Meet Robert V. Lampkin | Film Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert V. Lampkin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert V., what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
I never thought of it as being “detail oriented”, at least for the first half of my composing journey. It pretty much just started out as an incessant compulsion to edit even the smallest of details in order for the programming to sound more realistic. So eventually, I developed an obsession with detail that, if anything, I’ve had to wind down in the recent years just to make the most of my time and forget about perfectionism.

I also always enjoyed “maxing out” my equipment and software, where I’ll push whatever I have to its limits until I reach a bottleneck. I think at the very least, this idea forced me to make the most of what I had, and prevented me from developing gear lust (which would’ve definitely been a drain on my bank account).

Having a balanced amount of optimism and realism is also a habit that helped me push through tough times. Optimism in the sense that no matter what, I feel like I can and will make a career happen. The realism comes in when I need to figure out how to make that happen. Having both and never slipping into pessimism helped me weather the many storms that came throughout my career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a very curious and inquisitive person, and so a good bit of my early music education comes from diving into rabbit holes and seeing if I can make sense of it. Because of this approach, I’ve adopted some tricks and tendencies that I use when scoring films that can create some unique musical moments. At this point in my career, my most proud moment has been conducting the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Eastwood Scoring Stage in January of this year. Nothing I’ve ever done can even begin to compare.

I can’t say that the journey has been hard, really. All the “hard work” and “10,000 hours of practice” has just been me having a blast. Practicing music is such a joy, that 7 hours can go by in a blink. The hardest part, I think, is pushing through self doubt and imposter syndrome.

I can talk about film and music all day any day, so when I think of my brand, I feel like less of a composer and more of a film maker that just so happens to make scores. There’s a beauty in having dozens or hundreds of minds come together and create a single piece of art that combines every art form into one, unified piece.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First off… the Georgia Aquarium is a must, so let’s spend a few hours there Monday. There’s a diner nearby called Johnny Rockets that was fantastic! Other museums nearby are great as well.

Tuesday, Six Flags of course

Wednesday, Stone Mountain, and grab some snacks at the top. Food-wise, definitely try this Guatemalan chicken place nearby called Pollo Campero, it’s my family’s go-to for whenever we go.

Thursday, Helen is a must for newcomers. It’s a little German-esque town on the Chattahoochee River that has lots of fun activities. Plenty of food options to try out, all of them are good. Lots of nice cabins out there as well.

Friday, a cabin out in the hills outside of Helen would have access to so many waterfalls and parks. Talulah Gorge, Brasstown Bald, and a bunch of others up North of Atlanta.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s so many to count! First and foremost, of course, is my dad who, from before I can even remember, fed me a very very rich diet of music in many forms. A lot of the momentum I still carry comes from lessons I learned from watching his business and how he ran his studio, as well as his unfaltering words of encouragement.

Mr. Garofalo, Mr. Schmid, and Mrs. Hill were all teachers from my elementary school through high school that continually inspired me to become better and stick to music. I still recall Mr. Schmid calling my home phone in 5th grade begging my mom to let me keep playing trumpet after I had quit.

The Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business Program has been invaluable in making this complex industry much more tangible and down to earth. Having a very real grasp of practical entertainment business practices has come in handy more times than I can count.

Website: https://www.robertlampkinmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert_lampkin_music/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-v-lampkin/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RobertVLampkin

Image Credits
Don Teva Arman Kouchak