#1: 10 Pieces of Music That Inspire Me to Make My Own Films

I've always been intrigued by the power of music in film. The right song or score in the right place can take a scene from good to great. Certain melodies or chord progressions are so powerful that they can instantly evoke the memory of a scene or the emotion and tone of a film years after first experiencing it.

Whenever I hear music that moves me, I start dreaming of shots and scenes and colors that would do justice to the way a particular piece makes me feel. I think a lot of the reason I got into filmmaking in the first place was so that I would have a conduit through which to express the powerful emotions that music evokes within me.

Below are ten pieces of music (in no particular order) that inspire me to make my own films whenever I hear them.

1. Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell - Requiem for a Dream

This is one of my favorite pieces of film music of all time. Whenever I hear it, I remember the intensity of watching Requiem for a Dream the first time. The piece has a lot of dynamics, moving from slow brooding sections that evoke a sense of sadness and loss to explosive crescendos that perfectly reflect the struggles with addiction and self destruction that lie at the heart of the film.

2. Roads by Portishead

This song feels somber and fragile to me. I would love to shoot a music video for it.

3. Theme from Robocop by Basil Poledouris

Paul Verhoeven's Robocop was one my favorite films as a kid. This theme kicks in after Peter Weller's character has become Robocop and he leaves the police station for the first time in a cop car. The theme swells as he drives alone through the streets of Detroit and it really makes you fell like Robocop has officially arrived and is ready to kick some ass.

4. O Children by Nick Cave

I'm not a big fan of the Harry Potter series, but I am a big fan of Nick Cave. This song was used to great effect in a scene in the first half of the last film in a scene where Harry and Hermione dance sadly together in a tent at a point in the film when it seems all hope is lost. This was the first piece of music used in any of the films that wasn't of the film score variety, which I find very clever given that this scene takes place in the "real world", outside the confines of Hogwarts.

5. Theme from 2012: Cyborg Apocalypse by Douglas Dillingham

I wrote this theme for my entry to the 2005 DVXUser.com Sc-Fi short film contest. You can watch the actual film below the theme song. In my opinion, the music is better than the movie...

6. Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen - Highlander

Highlander is another film I really liked as a kid. Swords and Sean Connery? Yes, please. This song by Queen was used in the film and the impassioned vocal performance of Freddy Mercury along with the orchestra strings and guitar really call upon the sadness inherent in the idea of immortality. If you could live forever, you'd have to watch everyone around you die again and again and again.

7. Pyramid Song by Radiohead

Another sad and evocative piece. The music video for this one is great, as well.

8. Ride of the Valkyries - Wagner - Apocalypse Now

A classic piece from a classic scene. I've always been fascinated with the war in Vietnam and there have been some great films made about it.

9. X-Men 1990's Cartoon Theme

This was one of my favorite cartoons from the 90's and the theme was 100% awesome.

10. Theme from Unsolved Mysteries by Michael Boyd and Gary Remal Malkin

Possibly the most ominous and frightening theme song ever. This one makes me want to start shooting a horror film.