Hans Zimmer's Planet Earth II - Upcoming Nature Documentary Film

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

A trailer was released today for a sequel to the fantastic 2006 documentary Planet Earth (released as simply Earth in some areas). Within the description of the trailer, it notes that the film...

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...features an original score by legendary composer Hans Zimmer. 

No release date has been announced at this time, but it appears it will be out in a matter of months. Could prove to be a very worthy outing for Zimmer. 

 

 

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A decade ago, the landmark television series Planet Earth redfined natural history filmmaking, giving us the ultimate portrait of life on Earth. Planet Earth II, narrated by Sir David Attengorough, will reveal our planet from a completely new perspective, using significant advances in both filming technology and our understanding of the natural world. 

 

 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Hope this is good.

[KK 3,307]

Loved the original series. Fenton's score was lovely too.

 

This seems like the kind of thing Zimmer just passes to his team though.

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Fenton's music was awesome. I hope hansus team would not ruin this too.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The Zimmer sound and the voice of Sir David Attenborough don't match!

 

Period!

[Kühni 485]

.

[crumbs 14,287]

What on earth was wrong with Fenton? His work on the original series (as well as many other BBC nature docos) is utterly sublime.

 

Doesn't make much sense not to bring him back for the sequel. 

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Makes sense to replace him with the world's most famous film music composer to make this boring documentary film more realistic and relatable to modern audiences.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Zimmer could do well.

 

But Fenton would be a sure bet. His nature documentary scores are gorgeous!

[Richard Penna 3,662]

I sincerely hope Fenton either wasn't available or didn't want to do it.

 

Absolutely no reason to go for Zimmer for a project like this, unless they're after the name recognition.

[Loert 2,509]

Duh duuuh

Duh duuuh

Duh duuuh

Duuuuuh

 

...I could've written that! Why won't you hire me, BBC???

 

Here, I have an idea for the next trailer:

 

Duuuh duh

Duuuh duh

Duuuh duh

Duh duuuuh

 

Or maybe this is even better:

 

Duuuh duh duh

Duh duh duuuh

Duuuh duh duh

Duuuh duuuh

[Richard Penna 3,662]

I just watched the trailer, and the second half is precisely why Zimmer should not have been involved in this.

 

Fenton's 'finale' music was flowing, majestic (i.e. The Snow Geese). Zimmer's - see loert's post above. Meh.

[crumbs 14,287]

Even more concerningly, apparently Zimmer only wrote a "theme" for the series, and left the actual episodic scoring to "his team of musicians."

 

Great. 

[Richard Penna 3,662]

I think that's inevitable these days. It's the name recognition the producers want. Who actually wrote most of the music is irrelevant.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Richard Penna 3,662]

[crumbs 14,287]

2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

I think that's inevitable these days. It's the name recognition the producers want. Who actually wrote most of the music is irrelevant.

 

The producers expect bigger ratings from having Hans Zimmer's name attached to their nature documentary?

 

The only one who needs to give this series name recognition is David Attenborough (though I'm sure the idiotic American broadcasters will turf his narration for Oprah again, or someone as equally asinine!)

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

Ugh.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Zimmer and Gia will take over all film scoring.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

On 15/10/2016 at 5:29 AM, Stefancos said:

The Zimmer sound and the voice of Sir David Attenborough don't match!

 

That's what I thought when I watched Africa and heard this shite. Obvious case of temp track love.

 

 

[Richard Penna 3,662]

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

 

The producers expect bigger ratings from having Hans Zimmer's name attached to their nature documentary?

 

The only one who needs to give this series name recognition is David Attenborough (though I'm sure the idiotic American broadcasters will turf his narration for Oprah again, or someone as equally asinine!)

 

The soundtrack will sell way better with Zimmer's name on the cover. Most people don't even know who Fenton is.

[crumbs 14,287]

6 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

 

The soundtrack will sell way better with Zimmer's name on the cover. Most people don't even know who Fenton is.

 

A pretty moot point when you consider that Zimmer's fee would be astronomical compared to Fenton's.

[Richard Penna 3,662]

But would it be, if he only writes a theme, then gets minions to write the bulk of the music?

 

It would be if he were writing the entire score, which I can't imagine he'd ever have time to do.

[crumbs 14,287]

He'd still be charging an arm and a leg to use his team, which basically goes under his name anyway.

 

I find it hard to believe they'd snub Fenton on the assumption that Zimmer's name would lead to higher soundtrack sales.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It has nothing to do with soundtrack sales. It has to do with status. Planet Earth is a big name. So for a new film they wanna make it bigger, more lavish, more expensive. George Fenton is a fairly obscure English composer. Hans Zimmer is the soundtrack superstar!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Thor 7,451]

Disappointed to learn that Zimmer will only do the theme for this, and not the whole score. There was a time when Zimmer was THE best guy in town as far as using 'ethnic' instrumentation and creating totally intoxicating, exotic landscapes -- early to mid 90s, in particular. Would have been neat to hear him explore some of that within his more contemporary stylings.

[Romão 2,274]

I adore Fenton's work for these documentaries. This is dissapointing

[KK 3,307]

6 hours ago, crumbs said:

Even more concerningly, apparently Zimmer only wrote a "theme" for the series, and left the actual episodic scoring to "his team of musicians."

 

Great. 

 

53 minutes ago, Thor said:

Disappointed to learn that Zimmer will only do the theme for this, and not the whole score. There was a time when Zimmer was THE best guy in town as far as using 'ethnic' instrumentation and creating totally intoxicating, exotic landscapes -- early to mid 90s, in particular. Would have been neat to hear him explore some of that within his more contemporary stylings.

 

I'm not surprised. This is basically what he's done with all the TV shows/mini-series he's been attached to.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Ach! Der TV show hast hired me? Did they pay ze money? Oh well, i will have mein secretary set aside a day or two? What TV show was it again? Und you are sure they have payed?

[Brónach 1,301]

I wonder if the show will actually show the difference between what the world was ten years ago and what it is now (For example, the Great Coral Barrier and others gone)

 

Fenton would have been much better.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It is going fast, isn't it? I thought we would have had more time, Master Frodo. But the forces of Mordor have reached The Shire!

 

[Thor 7,451]

On 16.10.2016 at 9:53 AM, crumbs said:

Even more concerningly, apparently Zimmer only wrote a "theme" for the series, and left the actual episodic scoring to "his team of musicians."

 

Great. 

 

By the way, and I forgot to ask this earlier -- what's the source for this (that he only wrote the theme)?

[crumbs 14,287]

24 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

By the way, and I forgot to ask this earlier -- what's the source for this (that he only wrote the theme)?

 

 

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Zimmer himself composed the main title theme and produced the remainder of the score with Bleeding Fingers’ composers Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe.

www.ramascreen.com/hans-zimmers-bleeding-fingers-music-scores-bbc-americas-planet-earth-ii/

 

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Bleeding Fingers beat out 13 bidding competitors, including three fellow music shops, to score the docu-series “Planet Earth II.” Zimmer wrote the main theme and staff composers Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe wrote the score proper, which was recorded by an 80-piece orchestra — Bleeding Fingers’ biggest band to date — at London’s Air Studios.

 

 

variety.com/2016/music/spotlight/bleeding-fingers-planet-earth-ii-1201843427/

 

So essentially Fenton was dumped because he couldn't lower his bid to the levels of a mass-produced sample library. If that doesn't warm the cockles of your heart, nothing will!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[crumbs 14,287]

At least they're committed to quality over quantity, right?

 

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Bleeding Fingers Custom Music Shop cut its ribbon three years ago, partnering with Oscar winner Hans Zimmer to mass-produce scores for unscripted, reality, and documentary TV series that include “Survivor” and “Alaskan Bush People.” Its latest and biggest catch is BBC’s upcoming “Planet Earth II.”

 

http://variety.com/2016/music/spotlight/bleeding-fingers-planet-earth-ii-1201843427/

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[crumbs 14,287]

They definitely sound committed to the craft of writing original music, too.

 

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“We’re very surgical about what we put in the catalog,” he says. “Our biggest competition, who we outperform, have a million copyrights.”

 

Yes, those damn copyrights! It's so annoying when writing original music gets in the way of regurgitating tracks from your copyright-free database of generic samples.

 

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“If anything, it’s given them much more varied score, but still within the same sound palette.”

 

Talk about a cheap backhander to Fenton's entirely diverse, colourful and sweeping score for the first series.

[Thor 7,451]

Thanks for the source, crumbs!

[Richard Penna 3,662]

'Mass produce' is a not a phrase that's good to hear in the context of original music.

 

JNH just spent 7 months writing Fantastic Beasts.  How long did these guys spend churning out a score?

[Thor 7,451]

An unfortunate term, yes, but I believe the objective here is more like 'library music'. I don't think the reality shows in question require the same amount of in-depth, divine inspiration as more full-fledged feature films.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

A little bit of the music from the documentary has been released. 
 

The first of 6 episodes is set to air on British television November 6th with the second confirmed for November 13th. It will air in the states on BBC America starting January 28th. 

[Thor 7,451]

I've heard a sampler of the album, and it varies from the good (incl. Zimmer's theme) to the less impressive and rather aimless. I'll await further evaluation untill I get the whole thing.

[crumbs 14,287]

On 01/11/2016 at 4:05 AM, Cerebral Cortex said:

A little bit of the music from the documentary has been released. 
 

The first of 6 episodes is set to air on British television November 6th with the second confirmed for November 13th. It will air in the states on BBC America starting January 28th. 

 

I guess they need a few months to turf that horrible Attenborough nonsense and replace him with someone more qualified and noteworthy, like Bradley Cooper or Jennifer Lawrence.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

 Trump!

[A24 4,322]

Trump won't safe nature, Zimmer will! 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I had no idea this series was starting so soon!  There's my Sunday night planned.

[Richard Penna 3,662]

I wish the BBC wouldn't bill this as composed by Zimmer. it's already been stated that those two other guys wrote the score.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Zimmer was on The Late Show last night: