DB) Hello! Thank you for letting me be your Composer Spotlight for this month, its a great privilege as I really appreciate your site.

I was born in 1988 and am the oldest child out of six which is great fun as we all play musical instruments to a high standard and enjoy playing together. None of us were ever pressurized by my parents to take up an instrument, it just sort of happened, and the brilliant thing is that everyone plays a different instrument from each other so I've been surrounded by the timbres and repertoire of different instruments from a very young age! I play the trumpet and piano and was inspired to start composing by the musical director of my church, Raymond Smith, who composed musicals and anthems which we would then perform at venues like the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. I started composing by writing short musicals which my sisters and I performed at Christmas before then moving on to composing worship songs and anthems for special occasions. I bought my first copy of the music notation software 'Sibelius' after busking throughout the summer holiday to raise the money! Suddenly I was able to produce scores much more quickly and easily and this then led to writing music for small ensembles and then eventually on to my first orchestral work in 2005, Aurora. The piece won a composing competition and this was the turning point for me, opening up many more opportunities in the concert music field and and kick starting my career as a composer! I'm currently based in the UK, near Manchester and am studying for a degree in Humanities, Music and Media Studies through the Open University alongside the Music for the Media course, whilst writing music on a regular basis for projects ranging from animation to action shorts, documentaries, audio dramas and games.

SN) When did you first realize that you wanted to be a film composer?

DB) The first time I realised I wanted to be a film composer was watching the 'Wallace and Gromit' short film 'The Wrong Trousers'. A great fun score by Julian Nott, but it was in the scene when Gromit leaves home in the pouring rain when I noticed film music for the first time, and the effect it could have on how you felt (I was crying my eyes out!!) The first time I began to think it was a possibility for me as a career was back in 2005 when I won a composing award and my tone poem 'Aurora' was performed by a professional orchestra. Lots of people came up to me afterwards and said how much they enjoyed the piece and how filmic it was and that gave me the encouragement to look for my first project and move away from writing purely for concert.

SN) Who are some of your key musical influences?

DB) I find it very difficult to pin down my major influences, mainly because I like such a lot of different composers and styles! Elgar and Beethoven are two of my favourite 'classical' composers, alongside composers such as Karl Jenkins. Other film composers I particular admire are Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams and James Newton Howard alongside David Arnold, Dario Marianelli and Murray Gold. I'm really into a folk band called 'Bellowhead' who I recently saw live and who are just fantastic, so fresh and exciting! In complete contrast to this I enjoy listening to John Rutter and rock/pop Christian artists such as Matt Redman and Tim Hughes. I've found that composing for the media often requires you to think and compose outside your comfort zone and in styles you're not always familiar with, so listening to lots of different styles is essential and opens your ears to lots of different possibilities.

SN) As a composer who has worked in the independent arena, what are some of the bigger challenges you face when dealing with projects that have a modest budget?

DB) The biggest challenge is actually getting paid for the work you do! People say you should never work for free but I'm with David Arnold on this one, if you love something that much you want to be doing it all the time and trying new ideas out whether you get paid or not. I'm getting to the stage now though where people are starting to come to me for work, which is fantastic! With little or no budget the biggest challenge is funding the technology and equipment you need in order to complete the project. For each project so far I've had to buy a new sample library to be able to complete the project in the way I envision it. Sari's Journey was my first foray into writing 'action' music for a film and I knew it required a specific sound so this involved buying a new powerful percussion sample library and a female vocal library.

SN) Can you tell us a little bit about your music for the film, "Sari's Journey" as well as where listeners can purchase the score (along with some of your other works)?

DB) I knew from the outset that Sari's Journey would require a completely different sound and style to my previous films. The initial brief was for a 'Transformers' - esque score and a lot of the temp track used music from this film. To get the job I mocked up two cues in this style which were very well received, but I think at some point during the editing process the director decided he wanted something slightly different which was great because I'd already had some of my own ideas! I'm very instinctive in my approach to a scene and whilst I usually receive a copy of the film with a temp track, as in this case, I rarely listen to it as it influences your choices so much. For Sari's Journey I didn't listen to the temp track at all, I wanted to develop my own sound for the film and so started from scratch. The idea of it being one woman's journey to find her fiancee who is serving with the resistance movement inspired me to think about how I could tell the same story within the music and so I eventually settled on the solo female vocal sound. The female vocal represents Sari and her inmost thoughts and concerns as she copes with the turmoil around her. The soundtrack itself is a mixture of quieter, reflective music as Sari dreams of her fiancee mixed with the adrenaline and excitement of the action cues. To purchase the score you can visit my music download website at www.arkade.com/danielbrett where you can also buy my score to another short film 'Pacific'. Both are completely different projects, but I had a fantastic time working on both of them, hope you enjoy them! My actual website is at www.daniel-brett.co.uk where you can read news of current projects and listen to samples of my music.

SN) As you project ahead, where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

DB) 5 years is a long time! I began writing music for films back in 2005 and have been very blessed to be able to work on so many diverse projects in both the media and concert music world. Ideally in five years time I'd like to be writing music for full length projects on limited release with a view to moving into the mainstream. We'll see where it goes though! I'd also be very happy writing music for television on a regular basis, or working on some more music for videogames, just have to see what opens up!

SN) Many soundtrack fans often wonder what a composer's opinion is on other works within the medium. In closing, can you share your favorite soundtracks of 2008 with us?

DB) Certainly! I love listening to new soundtracks so here are my top five of 2008 so far!

In no particular order:
The Dark Knight - love the collaberation between Zimmer and Newton Howard and the way they created such an amazing soundworld.

Prince Caspian - Harry Gregson-Williams produced what I think is a sequel score even better than its predecessor. I love the way he wove new and old themes together to create a fresh sounding album that still felt it belonged to the Narnia world. Very excited to hear what David Arnold does with the next one!

Torchwood - soundtrack by Murray Gold and Ben Foster for the Doctor Who spin-off. Beautiful score with some amazing tender and emotional moments as well as exciting action cues.

Kung Fu Panda - Just fun! Yet another genius collaberation, this time between Zimmer and Powell. Fantastic to have two such high profile composers writing for animation.

Quantum of Solace - most recent download but already a firm favourite, David Arnold manages to produce yet another fantastic Bond soundtrack that fits perfectly in that world, but still manages to be fresh and exciting. Brilliant!

Soundtrack I'm most looking forward to?
Doctor Who Series 4 by Murray Gold - I just love the sheer exuberance and versatility of his music for the series!

SN) Thank you for the great interview, Daniel. We look forward to hearing more of your terrific work in the future!