We were lucky to catch up with Cameron Moody recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cameron, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I have always believed that confidence comes from preparation. I have devoted my life to writing music, and that steadfast commitment has granted me the peace of mind to be able to persist — with a rather tunnel-visioned disposition — in developing myself as a composer. I know what I know, and I know my strengths, and I am proud of that. So, when I walk into a room or share my work with my peers and colleagues, I can do so knowing that I am displaying a part of myself which I have worked so hard to cultivate. I think it is also important to note that my self-esteem is not tethered to what others may think of me or my work, be it bad or good. My satisfaction comes in doing work that resonates with me. However well-received something may be, I can move about life with my head held high knowing that I have done the best I can.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a composer for film and television. Put simply, my job is to translate a filmmaker’s vision into a musical score, helping to tell the story of which I am part. It is very gratifying work, and I think the real beauty lies in the variety. On any given project, I might be asked to write music which accompanies a romantic relationship, a UFO terrorizing a California horse ranch, or a massive fight sequence involving aliens, laser beams, and spaceships!
Just this past weekend, a movie I worked on premiered in theaters, entitled “The American Society of Magical Negroes”. It follows a young black artist who is recruited to a secret society of Black people whose job is to improve the lives of their white contemporaries. Say what you will about the plot, but it created a very interesting lane for music. On one hand, I was tasked with playing up the “magical” element of the picture, primarily through use of a celeste and other bell-like instruments. On the other hand, there is a social-political landscape which required a certain dramatic acuity in order to serve the story without being heavy-handed. The palette for this score was predominantly symphonic in nature, and that is great for me because that is the medium in which I am most comfortable!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think that success in this business can be boiled down to three things: how well one is prepared to do the assigned job, how much they are respected and liked by their peers, and the makeup of their network. A lot of my success can be attributed to any of those three things. I prided myself on being as thorough a musician as possible so that on any given scoring assignment, I am well-equipped to deliver. A lot of times, though, before you can even get the job, the other two factors come into play. Is this person pleasant to be around? Who do they know, and perhaps more importantly, who knows them? I have come to learn that Hollywood is a relational business. Many people come here under the impression that is only about their music, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. While that is important, there is so much more, most of it intangible, that factors into a composer’s success. My best advice to young composers and/or those just starting out is to build a strong foundation upon these three fundamental principles: Learn your craft, be someone who is pleasant and likable, and build a solid network.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
When I was 14 or 15, I bought Samuel Adler’s “The Principles of Orchestration”. It cost me maybe $75, but that one investment has returned itself one thousand times over! It is a treasure trove of knowledge for anyone who seeks to write for the orchestra. It starts by highlighting each instrument of a standard symphony orchestra, displaying its clef — the musical symbol which indicates the order in which notes are read on a musical staff — range, and the way in which it is most commonly used. There are also numerous score excerpts sprinkled throughout the book, each one illustrating a different principle or technique discussed in the book. I probably read the book forty or fifty times, and if I were to pull it off of my shelf, it is probably marked up ad nauseam!
I can definitely attribute my affinity for the symphony orchestra to my exposure to that book. However, I think the greatest gift the book offered me was a window inside the orchestra, a peek under the hood, so to speak. Armed with the information provided in the text, I was able to take that knowledge to my score study and eventually, to my own writing. It provides a baseline foundation of the craft of orchestral writing that was paramount to my development.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cameronmoodymusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronmoody_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cameron.moody.5055/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIWGJ520wBmsp_AWf8elP1g
Image Credits
Birdie Thompson Molly O’Keeffe
