Popular Post Fabulin 3,510 Posted September 8, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 8, 2019 I've read that it took him 10 weeks (thanks for correction: 8 weeks) to compose Star Wars, and between 3 and 4 months (mid-October 1998 to early February 1999) to compose The Phantom Menace. How about other scores? I found these old comments: On 18/08/2010 at 12:01 AM, Datameister said: Really depends on the film, but the average seems to be on the order of two months or so. Some composers get involved early on, but a lot of times, there isn't all that long between when the composer gets his rough cut of the film and the theatrical release. Williams says that on average, he has to write about two minutes of music each day to get it done. On 18/08/2010 at 12:28 AM, Padme said: Yeah I've noticed about 2-3 months as well for John Williams. On 18/08/2010 at 12:34 AM, Elmo Lewis said: Yes, Williams always answers, "8 to 12 weeks" when asked that. On 18/08/2010 at 3:05 PM, Richard said: I guess that it depends on the type of score. "Chinatown". and "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing" (replacement scores, as I understand it) were both written in under 7 days. Some scores take up to 12 weeks. As J.W. composed music for "CE3K" before shooting even started, does this mean that he took 2 1/2 years to complete the score? "I do about one or two a year at the most; they take about 3 months to do"---John Williams, BBC interview, 1980 From the context I assume he counts the recording as a part of those 3 months. What are the most precise informations that we have about his work time on various films? The List: 1969 - The Reivers - 1 month (source: 2009 Interview by Lucas Richman) 1973 - The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing - under 7 days (source: liner notes on the album) 1977 - Star Wars - 2 months - spotted 10.01.1977, recorded on 05.03.1977 (source: Paul Duncan) 1978 - Superman - 6 months, because of a long production of the film (source: 2009 interview by Lucas Richman) 1980 - The Empire Strikes Back - 2 months - late October/ early November to late December 1979/early January1980 (source: Oierem) 1982 - E.T. The Extra-Terrestial - 3 months (source: 10.10.2012 article by Jon Burlingame E.T. Turns 30) 1983 - Return of the Jedi - 2,5 months - between November 2nd, 1982 (spotting session) and January 17th, 1983 (recording) (source: Brother Sound) 1997 - Rosewood - 2 weeks (source: publicist) 1998 - The Phantom Menace - < 4 months - mid-October 1998 before recording in mid-February 1999 (source: The Korea Times interview with Williams from 1999) 2001 - Attack of the Clones - 3 months - October 2001 to January 2002 (source: Oierem) 2002 - Minority Report - 3 months - February to May 2002 (source: Oierem) 2002 - Chamber of Secrets - 2 months - May to July 2002, on-and-off possibly up to September (source: Oierem) 2002 - Catch Me if You Can - ca. 2 months - July/August to September/October 2002 (source: Oierem) 2005 - Revenge of the Sith - 2,5 months - spotted October 2004, recorded February 2005 (source: Chris Malone, Recording the Star Wars Saga) 2019 - The Rise of Skywalker - ca. 7 months - April to November 2019 (source: The Times UK, various interviews) Spoiler Once, Marc, SteveMc and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,471 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 I think he had about 2 weeks to do THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING after Legrand was rejected. Probably the shortest that I'm aware of. Fabulin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Didnt he do TESB in 4 to 6 weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oierem 151 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 23 minutes ago, Stefancos said: Didnt he do TESB in 4 to 6 weeks? The spotting sessions were done in late October/early November 1979. The score was recorded in late December 1979. So, he wrote the score in a couple of months. 49 minutes ago, Modest Expectations said: And I also remember that there were scheduling problems in 2002 for example. How much time did Williams have then? From what I can remember... Attack of the clones: October 2001-January 2002. Minority Report: February 2002-May 2002 (if I'm not mistaken) Chamber of Secrets: May 2002-July 2002 (recorded in September, possibly Williams continued working until then) Catch me if you can: I'm not sure about this one, but I'd say from July/August 2002-September/October 2002. The "problem" was that he had to start writing "Catch me if you can" before September (when Chamber of Secrets had to be recorded) to meet the deadline. About Star Wars, Williams started writing in early January 1977 and recorded in early March 1977. So about 8 weeks. I'd say, depending on the project, Williams writes a score in about 2-4 months. Knowing that he writes about 2 minutes a day, working about 6 days a week, that means he will need about 10 weeks to write a 2 hour score. Add to that a few days for the spotting sessions, and a couple of weeks for the recording sessions. Plus, the time he needs to create the themes BEFORE he can start writing the actual score. Fabulin and SteveMc 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Or the time for traveling that is never mentioned, as all those guys like JG, JW and JH recorded for decades in the UK far away from Hollywood, with jetlag and so on. A someone who travels often i can relate to this additional burden quite well. SteveMc and MikeH 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,471 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 6 hours ago, Modest Expectations said: 1973 - The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing - 2 weeks (source: Thor), under 7 days (source: Richard) Actually, Richard was correct, not I. Rereading the liner notes of the album (providing the liner notes are correct), it does indeed say '40 minutes of music in less than a week'. That's just batshit crazy. And for that level of quality! He probably wouldn't have managed that if it weren't for the experience from his TV days, which often had those kinds of schedules. Fabulin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BrotherSound 2,242 Posted September 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2019 Here’s exact dates for Return of the Jedi: Spotting was November 2nd, 1982, and recording began January 17th, 1983, so roughly 10 weeks. The spotting date is from Rinzler’s Making of Return of the Jedi, which also includes this: Fabulin, enderdrag64 and Remco 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Good idea for a thread! Once 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Afair, 'Rosewood' was done in a 2 week timespan, too. One thing to consider here is of course that these dates are very relative. People read that in a throwaway comment but what those dates entail isn't clear. The pure writing process? Writing and recording? Spotting? Mixing? 'Troy' seems to have been the most insane undertaking when from Horner actually taking on the job till the film was delivered to cinemas (you can't cheat on that date) wasn't much more than 14 days for over 100 minutes of score? Loert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Cue danger motif. Fabulin and SteveMc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,471 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 34 minutes ago, publicist said: Afair, 'Rosewood' was done in a 2 week timespan, too. One thing to consider here is of course that these dates are very relative. People read that in a throwaway comment but what those dates entail isn't clear. The pure writing process? Writing and recording? Spotting? Mixing? 'Troy' seems to have been the most insane undertaking when from Horner actually taking on the job till the film was delivered to cinemas (you can't cheat on that date) wasn't much more than 14 days for over 100 minutes of score? Yes, I think that's one of the most extreme examples. He had two weeks for ALIENS too, if memory serves (as opposed to his promised 6 weeks), but that's less music than in TROY. But writing "Bishop's Countdown" overnight; that's just insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Horner was on 'Aliens' much longer, though and probably had done some homework on it, it was just the continuing edits that prevented him from locking his score. In one of Yavar's recent Goldsmith podcasts Goldsmith was quoted as finishing 'Air Force One's 8-minute piece 'The Hijacking' at 3 in the morning, inferring he did it in one day, which is also quite an accomplishment. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,983 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 1 hour ago, publicist said: 'Troy' seems to have been the most insane undertaking when from Horner actually taking on the job till the film was delivered to cinemas (you can't cheat on that date) wasn't much more than 14 days for over 100 minutes of score? In the case of Troy, there were actually two additional composers helping JH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I know but he had to flesh out at least some stuff before they could start working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,471 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Who were the additional composers, do you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post publicist 4,643 Posted September 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2019 Dimitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten. Bayesian, MikeH, SteveMc and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,473 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 How long for the first Harry Potter score? That's I think in some ways his biggest score in terms of new themes and density of material and so many concert adaptations. Even Tintin, anyone know how long that took. That's a very complex score as well. Montre and Once 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherSound 2,242 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 3 hours ago, TheUlyssesian said: How long for the first Harry Potter score? That's I think in some ways his biggest score in terms of new themes and density of material and so many concert adaptations. Four months for HP1, according this article: http://www.jwfan.com/?page_id=4573 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,473 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 32 minutes ago, BrotherSound said: Four months for HP1, according this article: http://www.jwfan.com/?page_id=4573 The Teaser came out 8 months before the film and already had Hedwig's theme fully orchestrated. So I am thinking he had atleast 8 months. If he wrote the music 2 months before they cut the teaser then that gives him a full 10 months before the release of the film. BrotherSound 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherSound 2,242 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 16 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said: The Teaser came out 8 months before the film and already had Hedwig's theme fully orchestrated. So I am thinking he had atleast 8 months. If he wrote the music 2 months before they cut the teaser then that gives him a full 10 months before the release of the film. It’s possible he was thinking of more themes, but he wouldn’t be working on actual cues until after the spotting sessions. And a lot of that time in between would have been occupied by A.I. Once 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,473 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 True. I am saying that his main theme was done down to the orchestration, and since it is used a lot in the first movie, he would have much of it already done, just a matter of copying and pasting. I think as early as June or July he was already presenting the concert suite of Hedwig's theme. BrotherSound 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montre 79 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I also read somewhere that he wrote some more HPSS music, possibly parts of the children’s suite, in London while waiting to fly back when air travel had stopped in September 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted September 9, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 9, 2019 It didn't take long at all to compose the NBC News theme. He just listened to The Blue Max and had his theme already composed. crumbs, Montre, MikeH and 2 others 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,499 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 JW wrote the teaser music (kinda early version of Hedwig) based on his memories of the book, not the movie which was nowhere near complete enough. Remember, teaser, not trailer. 6 hours ago, Montre said: I also read somewhere that he wrote some more HPSS music, possibly parts of the children’s suite, in London while waiting to fly back when air travel had stopped in September 2001. The last two days of the recording sessions were September 11th and 12th, so the revised HWW ending, unrecorded until the Chamber sessions, is the only candidate I guess, if true. Once 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,359 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Holko said: JW wrote the teaser music (kinda early version of Hedwig) based on his memories of the book, not the movie which was nowhere near complete enough. Remember, teaser, not trailer. The last two days of the recording sessions were September 11th and 12th, so the revised HWW ending, unrecorded until the Chamber sessions, is the only candidate I guess, if true. They recorded on 9/11 and 9/12? Those must have been extraordinarily surreal sessions for everyone involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,499 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 They were. Mike talks about it a bit in the HP1 booklet and the HP1 Tim Burden podcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Wasnt AOTC a rush job? I doubt he worked on that for 3 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 One month on Across the Stars, and a week for the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montre 79 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 On 9/10/2019 at 2:24 AM, Bayesian said: They recorded on 9/11 and 9/12? Those must have been extraordinarily surreal sessions for everyone involved. Yep. Bill Wrobel’s rundown of the cues of HPSS also confirms that they had sessions on 9/11. Interestingly enough, the other big score of that year, Howard Shore’s Fellowship of the Ring, was also recording on that same day. In New Zealand, if I’m not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Goldsmith also recorded on 9/11 and even included it on the Last Castle OST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 On 9/12/2019 at 4:54 AM, Montre said: Howard Shore’s Fellowship of the Ring, was also recording on that same day. In New Zealand, if I’m not mistaken. Not London? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,301 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Wasn't FOTR recording at the same time in a different studio at Abbey Road? I vaguely recall reading about the composers visiting each other's sessions. Howard and Williams were certainly both inspired at the time, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 There were bits of the trilogy done at Abbey Road, but I'm not sure what could have been going on at the same time as a Williams session in 1. Boys choir in 2 maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montre 79 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Fellowship was recorded in London and New Zealand. I could be wrong, but I thought I remember reading that at this time they were recording in New Zealand. I would love to think that they were both in London at the same time though, so if that’s true that would be pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,499 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 The NZ sessions were earlier in the year, they scored Moria and an early version of Breaking of the Fellowship for the Cannes sneak peek presentation mid-2001. The Moria cues were never rerecorded in London, but the rest of the score (and as far as I know all of the other 2) was done there, including a redo of Breaking of the Fellowship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Correct. All done in London except for the NZ material for Cannes. Watford Town Hall, Air Lyndhurst, Henry Wood Hall, and Abbey Road were all used with the greatest bulk taking place at the first. Jim Ware or Doug would know for sure what was going on where on a given date though. I'm pretty sure I've read the account of the Fellowship sessions on or right after 9/11, somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,671 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 One thing I've struggled to understand with schedules is that if a replacement score can physically be written in a week, and yet 'normal' scores are done more in weeks/months, what's changing between those two schedules? Is the composer receiving tons of help for a short schedule? Especially given that replacement scores often seem to have the usual alternate takes and are generally equal in quality, I'd be curious as to what's different that allows the score to be completed in days rather than weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 44 minutes ago, Richard Penna said: Especially given that replacement scores often seem to have the usual alternate takes and are generally equal in quality, I'd be curious as to what's different that allows the score to be completed in days rather than weeks. A host of sleepless nights and a blatant disregard for wellbeing. Once and MikeH 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montre 79 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Ghostwriters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Edmilson 7,393 Posted September 15, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 15, 2019 According to the booklet of the HP collection released last year, the orchestra was on Abbey Road on 9/11 apparently recording the Children's Suite and the movie's suites (Hedwig's Theme and Harry Woundrous World), when, during the afternoon break they watched on TV what was happening on NY. Then, Williams gave the people the choice of calling it a day or continue to work - and they chose the second option. So, during that afternoon, while there was world-chaning events happening across the ocean, the Abbey Road was crowded with americans recording Philosopher's Stone, Harry Gregson-Williams' Spy Game and upstairs people were mixing Lord of the Rings. However, I am curious to know how Williams felt at that moment, considering that he was born on the state of New York. Was he shaken, angry, preocupied? If so, he was very professional and continue to do his job wonderfully. Maybe his way of dealing with a tragedy like that is working? Montre, SteveMc, Bayesian and 4 others 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted September 15, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 15, 2019 How old are you? Are you from America? All due respect but perhaps if you're a younger person who was geographically removed from it it's hard to understand. I'm pretty far from a flag waving God bless the USA type who will get indignant at the suggestion that it's not a "big deal" but I was blocks away from what was happening in Manhattan, I knew people who died, and you'll have to forgive me if it continues to loom in my life as a "big deal." Fuck's sake. Not Mr. Big, Holko, Bayesian and 3 others 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,359 Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 22 minutes ago, Dixon Hill said: How old are you? Are you from America? All due respect but perhaps if you're a younger person who was geographically removed from it it's hard to understand. I'm pretty far from a flag waving God bless the USA type who will get indignant at the suggestion that it's not a "big deal" but I was blocks away from what was happening in Manhattan, I knew people who died, and you'll have to forgive me if it continues to loom in my life as a "big deal." Fuck's sake. Yeah, it’s hard to fathom where that comment comes from. First, it’s not like the federal government forces us all take a three minute silence on 9/11 or anything. After 18 years, people mark the tragedy in their own ways, if they mark it at all. In my neck of the California woods, this past 9/11 passed with no visible evidence of people making any kind of “big deal” out of it. Second, if the “big deal” comment instead means why do people still think it was such a significant event, well, consider that this terrorist act was completely unprecedented. Four planes and almost 3,000 innocent deaths across multiple places in less than 2 hours and no one knew at the time whether it could have been forty planes and God knows how many deaths by the end of it all. It was terrifying. It also happened to fundamentally change our approach to transportation security, national security and foreign policy. Not to mention that it ramped up a spate of terroristic activity around the world that continues to this day and shaped an American military response that’s cost us a trillion dollars so far and the loss of many thousands of service members’ lives. We will continue to live in the shadow of that unspeakable event for a long time to come. So, yeah, it’s a big fucking deal. MikeH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,287 Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 I somehow completely missed this thread when it was first here. Boy, it takes sharp turn at the end, eh? Wow. That Fancy Man image up above is great! I'm currently reading Rinzler's Indiana Jones book and will read his SW books next! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post enderdrag64 624 Posted June 18, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted June 18, 2022 On 08/09/2019 at 5:43 AM, Fabulin said: 1977 - Star Wars - 2 months - spotted early January 1977 before recording in early March 1977 (source: Oierem) Paul Duncan (author of The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983) said on Twitter that the spotting session was on January 10th, 1977 Also, I'm guessing this is pretty common knowledge already but your list doesn't say it, recording started on March 5th, 1977 according to the 1997 SE liner notes Once, GerateWohl, JTN and 3 others 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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