SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Victor and Borislav Chouchkov were satisfied. Co-owners of a family recording company in Sofia, the brothers had completed -- in just 48 hours -- recording a score for a movie starring Ethan Hawke.
For the Chouchkovs, James DeMonaco's latest movie, "Staten Island," was just another in a string of successful projects.
As the U.S. film industry tries to cut costs, orchestras in Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; and Sofia are increasingly credited for Hollywood scores or those of French and Italian blockbusters. And Bulgaria, a Balkan country known for its skilled musicians and low labor costs, has become an attractive spot for outsourcing film scores.
The Chouchkov brothers were the first in Bulgaria to sense the potential. The company was set up in 1992, when Italian composer Enio Morricone came to Bulgaria to record music for the Italian TV series "La Piovra" (The Octopus).
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Family business
The company, called SIF309, was founded by the brothers' father, Bulgarian composer and pianist Victor Chouchkov. It is run now by the sons -- Victor Jr., 36, and Borislav, 32. Their mother, Elena, is in charge of the 70-member symphony orchestra.
But success required more than just a studio and an orchestra; it required an understanding of filmmaking that the Chouchkov brothers possess. Both studied at the Sofia film academy. Victor Jr. is a director; Borislav is an actor and producer.
That turned out to be a tough way to make a living.
"In the 1990s, Bulgaria's film industry was in dire straits," Victor Jr. said. "There was not enough money for filmmaking, and many colleagues looked for other opportunities to survive. That is how we dived into the music business."
"Now we do film scores for some 50 features and documentaries per year," he said. "We hold over 90% of the market in Bulgaria."
The company's timing was perfect. In the early 1990s, western filmmakers began shifting the recording of film scores to studios in Eastern Europe -- Prague, Budapest, Moscow, Belgrade, Bratislava, Sofia -- mostly for financial reasons.
"Compared to the United States or even Western Europe, our prices are five times lower," said Borislav Chouchkov.
The recordings are done in a studio at Bulgarian National Radio, which Borislav Chouchkov said is thought to be unique in the Balkans because of its acoustics and equipment.
