Synopsis: 'District 9' composer Clinton Shorter discusses the process behind creating an original film score.

There's some novel storytelling at the heart of Neill Blomkamp's upcoming science-fiction film, District 9 (in theaters August 14).

The premise of the film, which is based on Blomkamp’s short film, Alive in Joburg and was produced by Peter Jackson, centers on the fallout caused by a group of alien refugees stranded on Earth (in Johannesburg) and forced into a segregation camp (the title comes from District 6, a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town infamous for the forced removal of 60,000 residents in the 70s by the Apartheid regime).

The film blends documentary style with traditional shooting techniques and plenty of SFX, a combination that presented some challenges for up-and-coming composer Clinton Shorter (recently included in the Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Generation of Film Composers to Watch”, hitting newsstands August 24).

Shorter sat down to chat with Jawbone.tv about his career and how he scored the film:

Jawbone.tv: How did you first get into scoring movies?

Shorter: I had been writing for my instrumental rock band for a few of years and could never bring myself to write songs in standard form. One night a friend put the score to Never Cry Wolf by Mark Isham on and I was immediately blown away by what I heard. It was primarily a synth score and I immediately connected with it. At the time I thought it was incredible because he seemed to be writing in free form, little did I know the film itself was dictating the form.

Jawbone.tv: How did District 9 come onto your radar?

Shorter: I had worked with Neill [Blomkamp] over the years on commercials and short films of his. When he called in late 2008 and asked me if I'd score his first feature I was all over it.

Jawbone.tv: What's the first thing you do when you're scoring a movie? Break down your workflow:

Shorter: The first thing I do is have general discussions with the director. Most times films have temporary or “temp” [music] as we call it mixed in with the dialogue and SFX so I try to find out how he or she feels about it. I'll usually watch it the first time straight through just to get a feel for it then another time and make a list of cues and notes.

Next up are more discussions with the director about the general tone of the film then it's writing time. I add up how many minutes of score there is then divide it by the number of days I have to complete it to figure out how many minutes of music I have to write in a day. You don't go to bed until you've hit your minutes so some days are long, others are not. 

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