 Composer Stuart Balcomb works for film and TV in Los Angeles. Before moving to LA he studied vibes with Gary Burton and taught composition and arranging at Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1974-78; he has written arrangements for Woody Herman, Cher, Donald O'Connor, Andy Williams, Magician David Avadon, Gary Burton and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
He has composed a dozen scores, DVD yoga specials, and more, and has orchestrated on a number of ocassions for well-known composer Randy Edelman.
How did you get involved with "Batman: The Animated Series"?
Jo Ann Kane, supervising music copyist for Twentieth Century Fox, recommended me to Shirley Walker. I've known Jo Ann for many years.
Do you have any memorable moments from your time on the show?
To answer your question, this is an account that is in Phil Cousineau's new book "Stoking the Creative Fires": I was scoring an episode of the Batman Animated Series in 1993. I had worked a solid week writing the music, and it was about midnight before the recording session. All the other scores had been delivered to Warner Bros., the parts copied and booked up for the players, and I had only one last cue to write. The problem was that I was completely drained. Exhausted and creatively spent, I could not go any further. I stared at the empty score pages that I had prepared and wondered what to do. I briefly entertained the idea of running away, booking a flight somewhere. It then suddenly hit me that A.) the earth turns and tomorrow will come, and B.) at 10:00 tomorrow I will be standing on the podium in front of an orchestra with a baton in my hand, ready to give a downbeat, and all these pages will be filled in, black with notes. I visualized the future. It was tomorrow and the task was done. All I had to do was get from here to there. And at that moment all the ideas started to flow. That visualization made the process much easier, and I've used it ever since � I even applied it to weeding the lawn. As I sat on the grass I looked at the seemingly impossible task of weeding so much territory and said to myself, "In a few hours, all these weeds will be gone, and it will be time for supper." Now, I see the completed job and "writer's block" seems to melt away.
What did you think of the show?
I loved all the shows, but I think "Almost Got 'Im" is my favorite because I was able to explore a variety of music styles.
How come you didn't end up scoring more episodes?
Shirley wanted a few composers to help her with the series, and she auditioned many people to find her core "team," which ended up being Lolita, Michael, Harvey, and Carl, as far as I can remember. She began by having each person orchestrate some of her own cues for the show, and then she paired up composers to share writing for a show. Keep in mind that this audition process was also a paid gig with union benefits. She liked my music enough to have me do two more shows on my own, but in the end, and for whatever reasons, she made her ultimate choices. Perhaps it was a stylistic thing for consistency. I'm very thankful for the opportunity that she gave me, and I grew enormously from the experience.
What was the average scoring like and how much creative control did you have (since Walker was listed as the Music Supervisor most times)?
I was given free reign, as long as I worked some of the main theme into what I did. I attended spotting sessions with Shirley, Bruce Timm, and the music editor to determine where music should go and what its nature should be. I then met with Shirley at her house to show her my scores. She played through the material on the piano and made comments and suggestions as needed. She conducted the first session while I sat in the booth reading the score. Shirley was a great teacher, and the entire process was her way of educating by example, everything from how the scores were to be laid out to conducting a session. I certainly learned a lot about efficiency.
What was the collaborative process like (assuming you collaborated with the other composer) and how did you both decide who gets what on "The Under Dwellers"?
Shirley determined which cues Lars and I were to write and told us to do our own thing.
"Almost Got 'Im" featured an atypical scoring approach for the series. What were your thoughts when deciding on the needs of the episode?
I'm sure I was given this episode because of my jazz background. I had taught at the Berklee College of Music and had studied vibes with Gary Burton. The idea was for the jazz cues to identify being in the club listening to the villains talk about how each "almost got" Batman, then the underscore would take over as each story unfolded. We scored the jazz cues at the end of the session, and the band had a lot of fun playing them. Shirley even called-in an extra jazz bass player (who was not part of the orchestra bass section) to provide an authentic walking-4 groove. I was very impressed with Emily Bernstein's swinging clarinet playing... she was right in the pocket.
For those unfamiliar with who you are, would you give us a little background.
I taught at the Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1974-78 before moving to LA. My very first gig was working as a music copyist at the John Davidson Singers' Summer Camp on Catalina Island in 1978, then went on to arrange for Andy Williams, Cher, Magician David Avadon, Gary Burton and the Buffalo Philharmonic, Mickey Rooney, and Donald O'Connor. For many years my main bread and butter was supervising the music prep department at Universal, and in that capacity I worked on over 500 films. My recent projects include a 3-hour yoga DVD called "Gravity & Grace" (soundtrack available on CD), five films for the Elevate Film Festival, "Brian O'Brian" for the Disney Channel, the documentaries "1000 Journals" and "Mythic Journeys," the infamous "Zelda" trailer, and "The Ore," the latter two being projects written and directed by my son Sam. I'm also beginning two more CDs of my own, co-produced with my wife, Joanne Warfield.
You've worked a a good bit with both Nicholas Pike and Randy Edelman as an orchestrator. What's it like working with such composers?
Both are very different in their methods. I orchestrated some complex orchestral scores for Nicholas early-on, but lately my work for him has involved string orchestration for sweetening sessions. Randy gives me hand-written sketches of the music and a tape of the synth demo, and I flesh-out the score for full orchestra. I love the creativity that it allows.
Can you give us a little scoop on what the upcoming score to "The Mummy 3", by Edelman, will be like? The director has posted some info about when & where it will be recorded and some ideas -- it sounds like it's really going to be terrific.
Randy took the job to London and it was orchestrated, copied, and recorded there. I think IMDB jumped the gun in assuming Randy's usual team was on the picture.
I see, by your IMDB.com credits, you orchestrated on Basil Poledouris' excellent score to "The Touch". What was it like working with such a famous composer?
Basil was a dream to work with. He was one of the nicest men in the business. He will be missed! Although "The Touch" was scored in Beijing, the copywork was done at Universal. I sent my score files to the studio, they copied the parts and then uploaded scores and parts to Basil's server, which were then downloaded and printed in China. On this end it was a paperless job.
Aside from "Highway 101" and "Mythic Journeys", can you tell us about any upcoming projects you have?
I've got two CDs in the works. I am also developing some themes for an orchestral piece featuring the sarod.
PUBLISHED: June 22, 2008
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