Meet Derek Baird: Composer for Film and New Media

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derek Baird and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derek, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Staying true to my own voice has been a critical factor in everything I’ve achieved thus far. While film music is a field where trend is often valued more than originality, if you are lucky enough to work with the right people, your creativity will be trusted and rewarded—and that’s on top of the satisfaction of exploring your own ideas and seeing your art come to fruition.

This is central to how I work and how I think. I’ve noticed that allowing creativity to be the primary objective tends to elevate the project to interesting new heights. When that happens, it is a win for everyone and has the benefit of adding new ideas to the culture at large. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
If I had to describe my work stylistically, I’d say there is an eclecticism that reflects my varied life experience. I grew up in the south, then lived in NYC for 10 years working for the composers from Sex & The City and Dora The Explorer and playing in indie bands, and then moved to Los Angeles for grad school at USC. Living and working in different regions has resulted in a versatile approach to music, film and social justice issues.

It has guided me away from copycatting or adhering to fads. And yet there is still an ability to reach the audience in a way that is universal. The most valuable partnerships I’ve enjoyed thus far have been with people who share that same insight and the aesthetic that comes from it: finding a unique identity for each project rather than making something derivative.

There is a wide range of stylistic freedom in the types of projects that I work on, and as a composer, there is nothing more exciting. For example, when I composed for Tyrus (Dir. Pamela Tom), a film about Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong, we blended traditional Chinese musical elements with cinematic string orchestra, and some occasional side-steps into jazz.

While on Hurley (Prod. Patrick Dempsey, Dir. Derek Dodge), an invigorating yet thoughtful film about legendary race car driver Hurley Haywood, we used mostly analog and modular synths, weaving different pulses and rhythms with ambience into one unified fabric of nostalgia and emotion. Each new film is a new discovery and being able to exercise my own ideas in all these different ways is what keeps me interested.

While flexibility is something that I aim for overall, it tends to be held together by the stylistic framework of the film itself. In this way, every project has its own unique fingerprint. What I try to bring to every project—whether it is a documentary, drama, video game, whatever— is a unique perspective on the scene at hand. I implant myself in that scene and bring it to life naturally, based on what I am getting from the film in that moment, instead of in a contrived or prescribed way which might be based on rehashing pre-existing music.

Another way of putting it is that there are many shades to music besides “happy”/”sad”/”fight scene” and these shades can change second by second with the scene’s flow. That flow is my path, and the musical choices made along the way can affect the drama. So, what I’d say that I bring specifically is a certain nuance in some of those moments, which can enhance the director’s vision and move the audience. One of the biggest rewards in this job is the collaborative process with the director, who may have been working on their project for a couple of years before the composer is hired.

As one of the last people on board, the composer has the unique perspective of being both a creative team member and an audience member. The composer is one of the first people to see the almost-completed product with fresh eyes.

That means that we can both give feedback on the current version and affect the final outcome ourselves. The music is a very important character, and has as much ability as the lead actors to engage with the audience and shape the psychology of the story. Our interaction with the director is key here, and yet there are as many ways to do it as there are combinations of directors/composers. I’ve had great experiences where a seasoned director knew exactly what they wanted and I just followed their lead. And I’ve had equally effective situations where they handed me the keys and said “we trust you, write what you believe will work”.

So it really comes down to that relationship with the director, and building good relationships can be enriching, not only for the job, but for life. All in all, it has been more about the journey than the destination for me. Getting to work with people who are actively trying to fix the world is exactly where I want to be. Working with Robert Redford, Bill Moyers and Patrick Dempsey has been a blessing, to say the least, but it is also very humbling and rewarding to know that you’re part of a team doing good in the world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Lately, most of my favorite places in L.A. involve the outdoors. There is such diverse geography out here to be explored, you can never see it all. The fact that you can be on top of a mountain, at the beach, or in the middle of the desert within a short drive from home means that there is always somewhere to go. There are dozens of trails near Topanga, many of which converge around areas of stunning views. Same with the Angeles National Forest. Weekend trips to Paso Robles, Solvang, Ojai, or Palm Springs are a hit. Of course, everyone knows that you don’t reveal the best places!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Every door of my career has been opened by someone who believed in me and took a chance. When I was first starting out in NYC, working with composer Douglas Cuomo (Sex & The City, Homicide: Life On The Street), he referred me for a PBS documentary gig. I remember staying up all night working on the “audition” demos so I could get them over to PBS first thing the next day.

That film ended up being the start of the career that I love and have been thriving in ever since. Also, many of the companies and organizations that I have worked with, such as NRDC and Flying Mollusk, deserve a hand for all that they do to help improve the world.

Website: https://www.derekbaird.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekderek/

Image Credits
Lisa Whiteman Don Norris Stephanie Farrant-Baird