Custom compositions: original scores are being used in spots, TV shows, indie films and videogames

Post, Nov, 2004 by Christine Bunish

But Clausen, who had also done feature film work, was a newcomer to animation. "When I met with [series createor] Matt Groening, he told me not to look at The Simpsons as a cartoon," Clausen recalls. "The concept was to score the show as a drama whose characters are drawn. Matt said, 'I always want you to score the emotion first and the action second.' That made me comfortable with them and them with me."

Clausen not only underscores each season's 22 episodes, he writes all the original songs, the quirky changes to Danny Elfman's signature theme--there are 12 different sax solos for Lisa alone--and the constantly-changing, musical styles for the opening title's couch gag. Of his 25 Emmy nominations, 18 have been for his Simpsons music and he chalked up two wins for the series.

"'The Simpsons lets me do what I do virtually unencumbered," he notes. "They give talent relatively free rein to do their work. It's an inspirational work environment." Underscores are done during post production when episodes are almost complete with dialogue and temporary sound effects in place. Songs are created in pre-pro, as early as seven months in advance, recorded by the cast voices and sent to the animators.

Clausen says his work "never falls into a predictable groove. I have to be at the top of my game every episode." Last season he wrote four songs in the style of Andrew Lloyd Webber for The President Wore Pearls, an Evita take-off that found Lisa running for student body president. He always enjoys composing Sideshow Bob episodes because "they ask me to score them in the grand film score traditions of Bernard Hermann, and I get to make more of a musical arc with the story."

The unpredictable nature of his work has also included recording Bono and U2, and, just recently, recording pieces of Miles Davis's "Birth of the Cool" album of 1948 as source music for Bart and Milhouse.

Clausen has used Sibelius notational software for the last three years. "For a long time I was a pencil, paper and eraser guy at the piano," he reports. He learned to use MOTU's Mosaic program, but when updates were no longer available he migrated to Sibelius. "If I orchestrate my own scores I use Sibelius. I compose a four-line sketch to keep me honest, orchestrate the sketch with Sibelius and fax my completed orchestral score to the music preparation department for copying," he explains. "If I'm short on time I write a nine-line sketch with pencil and paper and fax it to the orchestrator. I try to be as detailed as possible to keep control of the orchestral content."

Clausen enjoys the rarity of having a 35-piece orchestra at his disposal. "There aren't many shows with orchestras today," he says. "Matt [Groening] says acoustic music smoothes out the animation and gives it a touch of class it wouldn't otherwise have."

PUNCTUAL SOUNDS

With offices in Chicago and Santa Monica, Comma Music & Sound Design's five composers--Larry Pecorella, Bryan Rheude. Dave Hutten, Justin Hori and Pete Schmidt--specialize in spot music for advertisers like Orbit Gum, Dodge and Morgan Stanley.