MRH: Because the score will be performed live, and the film runs around 2 hours, have you written specific cues with hard running times, or is the score comprised of concepts the group will explore within scenes, much in the way jazz musicians improvise over the course of a song?

BH/V: The jazz model is one that I think applies to this situation. We do have themes, cues and even what might loosely be called songs, but there is always and element of improvisation, especially in the transitions. That said, we are using the film itself as the score and will be playing facing the screen and allowing the images and action on there to be our main guide for pacing and tone.
 

MRH: How did the audience react to the live performance, and do you feel you accomplished some specific creative goals, both personally, and for VOWLS?

BH/V: The response was incredible! We had a great time and people seemed to really love our performance. We feel very honoured to have been chosen to score such a masterful film and proud that we were able to create something that was received so well. We are also extremely proud of ourselves for playing for the full hour and forty minutes, our longest set to date!

MRH: Although it isn’t very common, there have been a number of silent films that have been scored by contemporary artists in different idioms, and the results have been very successful because ( and perhaps due to the nature of the job) composers will meet the dramatic demands of a film. I wonder if you have thoughts on the way Mizoguchi’s 1933 film inspired you, and whether there’s a special emotional purity that makes silent films more visceral for composers?

BH/V: Certainly this experience has been very educational and has allowed us to grow as musicians approaching composition in new and challenging ways. In terms of the Water Magician itself, the film has a way of presenting very emotional content in a very understated way, and even the action is presented in this way. This style is typical of many great Japanese works that I admire such as the films of Yasujiro Ozu, Imamura Shohei and Itami Juzo. It can also be found in the writing styles of Kawabata Yasunari and Osamu Dazai. I think there is something inspiring here from a musical perspective; a way of allowing subtleties such as texture and silence add voice to the overall emotional tone of the piece, rather than placing all of the emphasis on the melody which seems to be the most common mode in the West.

In terms of silent films in general, the way in which silent filmmakers had to convey mood and narrative simply with images gives these films a very rich atmosphere that is ripe for interpretation by musicians. I also feel that images and sounds are very natural bedfellows and the mind loves to draw parallels between the two, which is why anytime you put on a film and play your favorite record they will have incredible moments of seeming synchronicity. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon isn’t the only album that works with The Wizard of Oz, trust me!

MRH: Lastly, are there any specific films or genres you'd like to tackle as film composers?

BH/V: We are open to trying any genre really as each one poses its own challenges and has its own rewards, but we’d really love to try doing a slow science fiction film like Solaris or Lathe of Heaven. Or maybe a Carlos Reygadas film.