Meet Soren Odom

Today we’d like to introduce you to Soren Odom.

Hi Soren, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been a fan of films and film music for as long as I can remember. I would frequently ask for the orchestral score soundtrack for a film rather than the featured songs album (if the studio separated them). Growing up, I became interested in every other aspect of the filmmaking process with the onset of DVD behind-the-scenes features. I felt like some stories of the making of the film were often better than the film itself, though great movies almost always had fascinating stories behind them. I went to college in my hometown of Mobile, Alabama with no major planned until I discovered they had a film department; then bingo! After completing a film degree at the University of South Alabama, the lack of real film work in lower Alabama made me consider that that was just a silly first degree and that I should use my other great love of music to get ‘a real job.’ So I completed a second Bachelor’s degree in music education and taught music around the Mobile area.

The constant thought of film and music was eating at the back of my mind, and after discovering a love of composing music for some friend’s local film projects, decided we were going big! I attended the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program in Seattle, Washington under the dutiful eye and hear of Hollywood alum Hummie Mann in the fall of 2017-summer 2018.

The accelerated program put a Master’s degree in my hand and sent me down to L.A. to pursue my love of film and film music. I’ve been chasing both ever since, trying to diversify my interests in both composing music for different media and using my eye for picture to aid some small productions as director of photography. So give me a camera and a piano, and we’ll make something memorable!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think I have the same obstacles most young creatives have in the industry at large…just trying to get heard in a sea of other wonderfully creative individuals. I have, however, had some excellent help in my journey, and my friends/colleagues have been supportive as we often lend a hand on other folks’ projects. The culture shift of filmmaking in the South to going to Seattle and now down to L.A. has been a blessing. The filmmakers in smaller metropolitan areas like Mobile are doing some excellent work but don’t have as large a network of other hungry creatives. In that environment, it’s not always easy to just ‘get up and make a movie’, but I’m glad I found those people who helped me start learning my craft in a real application.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a composer for film/tv/you name it. That is my most recently acquired educational experience. I have some training in composing for video games as well, but really love beginning, middle, and end storytelling that film offers. Those who know me know I’m a huge fan of John Williams’s work and I think my early enjoyment of classical music put me on track to enjoy traditionally orchestral film scores. And it’s always a joy to hear and try to emulate work from the current juggernauts like Zimmer, or Wallfisch, or Guðnadóttir. I would say, as a composer, I would say I love the challenge of being a musical chameleon. If a director wants you to write a tango, a raga, and a Celtic folk song…bring on the challenge! So I hope that would be the draw for someone like me. I can break down music into the base components then build you a new piece from it. That said, I am definitely at home with orchestral writing. There’s nothing quite like writing a theme that soars over a picture into the ears and minds of the listeners.

With the recent adoption of work as a cinematographer, I learn so much from just casual watching that I might have missed before. Being able to pick apart (as best I can) the magic that Roger Deakins does is what I love about the craft. I really want to capture visuals that instill the same feeling I got when I first saw Jack Cardiff’s work on The Black Narcissus.

I am most proud of musical works I’ve done with my long-time friend Thomas Smith’s company Fighting Owl Films in Mobile, as I’ve been given so much room to grow as an artist over the years.

I think I’m, so far, most proud of some cinematography work I’ve done with my good friend Walter Perez, whom you’ve had featured, but that’s still in post-production, so keep your eyes and ears out friends!

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a kid who played alone a lot. I have two older sister’s who are brilliant in so many other ways than I and we were a little antagonistic growing up. Typical young sibling rivalries that we outgrow. But as a lad, I always was trying to think of the next great adventure that my action figures would go on. When I got a stop motion Lego camera when I was 8 or 9, I started some experiments in animation and trying to tell stories that I was too embarrassed to show anyone. I was very introverted until I went to high school, even though since age 12 I was teaching myself guitar with dreams of being a rock star like a lot of young guys. I wrote songs that I, once again, didn’t show to people; and didn’t learn to come out of shell until I joined the drumline at my high school and was performing in front of the school. A sort of baptism by fire.

I slowly became more comfortable showing my art and really learned that is was ok to want to create something. So often I, so wrongfully, thought that I should have a ‘real job’ and not focus on something that wasn’t going to help me. I gradually accepted myself as a creative and have been chasing it ever since.

Contact Info:

• Website: sorenodommusic.com
• Instagram: @sorenodom
• Twitter: @odom_soren
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ly_CHnJzlZsPs9w1Tm7Aw

Image Credits:
Majo Felix Yana Petrova Ricky Kroening Jake Cannon