The Quick Question Thread

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Except you get to have two items at a time instead of one, double that if both have 3 of an item (shell, mushroom etc.)

Indeed, and balancing that makes the game more stressful, in a good way.

Also, having two characters on a kart resulted in some great character design and animations.

[Wojo 2,453]

You give the passenger control to a little kid so he thinks he's doing something useful. Stops the crying.

[Jay 37,364]

Yea the two characters in a kart thing was a totally useless gimmick. It's not surprising they never did it again!

Also in general it didn't seem like the controls were as tight as the N64 version, and the level design wasn't as good either. No absolute classic levels like in N64. The only one I fondly remember from Double Dash is the cruise ship one

[Faleel 5,349]

In general it didn't seem like the controls were as responsive as the Gamecube version, and the level design wasn't as good either. No absolute classic levels like in DD. The only one I fondly remember from 64 is the snow one

[Jay 37,364]

I think a lot of it might depend on which one you grew up with / played first too.

[Faleel 5,349]

So, if one wanted to edit the unused opening to the Main Title from the original Star Wars, what would be the best take to use?

[Wojo 2,453]

The third one.

[Faleel 5,349]

Is there a better sounding source than the 97 SE release for the recording of the Fox Fanfare used in the original Star Wars?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I've never heard it sound any better.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,529]

Nah. "Alien 3", where it doesn't resolve. Brilliant. it really sets the scene for the whole film.

[Faleel 5,349]

What font is used for the white text in this logo?

[FilmManiac79 6]

The AMC (or was it IFC?) special with Spielberg and Williams from a few years ago...is it available anywhere now??

[mrbellamy 6,287]

TCM. And no, AFI's been coming down pretty quickly on people who have uploaded it to YouTube. I haven't seen it on there in a long time and it isn't anywhere else as far as I can find.

[Ludwig 1,120]

Quick question. What would you consider to be the most prominent new theme in each of these sequels? In other words, if you could only choose one of theme introduced in that film to represent it, what would it be? I'm trying to pick one, but finding it hard since the main theme of the series tends to overshadow the rest.

- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

[mrbellamy 6,287]

I guess I would say...

Grail Theme for Last Crusade

Gondor theme for Return of the King...technically not introduced in this film, but might as well have been

Double Trouble for Prisoner of Azkaban

Depending on your definition of "prominence" or how you determine what the most representative theme of a film is, I could see an argument for "Into the West" for ROTK and "Window to the Past" for POA, which aren't as ubiquitous as the other two, but reserved specifically for the most emotionally significant moments and more closely tied to the central "themes" of the films themselves.

Actually when it comes to HP, I find it a lot harder to determine the main theme for Chamber of Secrets...it probably should have been the titular piece, but it's kind of underused compared to the recycled material.

[karelm 2,913]

Does this 1941 photograph capture a time traveler with logo t-shirt, futuristic sun glasses with side visors, SLR camera?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Help. I'm using Audacity to raise the volume levels of my ASMR binaural Disneyland recordings and I just want to save it in the best sound quality and all this bullshit comes up:

What should I select?

[Faleel 5,349]

Your image is not showing up.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's the preset, variable, constant etc. whatever stuff when exporting.

[Faleel 5,349]

Variable means that the silence is saved at a lower bitrate than the parts with music.

Constant means that everything is saved at the same bitrate.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Does this 1941 photograph capture a time traveler with logo t-shirt, futuristic sun glasses with side visors, SLR camera?

That's our own E.T. And Elliot.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

OMG!

[karelm 2,913]

Does this 1941 photograph capture a time traveler with logo t-shirt, futuristic sun glasses with side visors, SLR camera?

That's our own E.T. And Elliot.

So what devilish pact did he make to enable him to travel back in time?

[Wojo 2,453]

Gee, wouldn't it be swell if the circle didn't impede over the camera in question?

[karelm 2,913]

Gee, wouldn't it be swell if the circle didn't impede over the camera in question?

About

The mysterious man photographed in 1940 wearing what seems to be modern-day clothing and carrying a camera. The man in the photograph gained much notoriety for his surprisingly modern fashion style.

Origin

While the identities of photographer and subjects depicted in the image are unknown, the location and year was noted on the back of the photograph: Reopening of the South Fork Bridge after flood in Nov. 1940. The image belongs to the virtual collection of the Bralorne Pioneer Museum in British Columbia, Canada.

Authenticity Proven

In December 2010, Evgeni Balamutenko and his colleague from NTV in Russia located the original photograph and with the help of a museum staff member, it was determined that the photograph was real.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Why does everybody hate Jay Leno?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

He screwed over Conan man! Took over his gig and left him with nothing but a 45 million dollar settlement to show for it!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

My hairline isn't that receded and the gentleman in question isn't wearing a Star Wars/Star Trek/E.T./Disneyland shirt?? I would never have gone that far back in time because Disneyland wasn't even close to construction and there was no Star Trek or Star Wars. There WAS John Williams, however...

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Why is John Williams in the "thanks" section for An Inconvenient Truth?

[Faleel 5,349]

Why is John Williams in the "thanks" section for An Inconvenient Truth?

Probably a different John Williams?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Because JW is exactly the kind of pinko tree-hugger who would fall for this kind of leftist propaganda!

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

With all of this George Miller/Mad Max talk, I figured I might as well ask this...

Is there any documentation of how Miller felt about working with Williams on The Witches of Eastwick (or vice versa)?

Also, the same for Sleepers. I haven't heard anything from the composer or director about that score.

[karelm 2,913]

With all of this George Miller/Mad Max talk, I figured I might as well ask this...

Is there any documentation of how Miller felt about working with Williams on The Witches of Eastwick (or vice versa)?

Also, the same for Sleepers. I haven't heard anything from the composer or director about that score.

I recall Barry Levinson as being very complimentary about JW work on Sleepers. This was from a screening he was the guest at and there was a Q&A and he made comment of it.

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

So I was looking through a perusal score of the Naked Lunch Live to Projection concert, and came across something I'm not familiar with (although to be fair, I know next to nothing about the harp - writing for it terrifies me). There's something in the harp part where notes are listed in braces beneath standard notation. Here's a screenshot:

[Jay 37,364]

And your question is?

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

And your question is?

What does it mean?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,529]

Why is John Williams in the "thanks" section for An Inconvenient Truth?

Why is the sky blue?

Why does the 'phone always ring when you're in the bath tub?

Why is the greatest criminal mind of our time surrounding himself with total nincompoops?

[karelm 2,913]

It is the harp pedaling. Unlike a piano, harp is diatonic rather than chromatic. It cannot play 12 note scales. A piano can play equal tempered chromatic scale so: C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, Ab, A, Bb, B (12 notes). For the harp, you have the named 7 notes of the scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) and they can be either flat, natural, or sharp. If you make a note flat, it will apply for all of those notes across the instruments range. So you cannot have A natural and A flat at the same time. But you can have enharmonic equivalent such as G# and A. So in your screenshot, that is just the composer saying what the harp tuning (pedaling) is that is needed at that moment.

EDIT: One more point, you can use two harps (like Ravel and Debussy frequently did) to get more exotic harmonies such as glissando up being in C flat major (all flats) but the down scales being C major (all natural) just as an example. Composers need to allow time for the harpist to change the pedals. It is actually a complex topic and poor orchestration earns the ire of many harpists.

[Jilal 569]

This should be an interesting read:

http://www.jpharp.com/composition.html

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

It is the harp pedaling. Unlike a piano, harp is diatonic rather than chromatic. It cannot play 12 note scales. A piano can play equal tempered chromatic scale so: C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, Ab, A, Bb, B (12 notes). For the harp, you have the named 7 notes of the scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) and they can be either flat, natural, or sharp. If you make a note flat, it will apply for all of those notes across the instruments range. So you cannot have A natural and A flat at the same time. But you can have enharmonic equivalent such as G# and A. So in your screenshot, that is just the composer saying what the harp tuning (pedaling) is that is needed at that moment.

EDIT: One more point, you can use two harps (like Ravel and Debussy frequently did) to get more exotic harmonies such as glissando up being in C flat major (all flats) but the down scales being C major (all natural) just as an example. Composers need to allow time for the harpist to change the pedals. It is actually a complex topic and poor orchestration earns the ire of many harpists.

Thanks!

[Jilal 569]

Also, Gnome, never feel afraid to write anything for any instrument. Anything you write (even if it's impracticable) can give you more experience, more wisdom, etc. You simply can't get everything right from the very beginning - don't be afraid to make mistakes! Using information on the playing range and tessitura of the instrument, score study and a bit of common sense should suffice.

If you still feel uncomfortable writing for the harp after reading karelm's post and the webpage I linked to, go through a couple of Williams's sketch scores and pay attention to the way he writes down harp glissandi. A lot of times, he will give only give an indication of the pedal configuration and the first note of the glissando and has the harpist work it further out, at will.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Did anyone else type out the track titles for Star Wars Episode I: The Ultimate Edition in this fashion? I came upon this in my iTunes library and I don't even remember doing it, but I know that I personally entered everything in my library. Is this fucking stupid or what?

[Jay 37,364]

They went bonkers with that track separating and naming. Terrible release in every way apart from the amazing sound quality

[Jilal 569]

Is there a common brass section set-up for action set-pieces in film scores these days, or does it vary from one project to another (aside from, of course, variations in set-up from one cue to another within the same score)? I believe 12 horns or more is a trend, lately?

I've seen Giacchino use the following set-up in for action set-pieces in JOHN CARTER (2012) and MI4 (2011), but I'm not sure about some of his more recent scores:

JOHN CARTER: 3M25 SAB THAN PURSUES THE PRINCESS

8 Horns

4 Trumpets

5 Trombones (1°-3°: tenor - 4°-5°: bass)

2 Tubas

Desplat employed a more traditional set-up for HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II (2012):

1M7 TUNNEL

6 Horns

4 Trumpets

4 Trombones (1°-3°: tenor - 4°: bass)

1 Tuba

For REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005), Williams employs an extended horn section, as well as, for some cues, an additional tuba and an additional bass trombone as a substitute for one of the tenor trombones:

1M3 BOYS INTO BATTLE

8 Horns

4 Trumpets

4 Trombones (1°-2°: tenor - 3°-4°: bass)

2 Tubas

6M4 HEROES COLLIDE

8 Horns

4 Trumpets

4 Trombones (1°-3°: tenor - 4°: bass)

1 Tubas

ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) and HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004) feature the same set-up as the aforementioned DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

The Desplat and Williams ones are pretty common. 8 or 6, 4, 4 (with at least one bass), and 1 or 2.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

How much unreleased music is there from The Prisoner of Azkaban? Are there any major highlights besides the Buckbeak Finale and Peter Pattigrew's theme? Does it form a more cohesive narrative like the A.I complete score does?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Big time.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's more cohesive than A.I., which has at least three very different acts.

[Jay 37,364]

How much unreleased music is there from The Prisoner of Azkaban? Are there any major highlights besides the Buckbeak Finale and Peter Pattigrew's theme? Does it form a more cohesive narrative like the A.I complete score does?

Including alternates, about an hour I think

Yes

Yes