Meet Antonio David Paton | Film & Video Game Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Antonio David Paton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Antonio, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Oh the leading role, for sure. I think it takes a gigantic amount of courage to drop everything in your life and move to a whole new city (or country for a lot of us) to pursue your dream and work on turning it a reality every single day. From every kind of lens you look at it, the most gratifying and fulfilling experiences and relationships come from jumping that barrier of fear and taking risks. I never in a million years thought I had what it takes to score a movie to completion, or that a director would trust an 18 year old with the responsibility of bringing to life the music they heard in their head. I was terrified to take on a project like that, and after taking that initial leap of faith I started what has become the greatest joy of my life: scoring visual media. The fear and imposter syndrome don’t really stop after finishing projects like that, but I know that the most beautiful things are awaiting beyond those feelings. After I got a little more accustomed to movies the next thing that terrified me was working on the audio team for my first video game. I had absolutely no clue what the expectations were, or how to do any of the branching and layering of the music the developers were talking about, or any sound design for that matter, and I almost rejected the opportunity that opened up my eyes to an even broader world that is working with audio in interactive media. After looking back at the things that make me happy to wake up every day and work on this dream, I realize they only came to me after facing that fear and anxiety and deciding to say “you know what? this is a risk worth taking”.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think an all-encompassing answer to those questions is the power community. I really don’t know where I would be without the trust and encouragement of my family, friends and creative colleagues. I think every creative knows the fear of telling their family they want to do art for a living, and I was fortunate enough to have a family that said “Let’s make it happen”. Without them, I wouldn’t have known EMMAT in Colombia (shoutout to them!), and without them, I wouldn’t have ever heard of Berklee in Boston, to which I owe so much. Without the trust of my first creative team, I would have never gotten into film music and it truly is thanks to them I am where I am now professionally. The whole process has never been easy, it’s been filled with doubt and anxiety, not to mention a global pandemic, but I’ve always had a group of people having my back when I needed them, which I’m frankly thankful and proud of. I’m super excited about the projects that are lined up this year! As it always happens I’ll be taken out of my comfort zone and I’ll deal with the problems as they come, but I’m stoked to see what lies ahead. Getting to work with new people always gives me a certain nervousness and excitement I love. And as always, I’m excited to meet and collaborate with the artists I know and admire, and the ones I’ve yet to know.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There’s so much to do in LA! I don’t even know where to being. During the day I probably would take them to the observatory, The Getty, the Academy Museum, the Hummingbird Garden in Baldwin Vista, drive around the PCH and Malibu, or take them on a hike near Glendale. During the night I probably would take them to Barcade in Highland Park, or my favourite spot in town: Barney’s Beanery. Can never go wrong there. For food I would take them to all the taco trucks I know here, there’s just something about them that I love. Couldn’t recommend enough.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I kind of want to say that everyone I’ve met since I decided to make music my life has affected me and shaped me into who I am today, from the older kid in high school that I admired because I knew he was going to music school and I bombarded with questions, to my parents for supporting and encouraging me since I was a little kid taking piano lessons, and later on going to music school, to all my friends in college that by osmosis made me a better musician and person just because I was in their presence, to my college for opening my eyes to the most beautiful community I’ve seen in my life and to the Jewish community in Bogota, Boston and LA for always making me feel at home when I was so far away from what I knew. But the one that I want to extend all my love to is my grandma back at home, for going to every recital, empty show and late-night jam session and always having a smile on her face. Support like hers is what has gotten me through every existential crisis we artists know all too well.

Website: antonio-david.com

Instagram: @paton.wav

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNx0cLxoBZicFzpk1q0ocyg