Amid grey, cloudy skies and intermittent rain rare for Southern California, a group of music professionals and creators gathered at the Recording Academy's office in Santa Monica on March 12 for "Scene and Heard," a panel and networking event produced by the Academy's Los Angeles Chapter in partnership with The Alliance of Women for Film Composers (AWFC). Eight panelists as diverse as the wide array of projects they've scored and arranged — from the Amazon film "The Tender Bar" (George Clooney) to Netflix's "Wednesday" (Tim Burton) — shared their insights on music's nuanced and critical role in film, television, and other media in two separate panels, coordinated in celebration of Women's History Month.

"We've been talking about this for two years, but we were able to make it happen," Senior Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chapter Qiana Conley Akinro told the crowd of more than 100 in-person and virtual attendees, eliciting cheers and applause.

In addition to members of the Los Angeles Chapter and the AWFC, the audience included creatives from other Academy chapters nationwide, including Nashville, Texas and New York. Executive Director of the AWFC, Los Angeles Chapter Advisor, and composer Raashi Kulkarni moderated both of the evening's panels.

The first panel featured South Korean composer Jina Hyojin An, whose credits include the Netflix series "Exploding Kittens" and the Academy Award-nominated animated feature The Breadwinner; American pianist, film producer, music producer, arranger, music director, and former AWFC president Starr Parodi, best known for her GRAMMY-winning performances and production on Kitt Wakeley's An Adoption Story; Australian film/TV composer Shirley Song, who worked alongside An on "Exploding Kittens" and recently scored the Apple TV+ series "BE@RBRICK"; and American composer Dara Taylor whose credits include "The Tender Bar," and "Strays." 

The second panel comprised Turkish GRAMMY Award-nominated composer and conductor Esin Aydingoz ("Wednesday"); two-time Emmy Award nominee, American composer and singer/songwriter Kathryn Bostic ("Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir"; "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am"); GRAMMY Award-winning American composer and violinist Stephanie Economou (Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media, "Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarok"); and GRAMMY Award-winning American singer/songwriter, film composer, and director Carla Patullo (Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album, So She Howls).

Both panels highlighted the complexities inherent to scoring — describing it as an intuitive dance between composers and directors or producers, who often know the emotion they hope to evoke but may not have the words to express it.

"In a way, composers are translators because we want to hear what the film maker in the studio has to say without ever making them feel like they're not communicating," explained Parodi. "I can't tell you how many times people say, ‘I don't know anything about music, but can you make this more red or something?' It's our job to turn adjectives into musical expression."

Dara Taylor recalled reworking a scene with an independent filmmaker who kept telling her, "I'm not sure if that is quite it." After multiple attempts, Taylor finally asked, "What do you want this to say?" The filmmaker paused and admitted, "It doesn't really say anything does it? I just kept it in there because it was pretty to watch." Ultimately, the producers cut the scene.

Such moments, while rare, highlight opportunities for composers to offer solutions that elevate a project. On her panel, Economou shared that when she disagrees with collaborators, she still delivers what’s asked but also presents alternative ideas with thoughtful explanations. 

"If I do that, I feel like I'm doing my job as a collaborator, because people are not just hiring you to churn out music and say, ‘Thanks, goodbye.' They are not music experts for the most part, and they want someone who's going to push back and say, ‘Hey, no, I think this is actually going to work better," Economou said. 

Panelists also emphasized the need for resilience, authenticity and adaptability to blunt the sting of creative rejection. Community was another a key theme — a sentiment echoed by Kathryn Bostic: "I sing on a lot of my own scores, but I also try to find community, which is why we're here today." Bostic acknowledged the sometimes-solitary nature of her creative process and the intentionality it requires when it comes to networking and building community.

Her observation effectively brought Scene and Heard full-circle, recalling what Los Angeles Chapter Songwriters & Composers Wing Committee Co-Chair Roahn Hylton attested in the event's opening remarks: "Community is everything in this city and our business."