Stop what you are doing (we all need a break from this new normal world right now, don’t we?). Take a few minutes and do me a favor -- click on this link and watch Negative Spaces: https://vimeo.com/345214778
The animation will get you, but what also pulls you in…what makes you feel a part of it. It’s the music, the mood, the highs, the lows…Can you feel it? The music for this award-winning short film was scored by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music Bachelor of Music Composition major Andrew Barber, who will be graduating this spring.
“There’s a feeling of satisfaction that I get when I’ve found the right way to say something through my music,” Barber said. “This feeling is especially nice after I’ve been struggling to find the next place to go in a piece or to find the right mood for a film score.”
The film he is most proud of -- Negative Spaces, directed by Michaela Wadzinski -- was the first film he scored, and it took a lot of work and a lot of growth for him to write. Barber says that he’s lucky to have worked with several talented students at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at UNL. During his sophomore year, he introduced himself to a few film majors who were in the same class as him.
“I told them I was looking to get into Film Scoring, and they got me connected with an animator who was in need of some music for her film,” Barber said. “This opportunity led to lots of others, and I’ve ended up scoring seven Johnny Carson School films, and a few independently made films from UNL students.”
Barber fell in love with music in middle school and early in high school through band. Around that time was when he started to look up to some of the great film composers like John Williams, Ennio Morricone, and Hans Zimmer.
“It became a goal to be able to write music at the level that they do, and once I found my passion for writing, I never looked back,” he said. “I’ve always loved being able to tell stories. For a long time, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I eventually realized I wanted to help elevate stories through music instead. When I came to UNL, I worked hard to make connections with other students I could collaborate with. I’ve been blessed to have had so many opportunities to do what I love here.”
A Millard North graduate, Barber was in the Cornhusker Marching Band all four years while at UNL. He was also mainly in the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and the Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble. He also spent a semester each in Big Band and Men’s Varsity Chorus. Barber finds different places across Lincoln (well, prior to COVID-19 and the resulting quarantine) to do his composing.
“I try and write wherever I feel comfortable,” Barber said. “A few of my films have been done entirely at the Starbucks in downtown Lincoln. I also like to write in the Music Library or in the Adele Learning Commons. If I need equipment beyond my laptop and headphones, like microphones or midi controllers, I’ll sit at my desk at home.
“All of my film composing has been done between my sophomore year of college and now. I’ve grown so much as a composer and as a professional in that time.”
But how does he come up with the sounds, the feelings to describe the highs and lows in a film and how are they replicated?
“It really depends on what I’m writing,” Barber said. “If I’m writing a solo or chamber piece, I’ll listen to a lot of existing music and note elements that I might want to use in some capacity. I also use a lot of electronic sounds in my film scores. When I first start with a film, I try to find all the sounds that I can potentially use to fit the mood. Then I filter out and alter some of these sounds as I begin to compose.”
You can view a few more films on his website, and he’ll be adding more as soon as they become available. Visit: https://ajbarber19.wixsite.com/abarbermusic
“I write music, especially for movies, because it’s what I’m passionate about,” he said. “I love telling stories, and music helps to bring out the emotional impact in a movie. Combining my love for movies and music led me to film scoring, and I’m looking forward to continuing in film music as a career.”