John Ottman
- Music Department
- Composer
- Producer
John Ottman holds dual distinctions as a leading film composer and an
award winning film editor. Ottman has often completed both monumental
tasks on the same films. Such remarkable double duties have included
The Usual Suspects, X-Men 2, Superman Returns, Valkyrie, and Jack the
Giant Killer. He has also held producer roles on several of these
films, as well as directing, editing and scoring Urban Legends 2.
From an early age in San Jose, California, Ottman began writing and
recording radio plays on cassette tapes. He'd perform many characters
with his voice (and some sound effects), and called upon his
neighborhood friends as extra cast members.
By the fourth grade, Ottman was playing the clarinet and continued
doing so throughout high school. But his real concentration turned from
audio productions to making films. He turned his parents' garage into a
movie studio, where multiple sets were interchangeable to accommodate
productions - invariably some sort of science fiction film. By high
school, his films evolved to hour-long productions complete with large
sets and lavish scores edited together from his favorite soundtracks.
Having been a veteran of numerous short films, Ottman excelled at USC
film school, receiving accolades for his direction of actors and for
how masterfully he edited their performances. It was in this directing
course that a graduate filmmaker asked Ottman to re-edit his thesis
film. John modified the story from raw footage and also designed the
film's extensive sound. The film ended up winning the student Academy
Award. On that film, Ottman met a production assistant named Bryan
Singer.
Singer, only aware of Ottman's editing (Ottman stayed awake into the
wee hours learning midi gear and composing music), asked him to edit a
short film starring Ethan Hawke - a childhood friend of Singer's.
Ottman ended up co-directing the film (Lion's Den) as well as editing
and doing the sound design.
Ottman edited Singer's first feature, Public Access. His effective
sequences and editorial montages became the highlight of the picture.
In the eleventh hour, the film lost its composer. Singer asked Ottman
to write the score, after much prodding from the editor. Public Access
received the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, with
the score and editing being lauded in reviews.
With The Usual Suspects and future Singer films, Ottman held to a
promise that, despite his scoring dreams, he would commit to the months
required to also serve as editor on Singer's films. The wary producers
of The Usual Suspects gave the go-ahead for him to both edit the
complicated picture and write the score, the demands of which no one
had undergone. The film was edited in Ottman's living room on a
Steinbeck flatbed and a splicer. The Usual Suspects and Ottman's work
received widespread acclaim, earning Ottman the British Academy Awards
for his editing, a Saturn Award for his score, and a nomination by the
American Cinema Editors.
Since then, Ottman has scored numerous films with the intent of keeping
thematic film scoring alive. Ottman also made a brief foray into
television for which he received an Emmy nomination ("Fantasy Island.")
award winning film editor. Ottman has often completed both monumental
tasks on the same films. Such remarkable double duties have included
The Usual Suspects, X-Men 2, Superman Returns, Valkyrie, and Jack the
Giant Killer. He has also held producer roles on several of these
films, as well as directing, editing and scoring Urban Legends 2.
From an early age in San Jose, California, Ottman began writing and
recording radio plays on cassette tapes. He'd perform many characters
with his voice (and some sound effects), and called upon his
neighborhood friends as extra cast members.
By the fourth grade, Ottman was playing the clarinet and continued
doing so throughout high school. But his real concentration turned from
audio productions to making films. He turned his parents' garage into a
movie studio, where multiple sets were interchangeable to accommodate
productions - invariably some sort of science fiction film. By high
school, his films evolved to hour-long productions complete with large
sets and lavish scores edited together from his favorite soundtracks.
Having been a veteran of numerous short films, Ottman excelled at USC
film school, receiving accolades for his direction of actors and for
how masterfully he edited their performances. It was in this directing
course that a graduate filmmaker asked Ottman to re-edit his thesis
film. John modified the story from raw footage and also designed the
film's extensive sound. The film ended up winning the student Academy
Award. On that film, Ottman met a production assistant named Bryan
Singer.
Singer, only aware of Ottman's editing (Ottman stayed awake into the
wee hours learning midi gear and composing music), asked him to edit a
short film starring Ethan Hawke - a childhood friend of Singer's.
Ottman ended up co-directing the film (Lion's Den) as well as editing
and doing the sound design.
Ottman edited Singer's first feature, Public Access. His effective
sequences and editorial montages became the highlight of the picture.
In the eleventh hour, the film lost its composer. Singer asked Ottman
to write the score, after much prodding from the editor. Public Access
received the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, with
the score and editing being lauded in reviews.
With The Usual Suspects and future Singer films, Ottman held to a
promise that, despite his scoring dreams, he would commit to the months
required to also serve as editor on Singer's films. The wary producers
of The Usual Suspects gave the go-ahead for him to both edit the
complicated picture and write the score, the demands of which no one
had undergone. The film was edited in Ottman's living room on a
Steinbeck flatbed and a splicer. The Usual Suspects and Ottman's work
received widespread acclaim, earning Ottman the British Academy Awards
for his editing, a Saturn Award for his score, and a nomination by the
American Cinema Editors.
Since then, Ottman has scored numerous films with the intent of keeping
thematic film scoring alive. Ottman also made a brief foray into
television for which he received an Emmy nomination ("Fantasy Island.")