My name is Bryony Marks
I write from a home studio at the front of my house in Melbourne, and I record with Production Alley, either at their Port Melbourne studio or at Furstock Studioes in Kensington, or for bigger orchestral forces, at the Recital Centre, the ABC or Allan Eaton’s in St Kilda.
Professionally, I'm also a good listener?
My musical journey involved lots of four handed piano with my friend in primary school.
The instrument I'm best at is piano.
I also play Um, keyboard? I whack some percussion instruments some times: that’s always fun. I sing if I need a vocal part instantly – but I’m horrible. Just horrible. I used to play saxophone but I sold it so I could go on holiday to Byron Bay when I was eighteen. I never regretted it, so it obviously wasn’t the instrument for me.
I'm best known for my scores to...someone else will have to tell me that. No idea.
A score I'm proud of but received little recognition is Cloudstreet. I’m proud of the score, but more importantly of everyone’s work on this miniseries. Every department excelled. It garnered 5 star reviews, and people who saw it loved it. But more people could have seen it. Check it out.
The score I wish I wrote is...Thomas Newman’s The Player Because...Come on.
The film I wish I scored is The Insider. Because it’s a magnificent film. However, so is the score, so actually I’m glad I didn’t score it. Thank you, Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke, for your outstanding work.
If I wasn't me, the composer I'd love to be is Jon Brion, Thomas Newman, Mica Levy. Why? Because they’re excellent. And they all have a distinctive voice.
My composing style is increasingly more eclectic as I try not to repeat myself.
My workflow is typically…. Busy. And organised.
I compose using…. Logic.
My screen composing income is supplemented by…. It isn’t. And, yes, I know how very, very, very lucky I am.
If I wasn't a screen composer I'd probably be... Maybe a writer? But not necessarily a good one..
The thing I love about my job is...it is JUST. TOO. MUCH. FUN.
The thing I dislike about my job is ... I can’t tell you how much I love my job. I work with extraordinary musicians, and directors and creative teams. I love collaborating. I love the challenge that working with different people with different ideas and methodologies brings. I have to pinch myself to think that somehow I’ve ended up doing this for a living. There is no negative. Yup, sure, temp music can be a drag sometimes (but not always), and sometimes you think you’ve written your best piece of music yet and then it gets culled – but, seriously who cares? We get to write music and be creative all day every day (or most days). We’re stupidly lucky.
My favorite piece of technology is the...Piano, because technology is just a tool, like a spanner.
To relax I…. walk my dogs.
A message to my fellow composers would be... Hello fellow composer. I hope you are in the middle of working on a project that speaks to you; that means something to you. That’s what I love about our work. And I hope you’re having one of those ‘I’m a genius‘ days, not one of those traumatic ‘I’m a fraud’ ones.
