Composer George Shaw joins the Pod to discuss his work on Youtube’s Escape The Night, how he became such a short-form master, and much more. Sit back and enjoy! (See his bio below).
Multi-talented composer George Shaw made his mark on the music world collaborating with many of YouTube’s top personalities and creating music for diverse projects including film, TV, video games, trailers and online content. As a result, George’s music can be heard in YouTube videos collectively amassing over 300 million views.
George currently scores YouTube Premium’s longest running web series ESCAPE THE NIGHT, and previously composed for the Geek & Sundry channel including Wil Wheaton’s YouTube series TABLETOP. George is best known for creating the viral YouTube hits STAR WARS MUSICAL and NETFLIX MUSICAL starring Glee’s Harry Shum Jr.; and also worked with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, to pen the song “Ode to Geeks,” celebrating Lee’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Geek Awards, which George music directed from 2013-2015.
Furthermore, George has collaborated with top YouTube personalities: NigaHiga, Kevjumba, Wong Fu Productions, Michelle Phan, Jeremy Lin, and the Fung Brothers; as well as popular musical artists: David Choi, Clara C, Jason Chen, Abraham Lim, Paul Dateh and Dawen.
In addition to a variety of YouTube projects, George has created music for more than 17 feature films and 60 short films, including Oscar-nominated producer Li-Kong Hsu’s BABY STEPS; HANG LOOSE, starring Kevin “Kevjumba” Wu and Dante Basco; and UPLOADED: THE ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT, a documentary about a generation of Asian American artists finding a voice through new media. George’s TV work includes producing tracks for performances on AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, and licensing music to SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER.
In addition to composing, George has orchestrated noteworthy films including GHOST RIDER, THE DARWIN AWARDS, KISS, KISS, BANG, BANG and ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES.
George studied composition and film scoring at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, taking part in its world-class Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program, where he studied under Christopher Young, Frank Ticheli, Donald Crockett and Stephen Hartke. He previously was selected to participate in the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop and the BMI Conducting Workshop. In 2007, he was a Film Independent Project: Involve fellow, a filmmaker mentorship program that paired him with Emmy- nominated composer Christopher Lennertz. Currently, George is one of eight composers selected to the Universal Film Composer Initiative, the first Hollywood studio program to nurture diverse voices in composing, and includes mentorships with executives from Universal Film Music and DreamWorks Animation.
Based in Los Angeles, George plays clarinet, piano, guitar and a variety of exotic woodwind instruments from around the world. His plans for world domination include earning an EGOT, becoming more famous than Irish-playwright George Bernard Shaw, and perfecting time travel.