Daily Inspiration: Meet Peter Lam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Lam.

Hi Peter, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born in Hong Kong and musically trained in London, I came over to the US in 2015 for a film scoring master’s degree at USC, hoping to sharpen my skills not only as a composer but a composer for film and television.

Since then, I have amassed over six years of professional experience in Hollywood, from working in various music department roles, and assisting and learning the craft from distinguished composers in the industry to working as a lead composer and music editor on a wide range of film and television projects.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Obviously, there were challenging times – filmmaking is a very collaborative art, and as a composer, you are at times impacted by creative and executive decisions that are out of your control.

There were a handful of my projects that never saw the light of day due to unforeseen circumstances. However, I’m a firm believer that good work speaks for itself – even if things didn’t work out on a particular project, people will still vouch for you on future collaborations if they saw you have given your best.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Being a composer for film and television is like being a musical storyteller, and I find it very satisfying artistically speaking, to immerse myself in an extremely diverse range of stories and genres. I have contributed music and arrangements from Star Wars Universe (The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch), DC Superhero Universe (Titans, Doom Patrol), Netflix’s cartel drama Narcos: Mexico, and the comedy Jane the Virgin. As a lead composer, I have scored the acclaimed short film Discontent directed by Tiffany Kim Stevens. A feature-length production is currently in the works after a strong festival run.

As a music editor, I have worked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, and Tales of the Jedi, as well as Netflix’s anime Trese. Being a music editor has deepened my understanding of music and drama, and has given me greater creative insights as I interface between the lead composer and director/producer. I have also co-produced a handful of soundtrack albums, including the recent release of Doom Patrol soundtrack on vinyl by Mondo and Watertower Music.

I believe my experience and track record on such diverse output of work has enriched my musical language and understanding of storytelling, and I look forward to exploring new musical possibilities and dramatic stories in a postmodern age.

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Having worked in different productions and music teams, with various directors, producers, and composers, I think the most important thing I learned is that there are certainly not only one, but many ways of approaching a score.

Film music’s landscape is extremely diverse and everyone’s creative process, workflows, and philosophies can be different.

This helps me to stay curious and be open to different possibilities and experiments on my own work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peterlammusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peterpeterlam
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7067910/

Image Credits
Ling Lu, Peter Lam, Indie ShortFest, and Mondo