I ' m not a minimalist , I ' m a maximalist when it comes to my writing .
Sherri Chung ' 01
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Photo Credit Steve Earle
While studying at USC in 2008 , her name was passed to Walter Murphy , the primary composer and songwriter for producer , director and actor Seth McFarland . Murphy composed for “ Family Guy ” and “ American Dad !” and for the “ Ted ” movies . He hired Chung as a part-time assistant composer to help with a new series called “ The Cleveland Show .” The work was mostly administrative , but the exposure was invaluable .
“ I learned a lot from watching how Walter worked , how he worked with musicians , how he ran the sessions ,” Chung said , recalling how Murphy would make changes to his scores on the fly while recording with an orchestra on a soundstage . “ That was a huge opportunity for me to learn how I wanted to do it when I got to that place in my career ,” she said .
A CREATIVE PARTNER
Meanwhile , Chung took on as many creative projects and collaborations as possible and eventually caught the ear of composer Blake Neely , who served as an advisor in her grad program . The two kept in touch after she graduated in 2009 and eventually began collaborating on various projects here and there . Their partnership took flight in 2015 when Neely was asked to score for a new television series called “ Supergirl .” He called Chung to help him develop the show ’ s sound , and that led to collaborations on
CW ’ s “ Riverdale ” and NBC ’ s “ Blindspot .” “ The challenge really came when I started working a lot more with Blake . I started four shows with him that year ,” Chung said . “ Starting to write at the level he was writing at … it was pushing me in a good way . It was really challenging me as a composer not only in the kind of music but also the speed with which they had to be written .”
Neely and Chung made for a magical and highly successful creative duo . Although she considered him a mentor , they became equal partners and co-creators , each bringing their own sound and style to projects .
“ We were friends first . In any artistic collaboration there has to be that first , in my opinion ,” Chung said . Scoring for popular shows brought more visibility for Chung , who began to make her mark in the industry as a unique talent and was named one of Variety ’ s 10 Composers to Watch in 2020 .
Chung ’ s music can also be heard on CW ’ s “ Arrow ” and “ The Flash ,” CBS ’ s “ The Red Line ,” as well as DC ’ s “ Legends of Tomorrow ,” and Netflix ’ s “ You .” Her film scores include “ The Lost Husband ” on Netflix , the Warner Bros film “ Nancy Drew and The Hidden Staircase ,” and horror film “ The Long Night ” in 2020 . One of her documentaries , “ The Other Side of Home ,” was shortlisted for the 2017 Oscars for Best Short Documentary .