I lead a life that is strangely dedicated to the synchronous moment. I write film scores. I know composers who wrestle with time in order to achieve their musical ends. They struggle with the constraints of a scene; either trying to say too much in too little time, or trying to stretch a very small bit of music to last through the sequence. Perhaps it is a sort of Zen acceptance of my life's path, but I have grown to love the job of putting the right music into a finite piece of time. I used to love watching editors pull film out from the various reels of picture and sound. Holding pieces of time in their hands (measured by the foot and frame.) Maybe it was then that I learned that time was tangible and maleable; we can hold it, work with it, change it some, and put it back together. Ultimately, time has the last say, and I must write to its dictates. Eventually, time always wins. Time rules us, and the best that we can do is to try and synchronize.

The music I write for film is organic in every sense. My scores are dominated by real instruments played by wonderful musicians. And the music itself feels like it organically belongs to and is of the film. When I am succeeding at my job, the music becomes a nearly subliminal component of the drama.

I have here a few audio clips from some scores I have particularly liked. I hope you enjoy them.

For a more complete listing of projects, please check my RESUME.

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© Charlie Barnett 2006