We all remember it – the very first time we saw a movie that
completely blew our minds. Maybe it was
even the film that drove us to know
what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. It didn't have to be anything critically acclaimed. If the first movie to blow you away was
Citizen Kane, you are either a dirty, dirty liar, or didn't see your first flick
until you took that "film appreciation" class in college. No, I'm talking about the first colorful, or
thrilling, or wondrous experience you had – probably before your feet could
even touch the sticky soda (please God, let it just be soda) covered theater
floor.
My name
is John Jesensky, and I’m a film composer (hold your applause). This isn't an AA meeting, but it might as
well be. Either way, horrible life
decisions, long periods of hazy perspective, and a self-destructive personality
drove me to become a film composer in this economy. You know what though? I don't want to talk about all of that
garbage. I don't want to hear what rig
you are using (I'm sure your grandma is proud of it), I don't care who you
interned for (though if they are looking for an assistant, please forward my
invisible resume).
This blog is not a place to discuss
our technical and job-based problems of being a composer. This place is meant to be a storm shelter;
refuge for weary travelers. We are often
so busy being "professionals" that we don't take the time to just
drop the pessimism and just talk
about the movies and music we love ("dig" for you Village-types…I
know who you are.)
My mind was blown by Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles (1990). Afterwards, I had
to lay in the bathtub of sketchy farmhouse for a week while a wayward drifter poured
water on me – that's how much that movie kicked the crap out of my feeble
brain. To be fair, part of the wonder
was probably brought on by the pain meds I was on. See, on that day, I was helping my dad chop
wood out in the front yard. Guess which
dumb 6 year old decided to run over to his dad mid-swing. It is by the grace of God that I have the two
thumbs to point at myself and say "this guy!"
I escaped my near de-handing with a
slightly worse than normal cut (I grew up in the 80's…my parents put a Band-Aid
on it and sent me on my way), and was taken to see Ninja Turtles by my would-be
executioner/father. This was the very
first movie I had the privilege to watch in the theaters – on the "big
screen." As I slowly bled out (did
I mention I was viciously attacked by an axe maniac?) I got to see my childhood
bloom before my very eyes.
Is the movie great? I can attest after a recent viewing in SoHo
(I told you, I know who you are, hipsters) that the movie is absolutely as
great as I remember. It's not Citizen
Kane…but who cares? This is a movie that
aimed, no, dared to place 4
self-respecting men in overheated rubber turtle suits and make them perform
dance/martial arts for us. I don't
recall Charles Foster Kane ever donning a turtle suit for my amusement, and I
feel like that needs to be noted.
So that's that - I'm John Jesensky,
I'm a film composer, and my first limb loss/film viewing experience was Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles when I was 6 years old.
This is just an introductory post.
You can expect me to blab on about movie and score topics that I find to
be interesting, enlightening, or even angering.
But, for the love of God, I will not be talking about how great one DAW
is, and how Protools keeps crashing on me.
I get enough of that when I'm working.
Please, respond to any and all of the junk I write, and let's all have a
good time talking about some of the things that made us want to be in this
industry in the first place. Meet some peers;
make some new friends; let your opinion be heard. We all chose this path in life for a reason,
and I refuse to believe that it was all because of the crystal meth and
promises of lifetime access to The Magic Castle.
John Ross Jesensky
You chose this life for the women and the money, obviously...
ReplyDeleteJohn, the thumbing is a ritual initiation to life from all fathers of 6-year olds. If not an ax, it could be a bed of poison ivy ( and subsequent bed of pain and boils ). Hope your music piece is going to be a great short ! ( and the visual is great -- only I wish you had done it in a MacDonald play pen as the guys on Big Bang Theory did in one memorable closing scene... bazinga !!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have to admit my love for Citizen Kane, but quite right, it was not the first film that had a profound effect on me (but no, I did not see it in art apprecietion class; caught it on late night during one of my frequent bouts of insomnia, something I suspect many serious music production people have).
ReplyDeleteThe first film my sketchy memory dredges up that had a profound effect was 'Jaws', mercifully (or unmercifully) seen on the Big Screen in 1974. Aside from the well executed tension of the scenes, I do believe it was my initiation into the power of the musical score in film.
Since then, I have seen many films that excelled with the help of a great score, andsome that would have been a lot better with even a passable one. I've felt the frustration of knowing how much better a film could have been if the music (and sound design) were better, or simply more appropriate. I know that budget often plays a role in this shortcoming, yet I wonder at some directors & producers that give short shrift to the aural element of their creation. After all, sound is a huge aprt of the immersive experience. To think the audience will not notice is to underestimate the power of sound.
I've enjoyed sci-fi flicks with cheesy fx and great music more than the converse. 'Alien' has some visually embaressing moments by today's standards, yet it holds up partly due to the poignant, isolating and often terrifying score. The sucess of 2001 was unquestionably due to the inclusion of Ligeti & Katchaturian, not to mention the now much parodied 'Also Sprach Zarathustra', the last a clear example of the power of music in film.
You make absolutely wonderful points about the effectiveness of properly utilized scores in film. Jaws is a great way to get "bitten...har har" by the film scoring bug. A lot of people over-simplify the complexity of the music John Williams composed for that film - indicating that it was only two notes. Even WIlliams is guilty of this. The animalistic brutality he sought to conjure was achieved through the tonal colors of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
DeleteA lot of people complain when film composers use the same colors, or orchestration of a classical work in their film scores. To me, if it's done correctly, it's a stroke of brilliance to be able to recognize WHY that classical piece evokes the mood you want, and to emulate the essence of that work - adding it to the tapestry of your own score.
You seem very well-versed in the film music scene, and I look forward to hearing more from you as this blog grows and grows in the future!