Musician interview: Brazilian composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, producer and teacher

What is your day to day like as a musician?

Usually when a cinema or TV director comes to me, the first thing I do is schedule a meeting so I can understand the project, the story and the narrative. Then, I will organize the project, start to create sketches of music to show the director, what we call leitmotif. It’s important to understand exactly what the director wants to evoke.

Once the director approves the musical sketch, the music will go through a process of arrangement and orchestration, to fill out the musical body and add details. Once this is done, the music travels to production, which takes care of the audio quality, mixing and mastering, as well as properly syncing the music with the image and the time code. The music is then handed over to the editing team and then we have the final result.

What do you consider before accepting a project?

Initially, the project idea has to be challenging, pleasurable in terms of the structure given should problems arise, such as bad organization or working with complicated people. Communication is very important: it should always be present. The process has to be a fun undertaking with the team. And finally, the economic proposal has to be feasible when compared with the demand. These are all factors I consider before taking a job. 

What are the challenges you deal with in this industry?

From my point of view, here in Brazil there is still a lack of stability in the industry for film scoring compared to other countries, such as the United States which has a huge, stable and developed industry. The industry in Brazil has grown a lot. It's better than last year, but it's still developing.

We need to achieve another level, to be more stable. We need a broader work capacity, not only for people who are starting in this field, but also for those who've been in this industry for a while. There has to be space for everyone, with more demand.

At Brazilian TV stations, where there is more demand, they often work with royalty free music; which is fine now and then, but it would be better if a musician created original music for the project, to give more work opportunities to these professionals and to value them more.

Can you talk about your workflow and give us tips for an audiovisual production?

For those who only work with images, sometimes communication can be difficult because they don’t know the vocabulary of the music universe; and vice versa, musicians usually don't know audiovisual terms. It’s important for both fields to know how to communicate with each other, to work together, to learn each other's languages, to know the basics so that the end result is satisfying for both sides, so that the end project is cohesive. One way for the director to manifest what he wants is to use references, to search for examples of existing music to show the composer what he wants, to guide the musician to the correct path.

About the workflow, I personally like to work differently. Instead of receiving the cut, reading the script and composing on top of it, I like to go see the filming on site and watch everything: the actors performing in front of the camera, the mood, the environment, what it makes me feel. It inspires me. The experience of being there enhances the emotions and I end up creating musical themes and ideas right there.

I watch the actors read their lines, see how they are expressing them, their gestures; it all intensifies and helps with composing later on. Being there also allows you to meet people, connect and talk more with the director.

Finally, let us know how you promote your work?

I’ve been lucky so far, with one job leading to another: word of mouth has always worked for me. But I confess that lately, post pandemic, a lot has changed, technology has advanced. Right now, I’m rebranding FatorR, my studio, and myself by using the new technologies at our disposal. Decades ago, there was only cinema and TV, but today we have streaming media services, the internet, YouTube, and more.

There are new branches of musical opportunities to enter, with new ways to approach them and different challenges. Word of mouth has always worked for me because when I started it was the only way, but today it’s important to put yourself out there, advertise who you are, and to work very hard so that people will recommend you to others. It’s good to rely on other ways of communication, using social media for example. It’s more important than ever, since the competition is very high and you have to make a name for yourself. 

Rafael Righini is now conducting the musical The Wizard of Oz in São Paulo. He has shown that it’s possible to have a relevant career combining different skills in the musical world, and merge that with video production.

Speaking of integrating music and video, if you have a project that requires any post-production in Brazil, Story Productions can help you by providing sound and music mixing. Send us a message so we can provide you with a viable quote!

Rafael Righini's top Brazilian films and TV shows to watch

Entre Lençóis (Between the Sheets) (film)

Gustavo Nieto Roa, 2008

Uma Rosa com Amor (soap opera - SBT)

Del Rangel, 2010 

Contos de Lygia (film)

Del Rangel, 1999

Dance, Dance, Dance (soap opera - Band)

Del Rangel, 2007

Revelação (soap opera - SBT)

Henrique Martins, 2008

Especial Record - 50 anos (TV special - Rede Record)

Vagner Matrone, 2003

Rafael Righini's top musical conducting

O Mágico de Oz (The Wizard of Oz)

2003-2006, 2018-2020, 2023

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