Marple Composer Brings Film Score to Delco

Marple resident Jason Borbidge will be bringing his first commissioned score to the area at the end of the month with a special screening of the film it was featured in.

Borbidge will host a one-time showing at the AMC Marple 10 on Sept. 29 of “It’s All About Me”, a documentary that explores the self-entitled nature of the “me” generation that features Borbidge’s first-ever work as a film composer. An official selection of the 2013 Ottawa International Film Festival, this wil lbe the first time “It’s All About Me” will be shown in Delaware County.

“It’s very emotional to show that to people I’m closest with,” said Borbidge of the film’s first screening for friends and family. “The one thing I can say is that feeling when you’re sitting in the theater watching it is indescribable. It’s just one of those moments you don’t figure. I would expect that same feeling with my closest friends and my parents”

A self-taught musician, Borbidge was approached by his close friend, and the film’s director, Antoine

Using only his portable sound equipment to record, hours of his music were whittled down to over 60 minutes of score used in the 99-minute

film.

Marple resident Jason Borbidge's first film score was used in "It's All About Me".

 

Borbidge said of the experience that it was a lot of “back-and-forth” with the producers of the film, working with the music to not only express what he was feeling, but also those of the producers.

“You have to put yourself into the feelings on the screen. That’s one of the few things to accomplish… As a musician, it’s not only about your emotions, you have to put your emotions aside and put in what they want. You have to be able to change that on a whim,” he said.

Gaber to bring his self-described “uplifting, emotional and impactful” music to the score. Using software such as Adobe Logic Pro to help with the scoring process, Borbidge spent over six months producing the music in his Marple home.

Director Antoine Gaber said working with Borbidge, a close friend of his, had its periodic challenges, but he was looking for the best music for his first feature.

“(Jason’s) a professional guy so it wasn’t an issue. He knows my expectations, it has to be good quality. Sometimes the music didn’t work and I had to tell him but he didn’t like it. I’m not saying it wasn’t good, it just didn’t fit. It had to fit with the image and the story,” said Gaber.

A segment in the film that discusses suicide was one of the hardest scenes for Borbidge to compose for, calling it the “most complex” part of the recording process.

When asked about other films or composers he may have cited for inspiration as he made his first film score, Borbidge said other artists inspire him, but that “doesn’t go into the score. I like to be original” and that everything came from him.

An original score he thought worked well with the final cut of the film.

“I was pleased with the impact of the music and where it was in the project,” he said.

Borbidge hopes to continue doing film scores in the future now that his first one is under his belt.

“There was that opportunity; it was time to break into the industry. I did it for the passion of the music… Being it’s my first it’s like winning the lottery,” he said.

“It’s All About Me” will be screened at the AMC Marple 10 on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m., with a Q&A segment with Borbidge and director/producer Antoine Gaber following. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $20 each if ordered in advance and $30 at the door. For tickets, email Borbidge at jasonb589@gmail.com. Jason Borbidge, composer of the film “It’s All About Me”, directed by Antoine Gaber. Released in 2012.

About the film

The film is a concept by Candian artist and photographer Antoine Gaber, whose background as a cancer researcher helped him with the development on his first feature, and on such a broad topic. Tackling Generation XYZ, or ME, the film follows the breakdown of social rules and the rise of individualism and self-confidence in this latest generation.

“Many areas to explore, lots of questions and answers to make sense of it all. As my first feature it was an incredible experience,” said Gaber.

Gaber said he got the inspiration from a teenage relative whose perception of the world seemed to revolve around him, and hearing stories from people dealing with the same issues. He set out to show a film “quite useful for people” and “controversial”.

“It forces people to think, and everytime it shows it makes the generations talk. They have a better understanding on what are the issues. It’s a good thing,” said Gaber.