on Evil Eye, Limetown, and The Sinner.
• Zach Robinson – composer on the Impractical Jokers movie, the documentary series Artbound, Quibi’s Die Hart, Norwegian comedy The Oilfund, Josie and Jack, and the video game Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues.
• Alec Puro – composer on Wicked Tuna, Black Summer, The Crew, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, and more.