LET 'ER BUCK!!!

So....boot camp is over! It was quite the whirl wind tour through all the software we will be using this year. We had two projects that we worked on these past two weeks. I'll try to keep the geek-speek to a minimum and keep it easy to understand : )

First, we did a mock-up (making a synthesized orchestra in the computer) of a cue (cue is another word for song) from HIDALGO!!!! The whole time I couldn't help but think of my trip to Dan Beirne's cabin when we explored lake Michigan by day and watched Hidalgo at night. Oh, memories....

Second, we wrote trailer music for "Man on Fire," which was a ton of fun. I won't post the hidalgo cue cause it's kinda boring, but here's the Man on Fire trailer music that I wrote.

I was thinking today how my life is a lot like the scene from hidalgo that we worked on. You see, Frank Hopkins (played by Viggo Mortensen) has been racing his horse named Hidalgo across the desert for like a week straight. He's got the finish line in his sights and he's vying with another guy for first place. They're neck and neck where Frank yells "LET 'ER BUCK!!" He kicks it into high gear for the start of the REAL race. 

That's what I feel like. I've been "racing" for the past six years, but I've only now reached the start of the REAL race. This is the time where I put it into high gear.  So......... "LET 'ER BUCK!!!!"  

It hasn't been all work and no play though. Last weekend I visited the Getty art museum and this weekend we're going to the beach as a class - surfs up!!!!!

Bracing for Impact

Wow, where to begin...

After our 5 day trip out here to sunny soCal (click here to see our pictures), Laura and I unpacked, went to the beach, and then went to the beach some more! Even though the California coast ain't got nothin' on the Florida coast, being at the beach finally made me feel like I was actually in California. UPDATE: Laura had her tonsils out and almost died (not really), but she's much better now.

This week has been fantastic. Well, the second half of it at least. I'll be honest. I'll admit it. I was homesick. Settling in to a foreign place can be tough. California has no Jimmy Johns, no Paneras, no Jewels or Dominicks, no Meijers, no BPs. Drivers here don't cut you off like in Chicago. People here walk slower. Traffic is terrible. No wait, traffic in Chicago is terrible too. At least somethings are like home!

Part of settling in is preparing yourself for contact, or bracing for impact. You except certain responses out of certain things. Like when you jump on a bed, it's supposed to be soft and springy, it's not supposed to feel like concrete. LA is supposed to be filled with ego centric, rude, crazy people. Instead, the people I've met here so far are very nice, down to earth, laid back people. I was bracing for steel, and instead I got Jell-O.

I was poised for collision again on Thursday night when I met some of my new classmates in the film scoring program. Composers can have a reputation for being quiet and brooding. I was expecting to be the one to liven things up. Instead, I found myself trying to keep up with them! Everyone was funny, lighthearted, and honest. I guess film composers are a different breed.

As I find myself preparing for school to start tomorrow, I'm trying to go into it without any preconceived notions. It might be a crash, a belly flop, or even a trampoline. Either way, I'm staying open minded.


HIGHLIGHTS:

• I piggy backed a tour with the Columbia College film scoring grad students and we got to chat with Johnny Kilmek (Composer for Without a Trace, Deadwood, one Hour Photo, and Run Lola Run)
• We ran into Pedro last night at an In-N-Out Burger. Like "Vote for Pedro," from Napoleon Dynamite. That Pedro.