Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004) was a composer of film scores whose work I listened to fervently as a teenager, long before I worked in visual effects, but I was already dreaming of a career in film. If I could have articulated what kind of career I wanted, it would have been his. An artist, craftsman, always learning, part of the filmmaking team, working on all kinds of films, widely respected.
The man and his work aren’t a household name in the same way as, say, John Williams, although he did compose iconic themes to classic TV shows such as The Waltons, Dr Kildare, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I like to say that John Williams is the leading man to Jerry Goldsmith’s character actor; work that blends into a movie rather than stand out, but once you clue into it you realise just how much he brings to it.
I recently watched some archival interviews with Jerry conducted not long before his death as well as footage from various scoring sessions through the years. Watching him and listening to his stories I found myself drawing parallels between his work and my own, now that I have a few years in visual effects under my best (though very short compared to his half-century long career). Here are some lessons that I gleaned from it, told over the week.
The man and his work aren’t a household name in the same way as, say, John Williams, although he did compose iconic themes to classic TV shows such as The Waltons, Dr Kildare, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I like to say that John Williams is the leading man to Jerry Goldsmith’s character actor; work that blends into a movie rather than stand out, but once you clue into it you realise just how much he brings to it.
I recently watched some archival interviews with Jerry conducted not long before his death as well as footage from various scoring sessions through the years. Watching him and listening to his stories I found myself drawing parallels between his work and my own, now that I have a few years in visual effects under my best (though very short compared to his half-century long career). Here are some lessons that I gleaned from it, told over the week.
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FIVE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM JERRY GOLDSMITHS CAREER THAT MAKE ME A BETTER ARTIST
#1. YOU’LL SPEND YOUR CAREER WORKING ON MOSTLY BAD MOVIES
I like to say that Jerry Goldsmith made the best music to the worst movies, often in the shadow of more prominent ones, but that never stopped him from doing an amazing job. John Williams got Superman, The Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno. Jerry got Supergirl and The Swarm. Bernard Herrmann scores Psycho, Jerry gets Psycho II. The list is almost endless. And yet, when you listen to his scores, you wouldn’t know that the movies weren’t good – his scores are complex, sensitive, exciting, authentic, artistic.