The Dude
Hey everyone! Today as part of the Bloodlust – Cerene release event we’ve got an interview for you with our soundtrack composer as part of the Soundtrack Release.
When you think of sound in pornography, it’s easy to just think of girls moaning. And when you think of music in porn, it’s even easier to think of those corny porn beats that nobody thinks should even exist. But as you might have noticed, if you’re a follower of what we do here at A3D, we like to take it a step further. The mastermind behind our epic scores? Tiaz! Thanks for taking the time for us today.
Tiaz
Thanks for having me!
The Dude
So let’s start with the obvious question: how does one get started as a soundtrack composer for something like G4E? Because that was your first release with us, wasn’t it?
Tiaz
It was my first release indeed. I approached Miro and sent him a demo. He then gave me a shot at composing for G4E. It all went naturally since then.
The Dude
So take me through the thought process of someone who composes soundtracks for a porn release? Oftentimes porn music is incredibly simple and repetitive, but that’s not the case with your music at all. It has a very cinematic style. Is that a conscious decision?
Tiaz
Absolutely. I wanted more than just background music for g4ever and a very cinematic score for bloodlust. Both titles were extremely different to score though. In G4E there were mostly sex scenes. Bloodlust for example, is very story driven. It is not only about sex, but a complete story. You just get to see what you normally don’t in regular movies. Characters have emotions, goals and struggles. The music had to somehow translate all of this.
The Dude
Take us through the process a little bit. Between Bloodlust and Girlfriends 4 Ever, there are a lot of different sounds for different scenarios you use. How do you determine which sound is right?
Tiaz
I always start by talking with Miro about the story and/or what *mood* he is looking for.
Then before doing anything else, I try to find sounds that correspond to those ideas. These sounds will then be used throughout the score. Choosing the right sounds can be a long process. It comes down to personal preference in the end. It’s about what emotions need to be expressed.
The Dude
And this stage, the sounds are still unrelated to each other? As in, you have more a mood board in a concept stage than an actual score?
Tiaz
The sounds are already related to each other, but just in my head. So yeah, at this stage it’s more about ideas than actual score.
The Dude
What was the specific mood you were going for in the case of the main theme?
Tiaz
Something otherworldly. Dark with a pinch of hopefulness. Something that is immortal, never sleeps and has always been there, living through the ages without being affected by the rest of the world.
The Dude
Yeah I can definitely hear that. It’s interesting, but as a listener the process is inverse for me. Kind of. I can hear a soundtrack to a movie without ever having seen the movie, and then determine what kind of mood it is right for. You do the opposite, which is impressive because then you actually have to put those sounds together. So the next stage is composition. How does that work? What kind of software do you use?
Tiaz
I use what is called a DAW, a Digital Audio Workstation. This is where most of us compose music. To each his own. Inside this DAW, we use different kinds of music libraries. Instruments, percussions, synths, etc. What I do is simply load up the scene into the DAW, and compose on it. When composing for a scene I first try to find the tempo of that scene. Key moments if you will. I usually watch the scene many times before doing anything. Really trying to understand what is going on. After I have ideas popping in my head, I simply try them out. Sometimes it doesn’t work and sometimes you get it the first time!
The Dude
Are there any other scores or artists that you take inspiration from? Composers that you admire or look up to?
Tiaz
One composer I love and that is relevant to the topic of Vampire movies is Paul Haslinger. He scored the underworld movies.
I’m also a big fan of Howard Shore, who composed the music for The Lord of the rings trilogy. I could go on and on, but these are my two favorites.
The Dude
We’ve come off a bit of a dark age of porn sound design. Many live action shoots don’t even properly take care of the audio side of things, they are content with just giving you the visuals. Obviously you’ve put a lot of work into both Bloodlust and G4E. Do you think 3DX will contribute to revitalising sound design in erotica and pornography? Could this be the start of a new golden age of porn?
Tiaz
People, now more than ever, want to be immersed into what they are watching. Sound is an extremely important part of it, and I think that the 3dx world is starting to realise it. With VR technologies growing increasingly more popular we should expect sound to be of better quality each time.
The Dude
That sounds like a good note to end on! Let’s hope that Bloodlust as well as future A3D release can have a positive effect, with your help, on how porn and erotica creators look at sound design in their releases. Thank you for taking the time to have a chat with us! In the meantime, I would encourage everyone else to stay tuned for the remainder of our release event, because we have a lot more content coming up over the days to come!