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Barry Funderburg's Design
Interview
January 13, 1998 - 3:30 pm
"For sound designer Barry Funderburg, all it took was
an article in KEYBOARD magazine to jack him in. The year was 1989 and the
magazine featured an article on the the world and sounds of the cyberpunk
genre. While Funderburg was fascinated by this new genre, he tried to put
this wild new form in the back of his mind. It didn't work. On vacation,
Funderburg found himself buying "Virtual Light" - a bestseller
at the time. Only a short period had passed before Funderburg got his hands
on every cyber novel he could find. "I liked the genre and the writing"
said Funderburg during a phone interview from his home in Indiana."
- Robin Schorr
Robin = Robin Schorr
Barry = Barry G. Funderburg
Robin: How did you start your work on the stage adaptation of William Gibson's "Burning Chrome".
Barry: I was working on the sound design of another show at the Next Theatre when I saw a copy of Gibson's latest novel Idoru sitting on Steve Pickering's desk. I started jumping up and down. When it was official that we would be doing BURNING CHROME for the '97-'98 season, I started my work by re-reading the short story and talking to Steve.
Robin: At the beginning of your process, what kind of music did you have in mind?
Barry: Because of the desire to meld film noir and techno into the world of the story, I brought many different examples to the table. The Sneaker Pimps and The Psycho Pumps seemed like a good place to start. I also listened to a lot of Nine Inch Nails. I think Trent Reznor is quite an artist. I find that the way he mixes aural tones and colors to be really interesting.
Robin: You had also mentioned something about sampling...
Barry: I started with a model that had a rythym loop section from Nine Inch Nails' first album. We've also taken some pieces from "Goldfinger". The sampling seems appropriate...it's way for Steve to pay homage to that genre. It's a way to quote the play itself. For example, there is a section in the Sneaker Pimps' song "Six Underground" that has a musical quote from "Goldfinger".
There's also the idea that we've perfected all of this stuff...we've protected every human endeavor except crime...that worked perfectly with the show and helped me with the design aspects. If you look at the crime TV genre, shows like "I Spy", "Mission Impossible" and "Johnny Quest" all show us the nationalism has broken down. But somehow, we still haven't gotten a firm grasp on perfecting crime. In that respect, we're now beginning to include world music. There's a mix of stuff like Japanese Pop, Middle Eastern music and Russian music as well as pieces from "The Untouchables".
We're also adding a Nat King Cole piece called "Orange Colored Sky" to the show. It will be a love song for Automatic Jack's situation. It will serve as the transition to the Gentleman Loser. I think it sums up where Jack is at that point in the play.
Robin:Is your process on "Burning Chrome" different than most shows you design?
Barry: Actually, no. Working on this show has been very similar to what I did in graduate school. My mentor professor tried to encourage this kind of design process. As students, we always had to bring in models. We were always watching movies, collaborating and generally pulling stuff from everywhere. Even if you didn't use the models, he wanted to encourage this way of thinking. Steal from the best.
The majority of the music will be original and the stuff we find will be very specific. We have to quote music in order to utilize the themes. I listen to that Nine Inch Nails tape all the time looking for these things. I'm always searching for tools to use because that's what will save you when you're in the thick of it. Much like I am now.
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