On Saturday, 10 October 2020, The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) hosted an online event as part of their Master Class Series, featuring a very special guest: the prolific Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated composer John Debney.

Moderated by composer, arranger, pianist and ASMAC board member, Sylvester Rivers, the master class was cleverly structured into five main topics:

•  Anatomy of a comedy score

•  Anatomy of a rom-com

•  Anatomy of a big action movie

•  How to get inside a director’s head

•  Surviving post-pandemic Hollywood

Famously charismatic and friendly, Debney began the master class with the cheerful statement, ‘Let’s have fun! Let’s have a look inside my crazy musical brain!’

JOHN DEBNEY

A musical chameleon, John Debney has composed music for over 100 films and shows in a variety of genres during his career that spans over three decades, including ‘The Passion of the Christ’, ‘Iron Man 2’, ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘The Princess Diaries’, ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, ‘Sea Quest DSV’, ‘A Pup Named Scooby-Doo’, ‘Inspector Gadget’, and ‘The Ant Bully’, to name but a few.

For this class, the composer chose to analyse in detail three big genres: comedy, rom-com, and action. As such, Debney dissected a few of his memorable cues from films like ‘Liar Liar’, ‘Bruce Almighty’, ‘Isn’t It Romantic’, and ‘Iron Man 2’, providing aspiring film composers with advice on how to go about writing music for these genres and important aspects that need to be taken into consideration in each case.

Over the course of three and a half hours, the composer received a plethora of fantastic questions from ASMAC members and attendees alike, graciously answering each and every one of them and offering invaluable advice, as well as words of encouragement to aspiring film composers. He also elaborated on some of the challenges the industry is facing in the time of COVID-19 and how the musicians are adapting.

ASMAC Executive Board President, Gayle Levant, who is also Debney’s long-time friend and harpist on many of his films, joined the composer in reminiscing about their experience of working together. Among other things, she praised Debney for his professionalism, excellent conducting skills, and ability to keep calm in stressful situations.

JOHN DEBNEY PRESENTING DURING THE MASTER CLASS

There were two notable nuggets of wisdom the composer shared with the attendees that are perhaps the most important pieces of advice he has offered during the class. Firstly, Debney encouraged aspiring composers to ‘become the best composer you can become’ by learning all styles of music (even the ones they dislike), studying everything from how to write a melody, to counterpoint, orchestration, conducting and the ranges of each instrument, to work hard, be a good person, treat people well, and to always remain humble.

And secondly, following a question from an attendee regarding the toll that this profession can take on one’s mental health, Debney urged film composers to be disciplined, take care of themselves, make sure they have a great support system and not ‘take it so seriously that it will eat you alive’.

Needless to say, the hours flew by very quickly. The master class was a great opportunity for aspiring composers to get a sneak peek behind the curtain with one of the most successful composers in Hollywood and to learn a few tips and tricks on how to navigate this increasingly competitive landscape.

Now it is perhaps more important than ever to have access to such events, considering the exceptionally challenging times brought about by the pandemic. Not only do they provide attendees with invaluable and entertaining information, but they also help keep the community together and the conversation going on how industry professionals can adapt to the new normal.

To keep up to date with ASMAC future events, visit www.asmac.org, where you can also become a member, or follow their Eventbrite page.

And what a scrumptious hidden gem this is! Parody meets ridicule, and they’re both wrapped up in layers of spoof propaganda, mystery, and action, sprinkled with some comedy and sharp enough sneers to make Ronald Reagan and Nicolae Ceausescu and Mao Zedong cry somewhere deep in the beyond.

Amazon Studios’ ‘Comrade Detective’ (2017) is the show we never knew we needed in these trying times, as people throw words like ‘socialism’ and ‘communism’ around without fully understanding their meaning and complexity. And considering that it was mainly aimed at an American audience, I’d say creators Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka do a fine job of delivering not only the definitions but also the extremes of two political tenets that have been warring for decades: Communism and Capitalism.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©ALEXANDRU IONITA/AMAZON STUDIOS

Pretending to be found footage of an ‘80s cop buddy TV series of the Romanian Communist era, ‘Comrade Detective’ has been curated and dubbed to fit more modern times. It also features a few hilarious introductions from Channing Tatum, who is also executive producer, and author Jon Ronson.

With a throng of beloved comedy actors dubbing the Romanian characters involved and accompanied by what I can only describe as the most decadent and cheesiest soundtrack, the show packs a funny but bitter pill to swallow. It makes light of both sides in terms of politics and ideology. The West versus the East wrestle behind the Iron Curtain of ‘80s Bucharest, Romania, where a killer wearing a Reagan mask wreaks havoc through the city and even through the ranks of local police.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

Enter Gregor Anghel, splendidly portrayed by Florin Piersic Jr. and voiced by Channing Tatum, and Iosif Baciu, played by the uber-talented Corneliu Ulici and voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. One is a jaded detective who doesn’t always play by the rules, but he’s eager to avenge the murder of his dear colleague, Nikita Ionescu, at the hands of the Reagan killer. The other is a more empathetic and eager police officer who transferred from the countryside to the big city in order to avenge the murder of his dear childhood friend, Nikita Ionescu, at the hands of the Reagan killer. Their different personalities collide and become homogenized by their deep Communist values and their disdain of Capitalism.

Directed by Rhys Thomas of ‘Saturday Night Live’ fame, the series is a surprisingly tasteful pastiche that sort of claps back at the likes of ‘Red Dawn’ (1984) and ‘Rocky IV’ (1985) which, according to Mr Gatewood, was essentially propaganda in the United States at the height of the Cold War. Mr Tatum went on to remember his own childhood in the ‘80s, where virtually every movie had a Russian villain. With ‘Comrade Detective’, the writers decided to show the world what life would have been like for the ‘other side’, for the dreaded ‘Commies’—in an anything-but-serious fashion whilst also delivering a remarkably poignant message for America and the West, in general.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

From an ideological perspective, both political establishments get skewered in this series. Russian Communism, for its indoctrination and often absurd, bloody extremes despite its otherwise good intentions, and American Capitalism, for its hypocrisy and lack of self-control, for its greed and absence of social justice. In the end, both dogmas are the villains, and their representatives are simply doing the best they can with what they are given, genuinely believing that their path is the righteous one. Though it pretends to portray the real Communist society of Romania from that period, ‘Comrade Detective’ treads gently when it comes to character development. Credit where it’s due, as Gatewood and Tanaka do a surprisingly good job of portraying a world that very few in the West ever got a chance to truly observe.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

Of course, there are plenty of bloopers and minor inaccuracies, but I’ll forgive it all for how the writers treat their characters from beginning to end. There are twists and there are plenty of turns—not to mention questions. The villain is the psychopathic embodiment of American Capitalism, but we also get a reluctant yet helpful hand through Jane, Secretary-turned-Ambassador for the United States in Bucharest.

There is also a plethora of the chucklesome and the chilling along the way, too. While American viewers might find themselves forced to peer into an exaggerated mirror that shows the ugliest side of their culture, Romanian viewers will have a hard time letting go of the bitter taste of nostalgia. Few people miss that decade.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

In terms of performances, Mr Piersic Jr. and Mr Ulici are exquisite loyal Communist cops with smart-ass jabs and multifaceted pasts. Olivia Nita is an intriguing Jane, additionally spiced up by SNL alumna Jenny Slate’s dubbing. And speaking of voice acting, this series managed to put together an impressive cast that includes Jason Mantzoukas, Fred Armisen, Chloë Sevigny, Nick Offerman, Beck Bennett, and Daniel Craig, to name but a few. The Romanian actors are equally stupendous—I was particularly impressed by Diana Vladu’s Sonya Baciu, Iosif’s loving and fiercely Communist wife. A Mexican proverb says that the house does not rest on the ground but rather on the shoulders of a woman—it certainly applies to Sonya.

With a score composed by Joe Kraemer of ‘Jack Reacher’ (2012) fame, ‘Comrade Detective’ aims to immerse its viewers into the gritty atmosphere of an era long gone. Quality-wise, the series is infinitely better than what Romanian studios would’ve been able to produce at the time. Sam Goldie, better known for his work on ‘Green Zone’ (2010) and ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (2001), is the cinematographer in charge of rendering this delightfully fun morsel of lampooned propaganda. Worth noting here that the team behind this project, beginning with the writers and going all the way into the set decoration and costume departments, never aimed to spoof Communism as Americans but rather imagined themselves as the Communist Romanians who “created” it.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

A tip of the hat goes to Dan Toader, production designer, also known for ‘What Happened to Monday’ (2017) and ‘The Sisters Brothers’ (2018). Drawing from reality and his own memories of the Communist period, Mr Toader finds the appropriate design and colour tone to make ‘Comrade Detective’ just a smidge more realistic. I find it easier to believe the story and its anything-but-subtle characters when everything around them reminds me of my own childhood.

But all the talents involved aside, I would like to go back to the idea behind this witty production, which was so simply and eloquently described by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in an article penned for IndieWire. It ‘isn’t only making fun of Eastern Bloc Communism. It takes a few shots at Western Capitalism, but in my opinion, that’s not it, either. There’s a different “ism” that I think it’s really getting at—tribalism.’

And in that sense, he couldn’t be more right. Yes, we can make fun of the silly woollen hats and the preposterous propaganda and the appreciation of televised chess matches as though they were Superbowl Sunday games, and we can make fun of the overweight Americans gorging on hamburgers and the summarily dressed American women who snicker at the ways of these backwards Communist ‘pieces of scum’, but we’d be blind to the bigger picture. Both sides wholeheartedly believe that their culture is the best and that everything else isn’t just wrong. It’s evil.

‘COMRADE DETECTIVE’ (2017), ©AMAZON STUDIOS

It’s enough to take a look around today and see how polarized the world has become. The Left versus the Right. Labour versus Conservatives in the United Kingdom. Democrats versus Republicans in the United States. Naturally, no one really likes the politics of life in this day and age, yet it has all become an integral part of our existence. We forget that what we do and who we are—regardless of our creeds and affiliations—wasn’t always this, and it won’t always be this, either. Policies change. The world itself changes.

And though ‘Comrade Detective’ addresses a society that is no longer there, we can’t help but look at it as a thinly veiled warning. It won’t be the resurgence of Communism or the malignancy of out-of-control Capitalism that will destroy us. It will be the aforementioned tribalism and our growing inability to look beyond our bubbles. In that sense, the series does raise a few queries.

How much of what we believe is actually ‘right’? How wrong are we in our ways, and we didn’t even know it? Given what a complicated year this has been thus far, I say it’s time we consider finding answers to these questions.

When Netflix first announced its plans for ‘The Witcher’, many fans of the eponymous videogames were equal parts thrilled and worried. The fantasy genre is and always will be difficult to adapt for the screen, and readers know it all too well. We all wondered at the time: would ‘The Witcher’ live up to the epic success of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy or ‘Game of Thrones’, or would it flop like the ‘Star Wars’ prequels?

Now that the show is currently being streamed on Netflix and was renewed for its second season even before the premiere, the reviews are in. Not all of them are kind, but that was to be expected. ‘The Witcher’ is an ambitious project, naively compared to other fantasy giants before it hit the screens and tasked with living up to or exceeding the videogame’s reputation. 

Created by Lauren Schmidt of ‘Daredevil’ (2016), ‘The Defenders’ (2017) and ‘The Umbrella Academy’ (2019) fame, ‘The Witcher’ is basically a hybrid of subgenres from the fantasy arena. Some parts are excellent and bordering on spectacular, while others are confusing or dangerously close to mediocre, considering this decade’s cinematic capabilities. It’s good, but it could’ve been great.

‘THE WITCHER’ POSTER, ©NETFLIX

Henry Cavill plays the hero-not-hero Geralt of Rivia, a mutated superhuman who hunts monsters for a living, trying to find his way in a world where ‘people often prove more wicked than beasts’. Given that Mr Cavill is a huge fan of the videogames and actively worked to get the lead part in ‘The Witcher’, one can tell there is plenty of passion in his performance. He takes Geralt out of the books/videogames and turns him into something bigger, something of his own making, and the viewers love him for it.

Freya Allan is a part-Elven princess named Ciri, and her coming-of-age story is slow to unfold but definitely going somewhere. Her journey marks the passage from innocence to adulthood, where the safety of home and family have been forcibly left behind. She is left to fend for herself or, worse even, take a chance and trust complete strangers. Much like in real life, that can lead to good or disastrous outcomes. Ciri represents the future generation, but her character arc is missing something, and we’re hoping she’ll get a more rounded story in the next season.

FREYA ALLEN AS CIRI IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

Yennefer, brilliantly portrayed by Anya Chalotra, is given plenty of room to develop, and she is certainly one of the show’s strong points. Ms Chalotra is better known for her work on ‘Wanderlust’ (2018), and while she’s still young and relatively new to the scene, she has everything she needs to make her mark. Yennefer is a complex creature with a heart-breaking backstory who makes difficult choices for the sake of power. She could’ve been better, if only her screen time had been crafted more carefully. Her desire to have a child is not an easy pill to swallow, considering the horrific dangers she’s willing to put herself through in order to become a mother in the absence of a womb she traded for magic. It’s difficult to relate to her plight on that level, but with everything else, she’s a tour de force, especially alongside Geralt.

Jaskier the Bard is supposed to play Jiminy Cricket to Geralt’s Pinocchio, but aside from a memorable tavern song called ‘Toss A Coin to Your Witcher’, Joey Batey’s character means well but falls exceptionally short. There is potential in the elder and more seasoned secondary characters—take Mousesack, Fringilla, Triss or Stregobor, for example, but their arcs are barely touched, their contribution to the story minimal, at best. Mr Sapkowski’s books were more generous.

ANYA CHALOTRA AS YENNEFER IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

At first glance, one can safely say that ‘The Witcher’ delivers on many of the promises it has made to its viewers—most of whom are aficionados of the videogames and have read the original published works. It is, by all intents and purposes, a dark, saucy and gritty fantasy series, rife with magic and conflict, driven by interesting and multifaceted characters. There are epic sword fights, seductive witches and monsters galore.

One of its strong points is the interwoven timeline: we follow Geralt and Yennefer long before the Nilfgaardian Empire begins its bid for the north, and we also follow Ciri in the present day as she escapes from her castle and homeland, currently invaded by the Nilfgaardian armies. The way in which the story is told is worthy of praise, as the show’s creator has managed to comb through all the books and short story collections in order to take Geralt on his adventure and to drive the plot in the right direction.

HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

The visuals are exquisite. Gavin Struthers of ‘The Alienist’ (2018), ‘Nightflyers’ (2018) and ‘Downton Abbey’ (2011), and Jean-Philippe Gossart of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ (2016), ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ (2017) and ‘The Legend of Tarzan’ (2016), do a marvellous job in terms of cinematography. Most importantly, the panoramic views and the gloomy forest imagery do more for the worldbuilding than the actual screenplay. Hungary has plenty to offer in terms of stunning landscapes, mysterious forests and old castles. The production value is obvious in pretty much every exterior shot.

Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelly have worked together before, composing scores for ‘The Romanoffs’ (2018), ‘Sacred Lies’ (2018), ‘The Mist’ (2017) and ‘Reprisal’ (2018), so seeing them team up on ‘The Witcher’ made sense. A dark fantasy needs an equally dark and intense score, and the duo rise to the challenge with a bewitching and diverse composition. It’s easily one of the show’s strong points.

JODHY MAY AS QUEEN CALANTHE AND HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

Unfortunately, ‘The Witcher’ also falls flat in crucial parts of the story and on important aspects of its characters, but the source material bears some of the blame. From a perception point of view, it should have never been compared to ‘Game of Thrones’ in the first place. The worldbuilding in David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s novels is virtually flawless because Mr Martin took the time to explore the cultural details that set each of the kingdoms apart. His characters speak in certain languages and with specific mannerisms. There are laws and traditions in place, along with a homogenous visual attribute in terms of fashion and costumes, nations and cultures, as well as in terms of landscape, weather and architecture.

It is impossible to confuse House Lannister with House Stark, for example. It is easy to make the difference between the north and the south, between Winterfell and King’s Landing. We know how Valyrian sounds, as opposed to Dothraki. A lot of work went into every detail that built the realm of ‘Game of Thrones’. ‘The Witcher’ never got that far or deep into its world, and we’re therefore left with plenty of gaps and a superficial universe, at best.

EMMA APPLETON AS RENFRI AND HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

How did the worlds collide? There’s a mention of it as ‘the Conjunction of the Spheres’, of how elves and monsters and humans ended up sharing this planet, but what of those who’ve not read the books or played the videogames? What is the Continent like? How can we tell the north from the south or the east? There is very little attention paid to the cultures and nations that make up this world and it shows. The lack of homogeneity cannot be covered with grunts and expletives, and the bane of every fantasy story is that it must feel realistic. Sure, elves aren’t real, but the writers have to make us believe that they are—after all, we wholeheartedly bought dragons like Drogon, Rhaegar and Viserion. We bought Legolas, Galadriel, Elrond, Arwen and all the other elves from J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece. We’re having a hard time doing the same with ‘The Witcher’.

The characters’ names are rather difficult to remember, too, and that can easily push people away from a story. Andrzej Sapkowski was clearly looking up to Mr Tolkien for many of the elements in his Witcher saga, but he didn’t stick the landing on character names—of course, we have no trouble remembering the main heroes Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri, but everyone else’s can easily slip the mind. It might seem like a small issue, but for the millions of people who haven’t read his books and still want to watch and love ‘The Witcher’, it’ll play a negative part.

HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

On the plus side, the pilot episode fight scene from Blaviken was beyond exquisite. Perhaps one of the best in this decade’s worth of film and television. The smooth melange between fast cuts and slow motion, paired with Geralt’s close combat and swordsmanship skills offers a truly superb action sequence, worthy of all praise. It’s a pity we didn’t see more in the same style throughout the rest of the season. 

The monsters’ CGI is sloppy, at best. Given this era’s technological advances and the beast’s importance to Geralt’s existence in the story, we should be able to put a little bit more effort into otherworldly creatures like the Striga, the Kikimora, the Krallach or the other grotesque protagonists of ‘The Witcher’. It’s one more reason why comparisons to ‘Game of Thrones’ should be swiftly disregarded. The two fantasy series will never be in the same league, regardless of original aspirations and general assumptions.

At the end of season 1, one can see why Netflix has decided to renew the series. It has all the ingredients it needs to build a loyal following—though the base is pre-existing thanks to the videogames. It’s the others who might not click play when season 2 comes out, mostly for the reasons above.

‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

Yes, we are glad to see more fantasy on our screens, and we hope there will be more, soon enough. But ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ have elevated the bar and it is difficult to rise to the same standard. Not impossible, just more tedious and definitely expensive. That being said, ‘The Witcher’ is rumoured to drive an $80-90 million budget. Not exactly pennies, but definitely enough to strengthen their creative force.

Maybe season 2 will bring us ampler worldbuilding details, sturdier character arcs and better monster CGI designs, along with fewer clichés and a less choppy dialogue. There is potential in this series, but the team behind this project must strive to surpass Mr Sapkowski’s literary works and expand Geralt’s universe into something more immersive and realistic. The formula itself isn’t difficult, but the devil is and will always be in the details.