What Is It Really Like Being A Film Composer?

We were recently fortunate enough to conduct an email interview with R. Sivatmikha, a film composer from India.

Throughout this interview you will learn the behind the scenes of what being a film composer is really like and as with anything in the entertainment industry, the backlash that can unfortunately come with it.

1. Are you able to share a little bit about yourself?

My journey in music started at the age of three when my Mom had enrolled me into Carnatic singing classes. I've been trained in Carnatic music formally for ten years.

Later on during my high school, I had directly attended Trinity College of Music - London's Grade 8 rock and pop exam, skipping all the preceding seven grades and ended up with a final result of 90%.

After high school I had completed a preparatory course in Electronic Music production at KM Music and Technology (A.R Rahman’s music school).

When I was eighteen years old I made my debut as a composer in the Tamil (An Indian language) feature film Antony.

Unfortunately the film didn’t fare well commercially and the album I had composed also went unnoticed. But nevertheless this film led me to getting an opportunity to make my first single with Think Music India - The Gaana Song which was composed and sung by me.

I also had the pleasure of featuring in the music video. This song did fairly well and garnered quite some media attention and currently has 2.7 million views on YouTube.

My last project was "Oor Iravu" by veteran director Vetri Maaran for the Netflix Anthology film Paava Kathaigal featuring Sai Pallavi and Prakash Raj.

I had composed the background score for the film and I had also composed and sung the opening credits song of the series "Kanne Kanmaniye" which is currently the most popular song from the series on YouTube with more than 22 million views.

My upcoming feature film as a composer is “Burqa” directed by Sarjun KM and I also have a couple of other unreleased independent tracks produced by Think Music in the pipeline.

2. How did you become a film composer?

I had approached many filmmakers on social media seeking opportunities. I used to send them my compositions and scores. And that was how I got to work on my debut film, ‘Antony’.

3. As a composer, what are your primary duties?

As a film composer my primary duty is to justify the filmmaker’s vision musically within the budget given by the producer. It is important to come up with a background score that blends seamlessly with the film without letting it over power or over dramatize the scenes.

And if I am composing songs for a music label. I come up with songs that cater to the interests and expectations of that particular music company and I have to make it happen within the allotted budget.

But whether it’s films or independent songs I persistently aspire to make memorable tunes with unconventional presentations that will resonate with my audience till the very end of time.

4. What is the difference between a music director and composer?

Music directors lead orchestras and other musical groups during performances and recording sessions.

Composers write and arrange original music in numerous musical styles. I work as a composer predominantly and I also end up getting involved in the arrangements, recording sessions of my compositions.

In India, the composer and the music director are usually the same person.

5. What are your three favorite aspects of being a composer and why?

I've been composing from the age of eleven and my music has always been a reflection of my emotions.

I always pour my heart and soul into my compositions. I enjoy the process of creating music way more than the result. Watching a song or a score progress from a basic melody line to a fully produced track step by step truly excites me!

It stimulates me emotionally and in a way enriches my soul. I got a very heart-wrenching response from my audience for my last song Kanne Kanmaniye. Many claimed to have gotten teared up hearing the song and that it reminded them of their late father.

One of them texted me saying that they put their baby to sleep every day playing my song. Like that so many comments have deeply moved me and I truly am grateful to my listeners for sharing such positive feedback.

And many people who didn’t understand the language were also able to emotionally connect with the song.

So getting to make such an emotional impact on our audience by surpassing even language barriers is the most rewarding aspect of being a composer in my opinion.

6. What are your criteria for choosing the right kind of musicians and technicians for the song or the score?

I let the composition choose my technicians, musicians or singers. I go for people who can effortlessly justify my vision. And I personally like my team to bring in their individuality in this.

I want them to think out of the box, step out of the conventional ways and break the so-called rules. So I always give them a lot of creative space to explore and come up with something really unique and striking because of which I conduct a lot of improv sessions usually.

Therefore I need musicians who are extremely passionate and creative. And in my line of work I usually have tight deadlines so I need a team who can work efficiently and swiftly.

7. You faced a lot of backlash on social media for your independent song. How did you deal with it? And what is it that you would like to tell your haters now?

First of all I want to thank my trollers and haters because they have taught me some invaluable lessons so early on in my career. And I am not saying this sarcastically. I truly mean it. It was a very humbling experience in my opinion.

It also helped me stop fearing the outcome of my music since I have already faced the worst. I am like “It can’t get any worse than this. lol.”

But nevertheless the song I had composed after “The Gaana Song” was “Kanne Kanmaniye” and that was loved by many.

In fact many of my trollers were generous enough to apologize to me

for judging me based on one song and had high regards for the work I did in the Netflix series, “Paava Kathaigal”.

So I came to the realization that as a composer it is my duty to understand the audience’s pulse and create music that they would enjoy listening to.

Trolling is obviously a toxic part of social media but it is also something that is inevitable in the entertainment industry. We just have to develop a thick skin and let it not take a toll on our mental well being eventually.

In the end nothing is permanent. The love you get from your audience or the hatred! So we should never let the appreciation get into our heads and we shouldn’t let the hatred dilute our self confidence.

8. Is there anything else you would like to share about being a composer?

If you want to become a commercially successful composer one might have to go through a lot of unlearning especially when you are a well read musician.

The general audience are mostly unaware of the technicalities of music. All they resonate with is music that is soulful, different and memorable.

So as we focus on improving ourselves in the technical aspects of music I think it is equally or maybe even more important to understand and cater to our target audience.

I’ve known many musicians who say that they make music for themselves but deep down they desire to become popular! They want their songs to have millions and millions of views and go viral online!

That’s a very contradictory mental space to be in. If you want to be validated by your audience you have to take the effort to understand their taste and expectations in music.

Or else if you are a passionate musician who wants to keep exploring music forever without being a part of this rat race. That’s amazing too.

So in the end it is all about what you truly seek as a composer. Creative satisfaction, validation? Or both?

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You can keep up to date with R.Sivatmikha on Instagram here.