H i J a c o b , w e l c o m e t o V E N T S ! H o w h a v e y o u b e e n ?
Things have been busy, which is the best a composer
can ask for!
S o l e t ' s b e g i n w i t h t h e o b v i o u s - w h a t d r e w y o u t o
m u s i c ? W e r e y o u a l w a y s i n t o t h i s a r t f o r m o r d i d i t s t a r t
t o g r o w a f t e r a p a r t i c u l a r e x p e r i e n c e ?
Watching ‘Gremlins’ as a kid I can remember telling my
Mom that I wanted to write music for movies. For me it
combines my two favorite things: music & film. My
fascination with film music only grew over time and
when I heard the music for ‘Interview With The Vampire’
by Elliott Goldenthal that clenched it.
There is something so incredibly powerful about the
combination of music & the moving image – a piece of
music that would make most people cringe or change
the station will be totally acceptable with the right
visuals. Likewise, a scene that is actually slow or
mundane can feel tense & exciting with the right music
underneath. It’s really a lot of fun to experiment with
each project and push the boundaries.
D i d y o u t r e a t e a c h s c e n e o n t h e s e r i e s a s a t r a i l e r c l i p ,
s o t o s p e a k , o r w h a t h a s b e e n y o u r a p p r o a c h f o r t h e
s e r i e s ?
Overall my approach for the series has been about
energy and connection. Peyton, who plays Andi Mack, is
so bubbly that she just pops on screen. The music HAS
to hold pace with that and carry us along both
emotionally and logistically. Whenever I’m working on an
episode I’m always trying to find ways to connect
scenes together through melodies I’ve matched with
characters or the instruments I use. Most importantly,
though, the energy of the music has to drive things
forward and bridge into the nextWand the nextWand the
next. The emotion is usually there since the actors are
so good --- I’ve just got to keep that momentum going
underneath.
Y o u r s c o r e s f o r t r a i l e r s i n t h e p a s t h a v e b e e n E P I C
m u s i c - w h a t w a s i t l i k e t o m o v e o n t o s o m e t h i n g r a t h e r
p l a y f u l a n d p o p p y - i s h ?
I spent almost a decade performing for a living in rock,
jazz, country, pop, neo-soul, hip-hop and music theatre
groups. So it’s like putting on an old glove when I have
R a t h e r t h a n s c o r i n g a n e n t i r e f i l m , y o u n e e d t o w o r k j u s t to write poppy & playful score. Several musician friends
o n a c l i p - d o e s i t g e t e a s i e r o r i s i t m o r e d i f f i c u l t t h a n that I used to perform with have become my team for
o n e w o u l d t h i n k ?
recording/scoring films and I’m able to talk shorthand
The answer is yes to both questions here. It DOES get with them since we have a history.
easier but it’s also more difficult than you’d think.
Anything becomes easier with practice of course but the It’s a great deal of fun coming up with songlike music
difficulty comes from time constraints, budgets (which underneath Andi Mack because you can take the energy
might restrict the production quality of the music) and of to places you might not be able to in a straight drama.
course the ever changing tastes of people.
The story goes everywhere from comedy to horror to
romance to drama and of course there’s that amazing
I used to believe that there was only one perfect piece teen angst!! When I’m coming up with ideas I can draw
of music that would work for a scene but the truth is you on sounds from the pop world or from traditional scoring
can make an argument for many different approaches; it – whatever works best energy-wise.
all depends on the filmmakers’ taste. For instance you
may have started out writing something orchestral but T h e s e r i e s i s c r e a t e d b y t h e s a m e f o r c e b e h i n d 9 0 s ,
will have to switch to a dirty, analog synth approach or e a r l y 0 0 s p o p u l a r s h o w L i z z i e M c G u i r e - d i d y o u b o r r o w
maybe a rhythm section. So, as a composer, you’ve got a n y i n s p i r a t i o n f r o m t h a t p a r t i c u l a r s h o w , o r d i d y o u d i d
to be ready to change on a dime.
y o u s t a r t t h e e n t i r e s c o r e f r o m s c r a t c h ?
I’ve intentionally started from scratch with ev erything.
W h a t e v e n t u a l l y l e d y o u t o T V ? W e r e y o u c h a s i n g a f t e r Andi Mack is its’ own world and deserves to have its’
a n o p p o r t u n i t y o r d i d i t j u s t c o m e a s a b l e s s i n g ?
own musical identity – not to mention the fact so much
I’ve always enjoyed working on episodic projects. On time has passed our musical tastes are way different
features you may only come in contact with the director, than the late 90s/early 00s. I’m really trying to keep the
maybe a producer or two, and it can go by quick. (I’ve sound fresh and exciting so we don’t want it to feel
started and finished feature projects in under three ‘dated’ in any way.
weeks!) You develop much more of a team-feeling on
episodic content, especially with multiple seasons. It’s W e r e t h e r e a n y c h a l l e n g e s ?
great to get to know other people working on the project From the get-go Disney wanted the sound to be
in those situations.
acoustic with little-to-no electronic or computer
So I’ve always sought out television work alongside the elements. Many shows live entirely ‘in the box’ when it
features. I feel very lucky to have gotten the opportunity comes to score --- for a myriad of reasons: time
to work on several series and develop as both a constraints, budget, creative, etcW. Since we wanted
composer and filmmaker.
everything to be as acoustic as possible it means I’ve
got to record a lot of material for each episode. That
D i d y o u e v e r t h i n k y o u r f i r s t j o b o n T V w o u l d b e a t e e n means extra time for creating the parts for musicians,
D i s n e y s e r i e s , i n t h i s c a s e , A n d i M a c k ?
recording time, mixing, etcW.
Actually my first television job was back in 201 2 scoring
‘Blue’ for Rodrigo Garcia. It starred Julia Stiles and was Despite the added complexity I truly love the end result
an amazing experience. It eventually led to me getting and I’m so glad this is the sound of the show.
to score MTV’s Finding Carter which is how I met Terri
Minsky (the creator of Andi Mack).
W h a t i s h a p p e n i n g n e x t i n J a c o b Y o f f e e ' s w o r l d ?
In addition to Season 2 of Andi Mack I’m really excited
H o w w a s t h e t r a n s i t i o n f r o m o n e f o r m a t t o t h e o t h e r ?
about a feature I’ve just completed with director Saila
In my experience the quantity of music that you have to Kariat. It’s playing the festival circuit and my music was
deliver, on rolling deadlines, makes writing for television just awarded ‘Best Original Score’ at the Long Island
pretty intense. I can’t say that it’s anymore intense than Film Festival. The film explores the relationship between
writing for features or trailers but it absolutely demands success & happiness and it’s possible pitfalls – including
extreme organization, constant focus and endless depression and suicide. It’s a very powerful piece and
creativity. What I’ve learned is that you have to be able I’m extremely proud of Saila and the film she’s created. I
to deliver something good consistently. The consistency can’t wait for the world to get to see it!
is key – you’ll be getting network notes and be required
to turn around new music all the time. You have to make
sure that every cue that goes out the door holds up.