DOUGLAS ROMAYNE

Director Brad Kean (Entity:Nine) and Composer Douglas Romayne

The Park City Film Music Festival awarded Douglas Romayne their highest honor, Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Film Music, and 5 Gold Medals for Musical Excellence for ROCKETBOY, ENTITY: NINE, FREEDOMLAND, BEYOND THE SILENCE and SHELTER. ROCKETBOY was also nominated for Best Score by The Film & TV Music Academy. Listen to Romayne's award-winning scores on his official website.

Reviews of the score include:
“...[Douglas Romayne's score to] Rocketboy, has a magical, Elfmanian quality. Again, thematic ideas make the music immediately engaging. Much of this particular score is best described as a cross between Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Edward Scissorhands...” - Steven A. Kennedy, Film Score Monthly.

“...Quirky humour dominates Romayne's score for Rocketboy...and the jaunty tempo of "Something Unusual" is enhanced by the use of expressive, woody vibes and chimes, while ""Accountant's Dream" introduces the film's main theme on chimes, and an appropriately cheesy Ondes Martinot sample that recalls some of Danny Elfman's cheeky music for Tim Burton's early comedies...” - Mark R. Hassan, KQEK.

Filmmaker quote:
“Douglas is committed to the art of storytelling, and he captured the tone of ROCKETBOY with music that is haunting, lush and magical. I came to him with a unique style in mind, and he was able to achieve it perfectly.”

Justin Guerrieri, Director, ROCKETBOY

Quotes...

“What makes Douglas stand out is that he’s an excellent storyteller. He truly immersed himself in the material, scoring not what we see but what we feel. The result was an incredible score that adds tremendous production value to the film.
It’s a bonus that he happens to be a nice guy and a great collaborator.”

Brad Kean, Director, Entity: Nine

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“Both captivating and powerful, Douglas’ score is truly a masterpiece. He is able to capture the emotion of a scene, a character, a story, seemingly without effort. What sets Douglas apart from others is not only his natural talent, but his love for music and ability to capture a moment, and make it timeless...he can do with a score what few others can; make the pictures jump off the screen and into your heart. Douglas is a great professional, a wonderful person, and truly a joy to work with...every director’s dream.”

JC Schroder, Director, Freedomland

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“Doug's understanding of story, character and visuals were as beneficial to the film as were his musical instincts. His light and elegant touch allowed the music to become such an organic part of the narrative, it's hard to imagine the film without it.”

Luke Hutton, Director, Shelter

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“Douglas is an exceptionally gifted composer who has the special ability to recognize the nuances of story and character and create sublimely beautiful music to highlight these elements. Collaborating with Douglas on Beyond the Silence is a director’s dream, not only is he extraordinarily talented and passionate about his work, he's a consummate professional. I look forward to working with him again soon.”

Luci Kwak, Director, Beyond The Silence

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“Douglas perfectly captured the modern Western sound I was looking for. The music is both subtle and bold adding interesting layers to the tone of my film. I especially love the triumphant final cue - it helps my movie come to a close with great spirit and style.”

Alexandra Apostolakis, Director, She Wore A Yellow Scrunchy

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“Douglas was recommended to Chad Rocco, Matthew Hsu and myself by a number of our friends who collaborated with him. His music added tremendously to both the tension and comedy of our film. He was also very open to feedback and working within our director's vision of the project. We'd gladly work with him on future projects... he's a real pro.”

Eric Conner, Producer, The Dozen

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“Douglas composed a temp score for a tricky sequence in an early cut that was so fantastic, it became Antebody's theme. I'd recommend him for any filmmaker who wants an amazing top-notch score”

James P. Gleason, Director, Antebody

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“Working with Doug on both Sunday Paper & Paper Cut was a wonderfully collaborative experience. His ability to come up with a broad range of strong thematic music and achieve a large orchestral sound within his own studio served in bringing both stories to life on the screen.”

Eric Towner, Director, Paper Cut, Sunday Paper p.2B

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“On The Jackalope, Doug worked tirelessly to ensure that I got the best score possible...I look forward to working with him again.”

Joseph Guerrieri, Director, The Jackalope

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“Douglas approached the cinematic process in my film Non Plus Ultra with incredible insight, commitment and talent”

Adriana Zuanic, Director, Non Plus Ultra

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“The writing, directing, cinematography and acting made up the body of the film. Doug's score gave it its soul.”

Adrian Fulle, Director, Three Days

Reviews...

“...Freedomland kicks off the disc...Beautiful is an aptly-titled track, featuring a strong lyrical melody played first on solo wind and later on cello against a small string ensemble...Rocketboy, has a magical, Elfmanian quality. Again, thematic ideas make the music immediately engaging. Much of this particular score is best described as a cross between Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Edward Scissorhands...Entity: Nine falls more into the sci-fi/horror genre and also features some great action cues…a Goldsmithian rhythmic play with a sound that closely resembles similar scores by Richard Band or Guy Gross' Farscape. The score for Shelter is similar in style to Freedomland, but this time with more emphasis on ambient sound textures and a semi-James Newton Howard feel. Sunday Paper p. 2b...offers another beautifully thematic piece of Americana, with gorgeous flute and oboe solos taking the lead in Photographic Memories. Beyond the Silence is…a piano and string-based score featuring a simple melodic idea set against a rich harmonic palette...This album...is a fabulous demonstration of Romayne's ability to create melodic, large-sounding scores in many genres...This release is highly recommended for those interested in hearing a voice that we can only hope will move on to more high profile assignments...”

Steven A. Kennedy, Film Score Monthly
6.15.07, album review Expressing the Inexpressible

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“ Romayne's rich scores satisfyingly complement the films he's worked on. The title of this CD is "Expressing the Inexpressible," and that's exactly what Romayne has done. I have seen a handful of the films represented here, and I was reminded again that music goes beyond what pictures and words can do on their own. Romayne has filled in and completed the stories, complementing the action and providing an emotional context. Its hard to imagine the films working as well as they do without his music. Regarding the films I haven't seen, the evocative music conjured images and emotions that made for a satisfying stand-alone experience, but it also made me want to seek out those films...”

Jeff Jewell, Director/Editor
April 2007, album review, Expressing the Inexpressible

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“...Entity: Nine and Shelter, both short films, slick in their own genres, one a sci-fi modelled on The Sixth Day and the other a Magnoliaesque interlinking of storylines between desperate or sad people. Doug's scoring for both was not only apposite but, in my opinion, probably of better value than either film would normally have expected. Entity: Nine in particular pulls out the stops to deliver excitement in the quasi-orchestral fashion DR exhibited so well in the Buffyverse. He brings in Buffy regular and all-round woodwind whizkid Chris Bleth (on flute and clarinet) and supplements with four violinists and a cello. The result is economical but thrilling (think A.I. in places?), and there are sci-fi/action feature scores that do a lot less. Shelter, then, is a complete contrast, reducing the scoring down to little more than string synths, atmospherics (rain fx, synth-sound, some very soft marimba percussion?) and delicate piano. In its own way this is the more effective score because it lets the drama play out with the barest emotional wallpapering.”

Ian Davis, BluntInstrument: Buffy Composer Site
April 2006 Entity: Nine and Shelter film score reviews

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“Douglas Romayne's "Directing The Composer" workshop is an important and information packed seminar. It can only enlighten the filmmakers who attend. Douglas' workshop is the missing link from most college curriculums. I recommend it to all filmmakers.”

John Putch, Director, Mohave Phone Booth

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“Sitting in Douglas Romayne's "Directing The Composer" workshop made me wonder why we didn't have a class like this in film school. I went through film schools in both England and California, but I learned more about working with a composer in this one workshop than I did in school. I was impressed with how Douglas was able to simplify the process, the many different purposes of a film score, and define a common language that directors and composers can use to communicate with each other.”

Jon Gustafsson, Director, Wrath of Gods

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“A new collection of cues from [Douglas Romayne's] recent project Entity:Nine...are truly impressive in their scope and melody, which, despite a budget dictating the usual reliance on samples and synths, has managed to squeeze in live performances...The result simply reminds us how much a little live playing can add to the scope of a synth score - the cues are full of vitality...I couldn't think of a better stimulus to watching [the film].”

Ian Davis, BluntInstrument:Buffy Composer Site
February, 2006 Entity:Nine film score review

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“...an added touch of class is lent to the production
by the top-notch musical score from Douglas Romayne...”

Russell Williams, Dark Realms Magazine
Issue 17, January 2005, H. H. Holmes review

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“...the music by Douglas Romayne is marvelous...”

Bill Gibron, DVDTalk
11/29/04, H. H. Holmes review

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“...Douglas Romayne's score successfully recalls
Bernard Hermann's efforts for Alfred Hitchcock,
helping create genuine tension as the story wends its way
from crime to punishment...”

Sean Plummer, Rue Morgue Magazine
October 2004 Issue 41, H. H. Holmes review

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“...The music score by Douglas Romayne is outstanding.
Romayne captures a large sounding score that backs the documentary's historical perspective as well as the seriousness of the subject matter...”

Terry Wickham, Manta Ray Pictures
Fall 2004, H. H. Holmes review

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“...The music [by Douglas Romayne]...adds up to one seriously slick
little flick, one that will curl your toes while feeding you a nasty dose
of Americana's turn-of-the-century underbelly...”

Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic
10/10/04, H. H. Holmes review

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“...a hauntingly evocative score [by Douglas Romayne]...”

Mike Bracken, Epinions
12/04/04, H. H. Holmes review

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“...adding even more to this already bizarre tale is
the musical score by Douglas Romayne... ”

Reviews From The Krypt, Fall 2004, H. H. Holmes review

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“...there's a swell orchestral Bernard Hermann-esq score
[by Douglas Romayne]...”

Martin Wagner, IMDb User Comment
05/11/05, H. H. Holmes review

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“...with the premiere to Buffy season 7,
[Douglas Romayne's] style showed a return to form for the show
in terms of action/horror music, matching the styles of both
[Chris] Beck and Angel's Robert Kral without danger of plagiarism...”

Ian Davis, BluntInstrument: Buffy Composer Site
Fall 2002, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" 7.01 "Lessons" review