Music has always been an important part of my life. I have memories as a kid of listening to “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall while my dad cooked spaghetti, and the song “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root reminds me of watching the movie “Matilda” with my mom.

The music my parents listened to has shaped me as a person, and in doing so, has also shaped my creative process as a writer and filmmaker. So many music artists become a voice for youth, someone to tell them they aren’t alone at a time in their lives when they feel most alone. 

Music moves people in such profound ways, which is why it can be such an important asset to a TV show or film. The song “Rock Me Like A Hurricane” by the Scorpions, for instance, was perfect for Billy’s entrance in “Stranger Things” season two. He’s a bully, to put in simple terms. it shows you what kind of person he is right away; a tough, jerk, heartbreaker type(at least in the second season). 

If you can find the perfect song to fit a scene, it can make the scene more impactful. That’s why when I write film scripts, I always find songs to go along with them as part of my creative process. As any filmmaker would agree, when you work on a project that means a great deal to you, you want it to be absolutely perfect, or at least, the most perfect it can be.

The current fiilm I’m writing is about an 18-year-old boy named Max Mazur, who works as an assassin for “The Corporation”. He is cocky, narcissistic and flamboyant and no one (not even his father) likes him. He is demoted for killing one of his “assignments” in a public area and for the rest of the film has to deal with the repercussions. 

For this movie, I want the opening song to be the French song “Laisse Tomber Les Filles” by April March. There are three versions of this song; the original Frenhc version, made in the ‘60s by France Gall, and the 1995 English and French versions by April March. I chose the 1995 French version because it reflected the story better. The song is louder and more chaotic than the original French song, which is quieter and more tame.  

Of course, songs I choose for films are influenced by my likes and dislikes in music, which change weekly to monthly. I’ll listen to a group of songs for awhile, and that will be all I listen to, until I’m sick of them, or my mood changes. If I’m in love, I’m more likely to listen to more love songs, if I’m feeling calm, I tend to listen to calmer songs etc. I have a deep connection to music, it gets me through tough situations (when I’m stressed I turn to spotify) and makes me feel less alone. Like if no one understands me in the here and now, someone did at some point in time.

The songs I like have to move me in some way or another. This is why I don’t listen to many mainstream songs, either. I don’t mean to sound like a music snob (even though  100 percent am), but a lot of today’s music sort of sounds the same to me, and the lyrics can be empty. That’s why I often include songs sung in another language or made before 2000.

Listening to a song can also create character, or at least a big part of what makes them, them. I specifically wanted Max to have Polish ancestry, because there were some Polish songs that I liked at the time namely, “Ja to Ja” by Paktofonika. It’s a very upbeat song, one that you would probably see people dancing in the music video for. It’s happy demeanor works for certain scenes. Also, who doesn’t want a grandfather who makes you genuine Polish perogies from time to time?

There have been many songs I’ve had to cut because I cut the scene, or the mood of the scene changed as I wrote the film. When I started writing the film, I thought Billie Eilish’s “Copycat” would be perfect for the “final battle” scene. The chorus is hard hitting and the lyrics (especially “By the way, you’ve been uninvited”)  complimented the mood of the scene. I swapped “Copycat” out for Mob Psycho 100’s opening theme, “99”. It’s equally as hard hitting, but it’s faster and more chaotic and I think it goes better with the general mood of the fight. Of course, I may change my mind yet again. 

The soundtrack of a movie is never final, not only because I changed my mind, but also because I don’t have the rights. Considering that I’ve never actually been on a professional set (which is something I hope to do in the near future), I don’t think this film will go into production anytime soon.

The reason I do all of this is because I have to. I have an insatiable need to write, to create something that will move people in some way. It’s my way of making the world a better place. 

I like to find songs that go with the story because, it helps me see what the final product could look like, how the story will feel and what my characters are like. It makes me feel closer to the story, and it makes me care more about the project than I already do. It’s kind of like how a love song can make you fall deeper in love, a song that matches the emotion a character feels during a certain scene makes me step into that scene. I can feel what the character is feeling, experience what they’re experiencing. It helps me write a better character, which makes for a better scene, which makes for a better movie. I hope that the songs I use with the movies I will create make the films more profound and memorable in people’s minds and hearts.