Entrevista a Robert Duncan

Working in television can be incredibly difficult when every season depends on how well the previous season did. Television is a wonderful medium as it allows people to tell stories over a period of time longer than the typical two-three hours you are limited to with a film, but you also never know how long it will last.

Robert Duncan is an accomplished composer has worked on a variety of television series starting with the beloved cult hit Buffy The Vampire Slayer followed by Vanished, The Unit, Lie To Me, The Gates, Terriers, The Chicago Code, Missing, and, most recently, Last Resort, and Castle. While Last Resort will not be returning to television screens this fall, Duncan was just nominated for an Emmy for his work on the show (which is now available on iTunes) and we here at Fan Voice wanted to ask Duncan how he approaches his work on these various series, some of his favorite memories, and what shows he would have loved to compose for.

Add these shows to your Fan Watch Lists to check out Duncan’s past and current work!



Fanhattan: If Last Resort had been picked up for a second season – what sonic stories did you hope to tell?

Duncan: Most of the time when I get a big exciting preconceived idea about where I want to go, I find the story corrects me and I end up throwing a lot away. Before the season started I thought the show was going to be all about tension and drive, hence the submarine recording session aimed at creating tension ‘motors’ to add pace and anxiety to scenes. I did get to use my recordings, but after meeting with the producers about the tone of the series, I learned that they were really looking for music that would tug at the heartstrings and get us emotionally involved with the characters and the relationships. As a result there was an emphasis on the orchestral strings that was more prominent than the percussive drive.

Fanhattan: You have a history of using unusual and found sounds in your music as seen with the submarine sounds you recorded for Last Resort, but this method does not seem like it would work for a show like Castle – how do you determine when this technique can be used for what you are working on?

Duncan: It’s not usually something I plan, and in many cases the creativity is fueled by desperation at 2 in the morning when I’m searching for a sound that is nowhere to be found in my libraries, I’ll head into the live room scratching my head and sorting through pieces of junk and old instruments I have collected. I have many instruments that have appealed to me enough to buy in whatever flea market or pawn shop I found it in, but I have not yet found a place for in a score. Some of them may be lemons that never really prove their value, but many are gems just waiting for the right project to shine on. With Castle, it was experimenting with playing wire brushes on mandolin, mixing bowls and other random objects, nothing directly relating to the environment of the story or characters.

Fanhattan: Is there a particular story line or plot you hope to explore in the upcoming season of Castle?

Duncan: Season five ended with the huge cliffhanger of Castle (Nathan Fillion) proposing to Beckett (Stana Katic). I know that wherever the writers go with this, it will be quite a ride for me. I still don’t know what the plans are, I am in the dark at the moment like all the fans, but it would be great to get a chance to further develop their love theme which seemed to really resonate for the fans.

Fanhattan: Who are some of your favorite composers working in both television and in film?

Duncan: I don’t end up with a lot of time to watch other TV shows, but there are some names that I am always happy to see on films or TV shows like Christophe Beck, Trent Reznor, Cliff Martinez, Marco Beltrami, Tyler Bates.

Fanhattan: Is there another current television show (or even a past show) that you would have loved to compose for?

Duncan: I worked on an amazing pilot called Big Thunder for ABC. It was based around the ride at Disneyland. “How is that possible?” was my first thought, yet the writers wove this captivating story around this mysterious old frontier mining town and created this magical, sinister yet beautiful universe. The music was orchestral, but with a rock `n’ roll attitude/soul. Not electric guitar leads over strings or orchestra with a drum-kit, but orchestra with a swaggering rock `n’ roll soul (plus some dark textures). It was so much fun and I was so sad it didn’t see the light of day, but pilots are always unpredictable. Part of the gig is moving from project to project, and the variety keeps it fresh, but I would love to score a period cable series, like a Deadwood or a Game of Thrones type show.




Fanhattan: Buffy The Vampire Slayer was one of your first gigs in the states – what was it like composing for a cult hit like that? Any favorite memories?

Duncan: Buffy really showed me the ropes in LA. Not without a couple of hard lessons. One of the first things I did was almost get fired by adjusting one of Joss’ [Whedon] lyrics to a musical number so the syllables fit my chords better. I had made the suggestion in a tactful fax that somehow never ended up on his desk and the first time I met him in person was the same moment he learned that an unauthorized change had been made to his lyrics by “the new guy.” Some mistakes you only make once. Luckily I stayed employed and the highlight was during the final episode when Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) wages her final battle in the Hellmouth and at the final sound mix, Joss ordered the mixers to part a cacophonic sea of epic battle sound-effects to feature my Buffy victory theme, which became the most requested piece of music from my time on the show.

Fanhattan: Finally, what is your favorite thing about being a composer and what is the most challenging thing about being a composer?

Duncan: They are one and the same really: figuring out a musical answer to a non-musical riddle. It can sometimes be the hardest thing in the world, then other times, the easiest. If I am successful in my work, and someone out sheds a tear or feels a chill during a scene as a result of my work, I am happy. I also love it when I get to indulge in the music a bit extra, which is the case with opening themes for shows like Terriers, The Unit, and The Chicago Code. As television and/or film composers, we spend most of our time following the lead of the writing, the directing, the editing, and ducking under dialog and sound effects. It’s nice to experience those moments when the music takes center stage and carries the moment.

http://voice.fan.tv/2013/08/15/interview-with-castle-last-resort-composer-robert-duncan/