We recently connected with Shie Rozow and have shared our conversation below.

Shie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I recently published a book called “Every Note Tells a Story: The Transformative Power of Music in Visual Media.” I’m passionate about using music to tell stories and have spent my career doing exactly that. Over the years I realized that how music can affect a narrative, as well as how the process works is often a mystery to filmmakers, and even some music professionals who are interested in entering this field. I’ve heard something along the lines of “I’m not good with music” or “I know I need music, but I don’t know exactly what or where” or “I’m sorry I don’t speak music” from countless young directors (and sometimes even seasoned ones) and realized there is an opportunity to address a subject that isn’t focused on much in film schools, nor are there many resources addressing it available to the general public.

I decided to do something about it. I’m a big believer in paying it forward. I’ve been very fortunate in my career so far, and feel a responsibility to give back at least as much as I have received, and that’s what spawned what became this book. Initially I thought I’d have a facebook group where I can talk about these topics. But I realized that’s not a great forum for nuanced, detailed, in-depth discussions. So I thought I’d write a blog. However since I work on films, TV shows, video games and the like full time, I was worried I wouldn’t have time to write consistently, which prompted me to start pre-writing many blog entries so that when I launch the blog I could automate the delivery of new blog entries. As I embarked on this process it occured to me that writing a book that encompases all the varoius topics involved with creating musical soundtracks for visual media would be a perfect vehicle. It would allow me to put all the information I wanted to share in one place, it would force me to be very deliberate and thoughtful on how I organized my thoughts and frankly it was a much scarier proposition than writing a blog, and I find doing things that scare me particularly challenging and invigorating.

This book has been in the making for about 4 years. I had conversations with some publishers about having them publish it, but we never saw eye to eye on my vision for this book so I decided to self-publish instead. I wanted to write something that is very practical, easy to read, accessible and comprehensive. This meant discussing a lot of different aspects of music in visual media, as well as sharing personal stories and anecdotes, which I think takes concepts from the realm of the theoretical or academic and brings them to life. The book is filled with examples of the concepts I discussed, ranging from classic movies and TV shows to very current ones. I also share behind the scenes photos from my years in the business, giving readers a glance at what it looks like to do this. Finally, the book also includes a collection of interviews with filmmakers about real-world projects and the challenges they faced with creating the musical tapestry for their productions. These range from micro budget short films to documentaries to feature films to a look at the long-running TV series The Middle (2009-2018).

I’m very excited to have finally finished the book, which was published on October 17th, 2023. I truly hope it proves a useful resource to budding directors, producers, editors, showrunners, composers, music editors, music supervisors or anyone who is just curious about the art of using music to tell a story in a visual medium. The book is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio book formats at all major booksellers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.) as well as on my own website where you can purchase signed copies directly from me by going to https://www.shierozow.com/shop.

Shie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a composer and music editor specializing in visual media like film, TV, and video games. I moved to Los Angeles in 1997 after graduating from Berklee College of Music where I earned my degree in Film Scoring, which I completed in just 5 semesters (I didn’t sleep much). I’ve been driven by a lifelong passion for music and storytelling, and as music editor I’ve earned 17 Golden Reel Award Nominations, winning for my work on Chicago (as assistant music editor), IMAX: Deep Sea, and Wu Tang: An American Saga. I try to bring my inexhaustible enthusiasm to every story, weaving a rich musical narrative that compliments the filmmaker’s vision and unlocks new layers of depth.

Equally skilled working in film, TV, and video games I’ve been fortunate to contribute my talent to hundreds of hours of TV including Desperate Housewives, Arrow, and most recently The CW’s Stargirl, along with Amazon’s anthology series Welcome to the Blumhouse and Shudder’s Creepshow. In addition, I’ve worked on music for Disney theme parks and Cirque du Soleil. I also composes concert music, which has been performed from coast to coast, releasing my first album Musical Fantasy in 2016.

You can hear my music on Netflix’s documentary Shawn Mendes: In Wonder as well as award-winning indie features like Jasmine, Camp Arrowhead, Captain Hagen’s Bed and Breakfast, and the feature documentary The Last of the Winthrops. My scores to Matt and Maya, Lost Time, One Day You’ll Go Blind, and Body Language: Bill Shannon have all won Telly Awards.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think I was born a composer and storyteller. I don’t think it’s something I chose, but rather a calling and I had the choice to listen to it and pursue it, or not. I’ve always processed the world through music, I wrote my first song in elementary school when one of my classmates’ father died suddenly. I think it was my way of coping with my emotions. I’ve been writing music ever since, and I’ve always been naturally drawn to writing music that seems to tell a story, whether it’s songs with lyrics, or instrumental works.

Writing music, or music editing or producing someone else’s music, especially working in film/TV is a way for me to tell more stories, and reach a large audience. I’ve been fortunate to participate in countless projects, and on occasion someone will find me and reach out to share a personal story of how a film I worked on moved them, or impacted them. Even more amazing is when someone shares how my music has affected them.

I can give you a few specific examples that really stand out. A few years back a colleague of mine lost his daughter to suicide. It affected me deeply and I wrote a piece dedicated to her memory, but rather than writing a sad piece I wrote something uplifting that I think celebrated her life rather than her tragic death. When I presented him with the music, he was overwhelmed, and shared it with his then wife and remaining children, whom I had never met. They told me that piece helped them with their grief, and we have become friends and stayed in touch ever since.

When the COVID 19 pandemic hit in early 2020 and the world shutdown, I felt helpless. So I wrote an arrangement mashing up the songs Bridge Over Troubled Water, and What a Wonderful World, recruited roughly 80 musicians who each recorded themselves at home along with an editor friend who put together a video, which we put out to offer some solace and a few minutes of distraction from the challenges we were all facing, as well as raising money for the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which was helping industry creatives in need (https://youtu.be/IvVc8BEznqs?si=gUl9-rM7ukyJMaZY). I’ve had so many people reach out to me thanking me for inviting them to participate and saying it gave them some purpose and hope during those early weeks of the pandemic, when so much was unknown. I’ve had people reach out to tell me how they were moved to tears and have watched/listened to it over and over as a way to help them cope with the stress, and of-course we raised money that was used to help my industry colleagues who were in dire need.

Similarly, I made another video at the end of 2020 with my arrangement of Auld Lang Syne, dedicating it to doctors, health professionals and first responders as a way of saying thank you to them for all they’ve done (https://youtu.be/M3zU4wovISs?si=0qKINXDElyPU9hd2). I have friends who are doctors that reached out to thank me for doing it. Strangers in the medical field who have seen the video found me and reached out thanking me for it and describing how much it meant to them to feel appreciated.

It’s impossible to describe the feeling I get when I hear these stories and know that my music touched someone, often complete strangers. It feeds my soul, it energizes me, it gives me a sense of purpose. I really don’t know how to articulate it adequately, but what I get from sharing my music, or helping others tell their stories is unquantifiable, and is priceless.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My life is filled with pivots. Above I described making some music videos during the pandemic. Those were the result of needing to pivot because of the pandemic. Work came to a stop, and I was faced with a choice, do nothing and hope things resolve soon, or take as much control of the situation as I could and do something. I had been working primarily as a music editor when the pandemic hit, and here I was creating online content to raise funds to support my colleagues.

A welcome side effect of the first video is that various studio executives reached out to me asking how I did it and picked my brain about how to put together successful remote collaborations, and so I started consulting them in how to get productions up and running with a remote workflow. Not exactly composing or music editing, but it kept me busy when most of my friends and colleagues weren’t. Within a couple of months I was getting hired on projects that were some of the first to resume using remote operations, and while I had experience working remotely from my years as a freelancer, it was never to that extent, so like so many of us I had to pivot to a fully remote workflow.

This led to opportunities producing scores for other composers. Since I had built up relationships with musicians, recording studios and others, I found myself in a great position to help bring people together, and started working as a score producer, helping create budgets, build teams and help manage them, helping more productions and composers get their scores realized. I never imagined I’d be in this kind of role or position, but the pandemic changed everything and this was a way of ensuring I was in demand and working. Now I do it all, composing, music editing, and score producing.

Working with a lot of young filmmakers and composers also showed me that many were overwhelmed by the process of creating a musical soundtrack for film & TV. While they understood the need for music to support their narratives, they didn’t really know how to use music, or how the process worked. This led me to write my book “Every Note Tells a Story: The Transformative Power of Music in Visual Media,” where I discuss how music functions in film/TV/games. So now in addition to it all, I’m an author, too, another pivot. The book is on sale, now and can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all major online booksellers. You can also purchase discounted copies from me directly on my website, including a limited amount of signed hardcover copies.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shierozow.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shierozow/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shierozow
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shierozow/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShieRozow-Composer

Image Credits
Headshot by Shani Barel