This year marks the 20th anniversary of Fridays at the Farm, a timelapse film I made to chronicle my family’s experience with a local community-supported organic farm. It’s also a great example of the importance of a film’s score, which is perhaps the most frequently overlooked aspect of timelapse (if not all) filmmaking.
The Sounds Behind the Scenes
Rich Hoffmann
“Music is one of the most effective ways of preparing an audience and reinforcing points… [It] is one of the great weapons that the filmmaker has at his disposal.”
-Stanley Kubrick
2002: My earliest collaboration with composer Pete Tramo for Invisible Mountains came from humble beginnings in my home studio.
Unlike video recording, timelapse doesn’t capture any audio, so I have to develop that separately. Whether I’m choosing the right stock-music clips or producing a unique track from scratch, the result must match the film’s tone, both overall and in key emotional beats. As a longtime hobby musician—the crystal bowls, harmonica, and vocals in Fridays are mine—I can translate a client’s vision into musical terms. But for original compositions, I turn to the pros.
2006: On the set of Fridays at the Farm, Pete finds inspiration among the corn fields.
Fridays was my second-ever collaboration with composer Peter Tramo, and we assembled the film almost entirely by ourselves. Over more than twenty years and probably as many projects, our professional partnership has grown from conversations in makeshift home studios to multi-instrument improvisational sessions.
2013: Pete and I reunited to mix the sound for Watermelon Magic.
2017: Pete works the console during a session for Sol.
Presenting half-formed ideas “from the sketchbook” doesn’t feel as vulnerable when you’ve worked together for two decades and practically share a creative language. My guidance and encouragement give Pete the confidence to explore and let the riffs flow. In return, Pete meets my projects no matter how far along they are and consistently delivers tracks better than anything I could have imagined. If a film is nearly complete, he’ll compose music to match; other times, I’ll give him an outline of the major plot points and recut the final film according to his track.
2023: For Dollars That Make Sense, Pete records Monica Moran’s voiceover
Pete and I are currently finishing up Bold Gold, a sequel to Dollars That Make Sense. In the meantime, enjoy this clip from our recent recording session!
2026: After two decades of collaboration, Pete and I get to experiment with instrument setups that are as expansive as our ideas.
“Creativity is at the center of Rich’s being. He has continuously encouraged me to aim fearlessly where I may have otherwise wanted to play it safe. This allowance of creative freedom and openness to the unknown charge and inspire me to bring my best and most honest work to every session.”
—Peter Tramo, composer