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 Michael McCuistion has worked for such composers as Shirley Walker, Elliot Goldenthal, and the late Michael Kamen, orchestrating and assisting on many well known film and television projects, as well as contributing additional scoring; residing in California he currently continues scoring various projects with his friends at Dynamic Music Partners.
How did you get involved with "Batman: The Animated Series"? I received a call from Shirley Walker one day; she had heard a demo of mine and asked if I'd like to start orchestrating for her on her new Batman series with the possibility of writing if things worked out. Of course I said "Yes!" Do you have any memorable moments from your time on the show? There were so many. I certainly remember the very first scoring session for "On Leather Wings"; Shirley asked me to attend so that I could get a feeling for the style of the show before I began orchestrating for her. We were at Warner Bros. on their smaller scoring stage (which no longer exists) and when I heard the orchestra begin playing the very first cue I was completely in awe. It was exactly the kind of scoring that inspired me to be a film composer in the first place. After the orchestra finished, everyone was totally silent and completely transfixed seeing the picture come together with the live orchestra. There was an overwhelming feeling of "WOW!" What did you think of the show? I loved it! I was extremely impressed with the way that the series managed to transcend being a "cartoon" and really worked seriously and dramatically on so many different levels. It was a very, very classy show. Was there a decision process that alloted the number of episodes you ended up scoring? As supervising composer, it was Shirley's responsibility to manage every facet of the music production. Shirley decided who would be involved with the various aspects of scoring, including who would write which cues/shows and also who would conduct at the sessions. Shirley decided this as the show progressed, so nothing was "allotted" or assigned ahead of time. What was an average scoring session like, and how much creative control did you have (since Walker was listed as the Music Supervisor most times)? At first, Shirley was very involved in all the music that made it into the final episodes. Before we ever went to the scoring stage to record she reviewed all of our sketches (everything was done on paper by hand at that time) to picture and made suggestions to keep the dramatic and musical direction of the show cohesive. We would make the changes she suggested (if any) and incorporate them into the final orchestral score. As time went by and she got to know our work better, she was more relaxed about how much she needed to review things ahead of time, but she was always present at the sessions and sometimes asked for us to make changes on the scoring stage. This greatly helped the continuity of the score throughout the series. What was the scoring process like when working with two other composers (for instance, on the episode "Christmas With the Joker")? We would spot the show with Shirley (after she had already privately spotted the show with the producers) and she would divide up the cues and assign them to us. Then, we essentially went to our individual studios and wrote our cues. Sometimes we would have brief conversations about the direction of what we were doing, and if there were themes we needed to incorporate then Shirley either provided those or asked us to write them. We weren't collaborating in the traditional sense when we were writing in that we didn't write together, but we did our best to ensure that stylistically the score was seamless even with several composers working on the same episode. Splitting the episode up allowed Shirley to turn around the episode in a shorter amount of time, for instance if the picture had been delayed and we already had a scoring session booked. In the specific case of "Christmas With The Joker," Shirley divided the show in such a way that I was assigned mostly source cues (music that has a visual source on the screen, such as a record player or a movie projector) on that episode. She turned me loose with the Nutcracker Suite and let me have fun with that, as well as, among other cues, a twisted Auld Lang Syne at the very end of the episode. Browsing your IMDB filmography, I see you worked for a wide variety of composers, including Brad Fiedel, Elliot Goldenthal, Michael Kamen, and even Bennett Salvay over the years. How did you pick up such a diverse resume and what do you think you learned from working with such composers? I have been very fortunate to orchestrate for some wonderful composers over the years. Most of those calls came as a result of recommendations from others in the business that knew my work and thought I would be a good match for each of these composers and their projects. The film music community at that time was really a very small tightly-knit community and everyone pretty much knew everyone else, so that allowed for a lot of cross-pollination to occur and new relationships to develop. Every job was unique, and I can definitely say I learned something important from working with each composer and on each project. The wonderful thing about having a career that stretches over a period of years is that it allows me to build upon the last project I've done and continue to increase my knowledge and range of experience in different situations. It's very inspiring to be around creative people and get a totally different perspective on how they approach drama and communicate their musical ideas. Of course, now I'm inspired on a daily basis working with Lolita and Kristopher! For those unfamiliar with who you are, would you give us a little background on yourself? Sure. I'm originally from the midwest, and I was heavily involved in music throughout my childhood. I did my undergraduate work at the University of North Texas with a major in music composition and graduate work at USC specifically in film scoring. While at USC, I was fortunate to study with David Raksin, Bruce Broughton, Irwin Kostal and Buddy Baker, among others, and had master classes with other working film composers including Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith. I received the call from Shirley Walker within 2 years of graduating from USC, so I started right away in the film scoring business and built my orchestrating and composing career from there. Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you have? The three of us are really looking forward to new seasons of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" and "Ben 10: Alien Force." Both shows are completely different, have great stories and contain characters we really care about. Plus, they are both really, really fun to write for. We are always seeking out new projects; visit www.dynamicmusicpartners.com for our latest news and join our email list for special announcements! And lastly, if there are any comments you would like to make about your work on "Batman: The Animated Series", or anything else, please feel free. B:TAS will always be very special to me because it was the show that began my film composing career. Words cannot express the admiration I have for Shirley Walker for the depth of her talent and the reverence I have for her taking a chance on me as a young, unknown composer. PUBLISHED: February 19, 2009 |