In September of 2006, not long after my second 48 Hour Film soundtrack, I was contacted by a man named David Marchesani, who had gotten my information from Robin Rigby. David had recently finished a short film and was looking for a composer.
Aside from about four lines of dialogue, Ineptitude Man is a silent film, reminiscent of old cartoons. Since every action was so important to the film, I really had to stress music not only as something thematic, but as a sound effect as well.
This was most apparent in the first scenes, where the main character underwent the lassitude of day-to-day life. More work went into exacting these cues then any other music in the film, and while the pieces didn't really have a "theme" here per say, I tried to write them like Carl Stalling's scores, so to best compliment the cartoon-like visuals.
By comparison, the superhero fight scenes in the film were on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Here I brought out an adventurous theme with blaring brass, really trying to exemplify the classic John Williams score to Superman, which I've always found brilliantly hokey.
Unfortunately, and for reasons I still don't understand, with no prior negative feedback, and months after completion, nearly all of my music was taken out of the film. Apparently David received scores from multiple composers and decided on something different for his project.
Although I was credited for composing the main theme, seeing the final cut just came as a bit of a surprise to me. Oh well.
“Ian provided some excellent music for my short film, on very little notice. His music fit the tone and tempo of the movie and provided further depth that will hopefully propel the audience to a greater viewing experience. He was easy to work with; always open to suggestions and had a clear vision for the music. I look forward to working with Ian again on my next movie.”
— David Marchesani, Director
