Interview: Film Composer ANTHONY CHU

Composer Anthony Chue Photo by Evan Evans

By Jenny Leigh Hodgins
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Getting Started In Film Scoring
When asked how he started his career as a film composer, Chue said he “actually fell into it.” But his strong work ethic played a significant part, and the rapid take-off of his career is impressive.


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After graduating from UBC in 1996, Chue returned to his birthplace, Hong Kong. He sent demo tapes to record companies, looking for anything—from performing, recording, arranging to writing.



Hustle
His willingness to both hustle and apply himself toward multiple types of music work paid off. One of his first jobs was arranging pop songs for a producer at Warner.



“Funny thing though...the producer later said he never listened to my demo tape.” Later that summer, a friend Chue met earlier in Vancouver introduced him to a production assistant at a music production house. A month later, Chue was co-composing his first score with another composer from that production house. “It all happened very fast, and within three months of arriving in Hong Kong.” 



Multiple Skills, Networking
Forging relationships that open doors to paid musical work is a similar thread offered to both aspiring and professional composers. Establishing a reputation for doing other types of work is also a familiar theme among successful composers.



Those who create multiple avenues using a variety of skills, such as arranging, performing, teaching, orchestrating, transcribing, etcetera, often get hired for something else. Chue has arranged songs for record companies, performed and toured Asia, North America, Australia and New Zealand as keyboardist, and/or served as music director for Hong Kong pop stars Jacky Cheung, Coco Lee, Sammi Cheng, Aaron Kwok and Vivian Chow.



His work as arranger and performer led to opportunities for film scoring. Chue has scored or co-scored 15 films since 2001, including most recently, three of director David Lam’s action/crime films.



Film Scoring Versus Composing
Delving into the unique challenges of scoring to picture, Chue says that the most important thing is the film. “It doesn’t matter how beautiful your music is...or even how awful...it has to serve the scene in the film. When you’re ‘just’ composing...you can write anything you want...only you have to like it.” But film scoring, is “all about the film.”



Chue has scored action thrillers, romantic dramas and a few comedies. One of his favorite film scoring projects was Divergence [2005], directed by Benny Chan, starring Aaron Kwok. “It is my favorite because I was able to write a beautiful romantic piece for it, as well as an exciting action theme, and also a short piece with a choir that sang in Tibetan.”



Tips For Film Scoring Composers
Chue considers “a good arsenal of sounds (sample library), a good video sense, and good communication skills” as tools necessary to become a film composer. For aspiring film score composers, Chue suggests learning harmony, orchestration, and how to write good melodies.



“All of those are... important, but don’t forget, it’s all about the film. You don’t necessarily need a beautiful melody over a nice orchestration to successfully score a scene in a film. It can be a simple ostinato...a single gong, or...a bar of pizzicato violins, happening at the RIGHT MOMENT.”



He suggests listening to or composing music and asking, “What kind of feeling does that piece conjure? What is the difference between happy and hope? Sad and upset? A fight and a scuffle? Or watch [a] scene in a movie, and ask...what if a string quartet replaced the piano cue? You’d be surprised how the music totally changes the mood and feeling of the scene.”



He suggests being “a happy and easy-going nice guy/girl! People don’t like working with people who are negative, grumpy, or complain all the time.” He also stresses the importance of appearance, emphasizing the need to appear trustworthy by dressing smartly. “Smile when you meet people — including hairdressers and waiters. Be approachable and gregarious...Prepare business cards and music clips online where you can show your music to people.”

Collaboration
Collaboration with others balances Chue’s weaknesses and strengths. He can perform, record, and play the keyboard quickly. But since he doesn’t feel that he finds musical ideas quickly, he joins forces with a friend who does, but cannot play keyboard as well as Chue. “We’ve worked together a few times and we make a great team!”



What's Next
Chue is currently arranging songs for artists Janice Vidal and Shirley Kwan, while preparing for Aaron Kwok’s world tour. He is looking forward to the debut of his latest film score for L-Storm, a crime thriller by director David Lam, set for release in 2018.
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Musical Foundation
As a child, Anthony Chue began piano lessons, and played clarinet and trombone in school band, which provided an understanding of how instruments work together. By high school, he was arranging and composing for the school band and orchestra.



Chue majored in music composition at University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Although he doesn’t consider himself a jazz musician, he gained experience with jazz harmony by playing in Fred Stride’s big band, and later studied jazz piano with world renowned John Novello in Los Angeles.
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BEST FILM MUSIC AWARD NOMINATIONS
Golden Horse Film Awards:
*Men Suddenly in Black - 2003, TaiwanDivergence - 2005, Taiwan
Invisible Target - 2007, Taiwan
Asian Film Awards:
*Reign of Assassins - 2011, Hong Kong*Nominated with composer Peter Kam
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A DAY IN THE LIFE
Chue starts work at noon, dealing with:
emails
setting up recording sessions
communicating with producers and
directors
watching films
listening to music
looking for sample library sounds
composing on keyboard and computer
Chue keeps healthy with a 20-minute daily jog or bike ride each afternoon, and works into the early morning hours.
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​COMPOSER TOOLS:
DAW: Digital Performer Sound Libraries:
Native Instruments Spectrasonics Peter Siedlaczek
East West Kirk Hunter 8Dio

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