Demo Feature No. 3
Feature No. 1
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
I've had various opportunities over the years to cross paths with composer Kris Bowers—including a memorable moment watching him jam alongside The Last of Us composer Gustavo Santaolalla—but our schedules never quite aligned. Finally, though, I had the chance to spend a full 45 minutes with him on a Monday evening, diving into his latest project, The Wild Robot. Chatting with Kris, even for the first time, felt as though I’d known him forever. Quite honestly, I would have happily spent another 45 minutes exploring the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of life, careers, family and finding the time to indulge in any project fully, and investing in yourself.
Just recently, Kris performed his score for The Wild Robot at Deadline’s Sound and Screen concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall on November 1. We discussed the importance of having more film scores performed live, sharing a common enthusiasm and recognising the need for these kinds of events. “It’s always a question of how to get more people in, and programming something they recognise can be a great way to do it,” he said. “The musicians were super excited to play the music and the crowd seemed really into it. It was a lot of fun.”
Bowers’ soundtrack for The Wild Robot can only be described as a warm embrace—much like a drawing created by one of the film’s lead characters, Roz. The Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders and written by Sanders and Peter Brown, is the latest release from DreamWorks Animation. The story and the animation style are beautiful. You’re met with so many textures, colours and shapes, and the world they’ve built feels rich and vast, much like the music and sounds that you hear.
“I wanted the score to be as orchestrationally intricate and intentional as possible.”
When you were in those early meetings, what were they like? Was the director or animation department able to show you any early visualisations or storyboards?
Kris Bowers: Yeah, so the way DreamWorks works is quite immersive. I remember getting off the elevator, and the entire floor was dedicated to that project. It was decorated with all of their concept art and the artwork that inspired them. And from those early bits of concept art, it was clear they were going for this hand-painted look.
They showed me a reel that detailed how Roz would be constructed, including the shapes and her malleability, along with what each of the animals would look like. The animals have a slightly realistic but more artistic rendering, not hyper-realistic or photo-realistic in their approach.
