There are few sensory elements that can heighten an emotional voyage as effectively as music. Perhaps the sense of smell, but until they create an entire interactive television viewing environment where the foulness of a demon's musty tomb or the stench of decaying rats can be experienced (Gee, and I was so looking forward to that!), music will accomplish this need. The musical score is the one ingredient that brings all the visual elements together in a unique way that guides our emotions through an hour of humor and drama each week. Rob Kral, as the Angel Musical Composer, has the wondrous and painstaking job of providing us with some of the most exciting moments that capture not only the characters but the essence of a given scene and propel us from tender moments to epic experiences.
While in Los Angeles for the Buffy/Angel concert, I caught up with Rob to see what he thought of the season so far, what he was working on and generally how he was doing. "Good, it’s a very busy week this week," he begins, explaining, "They had to do some re-shooting, I think one of the episodes a couple weeks ago and that kind of put the schedule back a little, so we’re pretty much up against the wall. They have us chained," he states with a laugh.
The music and the vamps,
both larger than life.
Just recently seen in the US was the cross-over episode that centered on Spike, Drusilla, Angel and Darla. This two hour event that encompassed both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel was just amazing! "Oh cool, I’m glad you like that! It was fun doing it." "Was it?" "Yeah it was cool," he confirms about being able to pull some of the stops and play with it a little bit. It has more of an epic feel to it than fans have been used to and that played well with the story content and the feel of the period flash-back pieces. "Well, you know Tim [Minear] (writer) really wanted it big and he had been talking about it for a few weeks before that. So I knew he wanted it kind of huge and everything, so I gave him lots of brass and that kind of thing. It was just such a big show it was a lot of fun to do."
When doing such extensive work on one particular episode, what would be considered an average week of your typical musical requirements can suddenly become a nightmare. "We also were concerned because we had less time than usual to work with it," Rob offers, "… it’s a pity because it would have been nice to have had extra time on that one. David Greenwalt had given me like no time to get this done because I was screwing around with the script and stuff like that," as he jokingly admits, "and it’d taken longer to get this one going and we had like no time to do it. But even with the limited time, we managed to pull out all the stops and go for it. Hmm it was a good one!" Rob rightfully admires his own work and the ability to mesh together with Buffy’s musical composer Thomas Wanker to bring these episodes to its full potential.
"The Trial" - Rob's next epic!
So can we look forward to more epic-ish things or a few surprises to come later this season? Could be, as Rob give us a hint at some of the things he is presently working on. "Ah, it has both elements," he teases, "not as big as that last one but it’s back to ‘saving Darla’s life’ type stuff coming on in a couple weeks. The next episode (The Shroud of Rahmon) they kind of diverge a little bit and then they get back on the Darla stuff with this one. And I think it’s more or less a hand in hand, episode 9 and 10 kind of go together and Tim Minear wrote both of them."
Rob certainly has the skill and talent to come off with outstanding creations. For each week he creates a body of work, along with the visual play, that accentuates Angel’s struggle with his inner demon, Darla’s sense of whimsy or Wesley’s bumbling nuance. He’s ready and willing to tackle anything Tim can dish out! "He tends to write pretty big stuff," he finishes with a groan and a laugh.
Written
by CoA Head Writer, Kristy Bratton
CityofAngel.com would like to thank Rob Kral for taking the time to chat with us. He was in quite a crunch that week and he was a pleasure to talk with! We look forward to hearing him each week!
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