Music, as we know, has an incredibly powerful influence on people. It pervades every part of our culture. In Verskietende Ster, the new film produced by filmmaker Stefan Enslin and Philo Pieterse, which premiered at Hyde Park in Johannesburg on 14 April, music takes centre stage.
A film about troubled genius, the cost of talent, and the schisms between personal independence and family ties, it tells the story of musical prodigy Phillip Schuman, a talented 15-year-old pianist whose genius is threatened by weight of the world around him.
“The narrative centres on a musical protege who needs to find a way to express his special gift,’ says composer Geo Hoehn. “The score not only underlines the emotions of the narrative, as in other films, but is also the focus of the narrative itself since it is performed by the main character.’
Hoehn is highly-skilled in composition, orchestral arrangements and film music sound. Having many years of experience in sound engineering, his approach aims to integrate musical scores seamlessly with sound design.
A well composed and recorded film score is of exceptional creative value in any film, he says. Unusually for a local feature, Verskietende Ster has a full orchestra score. “The producers saw the need for a live score because all performances had to convey the feeling of a live recording to give authenticity to the narrative,’ says Hoehn. “The genre and style of the music also made a live score performance imperative. This increased the cost of the score significantly but the end result was absolutely worth it. Many filmmakers agree that music and sound constitute 50% of a film and both Stefan Enslin and Philo Pieterse embraced this principle.’
Hoehn’s orchestra comprised a mid-sized ensemble, including a first and second chair violin section, a cello section, a pair of violas and several double basses, as well as a brass flute and clarinet. In the orchestration the piano takes centre stage, and is also the primary visual instrument on screen. The piano is also used as part of the actual emotive score, not just as a performance instrument.
Asked about the process of composing, Hoehn says he was briefed by Enslin and director Darrell Roodt about the style and genre of the music they envisioned. “I started out by composing a suite of themes for the piano, either as a solo or lead instrument. Based on these initial compositions, we selected the most appropriate material and recorded the performance scenes on set.’
During the editing process, Hoehn wrote the full score and incorporated the pre-composed material. “Only after the picture lock and a complete “mock up’ score was the notation done by my copyist Andre Hoole, under the direction of the extremely talented Graham Lea-Cox. After that, the score was initially mixed by Alen Meyerson protege Simon Ratcliffe. He created a mixing template that I was able to use to mix the rest of the cues. I also did the final mix on the film soundtrack.’
He notes that his favourite parts are those composed for onscreen performance, as well as the moments of hope amid tragedy which were composed and worked into the appropriate cues.
With the film’s focus on the young piano virtuoso Phillip Schuman, the piano takes centre stage alongside him. This meant Hoehn had to tone it down to a level that audiences would expect from a 15-year-old piano composer, making it soothing and pleasant to the ear, rather than dramatic and overly technical.
“I was asked to reference Ludovico Einaudi and his score for the The Intouchables, a superb French feature film directed Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano,’ says Hoehn. “I was also inspired by performers like Lang Lang and composers like Franz List.’
Verskietende Ster is distributed by Indigenous Film Distribution and opens on circuit on 22 April 2016.
