5 Minutes with… Robert Miller

Robert W. Miller has been a prolific composer in film, television and the concert hall for over 28 years. A graduate of the Mannes College of Music in New York City and a mentee of composers Aaron Copland, William Schuman and Edgar David Grana, Robert has since scored over 2,500 ads and 70 films.

In 2019, Robert founded RNDM ORDR - now known as Sound Industries - a company uniting some of the most respected composers and sound designers in commercial production. With a shared philosophy of creating a diverse community atmosphere in the workplace, the company offers music and sound capabilities in all aspects of production from commercials to feature films, documentaries and records. With ‘inspired risk taking’ and a passion for the craft, Sound Industries offers work in original music, sonic branding, re-recording and arranging, sound design, music supervision and audio post/mixing.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, Robert discusses his greatest inspirations and lessons learnt on his journey into the industry, how his musical family is continuing the legacy at Sound Industries and beyond, and the Janus-faced nature of technological advances in the world of music production. 

LBB> What creative content inspired or interested you most when you were  growing up? Do any TV shows, films and ads stand out to you?  

Robert> It's so hard to limit my answer, but I'll try. I was deeply impressed by the film  ‘Planet of the Apes’. In addition to the story being incredibly compelling, I found Jerry Goldsmith's unabashed twelve tone musical score to be fascinating. I also love the shows ‘Time Tunnel’ and ‘Twilight Zone’ (I watched the reruns!). As a kid, I accepted ads as part of the TV experience, but wasn't really struck by them until the early ‘80s Super Bowl spots (Ridley Scott's Apple ad for example).

LBB> When did the possibility of working in the advertising world appear to you?  How was your journey into this industry? What did you study at college?  

Robert> I went to college for music, but my most important education came in the form of my mentors: American composers William Schuman and Aaron Copland. It was Copland who mentioned that I should consider both film and commercials, because the future was going to be all about a composer's involvement in those disciplines to a large extent. I had a latent reaction to that notion until one day a friend came to me with an opportunity to score a small spot. I loved the experience, and it kicked off what has happened to me for 30 years since then! Specifically with commercials, Copland thought it was a way to be extremely ‘useful’. It's certainly a different feeling from writing a concert piece!  

LBB> What’s the most important lesson/piece of advice you received early on in  your career? How does it influence you and your work today?  

Robert> Never chase trends, only write what you love to write, and always look for the  air of inevitability in the music you create. By this I mean, don't waste a single note - make sure it's all supposed to be there.  

LBB> You’ve worked on over 70 film scores - how does that process compare to (and influence) your work on ads?  

Robert> These two disciplines are only distantly related, in my opinion. The entire message that is contained in 30 or 60 seconds in commercials never enters into the long line of thinking in a film score. I find more kinship between film scores and my concert music in some ways. Ironically, the kind of free experimentation I've done in commercial scoring with instrumental colour combinations has been a factor in my film work to some degree. I am deeply aware that commercials tell great stories, but with the ultimate goal of shining a light on a client like Ford or Coke, etc. while a film's goal, to state the  obvious, is to shine a light on itself.

LBB> What led you to founding Sound Industries (or RNDM ORDR, as it was)? Was there something that inspired you to make this move? 

Robert> I was really interested in building a community atmosphere with inspiring  colleagues, and a wide range of talent. I came into this business working in rather large, communal companies like JSM (the original Jon Silberman version) and Amber. Composing is necessarily an isolated experience, but it was always so great to come out of my private room to engage in a small sea of people milling around. In addition, exchanging thoughts with other artists or producers is an enriching and mind expanding thing. What I'm building is a modern version of what I loved I suppose. Here's the trick - I don't want a big factory - just a diverse, interesting community that can take on anything that is thrown at us!

LBB> What are some of your proudest moments with Sound Industries so far? 

Robert> So far, I think that the beautiful little film I recently scored for Chick-Fil-A called ‘The Snow Globe’ with Psyop as the production company is something I'm very proud of. It's a poetic family story that I describe as a winter's tale. The message is simple, universal, and has sincere depth. It was rewarding to see that  201 million viewers saw the work in just over a month. The sincere message resonated with an incredibly broad audience. 

LBB> Who or what in the industry/in your field inspires you?  

Robert> Well, once again I'll try to focus on a few! Thomas Newman, represented by my agency Gorfaine Schwartz, is my favorite film composer - he has real empathy in his music, and a genuinely individual musical voice. Also, I have two close friends and colleagues that own their own companies that I would love to mention here - Andy Bloch of Human and Pete Nashel of Duotone. They are not only supremely talented, but with those two, I share openly any and all experiences of running a music company and navigating the industry. There is zero competitive talk - these are true colleagues.

LBB> What was your first professional project and what are your memories of  that? And what was the project or piece of work that you felt really changed  your career?

Robert> My first professional project of note was a commission I received to write an  orchestral score for an event in Tennessee. The piece is a companion work to my mentor Aaron Copland's ‘Lincoln Portrait’. The work is called ‘Reflections on the Last Idealism’ and contains an abridged version of JFK's incredible inaugural address. In commercials, I received a Clio in my first month at JSM for a Converse commercial, so I suppose that was a big launching point for me in that realm (although I didn't even know what a Clio was at the time). In addition, my first film with the incredible documentarian Eugene Jarecki called ‘Why We Fight’ was a catalyst early on for me in film.  

LBB> What are some current trends in the composition space right now - how are  original compositions being used in the ad world compared to when you first started?  

Robert> This is a very interesting subject. Technology and the ability to produce fairly  credible-sounding music without the ability to play an instrument well has created a condition where there is a ton of music being made, but not a lot of purely inspired music, in my view. Music - in my romantic view - comes out of thin air, out of some mysterious place, and is captured by individuals that normally have uncommon talent. 

Most composers can't actually explain where it comes from, other than to say they trust their ability to hear it in their head and bring it to life. I hear an awful lot of sequential phrases that sound largely the same, coming from the same sample libraries, without many individual thematic qualities. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great talents around, but they are swimming in the same sea as all of the pedestrian music. It's much easier for people to fake their way through a song, piece or film score than ever before. 

I also don't want anyone to think I’m anti-technology. Unique, inspired artists will take those same tools that everyone has to another level. Take the band (it's a duo) Knower for example - that's definitely another level!  

LBB> Outside of work, what do you do to decompress or stay fresh? And what  motivates you in work and life generally?

Robert> My family is what motivates me. My amazing wife Elena is a violinist in the  Metropolitan Opera, and my amazing daughters are a never-ending motivating factor in my life. My daughter Carolyn, in fact, is a seriously talented songwriter/up-and-coming artist and is writing for Sound Industries. It's fun to have that work connection with her. If you were to see me on weekends not writing music, it would be around the pond I built myself two years ago. I'm working on it every chance I get! I’d say I'm also very active, love sports (I'm a rabid baseball fan) and the mountains in Vermont. Oh, I almost forgot! Anything about the search for alien life is totally for me - I'm obsessed with the topic!