Nathan Furst on How to Become a Film Composer (Episode 137)

Everything you do is an audition.

Nomad became a Nathan Furst fan by accident. He and his wife were house hunting, the realtor showed them a hillside home with a killer studio on the first level, and a framed poster on the wall said "Music by Nathan Furst." Nomad reached out on Instagram, Nathan answered, and that became Episode 137 of The Career Musician.

Nathan is the composer behind the Bionicle film trilogy, Act of Valor, Need for Speed and Snafu with John Cena and Jackie Chan. His conversation with Nomad is one of the best looks the show has had at how to become a film composer, and at the mindset that keeps you working.

Grow up around the process

Nathan grew up in the business. His father, Stephen Furst, played Flounder in Animal House. The bug bit at seven or eight, in a theater, hearing Alan Silvestri's theme for Back to the Future. By ten he knew he wanted to be a film composer. Somewhere along the way he learned that a composer's tool is the piano, so he taught himself to play.

Being on sets taught him something many composers learn late: music is incredibly important, and at the same time, to the people making the film, you are one of 800 problems they are dealing with.

"Sometimes you just gotta write your music, wait your turn."

Nathan Furst, 10:07

That is Humility from the ETHOS code, and it is also low maintenance / no drama. Confidence in your process, without making it all about you.

Flight hours over degrees

Nathan went to college for a hot minute as a music major, then left. Nobody cared about his degree, he says. They wanted to know what he could do. He was banging on doors by 19 and ghostwriting a lot by 20. He is careful to add that every situation is different, so don't take his path as the bible.

His case for the field over the classroom: what academia values isn't always what the job values. The streets are paved, he says, with young composers who turned a small, simple cue into a massive moment with sweeping octaves and counterpoint to prove themselves. Getting that cue kicked back is how you learn.

"Flight hours create instinct."

Nathan Furst, 16:08

He would rather hire an assistant who survived several years in a busy composer's studio than someone fresh out of a doctorate. You'll learn more in three months shadowing a busy composer, he says, than in years of school. Nomad, who also dropped out, wants listeners to hear it: no degree doesn't mean you can't do this.

Take notes without getting defensive

A little confidence is good. The master move, Nathan says, is what happens when someone gives you constructive feedback: you absorb it instead of getting hurt. He has played people's music who said "my stuff is awesome," given honest notes, and watched the difference between the ones who say "thanks for that" and the ones who get defensive.

Ghostwriting taught him this early. You are decoupled from judgment, so you can try ideas and your boss says yes, no or try again. You may get taken advantage of once or twice, and that is a lesson too, as long as it doesn't keep happening. Nomad's version: eyes and ears wide open, mouth shut. Nathan's brother's version: think faster, speak slower.

Commit to your choices and make your days

Nathan works in Cubase with templates that run to hundreds of tracks, and he walks through how he prints stems in one keystroke for his mixer and the dub stage. The bigger lesson is about decisions. Directors talk about "making their days." Composers who keep reopening finished work miss deadlines, and to a producer, a late cue looks a lot like a director who didn't make the day.

So once something is tracked and cleaned up, it is done. The tweak you are dying to make, nobody else will notice. Reliability beats virtuosity.

Not getting the call back is normal

Nomad shares a story from his early LA days. A friend, bassist Alex Al, referred him to John Powell, and a Mother's Day call turned into two full days of overdubs on Mr. & Mrs. Smith and more work after. A referral to Danny Elfman followed. He did everything right, and was never called back.

Nathan's answer: often it isn't about you. If a composer has a guy he has worked with for 30 years, he is going to call that guy. Nathan had Steven Spielberg walk into his studio on Need for Speed, and he doesn't expect a call, because Spielberg has his composers. He was just happy to swim in that pool for a second. Everything you do is an audition, even when the call goes to someone else.

Have an idea, and defend it

Nathan's biggest advice for young composers: have an idea, execute it, trust it, and defend it. If a director says a cue isn't right, fix it. But if you have an interesting take that people don't get yet, don't abandon it at the first sign of doubt, or you are governed by fear. Often they say let's live with it for a couple of days.

"Just do the work, be confident in what you're doing, and be your own best advocate for the music."

Nathan Furst, 1:06:42

Then balance it with flexibility. His mixer sometimes drops a line Nathan wrote, and Nathan has learned to go listen before arguing. Sometimes the mixer is right. The goal is not the best cue you've ever written, he says, but the best version this cue can be. And above all: keep writing, as much as you can. The confidence, and knowing how to read the room, come from doing it.

The takeaway

Log the flight hours, take notes like a pro, commit to your choices, and don't take a missed call personally. You can follow Nathan on Instagram. When your own shot comes, prepare with the free Audition Secrets guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.