When I was a young child my folks would ask me why I was rocking back and forth and I'd answer "cause of the music in my head!"

It was a natural thing for me to go become a musician, and then to start writing music. I don't even really remember making a decision to go into music, it was just there for me, always. If I weren't making a living at it, I'd still be writing music.

When I'm writing a score, I'm constantly looking for ways to improve on it, even when I think it's working well. I don't give up on things, and am always trying to make incremental improvements, which means I never finish writing a score early!

I prefer live musicians whenever possible. And I tailor the ensemble to what is appropriate for the film and the score I'm writing.

Each culture might lend its own dialect, but above all that is the language of music itself, and it doesn't care about politics or boundaries.

In a recording, your ear believes and accepts the trumpets as part of the ensemble, but you can't do that in a concert hall.

I'm also always thinking about the score as a recording, as opposed to a performance that can be recreated in a live environment. Some of what I write could of course be played in a concert hall, but for the needs of a film I don't consider that.