Film
TheCanterville Ghost: 1982
An American family buys this haunted mansion. a fun and humorous film. At the time I was a session pianist and synthesist when Ralph asked me to score the music, there was a moment of pregnant silence and then he said, " Keith, you have tomorrow in this studio to do it all, as in play and mix...well, it was the end of day so I raced home thinking on his brief and immediately looked through existing pieces and ideas that I had composed. There was a piano piece that had a touch of Beethoven, and played on Harpsichord gave the appropriate feel.... "a little scary but with humour", and that was that, played, mixed and delivered.Jock of the Bushveld: 1987 Best Film Score - Mnet/Vita Awards South Africa. Director: Gray Hofmeyr
This is the original film produced by Duncan McNiellie, adapted from the book, about a man and his dog (Jock) and their close relationship during the great treks across the tough African landscapes. The score was orchestral yet written in a style that embraced the sounds of Africa. recorded and delivered in 5 weeks. I suppose that outside of musical director, composer, orchestrator, copyist, booking agent, pianist, flautist, conductor and music producer, I must have been the music supervisor as I was asked to research all of Johnny Clegg's music, some of which was used in the film, Spirit of the Great Heart which was composed especially for Jock and a hit song. I always thought that it was a lot to do in a short space of time with only 3 hours sleep a night until speaking with my son's lecturer at GIT in Los Angeles, he enquired into what I do and I shared with him the above story, well, he shed completely new light on it all when he exclaimed how fortunate I was to have been able to handle all aspects of the musical production compared to the fact that in Hollywood there are specialists to take care of all the different musical departments...what he said was certainly food for thought , mmm! let me think for a moment...Nope! Take me to Hollywood...Servants of Twilight: 1991 Hollywood
Living in Los Angeles, still with the Johnny Clegg band and recording the album, Heat, Dust and Dreams. I was asked by Jim to collaborate on the score, a low budget of course and little time, anyway scored and recorded like madmen in the night at my studio in Thousand Oaks CA which was next to my house and the sounds filtered in and scared my kids half to death. The movie changed Directors 3 times, the result was that the film lost its dynamic and flow, it was not the success it could have been and I didn't get a screen credit...Ce la vie!ESPU: 1997 Producer: Paul Raleigh (Tsotse-2006 Oscar)
The Endangered Species Protection Unit is a team in Africa steadfastly working to protect the wildlife from poachers and organized crime. This was yet another one of those crazy projects. When Paul Raleigh the producer first approached me he said that we had 6 months which meant 2 episodes a month, great! eezy peezy! No problem, then Mr. Paul Gazek and entourage arrived from the good ole US of A and firstly told me to sit down, now that was strange...in my studio...he went onto explain that they required the music for all 13 episodes in 2 weeks....Oh yes, Oh yes, Oh yes, bring on the pressure. We do try.....Forging a nation: 1997 Producer: Tracy Kirchhoffer
A educational video distributed throughout schools in South Africa. This was one of those film projects when you get to see nothing, not even one frame. You take the brief, go home and write blindly so to speak and hope that what you have frantically scored fits the bill...well, it worked....God the bless the editor!Shadows on the Land: 1998
A South African documentary produced by Duncan McNiellie (Jock) dealing with local issues and the environment. Small budget film composed and recorded entirely with machines to no footage, no, not even a frame and delivered in no time!!! What can I say, it seems to be the nature of beast....Chimfunshi: 2005 Executive Producer: Michael Rosenberg (Emmy&Panda Awards Winner)
20 years ago David and Sheila Siddle began work saving Chimpanzees in an area which was to become the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage on the headwaters of the Kafue River, sixty kilometers west of Chingola, Zambia. The United Nations placed Chimfunshi on its Global 500 Roll of Honor in 1999. Emmy and Panda award winning Producer Michael Rosenberg asked me to score the film, this time gratefully to picture, though there were quite a lot of changes later on , hey, what's new? It was recorded in Johannesburg in my studio with those infernal machines, I love my Mac but I still really love a real orchestra, thank God for real musicians! What you hear is from the tragic scene in an African market where Chimps are butchered for the barbecue and muti. (things they use in black magic). It is quite horrifying to watch and so I wanted the viewer to really feel that agony. It is not happy music...very sad...you might even cry....I did....Bitter Water Marah: 2007 Best South African short film and music at the ABSA KKNK Kanna Awards 2007 and
later that year won the Best Film at the Apollo Film Awarda 2007. Also screened at the Sithengi Film Festival 2007
The film was written/directed by Garth Meyer and edited/produced by Douw Jordaan. Extra music provided by Robert Trunz - Melt Music. 'Bitter Water Marah' is a revenge story narrated by Monica the Sangoma of the Valley. A boy sees his sister being stoned by the community for bearing a deformed child, the result of aggressive rape. The child is seen as a sign of evil and the reason for the misfortune in the village. In revenge the boy seeks out a powerful Sangoma to put a curse on the community. He is told to return when he has enough money to pay for 50 cattle. After years in the city he returns as a man, pays for the curse, and exacts his revenge. The significance of the Sesotho film is to engage people in discussion about the role of superstition, culture and religion in African culture today. The score design and realisation took place in one week using my best friend, Mr Mac, to whom I am ever grateful. I should get a % for advertising, now there's a thought!