Music can be the lifeblood of a film. It’s the backbone that helps us understand how to feel in any given scene, and also helps us understand the filmmaker’s intention. It takes a great artist to be able to get all of these things right.
Ryan Shore is a composer who scored the documentary Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World. The project featured saxophone solos from the iconic David Sanborn, who recently passed away, and this was one of his last projects before his passing.
We talked to Shore about this project and his ability to find emotion and story in all of his notes.
Let’s dive in.
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No Film School: Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the “East Meets West” concept for the score of Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World?
Shore: Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World presented a unique opportunity to blend the musical styles of Ukraine and New York City to enhance the story. The concept of “East Meets West” in the score has to do with the restaurant Veselka being located in New York City, however they serve Ukrainian food. Veselka was founded, and is still operated by a Ukrainian family, and continues to serve as a hub for the Ukrainian community in the city.
Ukrainian-inspired music represented the East, while jazz influences represented the West.
NFS: How did you navigate blending Ukrainian folk melodies/instrumentation with NYC Jazz in the score?
Shore: Music has this beautiful feature, which allows you to seamlessly blend instruments and musical flavors from all kinds of different locations and traditions. With this in mind, I was able to merge instruments like the Tsymbaly (a Ukrainian dulcimer of sorts) with saxophone solos, jazz piano and rhythm sections, and orchestral instruments. Different scenes throughout the film called for the music to lean sometimes more towards jazz and at other times more towards Ukrainian musical influences, all informed by the story.
NFS: Could you elaborate on how David Sanborn’s saxophone solos contribute to representing the “sound of NYC” in the score?
Shore: David Sanborn played all of the saxophone solos for the score and his playing was the essence of the New York sound in the film. David’s playing is incredibly soulful, and so uniquely signature that it only takes hearing one note of his playing to immediately know it is David and to evoke the New York City sound. The score would not have been the same without him.
Ryan Shore
NFS: What was your experience like collaborating with David Sanborn on this project?
Shore: Collaborating with David Sanborn on this project was a true privilege and was personally very exciting for me. I’m a saxophonist myself, and David is one of my all-time heroes of the instrument. His creative process is very skillful and imaginative. At times he would beautifully play exactly I had written on the page, and other times he would add his own ideas which would bring the music to a whole new level.
NFS: In what ways do you think the score enhances the storytelling of Veselka?
Shore: My hope is that the score helps the audience connect emotionally with the film in two ways.
First, by bringing them into the environment of New York City and giving them a taste of Ukrainian culture. Secondly, I wanted the music to help audiences connect with the people of Veselka and everyone impacted by the beautiful work they’ve been doing. Ultimately, the film is about family and I wanted that warmth to come through in the music.
NFS: Can you share any memorable moments or anecdotes from your work on Veselka?
Shore: One of the most memorable experiences for me was the premiere of the movie at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California. We watched the film in a theater attended by many Ukrainians who were in the movie or affected by Veselka’s humanitarian work. During the screening, you could see the look on their faces—from being moved to tears over the dreadful conflict in Ukraine to gratitude for being safe in the US, and every emotion in between.
It still moves me now just thinking about it.
NFS: How does your approach to scoring a documentary differ from working on other film genres, such as animation or musicals?
Shore: Michael Fiore (Veselka’s director) has a unique approach to his filmmaking. His documentaries, at their core, are stories. So in that sense scoring this documentary was not very different than scoring a more narrative movie.
I composed the themes, chose a musical palette that represents the world that our film takes place in, and developed the music as the characters progressed and as the story unfolded just like I would for any film. My hope is that this approach added a life of its own to the story and that it made the characters approachable and easy to connect with.
NFS: How do you balance the creative freedom of composing with meeting the specific demands of a film’s narrative and emotional beats?
Shore: Balancing creativity and the demands of a film is a constant challenge for composers. I try to immerse myself in the narrative of the film and in the director’s vision so that every musical decision I make naturally flows from there. This often requires an ongoing dialogue with the director to ensure we’re on the same page about what the heart of the film is, the role of the music in the storytelling, and that my creative decisions are in line with their vision.
At times I’m able to capture the heart of the story through music instinctively and quickly, and other times the creative process has lots of experimentation, trying out various ideas and hearing the director’s feedback throughout the process. I love this creative process, and my score for Veselka is one of the most unique scores I have composed.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
