Bo Harwood
Encyclopedia
Bo Harwood is an award-winning American sound mixer
, sound editor
, sound engineer, music supervisor, composer
, and songwriter
. Harwood's sound work gained attention in the 1970s after his work on films directed by John Cassavetes
. In the 1990s and 2000s, Harwood worked primarily as a mixer for several television series, including Felicity, and Six Feet Under.
(1970), and "a little sound editing" on Minnie and Moskowitz
(1971). During the making of 1974's A Woman Under the Influence
, Cassavetes fired the sound engineer, and offered the position to Harwood, who at the time had no experience with sound recording. Harwood accepted, though he is only credited as the composer for the film.
Harwood composed music for three more Cassavetes films, and was credited as "Sound" for two of them. During these projects, Harwood wrote several songs, some which he co-wrote with Cassavetes, only a few of which were eventually used in the films, such as "Morning Fields of Frost and Magic," which can be heard in the audition scene of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
.
During his work with Cassavetes, Harwood claimed that the notoriously unpredictable director preferred to use the "scratch track" version of his compositions, rather than to let Harwood refine and re-record them with an orchestra. Some of these scratch tracks were recorded in Cassavetes office, with piano or guitar, as demos, and then eventually ended up in the final film. Though Harwood was sometimes surprised and embarrassed by this, the technique matched the raw, unpolished feel that marks most aspects of Cassavetes' films.
The relationship seems to have ended amicably. When asked by documentarian Michael Ventura, during the making of Cassavetes' last film Love Streams
, what he had learned from working with Cassavetes, Harwood wistfully replied:
, Bo Harwood has done work mixing sound for several television series, including My So-Called Life
, Malcolm in the Middle
, and a couple of episodes of Entourage
.
Harwood, along with two other musicians, was involved in a music group named "TRIO".
Audio mixing (film and television)
Audio mixing for film and television is a process during the post-production stage of a moving image program by which a multitude of recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels...
, sound editor
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, sound engineer, music supervisor, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. Harwood's sound work gained attention in the 1970s after his work on films directed by John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
. In the 1990s and 2000s, Harwood worked primarily as a mixer for several television series, including Felicity, and Six Feet Under.
Film work
In 1966, Bo Harwood was the lead singer and guitarist in a rock band. His first feature film score was for 1969's The Beach Train.The Cassavetes films
Harwood began working with Cassavetes doing "a little editing" on HusbandsHusbands (film)
Husbands is a 1970 film written and directed by John Cassavetes. This ensemble film, which describes three middle class men in the throes of a midlife crisis, stars Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk and Cassavetes....
(1970), and "a little sound editing" on Minnie and Moskowitz
Minnie and Moskowitz
Minnie and Moskowitz is a film by John Cassavetes, starring his wife, Gena Rowlands, and actor Seymour Cassel in the title roles of Minnie and Moskowitz, respectively.-Plot:...
(1971). During the making of 1974's A Woman Under the Influence
A Woman Under the Influence
A Woman Under the Influence is a 1974 American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes. It focuses on a woman whose psychotic behavior leads her husband to commit her for psychiatric treatment and the effect this has on their family. It received two Academy Award nominations for Best...
, Cassavetes fired the sound engineer, and offered the position to Harwood, who at the time had no experience with sound recording. Harwood accepted, though he is only credited as the composer for the film.
Harwood composed music for three more Cassavetes films, and was credited as "Sound" for two of them. During these projects, Harwood wrote several songs, some which he co-wrote with Cassavetes, only a few of which were eventually used in the films, such as "Morning Fields of Frost and Magic," which can be heard in the audition scene of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
For the 1974 film of the same name see Dynamite BrothersThe Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a 1976 gangster film directed and written by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara....
.
During his work with Cassavetes, Harwood claimed that the notoriously unpredictable director preferred to use the "scratch track" version of his compositions, rather than to let Harwood refine and re-record them with an orchestra. Some of these scratch tracks were recorded in Cassavetes office, with piano or guitar, as demos, and then eventually ended up in the final film. Though Harwood was sometimes surprised and embarrassed by this, the technique matched the raw, unpolished feel that marks most aspects of Cassavetes' films.
The relationship seems to have ended amicably. When asked by documentarian Michael Ventura, during the making of Cassavetes' last film Love Streams
Love Streams
Love Streams is an 1984 American film directed by John Cassavetes that tells the story of a middle-aged brother and sister who find themselves caring for one another after the other loves in their lives abandon them. The visual style of the film is decidedly different from Cassavetes' other works,...
, what he had learned from working with Cassavetes, Harwood wistfully replied:
I learned a lot through John. I've done a lot of editing for him. Picture editingFilm editingFilm editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
, sound editing, music editing, shot sound, composed score, and I've learned a lot about integrity...I think you know what I mean. You know, thirty years from now, I can say I rode with Billy the KidBilly the KidWilliam H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
."
More recent work
Starting in 1986, with Pee-wee's PlayhousePee-wee's Playhouse
Pee-wee's Playhouse is an American children's television program starring Paul Reubens as the child-like Pee-wee Herman. The show was developed from Reubens' popular stage show and the one-off TV special The Pee-wee Herman Show, produced for HBO, which was similar in style but featured much more...
, Bo Harwood has done work mixing sound for several television series, including My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the...
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, and a couple of episodes of Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
.
Harwood, along with two other musicians, was involved in a music group named "TRIO".
Selected work in Film and Television
- Composer for I'm Calling Frank (2007)
- Sound Mixer for EntourageEntourage (TV series)Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
(2 episodes) (2006) - Sound for In Order of Appearance (2005)
- Sound Mixer for Six Feet Under (26 episodes) (2003–2005)
- Production Sound Mixer for Felicity (61 episodes) (1998–2002)
- Production Sound Mixer for Malcom in the Middle (pilot) (2000)
- Sound for 'Til There Was You'Til There Was You'Til There Was You is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Scott Winant. The screenplay, written by Winnie Holzman, traces thirty-odd years in the parallel lives of two people whose intertwined paths finally converge when their mutual interest in a community project brings them...
(1997) - Production Sound Mixer for My So-Called LifeMy So-Called LifeMy So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the...
(19 episodes) (1994–1995) - Sound for Night of the Demons 2Night of the Demons 2Night of the Demons 2 is the 1994 sequel to Night of the Demons. It stars Amelia Kinkade, Cristi Harris, Rick Peters, Jennifer Rhodes, Christine Taylor, Darin Heames, Bobby Jacoby, Merle Kennedy, Rod McCary, Johnny Moran, Zoe Trilling, and Ladd York. Released on home video in 1994 by Republic...
(1994)
- Composer for Love StreamsLove StreamsLove Streams is an 1984 American film directed by John Cassavetes that tells the story of a middle-aged brother and sister who find themselves caring for one another after the other loves in their lives abandon them. The visual style of the film is decidedly different from Cassavetes' other works,...
(1984) - Composer for Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
- Composer for Ups & Downs (1981) (aka Prep School) (USA: video title)
- Sound for My Bloody ValentineMy Bloody Valentine (film)My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film released in the wake of the popularity of the slasher genre that had overtaken the 1970s...
(1981) - Sound Mixer for Terror TrainTerror TrainTerror Train is a 1980 Canadian horror film, directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, and David Copperfield.- Plot :...
(1980) - Composer and Sound for Opening Night (1977)
- Composer and Sound for The Killing of a Chinese BookieThe Killing of a Chinese BookieFor the 1974 film of the same name see Dynamite BrothersThe Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a 1976 gangster film directed and written by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara....
(1976) - Composer (and uncredited Sound) for A Woman Under the InfluenceA Woman Under the InfluenceA Woman Under the Influence is a 1974 American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes. It focuses on a woman whose psychotic behavior leads her husband to commit her for psychiatric treatment and the effect this has on their family. It received two Academy Award nominations for Best...
(1974) - Music Supervisor for Minnie and MoskowitzMinnie and MoskowitzMinnie and Moskowitz is a film by John Cassavetes, starring his wife, Gena Rowlands, and actor Seymour Cassel in the title roles of Minnie and Moskowitz, respectively.-Plot:...
(1971)
Awards
- Cinema Audio Society Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television-Series", Six Feet Under (2004) - NOMINATED
- Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy AwardThe Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for "Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Mixing", Pee-wee's PlayhousePee-wee's PlayhousePee-wee's Playhouse is an American children's television program starring Paul Reubens as the child-like Pee-wee Herman. The show was developed from Reubens' popular stage show and the one-off TV special The Pee-wee Herman Show, produced for HBO, which was similar in style but featured much more...
(1991) – WON - Genie AwardGenie AwardGenie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for "Best Original Song", Ups & Downs (1984) - WON - Genie AwardGenie AwardGenie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for "Best Achievement in Music Score",Happy Birthday to Me (1982) - NOMINATED - Genie AwardGenie AwardGenie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for "Best Achivement in Overall Sound", Terror TrainTerror TrainTerror Train is a 1980 Canadian horror film, directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, and David Copperfield.- Plot :...
(1981) - NOMINATED