Dante Nahai / Staff Writer
While the musical score for both film and television is greatly appreciated by audiences today, not many understand the journey the composer undergoes in order to discover its soundtrack.
Emmy-winning composer and FIU alumni, Carlos Rivera, has gone on to score popular Netflix series like “Godless” and the upcoming “The Queen’s Gambit.”
After obtaining his bachelors in music composition from FIU in 1996, he then pursued his doctorate at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.
“When I write music it’s based on the writing,” Rivera said. “During the whole pre-production stage of the project I’ve been writing the score.”
Once filming starts the composer receives dailies–scenes of the show shot on that day during filming. This gives a visual idea of what the actors look like and how they sound.
“This helps me compare the ideas I had in my head versus what everyone looks like. The score is constantly evolving from pre to post production.”
During post production some specific parts of the score needs a rewrite. For example, in a particular scene it is raining and due to it the score isn’t as loud or impactful as it needs to be.
“It changes the environment you are writing in,” Rivera said, “so when it happens the whole process becomes exciting to me.”
Though Rivera plays a valuable role in creating the score, he is still one of hundreds usually involved in such productions, and a film or show is only as good as the amount of effort put behind the scenes.
“Since it isn’t all just me. I’m part of this bigger thing, and I have to help that bigger thing be as clear and accessible to the audience and how the director wants it to be perceived.”
When it comes to the first process of writing a score, the composer is told about it a few years before the show or movie will debut.
Rivera has been working with oscar-nominated director and screenwriter Scott Frank for his past few projects which include “Godless”, “A Walk Among the Tombstones”, and now “The Queen’s Gambit”, a Netflix mini series focusing on a young chess prodigy during the Cold War.
“When I get the screenplay and begin to read it, I figure out which parts need music,” Rivera said. “Most of the time it is very clear which scene will need music. I make an iMovie from the screenplay and once I see it I score that movie.”
Scoring a soundtrack is a laborious task but Rivera revealed that for the most part he works on the score by himself.
He does bring in some help from cellist Shea Kole, Joy Adams and violinist Siobhan Kronin, to help him share and fully realize his ideas.
Once everything is in post production, Rivera then works with a team consisting of a music editor and an orchestrator. The team does grow the more pressure is on the film or show.
When it came to finding his career in music scoring, Rivera mentioned how going through an academic path in music composition helps prepare one for the opportunities that come.
“Film scoring was not something I studied at FIU, I studied guitar and music composition. The schools I went to are what gave me the experience,” says Rivera. “It is the life experience that leads you to becoming employed.”
Rivera first collaborated with Frank when he was the director’s guitar teacher.
“What I noticed as I got older is everyone’s story is this series of events that lead to the path you’re taking,” Rivera said. “It’s never been a direct line for me which is why I’m grateful.”
Rivera’s experience at FIU also gave him a valuable lesson in determination, allowing him to become resolved in his creative path.
“What I gained at FIU was resilience. I was challenged constantly by my professors to do better than what I was. To defend the work I was making and what I was writing. If it was indefensible I learned it the hard way.”
And it was the same teaching job that led Rivera into his first scoring job with Frank.
“It’s interesting many of my scoring jobs came from my teaching. But technically one of my student’s fathers gave me my first scoring job for a demo. This is where I first learned how to score for a picture.”
Finding a career in any aspect of film whether it be director, screenwriter, producer, or composure is not something that has a straight career path.
Unlike medicine or law there is no specific school for these careers. With an uncertainty of finding an opportunity in that field there will always be resistance by family.
“My parents always supported me, but they were worried about my career choice. I did not understand it until I myself became a parent.”
That’s not to say that Rivera’s career was a smooth sailing experience. “It was financially difficult for many years,” Rivera said, “but you need to stay committed to it and I lived happily ever after.”
While the work can often become stressful, it is nevertheless an exciting and fulfilling experience for the composer.
“In my years of doing this there have been ups and downs, and when you’re living the dream you really are. When it’s good it’s great, when it’s bad it’s a nightmare.”
The upcoming series Rivera scored for, “The Queen Gambit,” can be viewed on Netflix on Oct. 23.
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