Spotlight Chris aces his homework assignment

Last month, we put out a call-for-entries video for Rethink’s Scholarship at Langara College. It turned out to be a huge success on sites like Ads of the World, Best Ads on TV, Vimeo, and YouTube. One of the comments we read again and again on those sites was “I love this song! Who’s it by?”

We love it too. We think it’s one of the reasons the video works so well. So we’d like to introduce you to the student who wrote it.

Interweebers, meet Chris Serravalle.

Rethink: Chris, what’s your musical background?
   
Chris: I come from a very musical family—one of my brothers is a classical guitarist, my father plays accordion, and my grandfather played the violin. I grew up playing guitar and piano. I went to Langara College for recording and audio engineering, and also studied music theory, orchestration, and piano/keyboarding there with David Bernstein.

Rethink: How did your music end up on the Rethink Scholarship at Langara video?

Chris: It was kind of a fluke. An instructor of mine, Erik Ubels, was originally commissioned to make the music, but he had to go on tour overseas, so he asked me to do it. 

Rethink: Have you written music for videos before?

Chris: I’ve put music to some commercials and short films for projects in school. I definitely feel confident working in that area of music production. I like how visuals can be so inspiring and give you a context and guidelines to work within. 

Rethink: You use a lot of different instruments for this track: guitar, synth, drums, a wooden xylophone… What made you think of adding that last one?

Chris: I always think of the xylophone when I see a skeleton or bones. Rory, who art directed the video, had the same idea—we thought we could use it when the ribs show up in the commercial.

Rethink: What kind of feedback have you gotten about the music?

Chris: I’m overwhelmed with the positive response the music has received. Tons of people have posted comments like “What band is this?” and “I love this song!” That makes me really happy. Most of all, Rethink believed I nailed it—that was definitely one of the best pieces of feedback.

Rethink: The video was made for next-to-nothing. Why do you think it’s been so successful?
   
Chris: I genuinely believe it’s a great piece of art. The video is so well executed, and the music and visuals go hand-in-hand and work really well together. So many things these days, be they tracks or films, seem to be made solely for profit. There’s no soul in that—talent takes a back seat. That definitely isn’t the case with the Rethink Scholarship video.

Rethink: What are you working on now?

Chris: I’m producing some tracks for a local dance DJ, DJ Masi, so expect to hear them in the Vancouver clubs. I’m also mastering an album at Fadermaster studios in Vancouver. You can check out my past and current projects on my website: http://chrisserravalle.wordpress.com

If you'd like to work with Chris, contact him at serraval..@email.com.

If you've worked with Rethink and would like to be considered for Spotlight, contact lian..@rethinkcanada.com.