SHORTS: A COLLECTION OF FILM SCORES

SHORTS A COLLECTION OF FILM SCORES VOL.1 is a compilation album from multi-award winning film and television composer Eric Hester. This album showcases an eclectic array of mostly unknown and previously unreleased music scores from nearly a dozen short films.

“I am very excited about the release of this album.” Says Eric.

“My work on these short films are simply a labor of love. Short subject films are usually made as ‘calling cards’ and they typically have very small budgets. Outside of exhibition in film festivals, most of these films have not been seen by a wide audience. My opportunity in scoring these films is that I am afforded the chance to write outside the boundaries of what Hollywood has typecast me. I am also given a creative freedom that is unheard of on my higher profile feature film and television work. These are projects that I can basically write the way I want to without having to fit into a box. I am thrilled that these mostly unheard scores are now being released.”

Included on this album are several scores written for the 48-HOUR FILM PROJECT, a film festival where short films are written, filmed, completed and projected to a live audience within a 48-hour time period. On these projects, Eric typically has to conceive, perform and deliver a finished score within a 4-hour period.

“I am honored to have been involved in a handful of 48 HOUR FILM PROJECTS. Never before have I been under such pressure to deliver music! I’ve been lucky to work with some great talent on these films and the raw energy has turned out some surprisingly good shorts.”

Eric’s work on 48-HOUR film projects has brought collaborations with film director Troy Miller (Jack Frost, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd), John Farley (brother of the late Chris Farley) and longtime colleague, Director Scott Schofield (A Night at Sophie’s), among others.

Music from more mainstream short film projects can also be heard on this album. Highlights include music from THE FOUNTAIN, a touching film about an elderly man’s hope to heal his ailing wife by utilizing a discovered ‘fountain of youth’. In another offering, Eric’s comedic and dark score from THE HOLIDAY ANGST OF SHELDON MELONOWSKI tastefully blends an Eastern European sound with a more traditional Christmas pastiche. Eric’s moody score for THE MONKEY’S PAW is a gothic, yet classical, musical take for WW Jacob’s classic literary tale. Don’t miss Eric’s scores for THE SWAP and WAITING, obvious nods to composers Henry Mancini and Burt Bacharach.

This album shows Eric’s great diversity as a composer, perhaps not heard in his more well-known feature film and television work. Eric’s sensibilities for melody and classic arrangements set him apart from the new class of ‘up-and-coming’ young Hollywood composers. This album is sure to be of interest to any fan of film or film music.