Composer Haim Frank Ilfman Discusses His Process For Designing A Film's Score, And 'Gunpowder Milkshake'
YOU CAN HEAR ILFMAN’S SCORE IN NETFLIX’S LATEST FRANCHISE-TO-BE, and can look forward to more of his work.
From beginning to end, Netflix's latest blockbuster Gunpowder Milkshake drips everything from action to attitude and especially female empowerment. While it's a lot of fun to look at, it's even more fun to listen to. The score, composed by Haim Frank Ilfman, is beautifully reminiscent of the late Ennio Morricone and flows like a noir-ish futuristic fever dream.
In anticipation of the film's release, Ilfman actually sat down with FilmSpeak contributor Dempsey Pillot. Together, they discussed where the idea for the sound came from, his relationship with longtime collaborator and director Navot Papushado, and his possible involvement in the film's already announced sequel.
DEMPSEY PILLOT: Gunpowder Milkshake. What a film. What an interesting film.
HAIM FRANK ILFMAN: You like it?
DP: Yeah, I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it. My first question to you though, and you were probably anticipating this, how did you become involved with this project?
HFI: Well, I worked with Navot for many years, so we did Rabies together. And then we did Big Bad Wolf. And then we did ABC's of Death, and we're good friends outside of, you know, just working on film. So it was quite natural. Any film that Navot does, I do the score. It was kind of like a continuance of our working relationship.
DP: What is the process like for you two? I mean, obviously, you guys are friends. But do you read the script first? Did you read the script first? Or did he tell you 'Oh, hey, I'm thinking of doing a film like this’? I guess the real question is, how do you kind of formulate the music? Is it when you first read the script? Or is it after you've seen a little bit of the movie, and you know where the vision is going?
HFI: it's a bit different. Like, I usually don't get a script from from him, but I had a script this time. Usually we'll talk about it more than anything. And we'll just kind of start compiling a playlist of what we think the score should be and if there's any songs [that go well with] the direction. It'll be like a mixture of ideas. Some could be my own music, and then it could be other scores, you know? He will send me some tracks, and I'll go ‘Great, but have you heard this score of this?’ It will be fairly eclectic, but it will have a certain direction, and then we'll just run this playlist as we go along. And then that will get updated as he starts shooting. During the editing process we will manifest that playlist into what a "temp" would be. And then I'll start thinking, ‘Okay, how do I [change this]? How do I blend this all together into one entity that will work?’ That's usually the way we work together. And actually, it's been the process, I think, on all the films with him.
DP: I think what I liked about the music in this film so much is that every character kind of has their own theme, or the music for every character kind of sets the mood of the tone for who they are. I found that to be so fascinating. It's very rare that, you know, the music kind of syncs with the story in that respect. So I really thought that was cool.
HFI: Thanks. Yeah, on this one, you know, there's a lot of characters. We have Sam and her mom Scarlet. Then we have Emily, and then we have the librarians, and then we have McAlester, and then we have the firm, and then we have the monsters. So there's a lot of like characters that are all featured. One thing we spoke about from the start is that we we wanted to do it kind of very old school like each character or group would have their own kind of signature theme. So, when you hear it, you know who we are talking about. Now, that's not an easy process.
DP: I can imagine. I mean, it's probably just as hard as like making a song from scratch, except you have a little bit more guidance. And once you read the script, you can feel how a character will probably sound. Does that make sense?
HFI: Yeah, I mean I've been on set and I met some of the actors so I already knew some of the characters and the direction we want to kind of take them. Like Scarlet is more of a gunslinger, so that's kind of a Morricone/Western type [sound]. Sam is almost like this kind of spy assassin, so she's got a kind of '60s vibe to her from those kind of espionage movies. Each cue is almost like a needle drop, but without the audience feeling that it's a needle drop, you know? Each cue is like a track that you can listen to on its own, even though it is written to for the picture.
DP: Now, when it comes to the background and production of films, I always link the composers with the editors because you guys kind of have similar jobs. Even though you may not be on set, you guys are the most involved. While the editor makes everything look nice, you guys make sure everything sounds great. I guess what I'm asking is do you agree? And at one point do you usually find yourself involved?
HFI: I think it's always good to be involved from the start. Then I think you kind of grow with the process as well. Throughout the year, while I was working on the music, it was cut and recut many times and changed from from the original score that was written. I think when you go through this process and you have the time, you can see if they made changes to the cut musically makes any sense. For instance, it's much easier than to say you know, to the editor, 'I can see what you've done, but what if you do this or what if I do this for the music? Will that help move the cut in [the right] direction?' I think if you were brought in when the picture is locked already or almost locked, you don't have a lot of time and room to play and you just got to get into it. So I think coming in from the base is much more helpful and productive for me as well to try and experiment and try and make something a bit more original.
DP: A little off-topic question here. I know you've been doing this for a few years, and I know you mentioned earlier that when you start working on a film you usually meet the cast, but have you ever been starstruck? I ask especially because with a cast like this, I think I would be.
HFI: Not really. I mean it's funny. I have a good friend who's one of the top editors in the country - Chris Gill. And he always says, 'When I take a job, it depends who the director [and stars are].' But I think that for every film you do, you kind of you just deal with the director. It's nice when you meet [the cast], if they come down to a session or to the editor or anything like that. But once you finish, you know, in the session or the editing suite, you still need to go to the studio and continue working. [There have] been a few times when [I met a cast or crew member] afterwards, and they commented on the music, and that's cool. That's really cool.
DP: This is one of my final questions. I don't know if you heard, but a sequel to Gunpowder Milkshake is already in the works! The first one hasn't even dropped. So I have to ask...are you involved?
HFI: If Navot is involved, I will be involved, obviously. But, you know, I think it's in the early days. So you know, I'm just waiting for [this one] to drop for us. I mean, the soundtrack is not even out yet. It's going to be out in a few days. But yeah, if Navot is directing, or is involved, and I think, you know, the studio loves the themes and everything. I think that's going to continue as part of the franchise. But again, it all depends. At this point, it's only on paper. So we'll see. Still time.
DP: That's fair. For my final question, I'd like to ask what's next for you? What do you have on the horizon after this film?
HFI: Well, there's a few small films I'm finishing for some friends of mine and then there's quite a big [project for] Apple TV, which I cannot really disclose at the moment. So yeah...no break sadly. As much as my wife would want to tell me to take a break. I mean, [Gunpowder Milkshake] was like a year of non-stop work, literally. We recorded and rewrote a lot of stuff during the pandemic, and then recorded a lot of stuff remotely and then rerecorded stuff as the cut progressed. So it was it was quite a very long process for a film. But it's nice that it's coming out and you know, you all get to enjoy it.
DP: Now, is there anything else that you want to say about your work? Anything you want to say about the film itself, or anything that you think that audiences or viewers or readers should know?
HFI: You know, it's a great genre blender. It's full of fun. It's about women empowerment, which is great. And they really kick ass in the film. It's a good, fun popcorn movie, which is the best thing to watch [right now]. I just hope people will enjoy it, and they enjoy the music.