Meet Roman Molino Dunn | Film Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roman Molino Dunn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roman, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
One of the greatest things about being a film composer is that people are very interested in the process. A common misunderstanding about the craft is regarding its collaborative nature. Often, people think that I am just writing the music that I want to or that I decide is needed for a scene – and of course, I do like to bring my own creative and musical voice to things. However, in reality, my role is to help the director or producer realize their musical vision for the scene and then to bring that vision to life. Sometimes I am given quite a bit of freedom, but at the end of the day, I am trying to find the music that suits their emotional intent, whether we discover that together or they already have something in mind.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There are so many projects that I am excited about, most recently a film I scored for National Geographic / Disney+ called “Living Wild: Animals of America’s National Parks”. I love our planet, nature, and animals, and I have been a life-long fan of National Geographic, so to be asked to work for them was a very humbling experience. On top of that, the kind of music they had me write was very fulfilling. I do a lot of dramas and thrillers, and that music tends to be intense and often dark, but this was very grand and introspective orchestral music.

As to how I got here, it was certainly a long journey. I started out wanting to be a classical concert composer. I went to school for music theory and composition and did anything I could to find work as a composer, which led me down a lot of varied paths. I worked in everything from the sheet music industry, to music software, to playing in bands. Eventually, it led me to open a recording studio, where I found a majority of my time spent producing pop/dance music for reality TV stars. Some of the songs did well, and while I still do songs for films and the occasional artist, I was lucky enough to meet a lot of filmmakers through owning a recording studio in Manhattan. Heck, even some of the biggest directors I’ve ever met were through the studio – that is how I ended up spending a month recording with Paul Schrader in the studio. After a decade, I had scored enough films and television shows with many in the pipeline that I decided to move to Los Angeles and work with the studio remotely as needed.

As for challenges, there were quite a few. Trying to make a living in music is a very difficult pursuit for anyone. I worked 16hr days, seven days a week for 15 years – and I think that is the balance that all composers and artists have to figure out. Aside from financial success, the other real challenge as a composer (or any artist) is perseverance. I’m really glad I didn’t stop when the going was tough, and I have all those people to whom I gave a shout-out to thank for keeping me forging ahead.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What an excellent question! In fact, one of the reasons I moved to Los Angeles was because as someone who spends long hours in a dark studio, you want to be able to step outside and be inspired. While I miss the skyscrapers and urban splendor of NYC, having access to Hollywood, DTLA, the ocean, and the mountains all in one day is an incredible privilege.

I’ve been able to cut down my 7 day work schedule to 6 days, and I try to always take Sunday off. If it is a lazy day, I might just head to the Hollywood Farmers’ market, but sometimes I try and take advantage of everything in a single day. There is an absolutely perfect day that I’ve repeated a few times: wake up early, drive to Will Rogers State Beach and have a thermos of coffee to watch the morning waves in peace, swing back up the hill and stop by the Pacific Palisades Farmers’ Market, drive up to Malibu for some wine tasting, then start heading back to Hollywood, stop in Santa Monica to get my wife vegan cupcakes, stop in Century City at Eataly to get the things we couldn’t at the farmers’ market, come home and make the obligatory Sunday night pasta, then head downtown to Alamo Draft House for a movie. That to me is the perfect Los Angeles day: great produce, amazing wine, spectacular nature, and the heart of the film industry.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people to give shouts-out to, both professionally and personally. I feel very grateful to have an incredibly encouraging family: I wouldn’t be anything without my wife, my parents always supported my dreams (quite literally), and my inlaws, siblings, and big extended family watch all my films and shows – I couldn’t be luckier on the familial front. All of these amazing people made sacrifices that led to where I am now and I hope they all know how much I appreciate it.

From a professional standpoint, everyone at my recording studio, Mirrortone, has been such a part of all the work I do, and it is amazing to have colleagues who are friends. We’ve been in the musical trenches together and, oh, the things we’ve seen (and heard!).

And then of course there are all of the creatives that I have worked for who I’m honored to call my friends: the directors, producers, and music executives who believed in me enough to put me on their projects. Their patronage is the most warming and affirming thing. I’d hate to name a few for fear of leaving anyone out, but there has never been a director, show-runner, producer, or music executive I have worked with that I am not grateful for. And there are also a lot of people behind the scenes who I can’t thank enough, from the agents and managers I’ve worked with to the best publicists in the game.

I’m so happy to be chatting with Shoutout since, for me, the most rewarding part about art is not the success of a project, but rather the people who you get to make it with and those with whom it resonates.

Website: https://www.romanmolinodunn.com

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