We recently connected with Chris Casillas and have shared our conversation below.
Chris, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment I knew I wanted to be a composer, but if I had to choose one, I would say it was when I took the film scoring elective at Loyola New Orleans. The question of becoming a composer had popped in my head multiple times throughout my life, but taking that class and getting that look into the world of film scoring was the final piece I needed to complete the puzzle. Prior to that moment, I had been following a path of performance, but I was blown away by what film scoring had to offer. When I got to score my first ever scene, I knew I had found my calling.
For the longest time I thought being a professional musician was my path. I loved it then, and still love it even now, but I always found myself enjoying the composition process a lot more than the performing process. This was strengthened by my love of the music that was in the games I played and the movies I watched growing up. Every time I would listen to those works, I would become entranced and dream about getting to score a film or game of my own some day. My life was changed when I took that film scoring class. My world was opened up to the awesomeness and power of film music and how much of a story it can tell. I was in love and I knew I had to follow this calling because it just felt so natural and right. I was lucky enough to attend NYU’s Screen Scoring Program, from which I recently earned my Masters degree, and everything I learned there, everyone I met, every project I worked on reminds me of how elated I am to be on this musical pathway.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a composer for film, games, and TV, and a multi-instrumentalist. My job is to work with directors and developers on their projects, and make them come to life with my music. As a composer, it is my duty to be able to compose music of any style, but I would describe my work as eclectic, energetic, and epic. I enjoy writing music for large ensembles, especially orchestras that have non-orchestral elements to them. Think of orchestras with electric guitars, synths or instruments of other cultures. I love blending genres together to make new ones, and I especially love recording myself playing my instruments for my scores. This adds an extra sense of realism to my music, and I love the recording process. Stylistically, I would say my compositions channel the composers who inspire me, John Powell, Hanz Zimmer, and Ramin Djawadi.
I have always been surrounded by music my whole life. Both of my parents were musical and they’ve always exposed me to music of all styles, so I guess it is unsurprising that I fell in love with it. Before I was a composer, I was a performing and studio musician on saxophone and keyboard. This part of my life greatly influences my compositions. When I write, I always think about how fun, and/or difficult it would be to perform on instruments. If a musician is having fun playing, they’re going to give you a better recording. I also believe my prior experience performing gives my music more of an enjoyable and exciting edge to it. I don’t just want to enhance a film or game with my music, I want its audience to be completely entranced with it. I believe in incorporating my ability as a performer to capture audiences, and I feel that is a very important aspect to scores. It allows us to put people on the edge of their seats in intense films; it gives us the ability to make that final boss battle all the more epic. I believe any composer who was a former perform can attest to the importance of subtle showmanship in music.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Probably one of my biggest challenges so far as a composer has been a documentary film I worked on called “Bucking on the Rez,” which gives us a look into the life of a female bull rider from the Navajo nation. My director wanted the score to fully evoke the nature of the western frontier and wanted it to lean heavily into country and bluegrass genres. She also said she didn’t want any piano or orchestral strings in the score. This was definitely challenging considering piano and strings are two of my most used instruments, but also because I didn’t have access to decent sounding samples for guitar, harmonica and fiddle. I really wanted to work on this film with her though, so I took up the challenge and started diving into the world of country music.
There was no music budget, unfortunately, a common attribute of student films, so I was unable to rely on paying musicians to record for me. To solve this, I decided to lock in and learn the instruments myself. I already had a familiarity with guitar, but I practiced my tail off to get good enough to record my own parts. My director requested harmonica features in the music, so I bought a cheap set of blues harmonicas and painstakingly learned those as well. Fiddles aren’t the cheapest instruments, so I couldn’t afford to learn that one myself, but I was very lucky to know many great violinists at NYU, so I prepared sheet music, and contacted one of my friends to record fiddle and viola for me. The writing process was certainly my most challenging one yet with all the limitations, genre unfamiliarity, and learning of new instruments. But before I knew it, I had composed one of my favorite scores to date! My director was elated with the final score, and it felt great to put a smile on her face. Since completion, “Bucking on the Rez” has gotten into festivals such as the NYU Sports Film Festival, Red Nation International Film Festival, and DOC NYC. It will also be airing on the SNY cable station!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It may be cliche, but the most rewarding aspect is that I get to do what I truly love doing for a living. I get to make music; I get to make art. There is something so rewarding and freeing about creating for a main career. The act of creating something is therapeutic, and so incredibly personal. You can give the same prompt to 100 different composers and you will get 100 unique scores. I find that fact so incredibly fascinating and beautiful, and every day I’m so thankful I get to creatively express myself as a job.
Additionally, I adore composing for media because it allows me to not be locked into one specific genre. One of the biggest challenges for me when I was in bands was only being able to play certain genres. Many songs I suggested were cut because they didn’t fit the band’s genre as well as others. I never formed my own band because I could never decide what genre I wanted it to be. I fully respect a band wanting to have its signature sound and place, but I like composing because it allows me to venture out into new territories. Film and game music is much more diverse. It allows for more blending of genres or the creation of whole new ones entirely. Each genre of film or game has its own tropes, sure, but even the happiest films will have a suspenseful scene, and likewise, the darkest films will have that one calm, lighter scene in it. I am a fan of the wide diversity and the openness to experimentation, and I like being kept on my toes. I will happily do this for the rest of my life, and I hope that one day, my music can touch the hearts of others, and inspire them in the same way film and game music has inspired me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chris-casillas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.casillas25/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisCasillas99
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-casillas-974551315/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chris.casillas25
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/chriscasillas
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4HItI3nXQziT0E0nvIK8aM?si=GaeVLa7qQLaT6fTMQ7mldA
Image Credits
January Yucheng Li