“I have always been fascinated by fantastic worlds”: Mike Shinoda on inspiration and work on music for a Russian film

- In the past, you have already written music for films, but Outpost is your first experience working with a Russian director. Have you seen any Russian films before? Modern or Soviet classics?

- Good question. Usually when watching a movie I don’t think about which country it was shot in. If I watched something in Russian with English subtitles, then right now nothing is remembered. It is possible, but I can’t say for sure.

- How do you like the movie? Will you watch the full version or, perhaps, have already seen it?

- I did not see the final version of the picture, only a draft version of the editing, which the director sent to me with his team when they asked me to write a song.

I really liked it! The film seemed really exciting and provocative to me. On the one hand, this is a fascinating science fiction thriller, but it also addresses ethical issues and questions about the nature of man.

For me, this is an extremely important element of such paintings - it adds depth to them.

- In your opinion, is Outpost similar to American science fiction films or is it something completely different? Do you personally like such films?

- I love them. There are genres to which I have, one might say, a particular weakness. I love anime, science fiction, and superhero movies. I think I have always been fascinated by the fantastic worlds depicted in these works.

When I watched The Outpost, I remembered a wonderful picture - “The Child of Man” (tape by Alfonso Cuarona Children of Men. - RT ). This is a completely different film, but its action also takes place in the dystopian future. And there, too, provocative, bold and important questions are asked about human nature. But, of course, if you go to watch a movie in a movie theater, first of all you want to see a strong story that makes you forget about reality and immerse yourself in the world created by the director.

"Outpost" is a fascinating film. He inspired me. When they contacted me and suggested writing a track for him, I was skeptical at first. After reading the email, I thought: “I don’t know if I want to take it. Probably not". But after watching the movie, he changed his mind - actually, I really liked him.

- That is, you were skeptical, right?

- The approach to a creative project is usually far from some kind of calculation ... I don’t know how to formulate it better. I like to approach composition writing exclusively creatively, being inspired by something.

Whether I write music or text, as a rule, I like it when they are born inside of me, they are personal in nature, because then it causes an emotional response. Otherwise, it does not arise. But this case, one might say, is rare: the picture inspired me some thoughts and in a pleasant sense surprised me.

- Is it difficult to compose a song for the film? Is this process different from creating a regular song?

- It differs radically. I repeat: usually, creating a song for an album, I rely solely on something deeply personal, on the echoes of any other creative ideas and sources of inspiration.

Many years ago I wrote the music for the film "Raid" (Gareth Evans tape The Raid: Redemption. - RT ), but then our work was more of a collaborative nature. All music was inspired by the visual range of the film. In addition, I sent my compositions to my partner on this project - Joseph Trapanese (American composer and arranger. - RT ). The two of us wrote music, and then the director listened to it.

He gave us great freedom for creativity. We worked very closely - everyone tried to create a soundtrack that would enhance or complement the action on the screen. In my opinion, these two approaches are like two opposite poles, but tracks like fine are a kind of compromise. In the process of working on it, I independently made all creative decisions, but I drew inspiration from the video sequence of the picture. You can draw an analogy with the book and its annotation on the back cover: the book can be compared with the work of the director, and its annotation with the track I wrote.

I tried to create a composition that would arouse certain feelings in people. This is not a literal presentation of the movie plot, but the task of the music is to convey a squeeze of emotions that the viewer should experience when viewing the picture on the big screen.

And it is desirable that she does not give out plot twists, but only adjusts to the desired mood.

- Did you work closely with his composer, Ryan Otter, during your work on the film soundtrack? In general, did you write only one song or did you work with Otter and on other parts of the soundtrack?

“You know, I would really like that.” But we just didn’t have time for this, so it didn’t happen. If I’m not mistaken, Yegor mentioned that there is at least one place in the film for which a new melody was created based on the musical elements of my song. I did not hear the final version, but gave them the go-ahead.

• Mike Shinoda
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It seemed to me that when Yegor asked me to let someone else “beat” my melody, he was a little worried. In general, when working on film projects, I usually agree to this, but I always want to listen to what happened in the end. I am open to such experiments: a kind of remix comes out. At least that's what it seems to me.

In general, I really like this kind of work: I like to take my own relatively well-known tracks as a basis. This is akin to creating remixes or varying the emotional coloring of the melodies that should accompany certain scenes. For me, this is a completely natural part of the process.

I focus on how many famous composers change the theme of music throughout the film. Take, for example, John Williams (the American composer who created the music for the epic films Harry Potter and Star Wars. - RT ), which, in the course of the tape, can be associated with one character either in a new tone or in another pace and with other emotions. And this is one of the most effective artistic techniques, like a palette for the artist.

- Do you see yourself in the cinema as an actor or even a director?

- Hardly. I am pleased to be doing music. It’s not that I didn’t have any creative ideas, but I think that directing is a separate art form and in order to work in this field efficiently, you need to live and breathe it continuously. And I'm at this stage busy with other things.

- Your new video for the song World's on Fire is made in the style of anime. Did you happen to work on him as an artist?

- The basis for it was my tablet sketch. And then the whole plot was born in my head. I shared all this with someone, and so the creation process began.

The work went very quickly, our budget was quite limited, so the clip had to be made quite simple. But I am pleased with the result: the original plan was successfully reflected. I liked the characters, and since then I often draw them. Work on it was great.

I grew up on anime and video games. Suffice it to recall such things as Mega Man or Metroid on the very first Nintendo, and such animated characters as Astro Boy or even such animes as Akira. All this is reflected in similar projects.

“Your wife, Anna, is a writer.” Do you inspire each other to create your work? Do you have songs based on Anna’s stories and vice versa?

- Not yet. Of course, we show each other the work we are proud of. Anna listens to my compositions before the rest, and I read her works when they seem complete to her. But, funny, she shows her work to others sooner than to me.

As I understand it, the specificity of writing is the main thing. The first sketches are very uneven, and sometimes, putting an end to it, she still does not fully understand what exactly came out of her pen. It is like a story without a plot, and as you make adjustments, it is filled with details. Therefore, Anna is waiting for the moment when a single storyline or the plot as a whole becomes more connected, and only then shows something to me. For her, attention to detail is very important. After the release of the first book, she is working on a lot of stories, and that's great. Now she is writing an amazing story.