Post-Graduate Life Part III (Summer 2019!!)
Hello Everyone,
It’s been a while! Apologies for this being the first blog post since February. I have a lot to talk about!
First off, I am proud to say that I am the recipient of the Thouron Award. With the Thouron I will attend the University of Edinburgh for a one-year master’s program in film composition. I start in September. I am so thrilled by this opportunity and so appreciate to the Thouron family and the University of Pennsylvania because without the incredibly generous funding through the Thouron Award, none of this would be possible. So thank you.
I’m also really ecstatic because I am currently scoring three incredible films!
The first is an animated short film by Dennis Kim. I scored Dennis’s animated short “e.i.: emotional intelligence” back in 2016 which is still one of my favorite films that I have composed for. For this new short, I am employing the use of analog synthesizers as well as more orchestral elements like strings. The piano also figures in quite prominently, just like in “e.i.”. So excited for this short to be released!
The second film I’m working on is co-written and co-directed by Lucy Nebeker and her brother Max Nebeker. It is absolutely incredible. I don’t want to reveal too much about it right now, but I can tell you that for the score I’ve really been experimenting. For example, the film is very grounded in nature and I decided to do live recordings of natural things and then edit them in Logic. For example, I recorded myself breaking a stick, running my hand along rushes in my backyard and also the sound of running water. Then, when we were visiting my grandparents in Troy, Ohio, my brother and I recorded the sounds of corn at our family farm. Gabriel slapped the corn, ran his hand through it, and also even rotated a piece of metal. These sounds were elevated by further editing in Logic, and I then created small loops out of them to create a percussive element. My brother Alec also recorded fantastic guitar and drum parts for the score. The short film is in the last few weeks of post, and I can’t wait to release the soundtrack for it soon!
Finally, I’m composing the score for a virtual reality film about Puerto Rico and the effects of Hurricane Maria. It is a fantastic project that was directed by Peter Decherney and Jean Lee. The score is still in the early goings at the moment, but I can tell you that I have been doing extensive research into Puerto Rican music and in particular the drum rhythms in bomba and plena music. Alec has also recorded wonderful guitar parts for the early demos of the score.
I’m so thrilled by all three of these projects. This is one of the reasons why I love this job. I get to meet and work with amazingly creative people who are making meaningful projects. Such an absolute pleasure!
Once I get to Scotland I will definitely try to keep this blog more consistent. Anyways, thanks for reading!
Your’s Musically,
Nicholas Escobar