Composer Patrick Kirst has had music in his blood from a very young age, beginning piano lessons when he was just six years old. In later years, he went on to study jazz at the world-renowned Berklee College of Music, contemporary classical music at New York University and the University of Southern California. So it’s no surprise, that he is now an accomplished composer with titles such as Netflix’s The Kissing Booth and Lionsgate’s Inherit the Viper under his belt. His latest project is Doppelgänger Releasing’s drama, thriller Breaking Surface. To learn more about him and these projects, we spoke to him exclusively below. Patrick’s Breaking Surface score is available now digitally.
What role did music play in your life when you were growing up?
Music was always my safe place. I quickly learned how to communicate emotions and also connect with them deeply through music – emotions that I couldn’t express verbally. I felt understood. Music became a very important friend, and still is to this day.
What would you consider to be your “big break”?
I never felt I had a BIG break. I rather felt I had several mini breaks that all contributed to my career. I would consider my first mini break to be in 2007 when I started working for acclaimed composer Aaron Zigman, and then, simultaneously, when I was asked to write music for Disney’s highly successful nature documentary Earth. One thing always leads to another, and you collect these credits which keep getting bigger and bigger. At some point in your career, you have accumulated what I call the critical mass. That’s the point in time where you have expanded your network so much that film makers start finding you through your work or word of mouth. So, I don’t consider myself an “overnight wonder”. It is a steady process and I keep working very hard on my craft and my network every single day.
Does your creative process differ based on the type of film you’re scoring?
There are probably some constant factors like procrastination or fear of failure that accompany each project. But creatively speaking, each project is so unique, so the methods are always very different. What are my sound sources? What are my (higher) concepts? In a rom com like The Kissing Booth, I would tend to sketch some themes for the more emotional moments first, since finding the emotional core is of utmost importance (in any movie). I would then get craftier and start playing around with them, find spots in the film where I could try them out, etc. On sound-driven movies like Breaking Surface, however, I would collect sound palettes and mess around with them until I stumble across something interesting, which I would then start to mold into something meaningful for the film.
Some actors hate watching themselves when a film is complete. Do you enjoy listening to your old scores?
Ha! It is hard for me to watch a film that I scored without paying attention to what could still be improved. “Oh no, that mix over there!”, or “Why is the music so loud or soft over here?”, or “Hmm, I wish I had a few more violins play this line” etc. etc. So, yes, I am very self-critical and believe a work is never really done. It is a snapshot of who you are at that moment in time.
What has been your favorite comment to read online about Breaking Surface?
I think the best comment was that Breaking Surface has been considered to be the best Swedish thriller in decades. I thought it was a wonderful comment and confirmed that all our hard work has been noticed.
Did you score Breaking Surface in chronological order? Some composers have said they like to score the most intense scenes last, when they are fully immersed in the project.
After developing the theme for the two sisters, I pretty much worked in chronological order until I got stuck with a scene. Then I would jump over that and come back to it later. Sometimes it also depends on if I am in a calm place to work on a more emotional scene, or if I am more up for an action-driven scene. But generally speaking, Breaking Surface was done in chronological order simply because I wanted to live the film and experience the sequence of events like the characters on screen.
Was there an instrument that you tended to gravitate to more for The Kissing Booth?
The Kissing Booth is mostly an amalgam of guitars, piano, and strings. With those three instruments I could tackle most any scene. So, depending on the scene, I was picking my tool first and then tried to crack the code, cue by cue.
You are about to score The Kissing Booth 3 for Netflix. How has your score changed from the 1st to 2nd to now 3rd film?
The 1st installment of TKB was surely goofier and had more slapstick-y skits. So, the music required more exact comedic timing and was more physical, and a bit more youthful. TKB2 had more gravitas and became more conflicted. So, again, the music became more dramatic and emotional, and a bit less quirky. Now with TKB3, the coming-of age is perhaps even further developed. The characters have lived through adolescence and are becoming adults. And again, the music will need to reflect that as well and be close to the characters and their emotional journeys. All three films have so much heart, but they take place at different stages in life. It is a great challenge to develop all the themes further and further.
Can you finish the sentence: I know I have created an effective film score when…
… it has become inseparable from the movie.