Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Rosin.
Justin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up as an identical twin contributed a lot to my musical upbringing. It was very fruitful being able to discuss and interpret musical ideas similarly. My brother, Michael, and I played together in everything from orchestras to rock bands to musicals, and it was fascinating to see our musical individuality. My brother, like my mother and her whole side of the family, excelled in piano, and while I was good at piano, I always gravitated more towards strings — especially guitar. I feel that guitar was really my gateway into this industry. I loved how you could modify a guitar to make it completely your own. You could change the strings, the tuning, the pickups, etc. You could even smash a guitar! (Warning: don’t do that). Because of this, through my teenage years, I really got into guitar FX pedals, recording equipment, and DAWs. I also started gigging and released a solo guitar album in my twenties titled Impassioned. I adore guitar, and I loved performing, but ultimately, I was too obsessed with the way music worked to only perform it. I wanted to analyze, create, solve problems – at the end of the day, a composer is just a musical problem solver. Plus, my other great love was film, and I wanted to write film music. So, I went on to get my degrees in Music. After graduating with an MM in Composition from the NYC Conservatory, Mannes School of Music, in 2018, I attended the SCL NY Mentorship Program. The SCL is a great organization, I highly recommend anyone reading to join. I owe a great deal to them. Shortly after attending the SCL NY Mentorship Program, I packed my things, left my home in NJ, and headed west to pursue my dream of becoming a film composer and producer in Los Angeles.
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?
There were definitely many struggles along the way, but I guess the obvious one to focus on is Covid. I finally moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2019, where I landed an internship at Dustin O’Halloran’s studio. I also did some assistant work for composers Christopher Tin and Peter Golub. It was a very educational time, and I got a strong insight into the process of being a Hollywood composer. I also did other industry-related things like the LAFCI and volunteered for the SCL, but, unfortunately, nearly all of that was cut short when the Covid lockdown happened in March of 2020. It was a very rough time, and it proves difficult not to mention it when I talk of my work here because it dictated so much of my early time in LA. But I patiently stuck it out and kept the faith during the lockdown. I turned my focus away from internships and composer assistantships — since that work had all but disappeared — and I started focusing on music production, supervision, and management. I tried finding work at companies like Blizzard, Sony, or Universal, but without much large-scale production experience, it was hard competing with other candidates. I continued teaching and working mostly remotely for a forensic musicologist (really interesting work, by the way!) when I finally got an email from the Senior Director of Music Production at Formosa Interactive, Savina Ciaramella, at the end of 2021. She was in need of another producer on her team, specifically someone who had a strong background in composition. Savina completely changed my life for the better during Covid. My first day there was in December 2021, and the nonstop excitement has ensued ever since!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
One thing I have enjoyed about my artistic life is how varied it is. I produce, I compose, I assist, I mentor, etc. I’ve had my music and guitar recordings featured on primetime network TV, Netflix series, and mobile games. My music for the dramatic short film Edge was nominated for Best Original Score at the Swindon Independent Film Festival, and most recently, I composed the music for the Netflix mobile game Netflix Stories: Love is Blind. Quite a range! I co-composed that score with my former professor and long-time friend, John Kaefer. I always admired his versatility in music, and getting to work with him on that project was really special. My job title is “Music Producer” at Formosa Interactive, which means we mostly work in video game music production, but we actually do a lot more than that. We create music budgets for various projects, including video games, trailers, and shows. We get to work with some of Hollywood’s biggest film composers on AAA video game projects, and we get to attend recording sessions around the world. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Ramin Djawadi and Oscar-winning composers Alexandre Desplat and Volker Bertelmann (Hauschka). I’ve had creative meetings with them and handled their sheet music, mockups, recordings, etc. It’s very thrilling! At Formosa, we also do outreach events like present at schools and conferences. I love how diverse our work can be! Ultimately, what I am really passionate about in this industry is helping people. Composing music for films and video games alone can be very exhausting, but when you have the support of your peers, it can make all the difference. I feel my work is a perfect mixture of creativity and production, and I love being a resource for artists to help them reach their goals.
How do you think about luck?
Ha – I always force myself to try not to use the word “luck” whenever talking about my career. Everyone has had bad luck – but most people only talk about their good luck. For every one moment I’ve been lucky, I’ve had five moments of being unlucky. I moved to LA, and months later, the lockdown happened. Unlucky? Absolutely! I felt like the unluckiest person in the world. But I did a lot good things during the lockdown. I focused on really perfecting my craft. Composing music and mocking it up quickly. Learning everything there is to know about my DAW. And since I wasn’t really meeting anyone new during Covid I decided to focus on my connections back east and look for work that way. Ironically, that’s what landed me at Formosa! The Senior Director of Music Production at Formosa Interactive, Savina, was looking to present at schools virtually during the lockdown, and she got connected to my long-time friend, John Kaefer (the one I just composed the Netflix game with), who teaches at NYU. When they connected, she mentioned that she was looking to hire another music producer, and John instantly recommended me. Lucky? Absolutely! I feel extremely fortunate to be at Formosa. I know it’s where I am meant to be right now, and I feel that everything I have learned is finally getting put to good use. If Covid never happened, who knows where I would be now? All this to say, focus on the positive. That’s your luck. Something may seem unlucky now, but it may mean good luck in the future. You just have to be patient and trust the process. Practice gratitude and compassion, and remember that you are never too good for any job!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.justinrosin.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-rosin-50161b2b/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn0_H_8oWQU1G2a6rfAyICg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/justin-rosin
Image Credits
Tom Zaleski Productions, Inc.
Savina Ciaramella
