It all depends on the directors. Working closely with a director is the main job of a film composer. Interpreting what he perceives as a color, an emotion or mood is very abstract. A director tells you something he wants and then you have to run back...

Danny Elfman

Categorized in : Jobs Running Color

For me, writing something in the spirit of Halloween is like Mother Teresa writing on charity and sacrifice. It's just second nature to me.

Danny Elfman

halloween mother writing

It often feels like a tremendous amount of work is required to get an idea moving forward, like pushing a train uphill. But at a certain point, the thing takes on its own momentum, and takes unexpected turns. So it's that feeling of holding on, rather than pushing it, that is the most exciting thing. It's that need to occasionally bounce off the walls, letting anything happen for any reason, and having nothing to guide you that is the joy.

Danny Elfman

wall ideas moving

I'm trying to interpret the film through the director's head, but it all comes out through me. So, a composer is kind of like a psychic medium.

Danny Elfman

psychics trying directors

The idea of performing some of Jack Skellington's songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas live for the very first time is immensely exciting.

Danny Elfman

song ideas firsts

You hear the beginning of a melody, you should kind of know it's going to lead down this path. It should start feeling like a friend, like familiar.

Danny Elfman

kind path feelings

I'm so happy dancing while the grim reaper

Danny Elfman

cutting clever death

If there's one thing I really love... it's sad music.

Danny Elfman

sad-music one-thing ifs

You have to write a good score that you feel good about. At least, you're supposed to. But, if the director hates it, it ain't going to be in the movie!

Danny Elfman

feel-good hate writing

Sometimes on a film you just become taken with the fact that, all right this is as rough as it gets, but I'm going to support my general and I'm going to do the very best I can for him because he's a good general and I like him.

Danny Elfman

support taken facts

I don't see myself necessarily having a burning desire to write a symphony.

Danny Elfman

symphony desire writing

I would have to say I might do some stuff, but it's the film that's appealing. I was raised on film. My musical experience is all via film, it's not from classical music.

Danny Elfman

musical stuff might

You'll never get me into a tux. Not until I'm dead and I have no choice because that's what the undertaker put me in.

Danny Elfman

undertaker choices

It sounds really stupid, I hate making cosmic comments like this but, I just let it do what it wants to do.

Danny Elfman

hate stupid sound

The first thing I do is lay out that melody and figure out how it has to hold here and then finish to land here, because you know in advance you're going to want the melody to catch four things in the action.

Danny Elfman

four land want

So, it becomes an exercise in futility if you write something that does not express the film as the director wishes. It's still their ball game. It's their show. I think any successful composer learns how to dance around the director's impulses.

Danny Elfman

successful exercise writing

I think that's one of the things that has always put me in kind of an odd niche. It's that all of my understanding of orchestral music is via film, not via classical music like it's supposed to be. To me it's the same, it doesn't make any difference.

Danny Elfman

differences understanding thinking

Nothing bad ever happens, why should I care?

Danny Elfman

care should happens

Or certainly I would need time - which I would love to have but there almost never is on a film - to just spend a week with a roomful of guys laying down these patterns.

Danny Elfman

patterns guy needs

Doing Tim's film is always going to be the most pleasure. Let me just put it that way. So, without drawing favorites one way or the other, getting back with him and doing Mars Attacks! was certainly a special treat.

Danny Elfman

mars drawing special

In Tim's films, more than most, if you miss the tone, you don't get the film.

Danny Elfman

tone film missing-you