Orla O’Rourke is mostly known for her work as session violinist for some of Ireland’s best up and coming acts. You can hear her bowing on tracks by Wyvern Lingo, Tandem Felix, the Riptide Movement and avant-garde singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer to name but a few. She has recently left this all behind to concentrate on her passion - music for film. 2015, has been quite exciting for O’Rourke’s film scores, with A Christmas Star premiering at The Cannes film festival this summer to critical acclaim. GoldenPlec caught up with O’Rourke as she leaves the world of session musician behind to focus exclusively on scoring films and games.
Tell us about your background?
I started studying violin with a great teacher Adele O’Dwyer, when I was in Primary school. I spent my teenage years playing with youth orchestras and different groups throughout Ireland during summer holidays and mid-term breaks. I developed an interest in music production after doing work experience in Grouse Lodge Recording Studios during transition year.
Throughout my music degree in Trinity College, I became more and more attracted to the production aspect of the music industry. The summer before I completed my degree, I was lucky enough to secure a music production internship in New York with JJ Appleton Inc. in 2011. This was an incredible experience and it was here I really became fascinated in music for film and visual media.
Once I had finished university, I wanted to study more about film and games music so I did a course in Music Production for Games in Pulse College. I couldn’t recommend this course highly enough for anyone interested in pursuing this kind of music, it was my best educational experience to date and their open attitude really suited me.
Explain the work of a film composer?
It really depends on the project, whether it’s a small film or something much bigger. Generally, for feature films, the composer meets with the director and producers during shooting or editing. We discuss what music is required for the film, the atmosphere, the style and we’ll listen to some reference tracks.
During what is known as a spotting session, the production team watch the movie and decide at what points music is needed. The composer then begins to write the score, which can vary anywhere between fifty and up to one hundred minutes of music. Depending on the project and budget, the composer then hands the score over to the orchestrator and music editor, or in some cases prepares the scores for players and edits the final product themselves.
Where did you develop a passion for composing for film?
During college, I was a bit unsure about what I wanted to pursue in the music industry. I really enjoyed it but I wasn’t overly passionate about anything at the time. Once I started exploring music production in New York; I was exposed to lots of music for film and just fell in love with it. I really get a buzz from the interaction between what’s happening on screen and the music. I didn’t really feel that up until that point.
What career options are open to you in Ireland?
Music in any genre is an incredibly tough industry to break into no matter where you are but Ireland has lots of young, talented directors that are constantly developing new projects so the industry here is quite strong.
The good thing about composing for film and visual media is that you can do it from anywhere in the world so it’s really an international career option, if you can make it work.
I’m working on a range of small projects here in Ireland but I’m always on the lookout for interesting projects. Ireland also has a strong games sector so there may be more opportunities to compose music for games, which I’d also love to do.
I like to think of that as a case of assholes versus nice people rather than women versus men
It seems to be a male dominated industry; do you see that changing in the future?
I think it’s already changing, especially in this part of the world. More and more women are succeeding in music in all genres. There is obviously still a huge gap in the amount of female film composers compared to male ones but I really think it’s growing smaller as the years go on.
Maybe I’m a little naïve but I like to think that if a person has the skills to succeed in their industry, being male or female doesn’t come into it. I know of stories where women have been treated unequally in that environment, which in this day and age is ridiculous, but I like to think of that as a case of assholes versus nice people rather than women versus men.
Tell us about some recent projects you’ve worked on?
Earlier this year, I got the opportunity to be one of two composers for Cinemagic’s feature film, A Christmas Star. It was shot in Belfast last year it had its premiere at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and will have its Irish premier in November.
The whole experience was mind-blowing. During post-production we were mentored by Patrick Doyle, who composed scores for Bridget Jones' Diary, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Thor, to name just a few. Even having the opportunity to talk to him about my music for the project was incredible.
More recently, I went to Bulgaria to attend a programme in the Fundamentals of Scoring for Film and Visual Media, again run by Pulse College. It’s a three-week program where each composer writes five to six pieces, which are then performed and recorded by professional musicians.
Throughout the course we were privileged to be tutored by industry professionals such as Derek Gleeson who is a critically acclaimed music director and conductor, Debbie Smith a world class recording engineer and producer, and Christopher Young score composer of Swordfish, Ghost Rider, and two of the Spiderman movies. Their guidance was the highlight of the whole experience.
What inspires you?
I think in most areas of my life, what inspires me is wanting to be good at what I do. When you are surrounded by incredibly talented composers and musicians, there is nothing more motivating. In music, there’s never a stage where you’ve learned everything. So as long as you keep people around you that are ten or twenty times better than you, you can’t help but be inspired.