Eva Longoria, Ed Harris and Michael Pena tackle a difficult and controversial issue in their new film Frontera. The movie, directed by Michael Berry, takes place on the Mexican-American border and humanizes the different sides of immigration.

Film composers Kenneth Lampl and Darren Tate helped capture the emotion and drama through their music. Yet, Lampl, a professor of music at New York's Hofstra University and the international DJ have never actually met in person, despite working together on several films.

The composers spoke with Enstars.com about working on the film before its Sept. 5 release, their careers and more.

How was the process of working on Frontera?

Ken: It was absolutely wonderful. Michael Berry is a terrific director and a pleasure to work with. I remember the first time we met, Michael was looking at a few composers and we all did demos to a scene in the film. I knew that if we could nail a great Frontera main theme then we would get the gig. On that first day when Michael was giving me feedback on a cue I noticed he memorized the theme we wrote. Once we were on the project the scoring process was very intense and very productive and Michael would come to my studio with Darren on Skype from the U.K. The three of us worked and had a lot of fun on the score.

What were you hoping to achieve with the music in this film?

Darren: Well we really loved the script and the film from the offset and were immediately inspired. For the main musical themes we wanted to identify motifs that were relevant to not just the characters and their story arcs but their cultural identities, and express this in compositional and orchestrative terms.

Is there any particular scene that is your favorite?

Darren: (SPOILER ALERT) There's a few that really strike out for me personally. I love that great sequence with Roy (Ed Harris) and Miguel (Michael Pena) riding on the horse - it's a great feel good moment and I think the score really brings it all home. Also the moment where Miguel meets Paulina (Eva Longoria) in jail and she explains the circumstances is a particularly touching moment. There's really a lot of great moments in the film.

Ken: Ditto.

How long have you been in the business and how many movies have you worked on together?

Darren: I have been working professional as a full-time composer and record producer for 14 years. We've so far worked on over 20 films together.

Ken: I first started as a professional jazz saxophonist, recording and touring when I got out of college over 20 years ago. Then I started to get interested in composition and went to the Juilliard School to be a concert composer (where I received commissions and grants) before jumping into film scoring.

How did you two start working together?

Darren: I always had an interest in wanting to score for movies and had learnt advanced orchestration with that in mind. I did a computer music magazine front cover DVD/CD where they interviewed me and filmed me building a track. Kenneth saw this and contacted me asking, 'Would you be interested in doing some work on something for a film I'm doing?' because he was a fan on the back of seeing this magazine tutorial.

I was certainly excited by the prospect as film scoring was something I'd wanted to get into. We worked on a few bits and then I suggested, 'How about I build this website and we start developing a bigger relationship than this and I can bring in certain things that you might not be able to and vice versa?' That was really how it started off and kicked off our collaboration. Since then, we have just been doing lots of scores and developed an awesome working relationship. I mean, there's stuff coming in all over the place. It's been great.

Is it difficult working so far apart?

Ken: Darren and I certainly bring two very different skill sets to the table. That being said it's actually remarkable how we also have a common musical aesthetic that allows us to pass off music to one another to create a unified sound that's our own. We Skype often and get along fabulously. Having a very similar sense of humor and a great rapport together is what links our musical skills.

Do you ever plan to meet?

Darren: Oh, it's been discussed. Thing is I just look so good on Skype - it could only be a letdown for Ken.

What's the most challenging part of working on music for a film?

Darren: Usually trying to get into a director's head in terms of the sound they want. Sometimes they know exactly what they want and sometimes they don't. One of our jobs is naturally to help navigate those that don't.

Ken: I've always found nailing down that first cue and then getting it approved. No one knows, even the director, exactly how the music is going to work in the film until it's in there and working or not working. The most fascinating thing is that regardless of what discussions and opinions the composer and the director have about the approach to the score, when the right music is there you both know it and there is nothing left to discuss.

What future projects are you working on together?

Ken: Right now we are working on a terrific thriller of Gary King (How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song, What's Up Lovely) called Unnerved. After that we have a new film by Russ Parr (35 and Ticking, The Undershepherd) who Darren and I have done five films for as well as a new film by Babar Ahmed (Royal Kill).

-- Anna Halkidis is a multimedia journalist, who earned her master's degree from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in 2012. Her work has appeared in Newsday, Women's eNews, The Mott Haven Herald, as well as other publications. Follow her on Twitter.