WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2014
COMPOSER: Jones discusses w ork with Seth MacFarlane
continued from PAGE 1
TCP: How did you end up
working with Seth MacFarlarie?
Jones: I have been working
with Seth about 20 years now.
I had scored many of the most
popular anim ated series, and
had scored “StarTrek: The Next
Generation.” Seth grew up lov
ing to get hom e from school to
watch all these shows. He was a
geek about every detail and extra
smart. He saw my name on most
o f his favorite shows and liked
my approach to the music. When
he came to Hollywood, and was
starting work at Hanna-Barbera
(Productions, Inc.), he asked me
to score his first shows, [and] I did.
We became good friends and
great collaborators. He animated
the pilot o f “Family Guy” at
his kitchen table, [and] I scored
that in one night. They dubbed
it the next day, [and) Soon after
that, Fox picked up the series.
TCP: What’s your favorite thing
about working with him?
Jones: It is no accident that
Seth is so successful He simply is
a genius, plus he has a kind and
down-to-Earth way of dealing
with people, really different than
most of the egomaniacs here. I
always feel he gets what I do, and
he trusts me to create a great score.
TCP: Are there any side projects
you’re working on?
Jones: I actually just quit work
ing on “Family Guy” two months
ago. Seth left the show a couple
years ago to do features and has
a major production,deal not only
for films, but TV "series such as
“Cosmos” that aired recently. With
him not there, the producers in
charge have'really taken much
odt that I enjoyed__ The role of
music which had been so key to
the show was now so reduced, I
just felt like I didn’t want to spend
any more time working like that.
I’ve been freelance for 45 years, so
I never know what’s up next really.
TCP: W hat are you doing
right now?
Jones: W hen you work o n a
TV series for a long time, like I’ve
done on “Family Guy,” everyone
thinks you are married id it. It
takes about a year for people
around Hollywood to get that
you’re loose again, so I teach.
I lead the Academy of Scoring
Arts, an educational organization
with groups all over the U.S. and
in Toronto and growing all the
tim e ....
We’re actually thinking seri
ously about moving back home
to the Northwest. I want to be my
own studio. I’m heavily involved
in the arts, not just music. I’ve so
far composed over 40,000 compo
sitions. I remember hearing one
of my teachers at CCC say that
no one would ever beat Johann
Sebastian Bach in the number of
compositions. ! beat him by a wide
amount, and I’m not done at all.
I plan to only work on projects
I personally care about and if
it’s about creativity and making
something world-class.
TCP: You did the scoring for
Disney’s “Duck Tales,” which
always had ah adult feel to it. What
made you decide to approach the
score that way?
Jones: I decided early on to
follow in the footsteps of the great
film composers, such as John
Williams, Bernard Herrman [and]
Jerry Goldsmith. They always
respected the audience, and their
music showed; the best in the
art and craft of scoring. I never
patronize the audience. W hen I
scored all this Saturday morning
animation for Hanna-Barbera, I
visualized the kids, but treated
them as being very smart.
Most composers treated the
kids like dummies and the music
sounded that way; just stupid. The
Disney animation guys wanted
“Duck Tales” to be great. The first
composers they hired treated the
audience like they were idiots.
They hired me because I did care
and I would treat the show and
the audience with the same high
values as if this was a major feature
film for an adult audience. I’ve
done the same on “Family Guy.”
Always write smart music for a
smart, intelligent audience; that’s
my goal.
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", remember hearing one of 1
my teachers at CCC say that j
no one would ever beat Jo-1
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and I'm not done at all."
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Ron Jones has been working with Seth MacFarlane fo r almost 20 years. “He simply is a genius, ” Jones said.
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