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Frankenkinder

I just finished the score for a graduate student film, Frankenkinder.  It is written and directed by Anastasia Basche, who is in her second year in the graduate Film & Video program.  She and I have collaborated twice before, and are now crossing our fingers as we prepare Frankenkinder for festival submissions.  Keep your fingers crossed…

The Story

Frankenkinder revolves around a mother who gives birth to a green child, Frank.  The film is shot and edited in such a way that the audience rarely sees Frank full-on.  Her life before Frank is one of happiness and hope.

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After Frank is born, his mother realizes she will have to live the rest of her life dealing with a child who is completely different than all the other children, as well as anyone else in the world.  At first, she tries to interact with the other mothers normally, bringing Frank to playgroup.  The result is aversion and disgust.

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Frank’s mother begins to resent him, and from there the film takes off into provocative and what I assume will be controversial territory.  The film itself is well acted and beautifully color corrected.

The Music

It was an interesting challenge to tackle the emotional requirements of the film.  On the one hand, I needed to humanize the mother, as she was put into a permanent situation that she had no control over that changed her life forever.  On the other hand, her actions toward her child result in some horrible things, and it was these things that really drove the emotional core of the music.

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It was tempting to go with a Rosemary’s Baby type of score, using a female voice in lullabye-type music.  But this practice is now considered overused and dated, and would also lend an inappropriately supernatural element to the film, similar to The Omen.  I chose to use harp harmonics as my main instrument, occasionally accompanied by solo violin.  The harmonics on a harp can sound very eerie, and definitely work for the film.  The themes themselves are simplistic in nature, and could easily be played by a child.  This works towards Frank’s character.  Metallic percussion serves to underscore the mother during her darker scenes.

Mixing

The final mix of the film is one of the most important stages of post production.  The director, producers, sound department, and music department sit down and mix the dialog, sound effects, and music together so that all the levels are correct.

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Columbia’s film department has fantastic mixing stages.  Mixing is a time consuming process, but can ruin a perfectly good film when done incorrectly.  It is important to have the right facilities and equipment to do this effectively.

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Decisions get made during the mix that can change the overall mood of individual scenes, or even the entire film itself.  While the music and sound department might have different opinions (all composers want their music to play loud), it is ultimately up to the director to make the final choice as to the main artistic vision of the project.

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Look for Frankenkinder  soon!