Meet The Black Woman Behind Some Of Your Favorite Film Soundtracks

BY KEYAIRA BOONE via https://www.essence.com/

KELLY MAC HAS BROUGHT MOOD MUSIC TO ‘TIME OF ESSENCE’ AND ‘DONYALE LUNA: SUPERMODEL DOCUMENTARY.’

Music is one of the most vital parts of the storytelling process. The right chord progression can tell you where lovers stand, or who the killer is. Kelly Mac has mastered the art of using music to tell a story. “Imagine a film without any music. It would kind of fall flat,” she told ESSENCE. “I think music is a really integral part of evoking emotions and bringing stories to life.”  

Mac is one of the few women working in the field. According to a 2021 Celluloid Ceiling study, conducted by San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, less than 8% of film composers are women.  

She did not initially envision herself composing for features. “I started composing a little bit for commercials, and I really wasn’t considering doing film scores because I thought it was something that was more reserved for traditional composers,” she explained. A 2013 film expanded her understanding of what film composition could be like. “I did orchestral scores and then several years back. I was watching this movie Charlie Countrymen where Christophe Beck and DeadMono did the score, and it really stood out to me because they were using these electronic textures and instruments that were reminiscent of the kind of instruments that I was…

Read More: Meet The Black Woman Behind Some Of Your Favorite Film Soundtracks