Often overlooked in film and TV is the music that sets the scene. The orchestral swell as two lovers reunite after being separated, a pulsating dance beat dropping in the middle of a night out on the town, contemplative piano ballads taking over confessionals — sans the score, these kind of moments are likely to translate meekly or not at all. For composer Joy Ngiaw, it’s her job to make certain a fitting melody accompanies every sequence.
Ngiaw, who was raised in Shanghai, graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2016 before making her way to Los Angeles. After scoring Skydance Animation’s first ever short, “Blush,” which won a Hollywood Music in Media Award, she went on to compose for Netflix’s “Glamorous” (2023) and Skydance’s inaugural logo. In our latest interview, Ngiaw describes how she first became interested in composition, her current creative process and the value emotion holds in scoring.
CM: When did you first take an interest in pursuing music, whether that be composing or performance?
JN: I’ve played classical piano since age 6. I love movies. And I am always fascinated by the music because it gives me a feeling of nostalgia — if I can remember a score and how it relates to the story and the characters. I decided to pursue it because I wanted to create that [feeling] and be involved in the storytelling.
CM: Did anyone in your life push you towards that [goal]?
JN: My parents are really supportive of me. But, I think what really inspired me was I’ve always improvised on the piano. And I didn’t know that was composing. I just liked to play whatever I was feeling at the time.
One of my high school teachers walked in when I was in the auditorium improvising and she said, “You should consider composing. Because that’s what you’re doing.” I never forgot that.
CM: That’s so cool. Was it an art high school?
JN: It was actually just a regular high school. There was a grand piano in…
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