Wylan Shoemaker
Who am I?
I'm an American composer for film and games, focused on creating music that supports story, heightens emotion, and gives each project its own voice. My work moves between orchestral, hybrid, electronic, and darker cinematic styles, depending on what the scene needs.
My background started in live entertainment. I began working in theater at 16 while attending Temecula Valley High School, first as a spotlight operator before moving into audio. My first major step into musical theater was running front of house audio for a four-show run of Guys and Dolls. From there, I continued building experience in live production and eventually worked with OTTCT as FOH Audio / Hand.
From 2015 to today, I have worked on more than 400 live shows and over 1,000 performances. That experience taught me how to work under pressure, listen closely, solve problems quickly, and understand how sound affects an audience in real time.
In 2024, I left OTTCT and moved to the Phoenix area to pursue film and game scoring more seriously. Since then, I have continued developing my own projects while collaborating with artists, filmmakers, and other creatives. My goal is always the same: to create music that tells a story and connects with the audience.
I came to scoring because of the way music can complete the raw emotion of a scene. One of the moments that really stayed with me was Charlie Clouser’s “The Rack” from Saw III. Seeing that scene without music, then hearing what Clouser brought to it, completely changed how I understood score. The music raises the stakes of what is happening on screen while also revealing what is happening internally for the character. That balance between visible tension and emotional subtext is something I constantly chase in my own work.
Musically, I care most about tension, emotion, and storytelling. A lot of my writing lives in darker, more serious spaces, often building pressure over time until the scene needs release, impact, or vulnerability. My sound leans hybrid, combining orchestral sections, synthesizers, electric guitars, large percussion, technical drums, and detailed sound design.
I have been compared to composers like Charlie Clouser, Bear McCreary, and John Powell, and I have been deeply influenced by the sound of the Saw franchise, McCreary’s Child’s Play theme, the How to Train Your Dragon score, and Two Steps From Hell’s “Protectors of the Earth.”
My years in live entertainment shaped the way I collaborate. Before writing anything, I want to understand what the director is looking for, what the scene is meant to make the audience feel, and how the music can support that emotion without overpowering it. I believe the best score serves the story first.
I work from a treated home studio using Ableton and Logic, with access to libraries from Splice, Soundiron, EastWest, Audio Imperia, Kontakt, Damage 2, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Albion Colossus. I also use keyboard MIDI controllers and custom MIDI CC controllers that I designed myself. I do much of my own mixing and mastering, and I am especially drawn to horror, action, trailers, and genre projects, while still enjoying the challenge of working across different styles.
My album Empyrean is one of my favorite projects so far because it represents both sides of what I love doing: strong musical storytelling and detailed cinematic sound design.