Roman Molino Dunn on Film/TV Composition, Snakehead, Huracán, & and Music Producing The Card Counter

DreamPath Podcast

Roman Molino Dunn is a Billboard-charting music producer and an award-winning film and television composer. His film and television work includes scoring HBO Max’s Huracán, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Snakehead, and music producing The Card Counter, starring Oscar Isaac, directed by Paul Schrader, and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. Roman has also worked with popular brands such as Burger King, Michael Kors, NBC, and Clinique, among many others, and is the co-founder of Mirrortone Studios in NYC.

What you will learn:

• ​​Roman reflects on his long journey to working on acclaimed films and television shows, starting with a classical music education as a child, learning the "language of music," and ultimately studying music theory at university. [0:00-8:02]
• How formal music education has benefited him as a film composer and music producer. Roman also breaks down the distinction between film composers, music editors, music producers, and music engineers. [8:02-17:33]
• Getting technical, Roman reveals the computer programs he uses for scoring and what that process is like, from making musical “sketches” based on an early read of a script to the nitty gritty of payment for his services, including payment on “the backend” of a film or recording. [17:33-28:56]
• The benefits of collaboration when co-running his recording studio Mirrortone. How Roman got the opportunity to work with Paul Schrader on The Card Counter and what working with such acclaimed directors is like. [28:56-36:12]
• How film directors and music supervisors work together, and the research that goes into choosing musical instruments, sounds, and tones for each project. Roman also shares his go-to harmonies and instruments for particular types of scenes, depending on the emotions the director wants to evoke in those moments. Roman further elaborates on his trajectory in becoming a film composer. [36:12-47:28]
• Finally, Roman touches on the difference between the work performed by film composers vs. sound designers on films like Mad Max: Fury Road. [47:28-52:23]

Resources:

• Roman’s: IMDb, website, Instagram, Twitter (Roman Molino Dunn), Twitter (Electropoint), Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn