Film and Video | TV and Advertising
Film and Video
Brother (2020)
Teenagers Jason and Caleb have been friends for the better part of a decade, but when Caleb’s older brother Casey returns home from prison, his racist ideology threatens to destroy their bond.
Original music written for percussion, cello and electronics.
HEAVENLY (2019)
Crystal, a former ballet dancer, returns home after being sex-trafficked and struggles to shake the physical and psychological trauma she endured while "in the life'.
Original music written for celesta, violin, cello and electronics.
The Beginning and Ending of Everything (2018)
The trailer for the first original series from Exodus Filmworks, The Beginning and Ending of Everything.
Perhaps my favorite project to have scored is an original series by filmmaker Ya'Ke Smith about a woman who recently was released from prison and is trying to reconnect with her family. The music was written for violin, cello, marimba and electronics.
Click here to watch the series for free on Vimeo
IMDb page for the film
City Hearts (2016)
Directed by Patty Newton, City Hearts is a documentary that chronicles an NEA funded arts-based anti-recidivism project that teaches former prison inmates job skills through art. I scored the film for Fender Rhodes, percussion, bass (electric and acoustic), organ, guitar, and electronics. This clip is the opening scene.
This is a scene from the middle of the film where the City Hearts participants visit the Kimbell Museum.
These are the closing credits for City Hearts.
Forevermore (2015)
Directed by John McCullagh, Forevermore is a stylish horror set in the 1960's. I wrote the score for violin and electronics. The first few minutes of this twenty minute short film is a great teaser for the rest of the movie. Kristin Waymel performed the violin part.
Dawn (2014)
I was lucky enough to work with members of the Wyeth String Quartet to create the music for a new twenty minute short film called Dawn. The music is created entirely from acoustic music performed by violinist Michael Shih and cellist Leda Larsen. The film was premiered at HBO's American Black Film Festival as one of five films vying for the HBO Short Film Award and aired on HBO several times. This is the trailer.
When we were recording the music for Dawn, the director Ya'Ke and his students created a short clip called "dawn. working with the composer." The clip has behind-the-scene footage of Ya'Ke, members of the Wyeth Quartet, and me recording the music used in the film.
Wolf (2012)
Another film directed by Ya'Ke, Wolf premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2012. It tells the story of a family that is shaken to the core when they discover that their son has been molested.
Watch the film on Amazon (free with Amazon Prime)
Press Links:
IndieWire (Feb. 14, 2014)
Smells Like Screen Spirit (Feb. 2014)
A dramatic scene from the middle of the film.
Katrina's Son (2011)
2012 Academy Award Eligible
Black Reel Award, Best Indie Short
Best Narrative Short, Austin Film Festival
Best Cinematography, DC Shorts Film Festival
Audience Choice Award, DC Shorts Film Festival
Best Short Narrative, Urbanworld Film Festival
Best of the Texas Show, Dallas Video Festival
The Preston E. Smith Award, Flatland Film Festival
Grand Jury Award, SAL Film Festival
Best Texas Film, Texas Black Film Festival
Audience Choice Award, Texas Black Film Festival
Best San Antonio Film, The San Antonio Film Festival
Best Short (Honorable Mention), Kansas City Film Festival
Best Short (Honorable Mention) Urban Mediamakers Film Festival
Best Short (Finalist) USA Film Festival
This is the trailer for a 14-minute short film I scored for electric guitar and electronics in 2010 called Katrina's Son, directed by Ya'Ke Smith.
When a young boy loses his grandmother during Hurricane Katrina, he travels to San Antonio, Texas, in search of the mother who abandoned him years earlier. Paul Metzger performs on electric guitar.
Watching You (2010)
A collaboration with Dallas filmmaker Bart Weiss resulted in Watching You--a piece created for the Expanded Cinema portion of Dallas Video Fest. The video was projected onto both sides of the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas (hence the long, unusual video format) and the music was broadcast simultaneously on 91.7 KXT.
TV and Advertising
Alkemista (2018)
I had about one day to write three minutes of music for this 2017 Alkemista Kickstarter video. Not having a lot of experience in this corporate style, I decided to follow the product and write something that brings out the futuristic, metallic nature of the metal infuser. After the Kickstarter launched, Kickstarter.com gave the idea a 'Products We Love' design award and put a link on the Kickstarter.com front page, causing the product to raise well above their original goal.
The Great Divide (2010)
This is a short advertisement I scored for Bill White when he was running for Governor of Texas in 2010 against Rick Perry.