Great Barrington — Veteran film music supervisor Randall Poster will be discussing movies he has worked on, as well as movies he has been inspired by, in a series presented at The Triplex.
Poster has worked as a music supervisor for multiple films directed by Wes Anderson, including “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” He also worked with Martin Scorsese on “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Irishman” and Sam Mendes on “Skyfall.”
“I don’t compose the music for the movies, I generally focus on the song components or the on-camera music that’s in a film,” Poster told The Berkshire Edge. “I always work with the director and the composer of the film in order to add a different perspective of it all. My favorite part of being a music supervisor is coming up with the initial ideations, then matching it to the practicalities of shooting music on camera. To me, it’s about seeing how certain music selections and music moments become an indelible part of the story being told.”
Poster said it is sometimes difficult to find particular music that will match up to specific scenes. “Oftentimes you work with people who have associations with songs, particularly when you work with pop music, that sort of binds them to what is going on during a particular scene,” Poster said. “Sometimes it’s all about negotiations with filmmaking collaborators between what they want and what we need. Where there is a will, there is a way.”
The series starts on Friday, May 9, and will run through Sunday, May 11, and will include both movies that Poster worked on as well as ones that have inspired him, including “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and “Mean Streets.”
“I think that audiences don’t have to listen too hard when they hear songs in movies,” Poster said. “I think they have to step into the movies and just let themselves go. Sometimes you don’t want to separate the music from the story. The six films that I chose for the series all use music in a way where they are all an essential part of the story.”
For more information about the series and for ticket information, visit The Triplex’s website.
