Bruce Broughton
Over the course of a career that spans nearly four decades, Bruce Broughton has established-and maintained-a reputation as one of the premiere orchestral composers and arrangers in Hollywood. As a young man Broughton worked extensively in television (his first credit was on one of the last episodes of Gunsmoke). Director Lawrence Kasdan tapped him to score Silverado in 1985; Broughton’s epic Western score brought him an Oscar nomination and the attention of other film directors and producers. In the early 1990’s the composer’s set of cues for the game Heart Of Darkness formed the first orchestral game score in the history of that emerging industry. Broughton works out of his project studio in the LA area these days. Mix caught up with him while he was preparing to score a cable television show.
“My background prepared me to put ideas on paper and have other musicians realize them in the studio,” says Broughton. “But I love performing directly into the computer as well.” In the midst of remodeling his studio, Broughton has been experimenting with mixing, and plans to handle this project entirely on his own. “If I get in trouble I’ll call in a friend, though!”
When Broughton’s career was on the rise another Hollywood resident, Igor Stravinsky, was trying to get film work. Even though he wrote several pieces on spec, the giant of 20th century music never successfully completed a film score. Why?
“Interestingly, Stravinsky and other composers-Villa-Lobos, for example-all had an interest in writing for film. They just didn’t understand the work for hire concept, though. Film music is always an accompaniment-sometimes a very grand one, other times simple and quiet-but it’s always secondary. Concert music stands on its own. Some composers who are used to writing music that is itself the message have a hard time making the transition, others are more successful. Aaron Copeland wrote fabulous concert music and some very good film scores. Korngold, Rozsa, these composers also did well in the film business. But moving from one discipline to the other can be tricky.”
Born in Los Angeles to a family of musicians who all worked for the Salvation Army, Broughton went to music camps every summer when he was a buy. After high school he attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a degree in composition. “My real technique came, though, when I started working in television. Back in the 1960s, when I worked for CBS television, producers would use library music whenever they could. If they couldn’t find what they were looking for they’d ask the staff composers to write something for a specific scene.
“The first show I scored entirely by myself was an episode of Hawaii 5-0 in 1972. I wrote about 20 minutes of music for a group of 18 or 19 musicians, and my style stood out, I think, because I got an Emmy nomination and a fair amount of attention. That was a really good series to work on, and, for me, Hawaii 5-0 provides an example of the way television was back then, and how that time contrasts with today.
“Dramatically, composers were able to do interesting things. Producers encouraged us to come of with dramatic, even bizarre, sounds. You could stand up and shout, and be very aggressive. The idea was to contribute sounds that were fresh and innovative. Hawaii 5-0 was a good show to work on. Initially it used whip pans (hard cuts from scene to scene) and no dissolves. Audio had to match these sharp cuts; the cues had to have hard endings, and often, intense contrasts from one to the next.
“Music was expected to have high energy, and we were all trying to outdo each other. Mort Stevens, for example, wrote the theme to 5-0. He also ran the CBS music department. Mort hired talented and energetic arrangers, knowing all of us were trying to become better than him... in general, we failed! I do remember the pride I felt one day, though, when I was watching Mort record a cue which featured an electric guitar prominently. The music wasn’t coming together for him, and Mort got bummed. He turned to me and said, “When you did it, it sounded great!” We were all working in a laboratory, sharing ideas, and trying to build on what other writers had done. That’s not the directive, or opportunity, composers are given today. Music is generally expected to play it safe, and as a result there’s far less room for individual personal expression.”
Sweeping orchestral themes were in high demand in the 1980’s, and Bruce Broughton was one of the go to guys. He scored multiple episodes of Dallas, including the highly anticipated show that featured the shooting of J.R. Ewing. Moving into film work was always in the game plan, and the visibility that shows like Dallas brought helped. But Silverado was the vehicle that put him on the map.
“The Kasdan picture was actually my third film score,” says Broughton. “The first film I worked on was a movie produced by evangelist Billy Graham’s motion picture company. It was produced by a guy named Ken Wales, who had had a lot of Hollywood experience before joining Graham’s organization. It was a well produced film, but definitely a Billy Graham picture. Then I got called to score a low budget MGM film called The Ice Pirates. That picture became a cult film.
“I got the Silverado job based in part on the score I’d written for a television movie called How The West Was Won. After Silverado I had a movie career.” Resume highlights include scores for several full length animated films, including The Rescuers Down Under and the two Homeward Bound adventures.
His work on The Rescuers Down Under was heard by many people, including the Paris based team that was working on a Windows based game called Heart Of Darkness. Although release date issues kept it from being the first game to use a full orchestral score, Broughton’s score was in fact the first of its kind at the time of the commission.
“These days game producers send clips to be scored to, but I didn’t see any footage at all. The producers were trying to created an American style game, and they wanted a score that had the feel of The Rescuers Down Under.” I knew nothing about games, and apart from watching my 18 year old son play some, I still don’t!
“The producers came to Orange County and showed me animation while it was in development. They asked me if I’d ever seen anything like it before. When I said no they asked if I was familiar with games. They laughed and said, “Well, if you were, you’d be very impressed!”
“That game was one of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had, although I have to admit that I still haven’t seen the game from beginning to end! I went over to Paris several times, watching the game in its various incarnations. I was basically scoring set scenes, just as I’d do if I was working on a movie or television show. I remember us discussing the possibility of creating loops and transitional material, but in the end we didn’t create any.”
All businesses change over time. What are the major differences between scoring today and in the 1960’s? “The industry is far more crowded now, for one thing. These days every country has film music programs. For the last two summers I’ve spent a weekend in Spain as part of a film music program. Patrick Doyle was with me in 2008, and John Debney, David Arnold, and John Powell were there in 2007 [Broughton has served a term as President of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and is a member of the ASCAP Board of Directors, and Governer of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences]. These kinds of programs take place throughout the world, and they turn out lots of people who want to try their hand at scoring for television and films.
“Budgets have dropped enormously, which is not great. On the other hand there’s more product particularly in cable-that needs music than ever before. Obviously, this means that more and more scores are being handled primarily by synths and samplers. That’s good for the guys who excel in this technology, but it squeezes out composers who specialize in writing for live ensembles.
“Those of us who did come of age writing music that would be recorded live by players have to adjust, and I’m enjoy the process quite a bit. For example, in the old days, if I was writing a piece that featured a soaring french horn section, I knew that I could work with the players in the studio to create a sound that worked specifically for that cue. Today, if I’m using the horns in the Vienna Symphonic Library, I’ll listen very carefully to the way they articulate, and will write music designed to get the most out of what the samples have to offer.
“I work in Digital Performer, and I like it a lot. I’m gradually using more and more plug-ins. Altiverb is a favorite. I also got rid of my old Yamaha KX88 keyboard controller, which has a weighted key action that I love, and replaced it with a controller that has greater flexibility in terms of MIDI control.
“At the end of the day, though, the essential job remains the same. Whatever process you’re following, the job of the composer for television, film and games is to serve the interest of the project you’re scoring. I’m grateful for the successes I’ve enjoyed, and look forward to many more productive years in the industry.”
Appeared in Mix, January 2009
