Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacquie Joy.
Hi Jacquie, 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?
My background prior to working in films was as a singer/guitarist playing live shows and also writing world music for Expedia Travel.
But let’s fast forward to about 4- 5 years ago when my ‘music for film’ journey started. I hadn’t even thought about scoring until then (but friends were encouraging me to try it). I decided to apply (through Craigslist LA) to write an introduction song for a short movie… The scene starred Lacey Chabert (from Mean Girls) standing at a mirror/drying her hair/getting ready and bopping along to a 60’s ‘girlie’ style pop song/temp music- so I wrote up a similar upbeat song and it got accepted. I was immediately hooked! After that, it really started to feel like the film world was ‘calling me’, so after that song got accepted I decided to pursue it and learn more about the craft.
I met up with my first mentor Julia Zuzanna Sokolowska (who was the founder of ‘Hollywood Arrangers’ and had worked on some amazing productions eg Empire, Tonight with Jay Leno, etc) through an popular Facebook Group for composers called “Perspective”. She assembled a team of seven women and we all scored films together for a number of years under the name of “Illuminating Music Group”- it was truly the most fun and inspiring time for me – I kept pinching myself that I was actually working with these extremely talented and accomplished ladies… Julia gave me the confidence to be a film composer- she believed I could do this, and in particular she said I was fast (and I realize now how important that is in this often ‘tight turnaround’ industry). She also taught me valuable lessons eg. to value and to hold onto my music rights when possible.
From there I continued working on film scoring- I was lucky enough to network with Kate Rees Davies (through WIMPS – women in moving pictures) who is an inspiring Hollywood producer/director. Kate founded the New Hollywood Collective that runs the Directors Chair 50/50 workshops. And she gave me the opportunity to work with some of her up-and-coming film directors/editors. Through this work, I met the very talented and kind Damian Martorana, a local film editor, who I continue to work with. He has given me some amazing opportunities (for both score writing and sound mixing) and we recently had a sci-fi short film, “Portals” (that we both worked on) screened at the TCL Chinese theatres as part of the Golden State Film Festival and it won Best Sci-Fi Short. (That film was produced by Cinekat Filmworks who are based in East Hollywood)
Also through WIMPS, I linked up with Eva Swan – LA based scriptwriter/actor/film producer. It was August 2020, well into Co-vid lockdowns and Eva, together with director Caleb King, had just completed filming a dystopian short, Gardenia, which was set in the then-empty streets of downtown LA. It was mind-blowing footage. (Which can be seen at https://vimeo.com/527572415
I continued to work on indie films (mainly LA and California/US productions) then special things began to happen… Hollywood began to officially recognize my music in 2020/21 when I was nominated twice/consecutively in the prestigious HMMA’s (Hollywood Music in Media Awards)- for the World Music category. Then in 2022, I received another two HMMA nominations for my cinematic music in the dramatic/crime and horror/thriller categories. I couldn’t believe it and this really gave me a huge boost in my career.
Recently I also received a nomination in the inaugural and prestigious HIMA’s (Hollywood Independent Music Awards – which is an ‘extension’ of the HMMA’s) The nomination is for the mixing/engineering category for an EDM/Pop song I released called “You’ll Feel Nothing”. The song features the pristine vocals of LA singer/composer/activist/
So, I got to where I am today in the film world because of the LA/Hollywood creatives that have believed in me – even though I work remotely for the most part. The LA creatives were the ones that were there in the beginning, and I am grateful that they also have continued to give me opportunities to work alongside them in their film projects and film teams. LA is the place that has recognized and awarded my music (and sound work). It is my work, ‘spiritual home’.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Being a musician/composer/creative is certainly never a smooth road. My main challenge starting out as a film composer was to find any work – paid or unpaid (!). Back then in 2018, I began to learn that opportunities for female film composers in Australia were incredibly scarce (it was really a different time) so I was unable to find any local work. My first opportunity came through LA Craigslist (as mentioned earlier). I honestly don’t think my film composing career would have ever got off the ground in the first place if it weren’t for the LA creatives and their support and belief in me in those early days.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a freelance film composer and sound designer. I specialize in horror/thriller/crime/sci-fi/
I also have recently started writing tracks for popular TV programs and enjoy covering the tension, action and hip hop genres in that space.
And last year I started producing EDM/pop music with my first track being released 6 months ago. This track was a mostly female production and something I am very proud of!
Probably what sets me apart from other composers is that I’m not a traditional composer as such, and am quite flexible in my approach. I am also quite easygoing generally and am not afraid to experiment/change in order to get the best ‘sound’ and music ‘personality’ for a particular project. I strive to have my own sound/voice in this space, and to give filmmakers their own unique vision, ‘sound’ and ‘edge’ for their film soundtrack.
Also, this year I am very proud of the fact that I was invited to become an AIVA judge. This was a mind-blowing achievement and because of this I recently had the pleasure of judging The Communicator Awards (https://www.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
During the Co-Vid crisis, I observed that the film community really came together and was very supportive. There was a lot of post-production work at this time and a very high demand for completed films- the art of storytelling was more important than ever! This is the time where working remotely became ‘normalized’.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jacquiejoycomposer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacquiejoycomposer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacquiejoy.composer.7
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquie-joy-128148170/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComposerJoy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jacquiejoycomposer
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jacquiejoycomposer
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10068312/
