INT: Charlie Clouser

The
Arrow interviews
Charlie Clouser

To be honest after all the coverage I
did on
SAW, I promised myself I wouldn’t
address the film anymore where I’ve been eating and living it for
the last 3 months. But when the opportunity arose to interview ex
NINE INCH NAIL (great band!) member and musical genius
CHARLIE CLOUSER,
the man behind the infectious SAW score


(buy it here), I couldn’t pass it
up. I tossed a couple of questions Chuck’s way and here’s what he
answered

What’s your
favorite horror movie?

I’d have to go with “The Shining”, since I’m such a Kubrick addict.

That one fills most of my horror requirements superbly.

How did the “SAW” gig drop in your lap?

It might sound kind of “Hollywood cheesy”, but I have the same
lawyer as the producers, and when he heard that they were looking
for a composer that understood bands like nine inch nails,
Einsturzende Neubaten, Coil, and all that stuff, he suggested me.
There was actually a few bits of my NIN remixes in the temp score
for the movie, so when the director found out that I had played in
NIN for many yearsand also had a lot of scoring experience, he
decided to go for it.

What was it about the project that made you say “yes”?

Are you kidding? Have you seen it? I first saw a rough cut of the

movie at about 8:00am one morning, and almost sprayed Egg McMuffin
all over the screening room. I wasn’t leaving the building without
saying yes to that one. It was a perfect fit! I knew I could
really tear it up in the studio and that they would be up for that,
sonically. The picture demanded it! It was my DUTY to score this
film.

Can you give us some insight as to your artistic process when you
composed the music for the film?

The first step was gathering insane noises and bits of sound and
music to use in the film, and for that I went to two musicians I
love to work with, Chas Smith and Peter Freeman. Chas makes metal

sculptures/instruments that create unheard-of sounds, and all
acoustically. Peter is an electronic musician and bass player with
a
huge collection of weird-o gear and vintage crap. Both of those
guys
gave me samples and sounds to use in the project. Between that, and
the contact microphones on the huge metal sculpture in my living
room that forms a railing for my stairs, and my 4 foot by 6 foot
stainless steel sheet, we had an orchestra.

I basically mapped out the whole film in terms of where there needed
to be separate cues, but I like to try to map out as much of the
film as possible to feel like “one piece of music”. On “SAW”, I
only was able to effectively do that in about four big chunks
surrounded by about fifteen smaller ones. I like to make them as
long as possible, so that there is more continuity throughout the
film. After these pieces are mapped, I start to fill in the blanks,
sprinkling melodic themes as needed among the chaos. Then we
recorded strings.

What did you drink during that procedure?

Starbucks’ Mocha Frappuccino in those tiny little pre-mixed bottles,

about thirty or forty a day, I’d estimate. I wish they’d make a
tankard-sized bottle…. or flagon-sized, or whatever…

In your opinion which combo of “a scene/your score” in the movie
was the more powerful?

I like the first scene with Tapp in it, when Tapp and Sing are first

investigating the Jigsaw killings in the basement. That one, and
the
mother/daughter hostage scene and ensuing fight between Tapp and
Zepp in the apartment, I thought, came out pretty well. For a
while my favorite part was the very end, but I’m not so sure
anymore…. that piece of music bugs me now…. not quite right for
the scene, but a cool piece of music.

The piece playing during the last frames of the picture reminded
me of the Requiem for a Dream score. Any connection? Were you
inspired by that said score or was it simply a coincidence?

Good call! Clint Mansell is actually a close friend, and I was of

course riveted by his score for “Requiem”. I knew I needed a very

simple three-note motif that I could just hammer away on over and
over, and I did wind up a little close to Requiem territory, but
that was
just a quickie demo to see if something like that would work, and
James (the director) and everyone wouldn’t let me change it! They
liked it that way. I did play it for Clint and we got a laugh out
of it, but
since he never gave me back that synth module I lent him in New
Orleans back in ’97, we decided to call it even.

What’s next on your plate “soundtrack” wise?

Well, I’ve just finished a movie called “DeepWater”, with Lucas
Black
(of “Sling Blade” fame), which is a bit more of a head-case movie;
more psychology and a lot less violent. The score for that one came
out really cool, with lots of front-porch guitar and pedal steel in
the
beginning, which devolves into industrial-tribal mayhem by the end.

Do you have any intention of going back to the “band life”? Maybe
starting another one? Or have you already?

Hmmmm… I must confess to being a bit spoiled after working with

Trent. How do you work with another singer after that experience?

Guys like that aren’t exactly thick on the ground. If I ever found
a
vocal talent that could compare in any way to Reznor, I’d start a
band
in a second. Know any singers that want to step into those shoes?
I
didn’t think so.

What does Charlie Clouser put in his CD player when he wants to
kick back and relax?

Kraftwerk. Like a little child’s music box, so pure, so clean.
Ahhhh. Or The Beach Boys. Those harmonies! Mmmmm.

BUY THE SAW SOUNDTRACK HERE

I’d
like to thank Charlie for dropping by and would like to encourage
you to get the SAW score where it is a pretty badass piece of work.
I actually play it while I tinker my screenplays and it works in
terms of putting me in the right “kill-kill-kill” mood (the Rum also
helps).

READ THE ARROW’S REVIEW OF SAW HERE