Almost everyone loves movies because, among other things, they allow you to live vicariously through fictional characters and situations. You get to fly through space at warp speed or dive thousands of feet in a submarine, exploring the depths of the oceans. Of course, you also get to fall in love with the most beautiful people in the digital universe, all in the privacy of your own home or in a large dark room that smells of popcorn and Twizzlers.
We have found another reason to go to the movies: Nami Melumad. She is a film score composer and her music is not only magically and appropriately wonderful, but it can take you where no person has gone before: to the farthest reaches of your own fascinating imagination. We listened to some tracks from a few of her movie scores and were blown away. Nami has certainly gone through extensive music training, both in Israel and the United States, but there is more to her music than just hitting the right notes at the right time. There is a natural rhythm and perfect choice to each bar of music behind each and every scene in the films that she composes for.
Nami’s talent comes from the heart – her heart, and when you hear her music when it’s married to the film it’s as though she breathes music in and out and feels the emotions of each scene and then jots down a few notes, (no pun intended) and “Voila!” There you have it – a perfect music score.
One notable example is her score for Melissa Hoppe’s film, And The Tiara Goes To… This feminist, family drama, produced by American Girl Inc., features a beautifully crafted score that creates a huge emotional impact on the viewer in the right moments. The music serves such a major role in the storytelling here, and the viewer ‘falls in love’ with Julie (the main character) not just because of the lovely performance, but also because of her musical theme. Nami’s score really brings the film to life. And like many of other projects Nami scored, And The Tiara Goes To… went viral and has more than 2 million views on Youtube. It is also screened daily in every American Girl store in the U.S.
She has been doing this for some time although her music is so mature and varied you would tend to think she was an eighty-year old maestro making it look easy. She’s definitely not eighty and the young Ms. Melumad has plenty of decades remaining in her already established composing career to keep thrilling and surprising us with her extremely original, touching, poignant and fun scores. She’s already won quite a lot of praise and countless awards for her exceptional ability to enhance films and entertain audiences. She has also been invited to be a judge at film festivals like TopShorts and Festigious which are established festivals, alongside jury members like six-time Emmy nominated director Jeff Melman, two-time Emmy Award winner Melissa Jo Peltier.
