‘Missing’ Composer Julian Scherle Discusses Expanding the World of the ‘Searching’ Universe
Photo courtesy of Vehlinggo
FilmSpeak sits with with composer Julian Scherle to discuss collaborating with directors Nick Johnson and Will Merrick and expanding the world of ‘Searching’.
Composer Julian Scherle took over scoring duties from Searching composer Torin Borrowdale for the film’s standalone sequel, titled Missing. And while the film is set in the same universe as Searching, the stylistic flourishes are different, and “the vision of the directors made it feel distinct from the first film. There isn’t much connection to the first film in terms of sound. In the beginning, there is this fake Netflix show based on Searching. We snuck in a little snippet of Searching’s theme into that piece of music if you listen carefully.”
Directors Nick Johnson and Will Merrick were familiar with Scherle’s music, with the composer stating that he released “different concept albums and EPS under different pseudonyms, and they found one of my aliases. They were very familiar with the kind of sound that I have. They approached me, and were basically saying, “Hey, this is the kind of sound that we envision for this movie.” From there, we did a lot of experimentation to figure out what the sound will be, which was a highly collaborative process.”
Most of the music of the film was written before the editing process began, which allowed Scherle to write “a bunch of different snippets and sound flavor. I handed all of that over to the editors so they had full access to all the musical elements. That allowed us to not have to use temp music, so the editors could take all those little beats bits, and pieces, and shape them along the way while they were editing. It would come back to me to polish it and edit it more musically for those tense moments. I use a lot of digital noise that is recorded with a very specific type of microphone that just picks up lots of electrical interference. I created a bunch of different, anxiety-inducing, uncomfortable sound worlds and different tools that the editors and the directors could use. The movie has a lot of tension buildups and a lot of rising elements constantly. It’s almost as if you're going to a concert and you have a DJ and he’s constantly pushing you further and further, and you get more hyped up. And that’s what I wanted to do with the tension: push it harder and harder.”
Scherle used a lot of piano in the score, which he qualifies as his “go-to instrument. It's just very natural for me to start any type of somatic material with a piano. I really wanted to create a stark contrast of this really harsh, claustrophobic electrical stuff that you're hearing, and create something that feels cozy, warm, and familiar. There’s nothing better than strings and piano. I still use that same concept of making it feel claustrophobic and very close. I think that it is a big element that I try to achieve with a score that just feels really claustrophobic.
I used the piano as if my ear was extremely close to the instrument and you would hear every noise that the piano makes. Most of the themes are played at some point in piano, but also played in all kinds of different variations, with a synth or, turned into some kind of drones. I also like using the piano in a way that is impossible in real life. There are a bunch of piano loops that are recorded that then change in pitch, which is something you can't usually do with a piano.”
In finding the right balance between a score that accompanies the drama and adds some authenticity to the film’s realistic aesthetic, Scherle explained that “ you have to follow the story extremely closely with how you score it. The music needs to tell so much of the story. You need to ask yourself “what is she going through? What is she thinking at that moment? What is the script, and the story itself dictating at that point in time?” The music needs to be able to follow those emotional beats perfectly during these moments.”
Scherle’s next project is a yet-to-be-revealed Amazon series, in which he describes as “a really nice contrast to Missing. It allowed me to play all the instruments. I love playing instruments by myself as much as I can. And it’s very fun to play all of the keys, bass and the guitars for a project like this.”