We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deeba Montazeri a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Deeba, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have always played piano since I was a kid so music was never a foreign concept to me. In my teenage years, I started practicing simple transcription of some of my favorite film scores but still never considered composing as a legitimate career path. It wasn’t until I was in film school, studying acting that I fell in love with scoring and started doing it more and more. I started working as a composer but realized I had a lot of gaps in my knowledge so I went back to school to study Orchestration for Film & TV. Now I feel I have a much more solid foundation that can guide me around very unique situations in film. Having a musical knowledge and understanding is obviously one of the primary skills needed, but I think also having really strong communication skills to communicate with your director is needed. Getting to a deeper level with your director/creative team and learning to communicate ideas between the both of you and to see results, takes a lot of practice and I would say it isn’t a skill that should be overlooked. I think an obstacle I had for a while was feeling like I wasn’t an advanced enough musician to be a film composer. I am such a film nerd and can discuss it for hours, but I had gaps of knowledge and still do, in the complexities of music. Deciding to dive into my Orchestration for Film & TV courses meant coming to terms with all the things I was insecure about and learning to move forward from it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Deeba, I am a Composer for Film and Media, working in New York. I was born in Canada and grew up between Toronto and London, England. I got into film scoring quite unintentionally. I was in film school studying to be an actor and I had a friend who knew I was a pianist, asked me to write some music for his film. Up until this point, I knew I had a deep connection and passion for film scores but never associated myself with being the one to write them; only to enjoy them. I gave it a shot and ended up realizing that I had decent instincts about where to make the flow of the music within the story. I must give my film education a lot of credit cause I have always watched films so in depth and with such focus.
Years later and film scoring is the career I am trying to build. I have been very fortunate to write for such a vast variety of films, that I have yet to label myself as one specific kind of composer. I will try anything and dive into any challenge. Certain films have required classical writing for an orchestra and other have needed a pure synth/electronic musical style. If I had to notice a pattern in my work, I think I would say that I recognize there is a softness or tenderness in most of my scores, even if it happens to be in a horror or action context. I do crave lyrical beauty in my scores even if it’s not necessarily needed.
When the score calls for it, I also love to add some of my Middle Eastern influences into my scores. I think it takes some of my traditional drama film scores, to another slightly more elevated level when I mix different influences together. I am also not just exclusive to film, I have been fortunate enough to work on museum exhibitions, commercials, and even some dance performances. I really do enjoy working with a team rather than completely independently and I feel very fulfilled when I see all the pieces coming together, visually and audibly.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think often times, we underestimate the importance of artists in society. It is a shock to no one that when the world faces fear and uncertainty (take 2020 and Covid for example), that we turn to artists and their art for comfort and safety. For their ability to make us feel sane or seen, or to simply give us a deep story to follow while we are in a global lockdown. The way everyone was watching movies, bingeing shows, listening to music etc. And yet I believe that many people don’t actively provide the resources needed to take care of these very important artists who have such weight on their shoulders. Artists very rarely make a livable wage, usually do not have any kind of health insurance or safety net, and have their fees typically seen as a mere suggestion. And yet they continue to create and to give and to inspire. It does take a toll on them eventually and living in New York, I see it firsthand.
I think it’s really important to have systems in place that offer support and sustainability to artists so that when the world turns to us in times of need, that we are well equipped to take on the weight and keep us all moving forward.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a composer, there are times where I am leading a team or a few individuals as we work towards creating the score. They usually don’t have much direct contact with the director and they usually only take their leads from me. One thing I am really working towards is being an advocate for your team. I want to work within safe spaces and have opinions and questions validated and heard. Creating a film is such a team effort and often times, smaller voices can be drowned out by louder voices who are not necessarily even in the artistic side of things. I think as my career builds and I am working with bigger teams, I need to hold myself accountable to be the voice of advocacy for my team, as they learn to uphold and voice their own strategies and techniques.
One day I would love to have a company where I can regularly have young composers and musicians, with an emphasis on women and POC composers in the industry, working with me and my partners in a safe and fulfilling environment

Contact Info:

• Website: https://play.reelcrafter.com/rfoG5pW9SHCz5KeTBlOrOg
• Instagram: @deebamontazeri

Image Credits

Tiffany Smith