Behind Stevie's Aliens: Q&A with Composer Aaron Daniel Jacob

One of the most iconic aspects of 80's science fiction films is the orchestral score. Even when Stevie's Aliens was in the script stage, the team knew that it would be imperative for the film to have a big score. Composer Aaron Daniel Jacob joined the team shortly after the film was shot, and worked for months on creating a theme for the movie and using it in the score, which is available to stream for free on SoundCloud. 

1. How did you first get involved with this project?
Austin and I clicked instantly because of our shared interest in knowing way too much about film music. Many days were spent trying to guess scores from different films, and unfortunately we were always right on the money because we're big fat nerds. From there, we worked together on several film projects, finally leading to an awesome alien movie collaboration called PARALYSIS that Austin wrote and I directed. The subject seemed to have stuck because here we are again making a movie about aliens with a traditionally orchestrated soundtrack. I suppose Austin wanted me to score STEVIE'S ALIENS because we already had a shorthand about film music we developed over nearly four years of knowing each other.

2. What references were you pulling in this score? Why go orchestral instead of synth?
The film itself is presented as an homage to the Spielberg pictures of the 70s and 80s, leaning into that wide-eyed optimism in the face of the awe-inspiring supernatural. So naturally, Austin asked me to use John William's scores like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and ET as a base (which, truth be told, is probably the most terrifying thing to be ask of as a composer who's flying by the seam of his pants). Williams has a masterful command of the overall soundscape of a symphony, always making sure that there's never a dull moment between his infectiously memorable themes. Similarly, we looked to Michael Giacchino and Jerry Goldsmith for their weirder use of the same symphonic sound. We choice symphonic over synth in order to adhere to that homage we were trying to capture. The orchestra has a distinctly humanistic quality to it, and anything that sounds more human is going to resonate more with an audience. It's like how a cello and a clarinet are two of the most pleasing instruments to listen to because they play in a similar frequency to the human voice (and why those two instruments are everywhere in the score).

3. What was the process of scoring the film?
We initially sat down to discuss the simple questions of music: where, when and why? Where in the movie should there be music, when in those moments should it play out, and why is it there in the first place. After that, I went into my music hole and composed sketch pieces to see if I could capture the essence of that conversation and to develop what would be the main theme of the movie. It was so important to get that theme right because it would anchor the piece under a unifying melodic signature (and if it could get stuck in people's heads, that would be the icing on the cake for partially sadistic reasons). Eight sketch pieces later, we landed on using the second. Go figure. After that, we squeezed out four-ish passes of the score, tweaking things over the course of a few months to make sure every piece was doing exactly what it was supposed to do either as a compliment to the picture or a contrast to it. Then presto chango, we've got a tasty soundtrack for an even tastier movie.

4. Walk us through the score — what themes and motifs are there, and what do they represent?
We find Greg in a place in his life where he feels incomplete. He feels so close to happiness and success, but always finds himself one or two steps behind. So all the different recurring motifs reflect that: they're all incomplete. None of them really have a concrete ending, which hopefully gives the audience a subliminal sense of longing for something more. The main theme (which also serves as the Starlight Symphony piece) captures that awe-inspiring wonder that Greg seeks, but again, leaves the ending just out of sight in the horizon. There's a second half to the main theme that speaks to Greg's personal life, and typically plays whenever Julia is in the picture, or whenever Greg thinks about his past. It's softer and sadder. There's also something in there that we called "The Summoning Theme," that plays when Stevie and Greg are trying to make the aliens appear. We also throw it in when Greg's finger cut is healed and when Greg pulls his stories out of the garbage. At those points, it morphs into a "healing" theme. Each of these tiny motifs serve as audio cues for the audience to understand what's happening on a deeper, subconscious level. At least that's what its supposed to do, and if we didn't succeed… that'd be awkward.

5. What was your favorite scene to score?
When Greg and Stevie summon the aliens in the bedroom. I've never scored a scene that required such massive music with that many shifts and changes. It was genuinely just so much fun to play in that sandbox.

6. What was the most difficult scene to score?
Same answer as before for the exact same reasons.

Behind Stevie's Aliens: Q&A with Editor Ton Do-Nguyen

They say a film gets written three times: once in the screenplay, once on set, and then one last time in the editing room. Over the course of more than seven months, Ton Do-Nguyen, famous for editing (and starring in) a certain viral video in high school, worked on turning the hours of 4K footage shot into a 16 minute film.

1. What drew you to this project?
Originally, I was attached to the project as a script supervisor. I absolutely love Austin and really loved his past work (Jordan Presents) so I knew this project was about to be a great one. Being on set was so much fun, and there was a moment on the first night of shooting with the UFO encounter, I just thought to myself, “Oh snap, he’s onto something.” When I got word on set that they still needed an editor, I had to hop on.

Editing sessions with @tondonguyen are going well! pic.twitter.com/LytoYqpb5B

— Stevie's Aliens (@SteviesAliens) August 5, 2017

2. What was your process for editing this film?
Editing this film was such a fun and collaborative process. Let’s be real — it was literally just months of Austin and I hanging out with food while being super productive. I brought my sauce and Austin brought incredible precision and meticulousness to bringing this vision to life.

3. How did your musical background aid in editing this film?
Going into this project, I have had extensive experience working in music videos. When you’re dealing with music, so much of the video’s excitement is dependent on allowing the rhythm of the cuts to swell along with the rhythm of the music. Although I was dealing with a different medium here — a narrative sci-fi short film — I wanted to bring that same energy to this film and allow the editing to carry the action and excitement of the film. Especially as an homage to the action- and score-heavy Spielberg films we both grew up loving, we knew this film had to swell like one.

BTS of editing with @tondonguyen pic.twitter.com/mC2SoWgW0Q

— Stevie's Aliens (@SteviesAliens) September 21, 2017

4. What were some changes that you made in editing that you feel improved the film?
There were some points in the editing where we had to cut out certain sections to keep the film moving along. For example, there was a whole gag that was set up in the flashback scene in the beginning that was omitted, as well as whole chunks of dialogue throughout the film — specifically the beginning conversation between Greg and Julia as well as the conversation between Greg and Stevie right after they see the UFO.

5. The first cut of the film was 25 minutes long. What was the most difficult thing to cut from the film in order to get it down to time?
Our first cut was a whole 25 minutes. It’s hard because you see the charm in everything that is presented to you, especially with the dialogue in the scenes. But as an editor, you have to step back and look at the grand scheme of the film to see what is necessary to keep the momentum of the film pushing along and what scenes are dragging in relation to the rest of the film.

Adjusting the timing of the bedroom dance scene. pic.twitter.com/TlfC0QYZhc

— Stevie's Aliens (@SteviesAliens) November 18, 2017

6. What was your favorite sequence to edit?
My favorite sequence to edit was hands down the point in the film where chaos just breaks loose at Stevie and Julia’s place. There was so much coverage to play around with in that scene with the camera snapping away, the lights all flickering, the Operation game popping off. It’s such an exciting high point in the film and it was super fun to channel the swelling energy into the editing to capture the magic of that sequence. My honorable mention is the UFO sequence. It’s just such a gorgeous set piece!

7. What was the most difficult sequence to edit?
The most difficult sequence to edit was the beginning of the film. We went through a lot of drafts trying to figure out this beginning sequence, mainly because of two obstacles. One, how do we find a proper balance between the conversation between Greg and Julia and the flashback? In some drafts, the flashback just dragged or felt awkward plopped into the film where it was. In some drafts, that conversation was just too much. Two, how do we get to the action already? You want to be able to get through the exposition properly while still pushing the film along to the exciting action sequences.

Behind Stevie's Aliens: Q&A with Production Designer Danni Juhl

Stevie's Aliens had a very specific look that would not have been possible without the hard work of its production designer, Danni Juhl. She was brought onto the project based on a recommendation from our producer Caroline Joseph, and was one of the core seven crew members who stayed in the house for the entire shoot. Due to the small size of the crew, she was often arting entire scenes on her own. 

1. What drew you to this project?
I was really attracted to the optimism of this project as well as the potential to create an entirely new world. Something I love is creating spaces for different characters; you really get the opportunity to show who someone is by what they include in their room, and for this film I got three chances to do that.

2. How did you begin the process of planning this shoot?
I had a lot of weekly meetings with Austin, Sidney, and Alex (the director of photography) about ideas for the spaces. We first talked about the meaning behind the script and the personalities of the characters, going in on the big ideas of what each character represented. Then we talked about lighting plans in conjunction with what I was doing so they would be cohesive.

3. Walk us through each of the bedrooms – why did you choose to decorate them the way that you did?
Greg’s room is centered around escapism, so a lot of space-oriented things and travel, also the color blue. He’s even got a little suitcase packed in the corner which you see in the wide shot to kind of represent him wanting to leave. His desk is relatively chaotic with all his ideas sprawled out.

It was important for Julia's character that she was into science and was an organized overachiever. So there are framed certificates on her wall as well as lots of textbooks and a calendar. The other element of her character was that she was very into hip-hop, so we had various hip hop posters throughout the room (that kept falling down while shooting). Even under her bed was relatively organized, compared to Greg.

Stevie’s space was the most fun. He’s eccentric, passionate, and interested in everything. This is the space where he can really focus on the aliens. He’s got a room full of old vintage stuff that is able to emit light, for his experiments with summoning the aliens. His room is relatively chaotic as well, compared to both Greg’s and Julia’s.

 4. What are some details that people might miss?
We don’t get to see much of Greg’s room but his is dedicated to travel. Everything on his wall is dedicated to faraway places and escapism. He has dreams but isn’t sure enough to pursue them. He also has a lot of post-it notes on his desk dedicated to story ideas, but by the time he returns to his room after his rejection, a lot of those notes are gone and his room is more organized, representing him giving up on that dream.

Stevie had a lot of posters that referenced various films centered around belief, such as the X-Files or E.T. I also designed an album cover for the fictional “Starlight Symphony” album which I think you see a corner of for just a second. Fun fact was that during the wide shot where all the lights start to go crazy, I was actually in the corner hiding behind one of the shelves so I could unplug the extension cord connected to all of the moving parts at the right time.

 5. How did you use color to tell the story?
The first thing I wanted to do was to establish meaningful colors for the characters. We chose blue for Greg, the color of the sky, kind of associated with escape. You’ll notice the first shot of the film is also of the sky and Greg looking up at it. The light on Stevie’s alien-summoning device is also blue, representing a hint of Greg’s dreams within it.

Green was for Julia, because she was interested in the sciences, the color of the earth and the ground. She is the grounded one in their relationship, she believes in things you can see. The walls in her room are green and so is the jacket she wears. She also has many plants in her room.

Red and Yellow was for Stevie - someone who is passionate and loud and doesn’t care necessarily what people think of his interests. It’s also optimistic. I think this was cut out of the final, but Greg’s rejection letter logo is actually colored in that same yellow color, to represent his dreams and optimism.

6. What was the process of arting on set like?
The process of arting on set was pretty crazy during the initial setup, since we had a lot of night shoots so we’d stay up all night the night before and then I’d be the first one in to start dressing. Particularly for Stevie’s room, there were so many props to set up and also work with Alex on how they were going to coordinate with the light. Sometimes the shot would also change or I’d figure out we were going to see a certain side of the room I didn’t anticipate while I was arting so I’d have to change certain things.

We left a lot of things until we arrived at location, since it was out of town, which turned out to make things even crazier. We were planning on printing the concert ticket when we got to location but there was no printer in sight, so we had to scramble to Austin’s house while they were shooting the scene in order to get the ticket printed. Oh, and we also couldn’t figure out how to work the printer. So that was fun. But I ran over to them while shooting and we get to see the ticket for a whole 1 second.

There were also a couple difficult to find props such as a book based around aliens aimed at younger children that fit the vibe of the script. A lot of stuff we ended up ordering 1 day or same day shipping on Amazon Prime, so I would be checking the door at 7pm every day. Luckily we didn’t normally start shooting until 8.

Behind Stevie's Aliens: Q&A with Producer Sidney Butler

In the week leading up to the film's premiere, several of the film's behind-the-scenes crew members will answer some questions about the process of making Stevie's Aliens. Making a low-budget short film is hard work, and no one knows that better than Sidney Butler, one of the film's producers. Involved from the inception of the project, Sidney oversaw the logistics for the entire film, which often meant she was literally driving actors and crew members to and from set. 

1. What drew you to this project?
I was drawn to this idea, because like Austin I grew up on E.T. and Spielberg movies and am obsessed with space and the universe. Austin and I both didn't see black people represented in the genre and wanted to explore what it looked like to have black people at the center of this story. Also Austin is my boyfriend so I had no choice. (HA. KIDDING.)

2. What was your proudest achievement in pre-production?
Finding the house that worked to create Austin's vision was a satisfying achievement. We reached out to over 30 houses and only three got back to us with interest. Austin, Caroline (our other producer), and I drove down to New Jersey to look at them one Saturday, and on our way, one of the places changed their mind. One of the places we visited was a townhouse connected to another house which wouldn't have worked, but the house we chose was perfect because it had three distinct bedrooms, and it was big enough to house our whole crew. The owners were really nice and accommodating of our all-night shoots, and it was basically like a big sleepover. But it really fit that 80's suburban vine and it's great when you can find exactly what the director wants. 

3. What were some setbacks you faced?
Raising enough money was a huge challenge. We applied to many Tisch grants and didn't receive any for production so our budget was tight and when you're shooting a sci-fi movie, the budget of the film matters A LOT. We had to make some compromises and schedule around them -- for instance, we could only afford to have Steadicam for a few days, but we actually managed to get more shots with it than we originally planned.  

4. What was the most difficult part of this film to bring together?
Getting a crew of 14+ people in and out of New Jersey at any given moment. Most of the people on our crew were only there for one or two days, all different, and to organize what trains and buses different people were taking in and out was a miracle. Alexei, one of our Best Boy Electrics, was lost in Grand Central and didn't really speak English so I had to walk him through getting to Port Authority and on a bus to New Jersey over the phone. So when he finally made it to set it was so exciting! Luckily our other producer, Caroline, had a car from the city and could drive people back to NYC at strange hours of the night! 

5. How did you wrangle everybody in the Airbnb?
There was one night where we had too many people for the number of beds we had. Originally we were going to split up the crew and have people stay at Austin's house, but we wrapped at 5 am and decided to just squeeze everyone into the Airbnb, so that night not everyone had a bed. It was fun but chaotic, but we felt like it'd be better for morale if everyone was together! But after we ran out of beds, for some people it was like, they'll figure it out. And they did!

6. How did you arrange craft services?
Austin's family friend Sianni was an amazing help with this! She was starting her own catering service and wanted to cater the entire shoot for a flat fee. This was awesome because we got to try out new foods we wouldn't normally have on set, like stuffed peppers and chicken parm pot pie. She was also flexible with working with our late nights and strange dinner times. We really didn't eat out from restaurants but were able to have home cooked meals everyday whether it was from Sianni or Austin's mom and grandmother. It saved money and boosted morale. 

7. What is the plan for after the film’s First Run release?
The film's trailer is going to be showcased on Film Shortage. We'll try to submit to the big festivals like Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca but also really take advantage of the niche festivals that cater to us as filmmakers. So festivals in New Jersey, where the film was shot, and black-led festivals and also sci-fi festivals. We have a lot of options which is great!