Score Helps Define Dense Story In "The Infiltrator": A Conversation With Composer Chris Hajian

By: Marjorie Galas

Composer Chris Hajian has spent most of his professional career focused on low budget and indie fare.  Not because he wasn’t interested in composing for larger budge products – he’s just happily gone where the work has taken him.  One such endeavor was the 2002 short “Fast Forward”, a film written, directed and produced by then newcomer Brad Furman.  Furman’s gone on to produce features of increasing scope and budget including “The Lincoln Lawyer” and “Runner Runner”.  For his latest feature, “The Infiltrator”, a biopic about undercover Federal Agent Robert Mazur played by Bryan Cranston, he knew Hajian’s creative vision would lend itself perfectly to score the deeply layered thriller.

Based on Mazur’s personal account of the same title, “The Infiltrator” presents the story of Mazur’s mid-80s infiltration of Columbian drug lord Pablo Ecobar’s Medellin Cartel.  During early conversations about the story’s direction, Hajian and Furman discussed films that referenced a tonal quality the director was aiming for, including “Blade Runner” and “Tangerine Dream.”  Recognizing the importance of infusing 80s synthesizer quality into a very serious film, Hajian illustrated some period-specific stylistic qualities he felt were important to avoid.  After a bit of experimentation Hajian shared his vision of melded synths with ambient sounds and strings with Furman.

“The score would capture the feeling of the 80s but it was important to combine it with other elements,” said Hajian.  “Brad had a lot of trust in me. When you have that, another level of creativity comes forth.”

As Hajian tackled the dense story, he began focusing on creating specific melodies that would help usher the audience through the intricate relationships Mazur had with his wife, has family and the myriad of individuals he was involved with while undercover.  He also wanted the melody to clarify the emotional stakes of the mission: at any moment one poorly chosen word or reaction would have blown Mazur’s cover.  The melodies Hajian crafted focused more on layered textures rather than clearly defined riffs.

“I’m not a fan of telling you how to feel, rather I like to add depth,” said Hajian.  “I like to add a sense of connection through simple ideas and layered sounds and finding tonally what works that avoid the clichés.”

Percussion instruments are often the instrument composers will use to build tension.  With so many story threads to follow and a score built on many textural layers, Hajian decided avoiding drums would better serve the goal of elevating the internal experience of the characters.  The synths, layered with samples and ambient sounds, created the backbeat the vacancy of percussion left.  The more analog sounds were balanced with strings.  Feeling the authentic qualities string performers could not be substituted, Hajian recorded the score with a 32 member string ensemble.

“That is very important to me, this quality the players provide.  It was needed,” said Hajian.

The editing process of “The Infiltrator” was a particular treat for Hajian.  Involved very early on, the composer shared ideas he had in mind for sequences and enjoyed the collaborative process throughout post production.  Often sections of the score were moved and used in different areas of the film, a process Hajian felt “opened his eyes” to looking at different ways of utilizing the score.  He also worked closely with the editing team, including Luis Carballar, Jeff McEvoy and David Rosenbloom to refine and reform musical segments for specific placement throughout the score.

“There were so many stages of screenings because the story was so dense; it was so important to hone down,” said Hajian.  “I really saw the complete evolution.”

Up next for Hajian:  a new series on Crackle featuring Martin Freeman and a documentary on prominent 20^th century choreographer George Balanchine that he’s having “pure fun” working on.