A great film score does more than just accompany the picture; it acts as the subconscious of the story, revealing what the characters can’t quite say out loud. For composer Grant Fonda, music is an act of translation—turning the invisible subtext of a script into a tangible, emotional landscape.Whether he is weaving Jewish musical idioms into the magical realism of 31 Candles or navigating the synthetic-meets-organic duality of Broken Mary, Fonda approaches every project with the mindset of a musicologist and the heart of a storyteller.We sat down with Fonda to discuss all this and more.Let's dive in. - YouTubewww.youtube.comNFS: How does the creative dialogue between you and Jonah (the director) usually begin, through script, theme, or emotional tone?Grant Fonda: Jonah and I always have a conversation about a project in its earliest stages. Whether he’s the writer/director or just the director, we’ll have a call to talk about all parts of the story, even down to the shooting schedule and how it impacts his creative trajectory. Then, he’ll send me the script to read and digest. After sitting with the story, I’ll start sketching themes, usually just with a single sung melodic line or on the piano, away from picture. Once I’ve sketched initial ideas that are resonating with me emotionally, I’ll send them to Jonah, and we’ll start talking about what resonates with him, also without picture. On every project, there’s always at least one or two themes that live in the final film in their original form;...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday