Finding your passion isn’t just about building your skills – it’s about finding meaning in what you do.
Film composer Zoey Zhou is a great example of someone who both harnesses her talents and recognizes why they contribute to her true purpose.
Since graduating from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Film Scoring, Zoey has been creating evocative musical landscapes that breathe life into documentaries, dramas, and more.
Her work shines in films which explore relatable human experiences, such as film students approaching the end of their studies in “Quarter Life” and teenagers navigating mental health struggles in “Our Turn to Talk.”
So how did Zoey decide to become a change-maker?
“I've been playing music since I was five, so it's been quite a long time,” Zoey recalls. “And I got into a music school when I was 15, so that has always been my focus. Since I've been playing forever, that's the way I grew up. I didn't experience many other things when I was a child. But still, I love music, so I can't complain about that.”
And even though music had been her focus for most of her life, it was one pivotal moment that transformed Zoey’s perspective – like switching from black-and-white to color.
“When I enrolled in Berkeley, I saw a biographical documentary about a film composer called Ryuichi Sakamoto. He’s a Japanese film composer. He composed the movie The Last Empire and many other famous movies. The documentary is about how talented and passionate he was, but mainly it focused on how much he cares for humanity. He participated in protests in Japan, trying to call on people to focus on climate change and clear water. That was very inspiring, and it got me thinking, ‘Okay, as a composer, what can I do to connect people together? I can bridge people around the world with what I love to do.’ So I immediately chose my major as film scoring.
Thanks to the experience and inspiration she gained from her studies at Berklee, Zoey then found work as an independent film composer upon graduating.
“I had a real opportunity to score for commercials, mainly from China. I was recommended by a friend and introduced to those brands. That's how I got the real experience.”
Over time, Zoey has perfected her process.
“Lately, I've been trying to focus on the film, rather than how I feel. I really try to see the producer or the director’s perspective. This is why scoring for others is very different from composing for yourself – you can’t just compose whatever you like. So I would ask, ‘What did the producer or the director think when they created the picture?’ That helps me a lot.”
She’s also learned to tackle the less enjoyable parts of her job.
“Even when I’ve been asked to do a composition that I’m not actually really interested in, it's just, like, ‘Okay. I haven't composed much music in this genre or watched a lot of films in this genre. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t.’ But obviously, when I said yes, I needed to do it. So during the process, I actually learn a lot about composing something I've never done before. No matter the task, I always followed my instincts and tried to combine my own style into the composition.”
Finally, Zoey gets the power of repetition. Sometimes you have to experience something multiple times to truly grasp the concept of it.
“I always watch the film at least 10 times to fully understand what it's about before I do anything musically. Then I might sit down at the piano with a picture in my hand, trying to come up with the main theme or even some chords that could go well with the movie. And after I get that, I work on the details as they come.”
Ironically, Zoey knows when silence matters more than music. She learned how less can mean so much more when she first saw her favorite movie:
“My favorite film is called Four Months, Three Weeks, and Two Days. It’s a film from a few decades ago where abortion wasn’t allowed. A girl was pregnant in the movie and she had to have an abortion. Needless to say, it was a tough experience for that character. But the film is two hours long and it has no music from the beginning to the end. That said, it was one of the most intense and remarkable movies I've ever seen. That was the first movie I watched without any music in it, but it didn't feel strange at all. It made me scared because it made me realize that a good movie doesn't necessarily need music.”
When you know that movies don’t always require a soundtrack, you know that your scores need to be nothing short of life-changing when included in films.
Even since she’s found success after graduating from Berklee, Zoey doesn’t take achievements for granted.
“I've been working on some short films and one feature film that's two hours long, and I feel very grateful to have that opportunity. And I'm also working part-time as a piano teacher.”
It’s this humility that keeps her drive alive, and we at Viral Music are thankful to have Zoey on our team.
After all, Zoey’s music speaks for itself.
Want to hear real examples before choosing a composer for your film or advertisements? Not to worry – we’ve got a playlist of Zoey’s best work. LISTEN NOW!
