Film Composer at Large

"Amhurst" picked up by York Entertainment

2008-07-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

York Entertainment Acquires Worldwide Rights to 'Amhurst' York Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Rocky Costanzo's suspense-thriller feature film "Amhurst," to be released later this fall on DVD.

Dusting off the blog cobwebs

2008-07-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's been a busy month, and I wanted to stop in and promise a more detailed update soon. I spent the last two weeks scoring the horror film "The Last Tenant" by Ascentia Films, and before that the romantic comedy "Broken Hearts Club" by 319 Productions. But right now I'm falling asleep at the keyboard, so I'll make a better attempt tomorrow. Peace.

New "Amhurst" Trailer

2008-06-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

I wrote a new piece of music for this brand new trailer for the feature film "Amhurst" by Lifeline Productions. I scored this film at the end of 07 and into March of 2008. Watch for distribution news soon, right here. Check out this video: Amhurst - Trailer (2008) .. Add to My Profile | More Videos

Eye of the Hurricane

2008-06-14T12:05:00.001-07:00

Although this may not be the best time for a weather euphemism, especially if you reside in the Midwest, it's the best description of me at the moment. After a I composed, recorded and mixed a record 86 minutes of music in 10 days for the feature film "Broken Hearts Club," I have some breathing room. I've got a few rewrites after some reshoots are done in the next few months, but it's pretty

It's Back

2008-06-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

April 21, 2008 Hi! Welcome to the newest incarnation of my blog, Film Composer At Large. Over the years, I've kept many journals and blogs. It's a need I have to not only hear myself speak (because when you talk aloud in the supermarket people tend to look at you funny) but to pass on information about my life as a composer, and the process I go through when I score a film or TV show. I'm

Five Forty Five

2008-01-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

I am not a morning person by nature. At least I don’t think I am. When I first started film composing, I would start working at about 3 in the afternoon and work til 3 or 4am, which I thought was my most creative time of day. I know other composers who work this way, I thought it must be the time of day the creative process was most active. But am a single father to a son. When I started

“Until Next Time” score wins the Silver Medal for Excellence at 2008 Park City Music Festival

2008-01-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> It’s official, the score has won a Silver Medal for Excellence in the Short Film Score category. You can check out the site here.

Meeting Accomplished

2008-01-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

I met with Rocky last night to go over a whopping 28 cues for Amhurst. We’re starting to put the finished cue in the timeline permanently for the score mix, and I had some touch-ups I wanted to do for virtually all of them before they were set in stone. It was a quick 6 hours, Rocky and Roy supplied dinner, we went over all the cues, made some volume changes in a few places, and I picked up

The House That Zimmer Built

2008-01-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

Last Monday I got the chance to see the inside of Remote Control, Hans Zimmer’s composer empire. Just being inside the building, I could feel the creativity flowing. I met with Jim Dooley, who among dozens of films (many of them at the same time), is the composer for the only new show I watched this season, Pushing Daisies. He does an outstanding job on the show creating a cinematic atmosphere

I Hate Being Sick

2008-01-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night I got hit with a flu-like cold. There’s nothing worse than your mind wanting to work and your body saying “hold on, let me look at the schedule… umm, no, I don’t think we’ll be doing anything today.” Sundance started yesterday. I was going to head to Park City next Saturday for the screening of “Until Next Time,” but not only are things hopping with “Amhurst,” but I spent a few

The Haunted House Cue (Scoring Amhurst)

2008-01-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

Scoring “Amhurst” has been an exciting experience, because I can feel the score growing every week. It’s kind of taken on a life of its own, and has made a 180 degree turn from the first set of cues I wrote (at least in my opinion). When I started the first reel (a 20 minute section in the middle of the film), I had a general idea of where I wanted to go with the score. After a 4 hour

RailFans: Chasing Trains now on sale (score by Rob Gokee)

2008-01-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

“Railfans Chasing Trains” is a 70-minute documentary that follows three Railfans who, bonded as friends 30 years earlier by their love of trains, reunite for the chase again and embark on a five day journey across four states hunting the Big Iron from BSNF and UP. Utilizing state of the art tools such as GPS tracking to locate trains, Kurt Haubrich, Bill Choiniere and Dan Hunter follow a

“Until Next Time” Official Selection at 2008 Park City Music Festival

2008-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

“Until Next Time,” a film written and directed by Kimberly Prendez and scored by me, was just accepted into the 2008 Park City Music Festival, and is up for “Best Use of Music in A Short Film.” Congratulations to all involved, and thanks to Kimberly for letting me be a part of her vision.

(Blog) Silence is Golden

2008-01-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hey. I’ve been very busy throughout the holiday season scoring the thriller “Amhurst.” Director Rocky Costanzo and I have been meeting every week to go over new cues and make changes on previous versions. The score is coming along swimmingly, and I’ll try and detail some of the specific cues and their respective scenes in later blogs. REALLY, I promise.

Iconoclasts

2007-12-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

The other night I was watching a DVR’d episode of Iconoclasts, it was Norman Lear and Howard Schultz. Although Norman Lear is an amazing man and producer, I was taken with the way that Howard Schultz created his Starbucks empire. I know this is a love it or hate it topic. I’m generally not a lover of “big box” companies that smother the market. I absolutely HATE Wal-Mart more than any

Back

2007-12-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Just time for a quick update. I had jury duty last Friday, got called into a courtroom with about 50 other people. The judge ran out of time picking the 12, so I have to go back this morning to see if I’ll be chosen. Working diligently on “Amhurst” music, 11 cues have been written at this point, I got more footage last night at a meeting. If I’m not busy playing my part in 12 Angry Men, I’ll

Carpet tape and creepy gas stations

2007-12-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

One of them was stuck to my hands for two days and the other is a scene I’m about to score. Can you guess which? Yes, that’s correct, there’s nothing like having a damn gas station stuck to your hands. I’ve almost completed a mini remodel of the studio. I share one wall of the studio with a neighbor, and I’ve been trying to think of an economical way to add soundproofing to said wall for a few

Just Announced: Rob Gokee to score “Amhurst”

2007-11-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

Press Release From Lifeline Entertainment: RETURN TO INNOCENCE: DVD Drops Today! The re-release of our first feature film, Return to Innocence, is now available on DVD. Pre-sales have been outstanding! Thanks to all who have supported this film. It’s great to see that after seven years, there is still a demand for it. With all of the digital enhancements, improved cover art, all-new bonus

Long overdue for an update

2007-11-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

Hey blog readers. I’ve been busy lately, and every time I start to post an update it never seems to make it to “post.” Before I get to anything else, I want to talk about the five features I’m in the midst of, which is a huge turning point in my career, where I’m used to having 5 short films going at the same time. I’m excited to move further into the realm of films where I have the chance to

I feel like a stranger on my own blog…

2007-10-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. It occurred to me late last night that since I’ve relaunched my website and now have a link to my blog from it, that I may have a (brief) influx of new readers coming over here. Welcome. Try not to trip over anything on the floor, and help yourself to some coffee so you don’t fall asleep reading. I have a 1pm meeting in Santa Monica, so this is going to be the Cliff Notes

News

2007-10-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hi, I’ve been very busy and neglected the blog. Bad Rob. I just finished scoring my first feature, I’ll blog all about it when I have some time. I also mapped out 100 GB of samples, custom now to my library, picked up new work and new possible work, and a screening at IndieFest next Monday. I promise to get to all that and more… possibly tomorrow.

Checking in briefly

2007-10-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hey. Sorry for the lack of blogging, I’ve been trying to catch up with non-composing stuff last week and this one, including copying my notes from the last four books I read (Pro Tools Overdrive, Flash 4, Pro Tool Multimedia, and On The Track), so I’ve been writing, just not here. After a whole 4 days of being “project-less,” in a matter of three days I somehow ended up with 4 potential

Ignorance in Bashing Television

2007-10-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

OK, it’s time for a rant. Lately I’ve seen a influx of people bashing television. All kinds of people: directors, producers, blog writers, non-industry people, composers. The common thread these people are proclaiming is that television is “bad for you.” It “rots your mind, makes you brain dead, saps your creativity, is inferior to film.” BULL. My biggest problem is the generalization these (

Broken Hearts Club 2008

2007-09-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

No, not that damn film starring Zack Braff in 2000, this is the real deal. Director Angelo Bell has set up the website for his 2008 indie release “Broken Hearts Club.” Check it out, hear my music, and join the club. www.brokenheartsclubfilm.com Rob

R.I.P. Rob’s MySpace 2005-2007

2007-09-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

It will not be missed. Yesterday I sent out 84 emails to my “friends,” letting them know I was moving onward and upward. I deleted and disabled everything except my bio and the links to my site, this blog, and my Tribe Hollywood profile. It feels good to be gone from the site. I made some great connections, both business and personal, but since January it’s just been a waste of time to log in and