Meet Caleb J. Both

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caleb J. Both a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caleb J., thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

This is such a deceptively interesting question for creatives whose art is their business, because the pressure of having to keep our creativity alive can easily stifle it instead. As a composer of film music, tight deadlines, stylistic choices, and opinions determined by people other than myself can seem to force so many parameters on a project that they appear to close the door on any opportunity for any real creativity. At other times, burnout or “writer’s block” can inhibit creativity even in down times or personal projects.

When it comes to collaborative projects like film/TV, I prefer to view those limiting parameters as guidelines in a puzzle that I need to solve. How can I express my own ideas and creativity while staying within the guidelines set by a director/film/story? Thinking this way actually inspires me, because instead of having no parameters at all and an overwhelming world of possible creative routes, I now know what NOT to do in a sense, and I have a place to start. I can then use those guidelines as a catalyst for creativity and even push the boundaries of the parameters if I want.

If I ever hit a dry spell or get creatively burnt out, I try to turn my analytical, creative brain off and listen to the music that inspired me in my childhood to pursue the path I’m on. I relieve myself of the pressure of trying to force inspiration from anything specific, from trying to figure things out, and from trying to create something, letting myself take a moment to enjoy art that has already been made by someone else. I find myself not only relaxing from stress in that moment, but being filled with the energy to create something new again by reconnecting with the childlike wonder and excitement of listening to my favorite film score for the first time.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Caleb Both, I’m an American composer & orchestrator of both film and concert music. I recently received my Masters degree in Screen Scoring from NYU, where I studied under with Emmy-winning film composer Marcelo Zarvos, five-time Emmy winning composer Jamie Lawrence, Emmy-nominated composer Irwin Fisch, and jazz composer, arranger, and pianist Rich Shemaria. I continue to use the skills I learned from them in the music I write and orchestrate, whether it’s my own music for a film or another composer’s music I’m orchestrating.

I’m always eager to hear from filmmakers about their new projects and how we might collaborate as storytellers! My favorite part about composing music is telling stories collaboratively with other people. Amongst other projects, I’m currently working on initial themes and ideas for an exciting new spy short film to be released soon.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

While I didn’t know it at the time, the first intentional step I took on my film scoring journey was beginning to take piano lessons when I was 11 years old. These lessons not only started me on my path, but gave me many skills I continue to use to this day, from music theory to self-discipline and a strong work ethic. A good sense of the latter disciplines are applicable in many areas of life, and especially needed in the professional arts industry.

Another important skill is not only the willingness to learn something new, but the intentional pursuit of it. Actively pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can be painful at first, but the growth received later is more than worth it. For me lately, this has meant using traditional orchestral instruments less and pushing myself to find or create new sounds to make my music unique, as well as propel the project’s story in an original way.

It’s also important to realize that you can’t pursue everything or be the best at everything. In fact, there’s something beautiful in the realization of your own weaknesses and other’s strengths, especially when you’re able to bring people together to maximize those qualities towards a common goal.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m always interested to meet filmmakers, no matter what department they work in! I always learn something new by talking to people on set or in post production and learning more about their craft. When it comes to collaborating on the music for a film, TV, documentary, or other related project, it’s great to connect with directors, producers, writers, and other composers specifically.

If you’d like to meet, collaborate, or simply check out what I do, you can follow me at @cbothmusic on Instagram and visit my website (www.calebjbothmusic.com) to hear samples of my music. And if you’re a composer in need of orchestration or copying work, please reach out as well!

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