Interview with Veigar Margeirsson
Veigar Margeirsson’s music has been featured in many award-winning marketing campaigns.
Veigar Margeirsson hasn’t only written music for various trailers like Iron Man, Beowulf, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans; he has also taken part to the rearrangment and reorchestration of the famous theme of Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell. Besides he scored several big screen movies such as Mind the Gap, Cold Trail, How You Look at Me and Missing Brendan.
TMN: What were your motivations to become a composer? Was it a childhood dream?
Veigar Margeirsson: My childhood dream was to become an engineer like my big brother, but at 17 I had become so immersed in music that I could think of nothing else as a career. I like to say that music picked me, rather than me picking music. At 11 I started studying classical trumpet and piano, and in my late teens got involved in pop and jazz, and from there I got into arranging, especially big band arranging. From there I started composing. It was a gradual process. I then decided to study trumpet and arranging in the US, first at Berklee in Boston, then University of Miami where I fell in love with film music. In 1998 I moved to LA to study film scoring at USC for one year, and I have been in LA ever since.
TMN: Where do you get inspiration for your music?
VM: From everywhere, really. I tend to hear music in my head whenever I look at a piece of film, or even a painting. If I get stuck when composing I read, watch a movie or listen to other music to get the juices flowing. A walk around the block can be very helpful too. I also get inspiration from the people around me…. My kids and my wife. When making a deadline in commercial music I tend to “not think” and “just do”. Sometimes that’s best, because there is no time to think. You just let your instincts take over and go for it. I am a very instinctive person, and believe that the first idea is usually the best one.
TMN: I am just curious. What is a typical work day of a composer like?
VM: I am a freelance composer and I am my own boss and slave at the same time. A composer’s main job is to make the deadline! Never miss a deadline, as it can seriously hurt your career. I am a family man and I like to keep a somewhat regular schedule. I normally wake up between 6 and 7 am and get my kids ready to school with my wife. I start working around 8 (sometimes later, and sometimes earlier), and I work until 6 or 7 in the afternoon. There are of course days where I work around the clock, but I try to manage my time well. Then there are phone conferences, meetings, lunches, emails etc. In conclusing – it’s a long workweek.
TMN: Which work of yours are you the most proud of?
VM: I am very proud of the Saxophone Concerto I wrote in 2007 called “Raetur” (Engl: “Roots”). It is based on Icelandic folk music and is partly improvised by the soloist, Sigurdur Flosason. I had always wanted to work with Icelandic folk music with orchestra and this collaboration with Mr. Flosason and The Iceland Symphony Orchestra was delightful.
TMN: Do you have any favorite compositions? Which projects did you enjoy doing most?
VM: I enjoy scoring trailers. It is fast paced and requires you to remain calm and focused while there is sometimes extreme tension around you. It also enables me to work with some very creative people. I love working with an orchestra. It is always a great thrill, whether arranging for the LA Philharmonic or conducting my own scores. My favorite piece of music is a song called “Farewell”, written in memory of my brother who passed away at the age of 39. It has not been released yet, but I hope to release it soon.
TMN: How did you end up scoring trailers?
VM: By accident really. A fellow Icelander living in LA is a film editor and was cutting commercials. In 2001 his company was opening a trailer department and he called me into a last minute meeting. They were cutting a trailer for Sony and were stuck with the music. I turned in a very creative, and unusual piece of music overnight and from there the ball just started rolling. I tend to manage stressful situations well, and that’s a big plus in trailers.
TMN: If I’m not mistaken, you worked earlier for Q-Factory, but now you work for West One Music. What is behind this change? Or did simply West One Music buy your music instead of Q-Factory? How does it work?
VM: I am a freelance composer and work independently for several different companies. I have written original music for both West One and Q-Factory, but they also function as distributors of my own music. In 2006 I founded a company called JVJ Entertainment and that company finances my big orchestral/choral productions. I chose West One and Q-Factory to distribute the JVJ catalog, because they do great work, have strong market share and I like them on a personal level too.
TMN: As you worked on many film scores and trailer music as well: what is the biggest challenge? Which one do you like more? Working on scores or on trailers?
VM: It varies. Trailers tend to be high pressure for a short amount of time while a film can take weeks and months to complete. I enjoy both to be frank.
TMN: When you put together an album of trailer music such as JVJ’s Epic Action & Adventure, does it have a certain structure or do you choose the order of the tracks randomly? Basically how is an album of trailer music created?
VM: It is very thought out. It is all about what the clients need – my clients being editors, producers and music supervisors in the trailer industry. Most songs/cues for the trailer market are short. I think less about developing a musical idea and try to get to the point quickly. Our clients have little time to search for music and are under great pressure. It is essential for them to be able to find what they need quickly, so the cues have to get to the point right away.
It is also important to name the cues accordingly…you can’t name a bombastic action cue ‘Flower in the wind” as it is not descriptive to the content of the cue. Always try to think what your clients want and need.
TMN: What do you think of the current status of the trailer music genre? How will it evolve? Or has it found its perfect fundamentals with massive orchestra and choir?
VM: Licensing existing music is now more common than scoring trailers. I hope trailer scoring will become bigger again in the near future. I think it will be good for composers, and good for the studios as well. To create a musical identity for the film marketing right from the start.
There are certain things that always work in trailers – big orchestra and choir always works great, and rises (ramp-ups) at the end of a trailer. I think we might hear a little less choral music in the next couple of years, but orchestral hybrids are popular too, a combination of rock and orchestra.
TMN: Are people interested in your offer of sending a free copy of Three Film Scores? Is it successful? Did you get positive feedback from people?
VM: I was amazed how many requests I got. It was very successful, except I had to spend way too much on postage (:-) LOL). That promotion has now ended, as the albums are now available on iTunes.
TMN: On your site, we can read that your scores will be available on iTunes in early 2009. Is there by now an exact release date and/or is clear, which albums will be available for purchase?
VM: The albums are now available on iTunes. I get frequent requests about trailer scores and my music for licensing, but that is not available to the public. There are several reasons why, one of them being unauthorized use in film clips on sites such as youtube.com. The music from custom scored trailers is generally owned by the movie studio that hired me, and is under strict copyright law.
TMN: What are you working on now and what are your plans for the future?
VM: I just finished scoring a trailer for Paramount called Case 39 with Rene Zellweger. I am currently working on a series of comedy cues with Q-Factory Music and that’s a lot of fun, as it is a refreshing change from the bombastic epic orchestral style I am mostly known for. After that I will do an album for APM, where we will do guitar driven rock/pop with lush strings on top. This coming summer I will record some of my own compositions with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and I also just started work on a personal album – not connected to anything in the world of film or trailers. Beyond 2009 we will have to see…. I will for sure be composing for a long time.
