Adventures at Sundance 2011

photo by Arturo Rodriguez

This week I had the tremendous fortune of experiencing the Sundance Film Festival for the first time. I have to say that it certainly lives up to all the hype and prestige that precedes it. For those who may be unfamiliar, Sundance is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States, and arguably one of the most renown and sought-after in the world. Staffed by over 1500 volunteers and showing an absurd number of films, it is essentially the winter retreat of the film industry - everyone goes to mingle, party, and get a taste of winter. Just imagine a quaint little New England town nestled in the mountains of Utah filled with people from Los Angeles... sounds rather twisted, but somehow it meshes into an incredible vibe.

First, for those of you who have never been to Utah yet have preconceived notions of how it might be, let me assure you that it is both gorgeous and welcoming. Driving into Park City from the Salt Lake City Airport, one sees mountains like those in the Lord of the Rings. The city itself is more like a village, with a charming downtown barely half-a-mile long, filled with rustic shops and eateries that remind me so much of my days in Vermont. Thanks to the generosity of my friend and fellow composer Blake Neely, I had an incredibly comfortable room in a ski cottage previously owned by Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli. Located just off the main drag, it was the perfect place to have as my home base.

Though it may surprise you, I did not actually see any films during my 3.5 days at Sundance. Because festival passes are outrageously expensive and most screenings are sold out before it even begins, the majority of festival-goers take my approach: show up and mingle. I very quickly realized that no one sleeps at Sundance. One gets up early, attends panels, events, maybe a film, and spends the whole day trying to get on lists for parties in the evening. After a bite and a caffeine jolt in the evening you hit the parties, reconnect with those you met during the day, and then make it a point to meet everyone they know. Then from there you get invited to even later parties back at residences, sleep for 3 hours if you're lucky, then get up and do it all over again. It sounds nuts, but it is such a blast, and what's better is that I had a group of friends from LA to share it with.

From a combination of being both a musician and a ham, I was able to take advantage of numerous music-related events including an ASCAP Composer Brunch, several nights at the ASCAP Late Night Lounge, a ball hosted by BMI featuring some incredible live music, and a gathering for the USC Film School. Lots of cards were given out, lots of good connections made. For those who may be curious, I did not seen any celebrities. The real paparazzi madness happens in the first weekend - I arrived just after it was all over, which to be honest I was not sad about.

Unfortunately, this may be one of the few instances where only so much can be conveyed through my words. Some of you might read this and think "so you went up to Utah and wandered around randomly at a festival for a few days?" What I can say is that the vibe one experiences at the festival is both inspiring and addictive - unlike any other. Consider a gathering of people all united under the same dream, converging in the hopes that they will bring themselves one small step closer to achieving it. Such a force makes the energy electric, an environment bursting with hope and potential. Needless to say, I've already started planning my trip for next year. 

New Tracks | The Visitation

In honor of The Visitation receiving the best score win at Idyllwild, I have posted the complete soundtrack on Soundcloud. This is the first time I've made all seven of these tracks available to the public. Hope you enjoy.

  The Visitation by Dave Volpe

News | Honors for The Visitation

I'm elated to report that The Visitation, the short film I scored in September written and directed by Cameron Young, has received awards for best screenplay and BEST ORIGINAL SCORE from the Idyllwild Film Festival. Idyllwild is this film's world premiere festival, which makes these wins particularly thrilling for everyone involved. I am very excited for both myself and my director and look forward to what is next in store for this fantastic little film!

Recent Projects | Desert Veil

In November I had the pleasure of working on a short animation project called "Desert Veil" with a group of animators from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. As most of you know my creative muse leans towards the lyric and expressive, however as a film composer one has to be able to seamlessly write in a variety of genres.

This project was quite a fun deviation from my usual in that the producers and director wanted a soundscape score, that is, one that is devoid of overt expression and relies rather on effects (usually electronic) and ambience to create an atmosphere rather than any direct cause for emoting. I have to say the experience was both fun and rewarding in ways totally different from writing a symphonic score. Rather than carefully crafting melodies, I instead took stock of my libraries and experimented with different combinations of sounds - it was loads of fun.

Below is the entire three-minute score of Desert Veil. Due to festival constraints I am unable to post any footage, but I think you'll get a good idea of what is happening and recognize the unique soundscape elements. You may notice that there is in fact a melodic device that ties the whole score together, but the context is rather veiled (pun intended). Overall this was both a fun and fruitful exercise - a pleasure to work for such appreciative, organized, and talented students.

  The Desert Veil by Dave Volpe

Adventures in Idyllwild

This was just one of the lovely views I passed as I navigated the steep and windy 2-lane, 23-mile road through the Mt. San Jacinto State Park that led from I-10 into the village of Idyllwild. When I left LA I had no idea I was in for such an adventure - I was delighted to say the least. When I first turned onto the road I passed a sign that said "chains may be required for passage." I was unmoved until I began to notice the piles of snow lining the sides of the road... luckily that's where it stayed. I arrived in the center of town just after dark. The film festival took place in the village's Rustic Theatre, an adorable little venue that doubles as a DVD rental store. The lobby, which has all the makings of a log cabin in the woods (apropos of its name), is adorned with couches and throw rugs. The wall of DVDs and VHS tapes for rent are framed by posters of the various indie films of present festival fame. The snack bar, which takes up most of the room, serves various unique sundries like Tejava, normal-sized packages of candy (for normal prices), and even beer. The intimate setting really reflected the soul of the festival, which I found to be warm and inviting. 

This year, their headliner filmmaker was Joe Dante, best known for directing Gremlins and The 'Burbs. The film I scored (The Visitation) was paired with two other shorts, a 10-minute drama commissioned by Idyllwild, and the other a 30-minute alien conspiracy horror. Q&A with the cast and crew was held after each picture, which (to my surprise) ended up including myself - quite a thrilling experience to say the least.  For dinner I was accompanied by the cast to what was unanimously hailed as the best restaurant in the village, Cafe Aroma, where my table was joined by the previously mentioned Joe Dante (!!) for a an evening of spectacular food and tremendous company. 

Needless to say, my brief journey was a smashing success. I gave away nearly all the business cards I went with, which is always a good thing. Perhaps most importantly I was reminded just how easy it is to meet anyone anywhere, particularly in the film industry. Having a film in a festival is the ultimate good excuse to travel, shake hands, and give out those business cards, no matter how small and seemingly remote a venue may seem. And if nothing else, adventure is never insignificant. 

News | Choral Commission

I just today finalized plans to write an unaccompanied choral piece for a gentleman in Davis, California, Andrew Proudian, who wishes to have a sonnet he wrote set to music as a gift to his spouse for their anniversary. He and his significant other have been singing in choirs for years and so such a gift will be particularly special for them.

The sonnet, titled "To Love's True Eyes", will be premiered in Davis on their Anniversary, April 1, 2010.


To true love's eyes my thoughts are strongly wed
That she makes up the whole of all my sight
And with her loss my vision will be dead
So brightest day shall seem as darkest night
Her scent and taste do so enthrall me too
More sweetly pleasing than ambrosia's kiss
When she is near all scents my senses woo
But her without, most fragrant rose I miss
Last two in kind, my hearing and my touch
With her plush velvet harmony are bound
That losing her in love I lose so much-
No silk's embrace nor music's beauteous sound
Her charms my senses do so well defend
Bereft of her I face all pleasures end


Sonnets pose a challenge for composers due to their particular rhythm and rhyme scheme. Luckily I love challenges and am thrilled to be writing choral music.

Recent Projects | The Visitation

In the summer of 2009 I had the splendid fortune of being connected with writer/director Cameron Young through a chance connection at ASCAP (thanks, Charlyn!). Cam is the kind of guy who exudes passion and warmth, so I knew immediately that I would be thrilled to work for him no matter what the project. It turns out that his film, The Visitation, which came together through many of the same sentiments about him, was not only right up my alley, but it was one of the best projects I had the opportunity to work on to date on all levels - writing, acting, directing, production, everything. Behind it was a production company of equal warmth and welcome, Merit/Andrew, who proved to be incredibly supportive of what I wanted to do.

As a film composer I like to create a sound palette for whatever project I'm working on, that is, I like to establish a set of instruments, effects, ambiences, sounds, etc, before I begin writing anything. Often the palette will grow as I progress through the film, but I'm always thinking in a particular world. Without giving any of the story away, the bell you see pictured above is a central symbol in the film, which came to me as a fantastically obvious device to use in composition. Cam agreed with me that the score should be centered around bells. With this in mind I decided that I needed to start with one particular bell sound that the rest of the score would grow from. It turns out that that perfect, warm, resonant bell came from the bowl to my kitchen aide stand mixer. Yes, really.

From this bell grew all the other sounds used in the movie. I laid out all the cues in my sequencer, then I recruited friends to record some of the smaller parts. For example, I took my laptop to the home of my friend Alison Bjorkedal, an excellent harpist, and recorded her playing some cues to click. Thanks to a fantastic flute player friend of mine, Jenni Olson, who I recorded both in my apartment and hers, I was able to get both live alto and bass flute in my score with minimal effort. I also sang some vocal lines and mixed in various ambience effects from my own libraries. Last but not least was the string session, which happened on September 9 at Entourage Studios and was funded generously by Merit/Andrew (along with small contributions from myself and the director). All of the previously recorded effects and instruments were used as prelays for the string session. From there I had the whole thing professionally mixed and boom: a live score professionally produced and sounding wonderful.  

Overall I was really thrilled with the way it came out and what's better is the both the director and the producers were even more thrilled than I. I think that I speak for all film composers when I say that we live for projects where not only we are respected/appreciated, but are connected with people we want to work hard for and be connected with for the duration of our careers. I can't wait to see what's in store for The Visitation and what is next for Cam. 

Though I cannot post an actual clip from the film, I can share a few of the audio tracks, which you can listen to below. My custom bell opens the "End Credits" track. Hope you enjoy. 

Coward by Dave Volpe

  End Credits by Dave Volpe

News | The Visitation in Two Festivals

Hello faithful readers. Thank you for sticking through my hiatus. I hope everyone is fairing well in this new year. Much is happening in January and you are going to hear all about it right here.

Up first, The Visitation, a short film I scored back in September written and directed by the exemplary Cameron Young and produced by Merit/Andrew of Irvine, has received its first two festival admissions. It will be making its debut at the Idyllwild Cinema Festival near Palm Springs, CA on Friday, January 14th at 6:10pm and again on Saturday at 2:45. I also received word from Cameron that it will be showing at the Sedona International Film Festival, which takes place in Sedona, Arizona from Feb 20-27. Very exciting times for everyone involved.

Look for an upcoming blog entry all about The Visitation and how it came to be.