Meet Eli Manos | Film Composer, Writer and Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eli Manos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eli, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I was born in New York City, but our family moved to Cleveland when I was 3 years old, I grew up studying piano and playing for various choirs, including the Singing Angels childrens’ choir and the Singer’s Club of Cleveland, and various high school choirs in the Northeast Ohio area. I’ve also played for, and sometimes music directed, many musicals including ones at my high school, Lawrence High School.

Playing for all these, I was always introduced to a wide range of different musical styles and tastes, so I grew up learning about many different styles of music that I would eventually want to use in my music career as a film composer. I got a bachelor’s in Music Composition from Cleveland State University, studying under Dr. Andrew Rindfleisch and Dr. Greg D’Alessio, as well as film scoring studies with Dr. Michael Baumgartner. I met a ton of film students who were all looking for original music for their university short films. As a result, I offered to compose for as many films as possible.

This helped me a lot to learn about the film scoring process and how to get better at it, as well as introducing me to many amazing filmmakers both at CSU and in Cleveland. I sort of took that mentality I had at CSU where I wanted to score as many short films as I could, and offered to compose original music for as many filmmakers as I could meet. I believe doing this has helped me considerably, from meeting so many amazing people and making connections to working on a wide variety of different styles and genres.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
So I work as a film composer; in other words, I write and record original music for films! I grew up studying concert piano, but I always loved to compose original music as well, and I found a lot of my early music to sound a lot like soundtracks I liked. So I decided to pursue a degree in music composition at Cleveland State University with a focus on soundtrack writing. I would meet with student filmmakers who needed original music for their short films, and I would write original music for as many as I could. I felt the best way for me to learn about film scoring, in addition to listening to scores and watching movies, was to score as many films as I could, learn from my mistakes, and keep scoring more and more.

This led me to meeting more filmmakers in Cleveland and keeping on that path of scoring as many films as I could handle in order to get better and better at it. I basically said yes to everybody… haha. And I loved that I did that, because from it I learned how to improve my skills, how to work with different directors and different styles/genres of film, and of course it helped me make more and more connections in the film community.

I have also begun to work as a writer and a director, and have directed a few short films in Cleveland, one of which screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival! This is a very new field for me, but I have been loving the process and definitely want to continue.

I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far (though I still have much to learn) is to be open-minded. If I had said no early-on to many of these projects, I wouldn’t have met the filmmakers I know today, and I probably wouldn’t be where I am professionally. Always be open-minded, and always be willing to learn something new. That’s the mentality I’ve stuck with so far, and I feel it’s helped me immensely.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So I’m actually from Cleveland… haha. So far of the few places I’ve seen in Atlanta (and I LOVE the city!), I definitely would say my favorite places I’ve been to so far are the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA), El Progreso #14 has the best tacos I’ve ever had (no joke, they are currently the best tacos I’ve ever had. Go there.) and this amazing pizza place called Mello Mushroom. I also loved hiking up Stone Mountain (not including the side with the monument), I thought the views up there were incredible.

If you’re ever in Cleveland, I’d say check out our art museum! It’s free, it’s absolute massive, and it’s amazing. Love going to that place. If you’re a rock and roll fan, there’s of course the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, and my favorite place to eat while also working on projects on my laptop would be Luna Bakery. They have the best crepes and their coffee is spot on.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh my gosh there’s so many. Too many to count. If possible, I’d love to shout out a couple.

First, the Singing Angels choir who I’ve spent generally around 10 years playing with. Working with them has taught me so much about playing different styles of music, working with so many different talented singers and wonderful instructors. Overall, I feel they’ve greatly shaped my musicality in a way I could never thank them enough for.

The second shout out for me really has to be the Cleveland film community. When I came in to this community out of CSU in the first place, I was so nervous because I did not know anybody and I didn’t really know if working in film was going to be the right place for me or not. Meeting tons of different filmmakers at events like the Cleveland 48 Hour Film Festival and the FunMill Film Festival has shown me how welcoming and supportive this community is, and I felt like I had a place where I could utilize and improve my skills, as well as a place where I could just be myself. I was allowed to make mistakes and grow with a community that had my back, and for that I’m forever grateful.

Instagram: mango_in_c_minor – https://www.instagram.com/mango_in_c_minor/

Youtube: Eli Manos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8bQyGIMeqx1adPob3iWbA

Other: Spotify: Eli Manos Apple Music: Eli Manos

Image Credits
Two photos credited to Justin Albaugh