Jeff Rona - Sounds for the Reel World:

Jeff Rona very much belongs to the modern breed of composer. His background includes a traditional musical education and he plays the flute, his composing and arranging work makes extensive use of synthesisers, he performs sound design work (e.g. on Hans Zimmer's "The Thin Red Line") through sample manipulation and effects, and he can adopt a style which is a fusion of many sources from classical to rock. While not a big name composer for blockbusters he has an extensive list of film credits for "additional music" (e.g. on "The Net", "Traffic" and most recently "Black Hawk Down" and "The Mothman Prophecies"); frequently working with other composers like Mark Isham, Hans Zimmer, Philip Glass and Basil Poledouris; and he has worked for some high profile directors including Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.

Rona has also done quite a lot of TV work including "Homicide: Life on the Street", "Chicago Hope" and "L.A. Doctors". Rona is also well-known for his book "The Reel World" which describes the ins and outs of some of the projects he has worked on. One particular project he mentions is "The Art of Survival" a documentary about his Grandfather. Among his film credits as principle composer is the movie "White Squall" for director Ridley Scott. While depicting sailing at sea, much of the music has Carribean and Celtic influences. The soundtrack to this is available from www.amazon.com in the US and www.amazon.co.uk in the UK. In his book Rona describes various themes tried for the "White Squall" score before settling on the one used in the film.

For an example of his computer arranging and sound design skills, look no further than "Traffic". Composed by Cliff Martinez, Rona has produced an effective ambient realisation on synthesisers, with parts for electric piano (Herbie Hancock) and percussion. The overall effect is one of peering inwards on the thoughts of the characters as the engrossing drama unfolds. Rona also produces library music for the film industry in a range of styles under the title "Liquid Cinema".

Recently Rona has worked with Lisa Gerrard on the soundtrack to "A Thousand Roads" which uses American Indian music very effectively. The soundtrack album also contains some genuine Indian tracks labelled "inspirations" and is available from www.amazon.com and www.amazon.co.uk.

Films by Jeff Rona:

• White Squall
• Toys - additional music
• The Net - additional music
• The Assassin - additional music
• The Thin Red Line - contributing "visceral ambience" to Hans Zimmer's score
• Traffic - additional music for the film, but a leading role in the TV mini series
• The Mothman Prophecies - additional music
• Black Hawk Down - additional music
• The In Crowd
• Exit Wounds
• A Thousand Roads - with Lisa Gerrard

TV work by Jeff Rona:

• Homicide: Life on the Street
• Chicago Hope - the theme is by Mark Isham though Rona has contributed incidental music to many episodes over the years
• Profiler
• Teen Angel
• Sleep Walkers
• The Dead Zone - Stephen King series
• Gun
• High Incident
• L.A. Doctors - Theme tune
• The Art of Survival - a documentary about the composer's grandfather
• Traffic - the TV Mini Series
• Earthsea

Recommendations:

Anyone interested in the work of a film composer should seek out Jeff Rona's book "The Reel World - Scoring for Pictures". This is not a book which explains how to compose, but it does give an insight into the work and craft of a film composer. You can frequently get a good deal on this book from www.amazon.com in the US and www.amazon.co.uk in the UK, and both sites let you explore some of the interior pages before you decide to buy. The book includes many examples of Rona's work and ties into sound samples and many extras available from the accompanying web-site www.reelworld-online.com.