The Channel:
An Interview with Glenn Morrissette, 3rd Prize Winner
Turner Classic Movies' 2005 Young Film Composers Competition
by Terry Hardin
For the second consecutive year, Universal Audio was invited by our colleagues at Guitar Center Pro to help sponsor the 3rd prize in the annual Turner Classic Movies' Young Film Composers Competition. We were pleased to award Glenn Morrissette an LA-610 Classic Tube Recording Channel Strip and a UAD-1 Studio PAK as the prize for his composition. The Young Film Composers Competition (YFCC) provides each of the contestants the opportunity to choose one of four different 60-second silent film scenes from the Turner Classic Movie (TCM) vaults. Each of participants then composes a musical cue for the first (semi-final) round of competition. The competitors who advance to the final round are all provided the same 60-second scene to score. All of the contestants' creations are subjected to intense scrutiny by a panel of judges carefully chosen by TCM. The 2005 panel was headed up by award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, as well as TCM executives and the previous year's YFCC Grand Prize winner.
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Hans Zimmer escorted his daughter to the 2005 YFCC awards ceremony
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Glenn Morrissette is the talented musician and composer who was placed 3rd in the 2005 YFCC. (All of the finalists compositions were of such high caliber that I am certain the judges agonized over their final selections.) We asked him to answer a few questions about his career as a working composer/musician.
How did you hear about the Young Film Composers Competition?
2005 was my third year of entering the competition, and I honestly can't remember how I first learned about it in 2003. I suppose I probably saw an advertisement online somewhere.
Are film scores the primary application for your compositions?
In the past few years, the vast majority of my work has been for various media productions, including film, animation and video games. I am also a jazz saxophonist, and prior to getting into scoring films, I did quite a bit of composing in a jazz context.
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Glenn Morrissette
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I graduated from the University of Miami, Florida, with a degree in Studio Music and Jazz, where I had the good fortune to study composition and arranging with Ron Miller and Gary Lindsay, among others. I also studied for a short time with jazz composer Maria Schneider while living in New York City many years ago. As a result, the formal composition instruction I've received has almost entirely been from a jazz viewpoint, and pretty much everything I know that relates specifically to film scoring has come from lots of self study and good old fashioned trial and error.
What is your primary compositional tool?
While I still rely on pencil and paper as a fundamental part of my process, I have to admit that the computer fills such an irreplaceable role these days that it probably qualifies as my primary compositional tool.
What DAW do you use?
Logic Pro.
How important is technology to your composition process?
Unfortunately, I am not yet at a point in my career where I have access to a live orchestra whenever I need one, so there is simply no way I could do what I do without all of the amazing tools we composers have at our disposal today. As a result, because it provides a means to realize my compositions with such realism, technology is an absolutely critical part of the process for me.
What are you currently working on?
Right now I am working on an orchestral score for a children's video game, and I am also writing some abstract/ambient underscore for a fantasy/sci-fi audio book publisher. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum!
Nothing like a little project diversity to get the creative juices flowing. What are some of your music career highlights to date?
Prior to getting into composing for film and other media, I was mainly a professional saxophonist and educator for the better part of 15 years, during which time I worked with many prominent names, but the biggest highlight of my career so far as a composer was making it to the final round in this year's TCM competition. The whole experience provided me with an invaluable boost of confidence, and I think any creative professional would agree that this is a vital ingredient for success.
Have you had enough downtime to integrate the LA -610 and the UAD-1 Studio PAK into your studio setup?
Since the Young Film Composers Competition event this past summer, I haven't had enough time in between projects to risk any major upgrades to my studio, so I'm afraid the LA-610 and the UAD-1 are still tucked away in their boxes. How frustrating! In addition, I am planning to relocate all the way from North Carolina to Los Angeles in January, so things are mostly going in boxes rather than coming out of them! I am confident, however, that once I complete the move and get my studio set up, the LA-610 and the UAD-1 Studio PAK will soon be among my most favorite tools.
Will you be entering the competition again in 2006?
I turned 36 in 2005, so I will not be eligible to enter the competition in 2006. I suspect that I am not alone in my disagreement with TCM's definition of "young" as 35 and under, but alas, rules are rules.