Robert Sands, four-time Emmy Award winning composer, at his studio in Central New Jersey. Robert scored the documentary, Our Vanishing Past, as well as many other NJN documentaries over the years.
Robert Sands is my favorite composer to work with on documentaries. For more than 25 years, he has created award-winning music for television as well as corporate productions, commercials and songs. Robert won two of his four Emmy awards for music he created for NJN documentaries. He has a state-of-the-art recording studio in his log cabin home. His wife, Vera, operates a graphic design business in an adjoining office to the studio. I always enjoy leaving the city to head for the country and a music session with Robert.
Before we meet, I make notes on different sections in the show where I think there should be music. I send Robert a copy of the program in advance to look at. Time code numbers are displayed over the video indicating the exact running time of the show at any given point. This gives us an onscreen reference, down to the second, so we can mark “cues,” which are the individual pieces of music in the show. In Our Vanishing Past there are more than thirty cues of music.
During our session, Robert and I watch the show together. We discuss the type of emotion that we want to convey in each section and the type of instruments that he should play. His electronic synthesizers and samplers can recreate the sounds of a wide variety of instruments, including a grand piano, trumpet, saxophone, drum, guitar and harp, among others. He also plays acoustic and electric guitar as well as numerous ethnic percussion instruments such as flutes, ocarinas and didgeridoos.
Robert and I will replay scenes from the show that I think need music. He will improvise a melody “live” to accompany each scene, so I can see how the pictures, words and music go together. He will try different instruments until we get a basic sound that we think works well. Sometimes this goes together quickly. Other times, we will have to struggle through certain areas to get it right. We repeat this process through the entire show until we have a basic idea for the documentary’s musical score. This usually takes a few hours to do.
Then I leave the show in Robert’s hands for the next few weeks so that he can compose the actual finished score for the program. Sometimes I will call him to suggest a new idea for the type of instrument that he might want to try for a certain scene. Other times he will call me and play a new melody over the phone to see if I like it.
One of the most exciting parts of television production is when I get to hear the original music edited onto the completed show. This music is unique. It has been created to enhance the dialogue and visuals of this production only. It is not stock music that you can hear anywhere else.
From our many years of working together I know that I can count on Robert to create a musical soundtrack that will make my documentaries stronger and more meaningful to viewers. Music is such an important element because it communicates emotion. It speaks to people on a personal level. Watch some of Our Vanishing Past on this website and imagine what the show would be like without original music. Then you will know why I think music is essential for making the best quality television program possible.
