Carter Burwell & Skip Lievsay: Film Music and Sound Design

On Tuesday 16 October 2018, Film Fest Gent and School of Arts Gent (Belgium) organise a new edition of the Film Music Seminar that focuses on artistic collaboration between filmmaker, composer and sound designer. This year, we have the privilege to talk with Carter Burwell ('Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri', 'Fargo') and Skip Lievsay ('Gravity', 'Silence of the Lambs') about their collaboration, about the changes and development during their collaborative and personal careers and about their view on the importance and impact of sound and music in film.

Joel and Ethan Coen have been working with Burwell as composer and Lievsay as sound editor and later sound supervisor since their first film 'Blood Simple' in 1984. Lievsay, who was already an experienced sound editor at that time and who knew Burwell from the New York music scene, suggested him for the music of the Coens' first film project.

Four "inexperienced boys" started working together, discovering step by step how each of them could contribute to make the film project successful. This story is told again and again in many articles and interviews. The intriguing fact is that they are still working together and that they have succeeded to collaborate in a continuous dialogue, trusting each other rather than setting up a Hollywoodian hierarchical workflow.

During a lecture for School of Sound in 2001, Burwell revealed the importance of film music: "It carries an informative value and shows unspoken connections, but more importantly, it creates an emotional effect in the audience. Music opens up a feeling that dominates the whole atmosphere of the film."

Practical information:
The seminar will take place at the Theaterzaal of Vooruit (Ghent, Belgium) from 9:00 - 16:30. Tickets cost €15 for students & accreditations / €20 for non-accreditations).
We provide a lunch with sandwiches which forms the ideal occasion to network with other seminar guests.
Buy your ticket(s) here.

There is also the possibility of reserving special combi tickets** for both the Film Music & Sound Seminar and the WSAwards Industry Day for €25*/€35.
More info and updates on the topics and speakers are available in the Facebook event

*students & Film Fest Gent 2018 accreditation
**if you buy a combi ticket for the Film Music Seminar and the WSAwards Industry Day, you get free access to the Masterclass Sound Supervision