A Q&A with Sundance Film Composer Fellow, composer Kathryn Bostic

Image
  1. Kathryn, you have several interesting projects going on right now. The ABC series “Women of the Movement” is now available to stream on HULU, and you had a few films at TRIBECA this year, including “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks,” “After Selma: The Lowndes County Freedom Party” and “LIFT”. All important and meaningful projects that are timely. How do you go about choosing your projects?

    I feel fortunate that many of the projects I create music for resonate with my own instincts of humanity and how we choose to walk in this world.  What is the moral compass that guides a person’s life, their choices and how does this impact all of us. These films highlight how important and powerful collective consciousness can be and how important and impactful individual choice can be as well.

  2. You often have projects that screen at festivals such as Sundance and Tribeca. We often get asked by young composers about going to a film festival. How important do you think it is for composers to attend such festivals, to support their filmmakers and with what attitude/ energy to you go to the festival?

    I think it’s essential to find your community of creative people and inspiration, so a film festival is a great way to connect with a wide range of talent both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.  Filmmaking is a collaborative effort so being able to support a production you’ve been a part of is important.  I also think it’s very important to be open and meet people who may not typically be in the area of your expertise.  I have had so many great experiences and opportunities where I least expected.

     

  3. The historical drama “Women of the Movement” centers on Till-Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her murdered son. We heard you talk about you score being a “sonic conversation” for this series. Could you please elaborate what you mean with that?

    For me music is my way of responding and interacting to an emotional charge, and emotional arc of a scene or particular character, so it’s a conversation I’m having with the footage as I’m watching it; or a sound/foley as I’m hearing it.   How do I want the audience to feel?  Is the music more of a “quiet” bystander in conversation or more demonstrative. The nuancing is really important because I want to leave enough space for the audience to react without telling them how to feel.  A good conversation is one where there is a give and take, and for me this is an important aspect of film scoring.  This is a sonic conversation.

  4. What conversations did you have with show creator Marissa Jo Cerar on how to capture a mother’s love, loss and her fight to make sure her son would not be forgotten musically and how to find the right tone?

    “MJ” had very clear ideas about when to nuance the music emotionally without being too heavy handed that it distracted from the performances. But there were also times where there needed to be a musical build and cadence to reflect the intensity of the scene.  We used a wide range of music: orchestral,  regional -both Chicago blues, southern /Delta, ambient electronic textures, vocals, whatever was appropriate for the scene.

  5. You often score documentaries and have some at Tribeca this year. Could you talk a little bit about finding a balance between supporting the narrative but also giving space when scoring for docs?

    Again, music for me is conversation so giving that space for silence and dialogue is really important so that the underscore doesn’t become overwhelming.  A lot of it has to do with what the director wants, the ebb and flow of the score. The timing is crucial as there are moments when the stark silence of the environment or what’s being said is all that’s needed.

  6. Beside working in film & television you also compose concert music. Could you talk a bit about the difference in your creative approach scoring for the concert hall vs. scoring for visual media?

    The concert and symphonic pieces I’ve written lately are based on themes that I want to create a musical narrative.  I have much more musical range because I am not putting dialogue or other elements in the foreground of this narrative (unless I want to have these elements there); so I have a lot more leeway and more range to let the music be the focal point of the way the story unfolds.  The intention is more about the music itself, exclusively .  It’s a huge canvas of opportunity musically.

    Check out Kathryn’s AWFC profile.

    Interview by Thomas Mikusz

     

Spotlight Archive

Samantha van der Sluis (May 29, 2023)
Britlin Lee Furst (March 22, 2023)
Charlotte McMillan (March 7, 2023)
Ching-Shan Chang (February 13, 2023)
Erica Porter (January 18, 2023)
Maria Molinari (November 13, 2022)
S. J. Jananiy (November 6, 2022)
Min He (October 8, 2022)
Lisbeth Scott (September 22, 2022)
Kate Diaz (September 14, 2022)
Ellie Parker (September 7, 2022)
Freya Arde (August 19, 2022)
Rebecca Nisco (August 9, 2022)
Emily Frances Ippolito (August 1, 2022)
Lara Serafin (July 19, 2022)
Chanda Dancy (July 7, 2022)
Natalie Litza (June 30, 2022)
Kathryn Bostic (June 21, 2022)
Alexandra Petkovski (June 15, 2022)
Chanell Crichlow (June 7, 2022)
Aiko Fukushima (May 24, 2022)
Yasaman Ghodsi (May 17, 2022)
Denisse Ojeda (May 10, 2022)
Hyesu Wiedmann (May 4, 2022)
Valerie Capers (April 30, 2022)
Brigitte Dajczer (April 18, 2022)
Sila Shaman (April 11, 2022)
Kristina A. Bishoff (April 4, 2022)
Alina Nenasheva (March 25, 2022)
Michelle Richards (March 17, 2022)
Gina Biver (March 5, 2022)
Alexa L. Borden (February 23, 2022)
Martina Eisenreich (February 18, 2022)
Nomi Abadi (February 9, 2022)
Natasa Paulberg (January 31, 2022)
Alison Plante (January 25, 2022)
Zeina Azouqah (November 29, 2021)
EmmoLei Sankofa (November 24, 2021)
Lisa Downing (November 16, 2021)
Becca Schack (November 9, 2021)
Raashi Kulkarni (November 1, 2021)
Shirley Song and Jina An (October 25, 2021)
Jimena Martìnez Sáez (October 16, 2021)
Layal Watfeh (October 4, 2021)
Laura Cannell (October 1, 2021)
Connor Cook (September 21, 2021)
Suad Bushnaq (September 14, 2021)
Zinovia Arvanitidi (September 7, 2021)
Susan Marder (September 2, 2021)
Susan M. Lockwood (August 26, 2021)
Angie Rubin (August 19, 2021)
Gabrielle Helfer (August 12, 2021)
Sarah Angliss (August 2, 2021)
Macy Schmidt (July 26, 2021)
Virginia Kilbertus (July 22, 2021)
Alicia Enstrom (July 14, 2021)
Julia Piker (July 5, 2021)
Nainita Desai (June 24, 2021)
Rebecca Kneubuhl (June 21, 2021)
Lindsay Wright (June 14, 2021)
Jessica Rae Huber (June 3, 2021)
Karin Zielinski (May 25, 2021)
Raphaelle Thibaut (May 17, 2021)
Michaela Eremiasova (May 10, 2021)
Sarah Robinson (May 3, 2021)
Denise Santos (April 26, 2021)
Talynn Kuyumjian (April 19, 2021)
Jennifer Thomas (April 12, 2021)
Wei-San Hsu (April 5, 2021)
Lili Haydn (March 29, 2021)
Tangelene Bolton (March 16, 2021)
Lauren Buchter (March 8, 2021)
Daisy Coole (March 2, 2021)
Cindy O’Connor (February 22, 2021)
Aurélie Webb (February 16, 2021)
Joy Ngiaw (February 8, 2021)
Crystal Grooms Mangano (February 1, 2021)
Daphne Gampel (January 26, 2021)
Rebekka Karijord (January 11, 2021)