Music for Animation

Music for Animation

     

I've always loved and adored painters. My parents took me, since a young age, to all the world's greatest museums and I was fascinated by the ability to create worlds and realities on paper or with bronze or marble. Unfortunately, I never could draw or paint myself. As I grew up and started becoming a film composer, I learned that most painters love music and consider it an inspiration. Animators, who are actually painters, are especially fond of music and love to have it in their films. Out of this mutual admiration – mine of painters and theirs of music – I was lucky to develop many collaborations.

Of course, my biggest influence as an animation composer are Walt Disney's films, which I devoured as a child and later with my own children, films such as “The Jungle Book”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “Mary Poppins”, “Fantasia” and many more. Today, composing for amimated films has an even bigger importance, because it is in these films where music is one of the most important elements, because they are not filmed with “live” actors and must have strong music scores to aid the audience sense and feel their impact. Here are a few examples from my own music for animation.

Reflections (2013)

Directors: Bosmat Agayoff and Alon Ziv

A huge success in film festivals around the world and on Vimeo, where it is a “Staff Pick”, this is the story of a man who wants to stay a child, until reality forces him to make a tough choice.

Bosmat and Alon, the film's directors, were my students at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design's Screen-Based Arts department. When they told me about their idea for “Reflections” and asked me to be their composer, I immediately knew that this is going to be a unique experience. This film is indeed one of my favorites among all my works, not only because the music plays such an important part in this dialogue-less film, but also because the subject matter is very close to my heart – I believe that we are all children, even when we become adults we still carry our past with us.

Composed and orchestrated by Ady Cohen

Performed by Ady Cohen with soloist Nitsan Ein Habar on saxophones

Peacemaker Mac: Island of Dispute (2011)

Director: Yotam Cohen

A loving homage to classic black & white animation, this virtuosic film takes a surprising turn just when you start getting comfortably pleased.

I tried to compose, arrange and perform my music for this film as if I was a composer composing for animation in the years 1920's or 30's. The drums, for example, were played with home-made sticks and not modern ones, jazzy ukulele was preferred (instead of a guitar) and the recording and mixing were trying to simulate a simpler, vintage atmosphere.

Composed and orchestrated by Ady Cohen

Performed by: Eyal Shiloach – violin, Yigal Meltzer – trumpet, Nitsan Ein Habar – saxophones, Geoff Menzer – ukulele, Gilad Dobrecky – drums and percussion, Ady Cohen – piano and all other instruments

Travel to China (2002)

Director: Gil Alkabetz

A unique animation film by the great Gil Alkabetz of “Run Lola Run” fame, in which nothing is actually animated and nothing is actually happening. Or is it?...

Composed and orchestrated by Ady Cohen

Sound design by Ady Cohen

Performed by Ady Cohen with soloist Eyal Shiloach on violin

Strings (2012)

Directors: Tal Arbiv and Lior Golan

An inspiring story about a puppet with big artistic dreams who has to choose between his dreams and loyalty to his master.

This charming film, a hit in animation film festivals around the world, touched me and inspired me to produce a complex score featuring some great instrumentalists, among them the bandoneon – an instrument typically used in tango music, and the musical saw – played here by world-famous Natalia “The Saw Lady” Paruz.

Composed and orchestrated by Ady Cohen

Performed by: Eyal Shiloach – violin, Amijai Shalev – bandoneon, Natalia Paruz – musical saw, Ron Selka – clarinet, Eyal Ein Habar – flute, Chagit Glaser - violoncello, Ady Cohen – all other instruments

Honorable Mention - the Cinema South Film Festival 2012