Dara Taylor's Spooky Music Compositions
Hauntingly whimsical are the first two words I use in relationship with music composer Dara Taylor's Women in Horror crafted sounds. Immersed in music beginning with her formative years, Dara spent her life in both upstate New York and New York City, acquiring degrees in music from Cornell and NYU until moving to Los Angeles. The west coast has given her music composition gigs on films like Ride Along 2 (scoring assistant) and television's Agent Carter (score programmer). If any of that wasn't impressive enough, Dara's also been nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Short Score for the thriller, Undetectable.
Becoming a well-rounded music composer has not deterred from Dara's first love. As she puts it, "horror/thriller is my FAVORITE genre to compose". As she makes her way in a most reverenced space in the film industry, Dara reached out to discuss some of her favorite horror film scores, what a lot of the work she does entail, and her deep affinity for American Horror Story.
Great music in a horror film
really sticks in the memories of fans, so much so that it evokes a range of
emotions. What are some of your favorite horror film scores and what types of
memories have they conjured for you over the history of your viewership?
Hmmm...there are so many. Though
if made today they’d probably be classified under “thriller” I feel you can’t
fully appreciate today’s horror scoring without acknowledging the greatness of
Bernard Hermann’s score of Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Psycho (and really all of
their collaborations were gold)!
More than relying on jump scares, Hermann
perfected that feeling of uneasiness and oddity and of course that famous
shower scene! It was also right around this time of the early 60s that
classical composer Gyorgy Ligeti wrote Atmospheres and Lux Aeterna and
classical composer Krzysztof Penderecki wrote Threnody to the Victims of
Hiroshima which, once Kubrick put them and others in 2001: A Space Odyssey and The
Shining respectively, would change the landscape of horror music forever.
This
is where all of the high-string-clusters-to-signify-something-creepy thing
started. Some of my
other more modern favorites include Christopher Young’s Hellraiser and Drag Me
to Hell, Charles Bernstein’s A Nightmare on Elm Street films and Marco
Beltrami’s Scream films. In addition to being very smartly written, these
scores elicit an immense amount of storytelling during moments as mundane as
watching a plastic bag in the wind (i.e. Drag Me to Hell).
Is horror the genre that got you
interested in scoring?
Actually, it’s the other way
around! Honestly, before I started to score them, horror films used to scare
me. I’d watch them, but I’d be terrified, haha. But when I began writing music
for them (and had an INSANE amount of fun doing so!) I was able to sort of
“take a look under the hood” so-to-speak. I was able to learn the conventions
and grow an incredible appreciation for both traditional horror and those films
that break those conventions.
Historically it’s the “theremin”
which is that weird other-worldly sound you hear in old 1920’s Dracula/etc.
films but that has more or less become a parody nowadays (though I did use a
bit of theremin in a short I scored a couple of years ago). Today almost
anything can be used in a haunting manner, though high strings and distant
piano tend to evoke a certain ethereal tension that’s used quite often. Oh, and
children singing - there’s nothing creepier than a singing child!
How would you describe film and
television scoring to someone? What kind of work goes into the process to make
it the best it can be?
Like everything in the
entertainment industry, it’s a lot of work. I’d say 50% of the work is actually
composing and the other finding the next gig! But it’s also incredibly
rewarding. I usually start off a project by either watching a rough cut (or if
I’m lucky enough to be brought on early reading a script). I then go through
the film with the director/producer and together we discuss where music should
enter and end and the general vibe of each moment. Then I go home and write and
send drafts over to the director and we work together until we get the best
music for each scene. The only way to achieve this however is through teamwork!
Listen to the director and listen to the film. At the end of the day it’s all
about what enhances the viewing experience of each scene so there’s usually a
process at the end where I just go through and delete some stuff. It’s always
audience over ego.
Speaking of teamwork, the process seems to keep you on your toes and demands an intense level of organization. Was it always easy for you to adjust? How have you found your rhythm when working on a project?
You’ve hit the nail on the head. Organization is key! I always find it helps when you can form a real relationship with the people you’re working with. This way it feels more like a group of friends building a house together rather than a construction worker/contractor vibe. I’ve always tried to stay organized in the jobs I’ve had before this, so it was a relatively easy transition in that regard. Plus there’s nothing like the adrenaline rush of meeting a deadline!
That being said, communication becomes a large part of that. Even before I speak budget, I like to figure out the project’s timeline and give specific dates for anticipated deliveries. This way, everyone knows what they’re getting and when and it keeps the process very transparent.
That being said, communication becomes a large part of that. Even before I speak budget, I like to figure out the project’s timeline and give specific dates for anticipated deliveries. This way, everyone knows what they’re getting and when and it keeps the process very transparent.
Do the images film and television
provide assist with the process of scoring? How do or don't they?
Absolutely. You can always tell
the difference between a piece of “film-style” music that’s been written to
actual picture and something that’s just been written to an idea. The picture
provides the arc, the ebb and flow, and when it’s very powerful, it can even
subliminally exude some themes.
I remember once listening to an actor’s delivery of a certain line and immediately their theme popped into my head. All the incredible and hard work that everyone before you has put into the film helps inform your decisions on how to underscore them musically.
I remember once listening to an actor’s delivery of a certain line and immediately their theme popped into my head. All the incredible and hard work that everyone before you has put into the film helps inform your decisions on how to underscore them musically.
What horror-related film or
television shows are you watching on your downtime?
American Horror Story! I’ve
loved every season and it’s so smart and wonderfully executed. I’ve also
watched quite a bit of Supernatural (and actually began working in the music
department for the show last year) and just started getting into Grimm.
Movie-wise, the Insidious and Paranormal Activity franchises have been a bit of
a guilty pleasure of mine. And Ethan Hawke’s performance in Sinister was
bone-chilling. But really, my all-time favorite horror films are mostly by
Hitchcock...the master of suspense!
Describe your dream project. What
kind of film or television series would you absolutely love to score?
I actually love the rhythm and growth that TV provides, so my absolute dream project would be something like American Horror Story. The great thing about horror-themed TV is there’s a much longer leash in terms of experimentation and individuality in music. When you get a chance, listen to some of Mac Quayle’s score for American Horror Story: Freak Show. It’s so unique to the general tapestry of TV music and again, very smartly written.
Read her article, "10 Things I've Learned as a Scoring Assistant on 'Ride Along 2'" on Stage 32