Sundance Institute Announces Film Composers & Independent Filmmakers for Music & Sound Design Labs

Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound today announced the composers and directors selected for the Sundance Institute Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound . This will be the fourth year the Music and Sound Design Labs take place at the Skywalker Ranch in northern California. Half of this year's composing Fellows are women, extending the Institute's commitment to female artists to a creative branch of filmmaking with an especially low percentage of women represented.

The Music and Sound Design Labs provide a space for composers, directors and sound designers to collaborate on the process of providing music and sound for film. Fellows participate in workshops and creative exercises under the guidance of leading film composers and film music professionals acting as Creative Advisors. Each composer/director team will have their original scores for new independent film scenes performed live by a chamber orchestra. The Music and Sound Design Lab for narrative feature films (July 7-20) is a joint initiative of the Institute's Film Music Program and Feature Film Program, and the Music and Sound Design Lab for documentaries (July 22-30) is a joint initiative of the Film Music Program and Documentary Film Program. The Labs are part of 24 residential labs the Institute hosts annually to discover and foster the talent of emerging independent artists in film, theatre, music, new media and episodic content.

Peter Golub, Director of the Sundance Institute Film Music Program, said, "Like an unseen but essential character, music is vital to the craft of filmmaking. We are thrilled to be working with these multi-faceted, outstanding composers, directors and sound designers, allowing them to flex their creative muscles to match sound to image, bringing music to the forefront and setting the tone for how an audience will experience film."

Josh Lowden, General Manager of Skywalker Sound said, "Collaborating with the Institute to host these Labs at Skywalker allows us to deepen our commitment to independent filmmaking. Twenty-five years ago Skywalker was founded by a filmmaker for filmmakers, and among our core philosophies is the importance of early collaboration between directors, sound designers and composers in bringing a story and vision to life."

Creative Advisors this year include: composers Christophe Beck, George S. Clinton, Osvaldo Golijov, Harry Gregson-Williams, Laura Karpman, Blake Neely, Craig Richey, and Ed Shearmur; Skywalker Sound designers Pascal Garneau, Brandon Proctor, Steve Bissinger, Pete Horner, Kent Sparling, Andre J.H. Zweers, and Malcolm Fife; BMI Vice President Doreen Ringer-Ross; music supervisor Tracy McKnight; music editor Adam Smalley; music producer and music supervisor Evyen Klean; editor Vivien Hillgrove; directors Rob Epstein and Jesse Moss; and music agent Kevin Korn.