115 replies to this topic

[nightscape94]

I was actually disappointed that Jackson wasn't interviewed or included in this featurette. I was hoping to hear him speak about Williams, even for just a comment or two.

[KK.]

I was actually disappointed that Jackson wasn't interviewed or included in this featurette. I was hoping to hear him speak about Williams, even for just a comment or two.

A possible confirmation that Williams will be scoring the sequel?

[Michael]

I was actually disappointed that Jackson wasn't interviewed or included in this featurette. I was hoping to hear him speak about Williams, even for just a comment or two.

A possible confirmation that Williams will be scoring the sequel?

Well, he is seen hearing the recording sessions via Skype or something like that, so at least that's something.

[stewdog1]

That was a very nice feature. I wish we could get more of that stuff.

[Josh500]

I was actually disappointed that Jackson wasn't interviewed or included in this featurette. I was hoping to hear him speak about Williams, even for just a comment or two.

Good point!

I am actually still wondering what Jackson't contribution to this movie was (except that the visual effects were created by his company)...

Spielberg at the beginning makes it sound as if Jackson's only contribution was that he saw it. "Michael Kahn edited the movie, I approved the cut, Jackson saw it, and we handed it over to Williams..."

[Quint]

Jackson is in partnership with him so of course he'd want to see, and approve it. What did you want him to do, a Poltergeist?

[Josh500]

Jackson is in partnership with him so of course he'd want to see, and approve it. What did you want him to do, a Poltergeist?

I asked what his contribution was exactly (which ideas were his, how was he involved in the creative or movie-making process, etc.)!

Didn't you read what I wrote?

Of course he saw the movie and approved it, duh! But I mean, beside that...

[Chaac]

He convinced Spielberg to go mocap, apparently.

[alicebrallice]

nice featurette! and it always strikes me how soothing williams voice is. it's crazy.

I was actually disappointed that Jackson wasn't interviewed or included in this featurette. I was hoping to hear him speak about Williams, even for just a comment or two.

agreed.

also, I came to wonder how williams feels about listening to his scores after he's done working with them. desplat said in an interview that he hates and never listens to his own scores after he has watched the movie once or twice, which I find quite interesting yet understandable... does anyone know how williams feels about this?

[Incanus]

nice featurette! and it always strikes me how soothing williams voice is. it's crazy.

I was actually disappointed that Jackson wasn't interviewed or included in this featurette. I was hoping to hear him speak about Williams, even for just a comment or two.

agreed.

also, I came to wonder how williams feels about listening to his scores after he's done working with them. desplat said in an interview that he hates and never listens to his own scores after he has watched the movie once or twice, which I find quite interesting yet understandable... does anyone know how williams feels about this?

Williams has said several times that he doesn't usually dwell on his past scores and I think doesn't like listening to them. He is always looking ahead at a new project instead of thinking what he has just done. He revisits them for concert performances but I think that is the only reason he does that.

[mrbellamy]

He revisits them for concert performances but I think that is the only reason he does that.

That's probably reason enough not to revisit his old scores. I'm sure if he never hears Star Wars, Superman, ET, Indiana Jones, or Harry Potter again, it will be too soon.

[Incanus]

He revisits them for concert performances but I think that is the only reason he does that.

That's probably reason enough not to revisit his old scores. I'm sure if he never hears Star Wars, Superman, ET, Indiana Jones, or Harry Potter again, it will be too soon.

Too true.

[TheUlyssesian]

I am in fucking awe of this score! And the maestro for writing this. I seriously think this is one of the most brilliant scores of the past few years and a solid gold Williams classic, I might even put in my list of Top 5 favorite works by him. I more than love it.


On a side note what is extremely intersting is the realization that even the main title sequence was actually scored. Like it wasn't that Williams just wrote some two minute jazz accompaniment to the titles, the music is suspenseful or exciting or heroic in sync with the title sequence.

This is one of the reasons I believe that none of the other versions of the main title music is a concert suite of the Tintin theme. A concert version of the heroic Tintin theme wouldn't fit the main title sequence at all. So it is definitely not it.

But I do hope that Williams records concert versions of some of the themes from Tintin. The Tintin theme specially. Its one of the best themes he has ever done.

[Quint]

I'm not so sure about that, although I like your enthusiasm

[KK.]

Its a bloody brilliant score, I'll give ya that. And one of the best adventure scores to come out in a while. But the maestro has done A LOT of bloody brilliant scores, which leaves no room for Tintin (at least in my eyes) in Williamst top 5. But Tintin is far better than a lot of composers' bests.

It just goes to show how freakin amazing Williams truly is as a composer.

[Mr Big]

Personally I think that was one of the best DVD documentry extras on JW, I adore seeing him work the orchestra at a recording session. Lets hope someone gets that alternate opening title sequence out on a complete score album

i'm hoping for another great score feature on War Horse

Thanks for posting.

The specs of the Blu-Ray

1080p High Definition
High Definition 2.35:1

No 7.1 audio!

DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1


Really dissapointed about this, I really wanted it in 7.1 as in cinemas

http://www.amazon.com/War-Horse-Four-Disc-Combo/dp/B0072GPQ72/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331424648&sr=8-2
The back clearly lists 7.1 audio. Where'd you get the idea it wasn't?

[king mark]

Did he start by saying he already forgot he scored it?

[Chaac]

Its a bloody brilliant score, I'll give ya that. And one of the best adventure scores to come out in a while. But the maestro has done A LOT of bloody brilliant scores, which leaves no room for Tintin (at least in my eyes)

Yeah this is the "problem" with JW. He doesn't fit in a top 10 or a top 5.

[indy4]

[Alexander]

This is really a great JW featurette!

One disappointing thing, though: most (or all?) of the music you hear is not what the orchestra is actually playing in the footage, is it? It's from the OS recording...

Oh well.

The pirate battle music is really being played by the orchestra.

It was available for a limited time on the english website as the background track.

[Hedwig]

WOW. I've just realised, at 3.43 in the video you see John Williams conducting a full orchestra, with the Tintin opening sequence playing on the big scoring screen!! You see it again at 3.56, could this be John conducting the alternate Tintin heroic adventure cue ??

[indy4]

Nice spy - we can at least guess at some of the instrumentation for these alternate cues.

[Josh500]

You know, compared with the Abbey Road Studio where the LSO usually performs, this recording studio kinda looks like an oversized garage where they just put a big screen on one wall...

[Stefancos]

Actually the LSO usually performs at the Barbican.

[Josh500]

I should have written, "Where the LSO usually performs the score of Star Wars..."

[Luke Skywalker]

'recorded' is the word.

if the LSO performs music from star wars is in a concert hall not abbey road/anvil studios

[Hedwig]

Nice spy - we can at least guess at some of the instrumentation for these alternate cues.

It's a shame you can't see more of what the orchestra is doing in the small clips we get. What interests me is, what is more likely to leak? Recording session footage in which you can hear the alternate cues being performed or full recording sessions? I have no idea about the likelihood of either of these things.

[Alexander]

They're not performing an alternate cue - you can hear them playing the present cue in the background. The instrumentation of "The Adventures of Tintin" or 'Tinker-Tin" is kind of a full orchestra, but less brass (3 horns, 1 trumpet con sordini, 1 trombone).

[wanner251]

I found it very interesting that JW talked about working in a very classic "Disney-esque" sort of way where some of the music was composed first and then things were animated to fit. The idea of coming up with dramatic or comedic hits before the screen action has completely unfolded is an interesting one. Composing music to script seems like it would be quite the challenge. Of course, nothing can stump our favorite Maestro....

[InTheCity]

Thanks for Posting. JW was very musical in this interview speaking like a composer rather then a director.

[Hedwig]

They're not performing an alternate cue - you can hear them playing the present cue in the background. The instrumentation of "The Adventures of Tintin" or 'Tinker-Tin" is kind of a full orchestra, but less brass (3 horns, 1 trumpet con sordini, 1 trombone).

No there are other clips where you see him recording the present cue and it is a small ensemble. You it very clearly at 3.53. Also the 'The Adventures of Tintin' does not include any string instruments, apart from a double bass performing the 'walking bass'. In the clips with the full orchestra you can see the cellos playing on one side and you can see in the reflection on the grand piano that the violins are playing as well. We can't see woodwind or brass, they are out of sight but we can presume they will be playing since they wouldn't set the orchestra up like that if they didin't. As I said it can't be the present cue because the cellos, violins etc do not play in it. That's why it's so exciting, who knows what other kind of thing John Williams could have written ?

[tannhauser]

They're not performing an alternate cue - you can hear them playing the present cue in the background. The instrumentation of "The Adventures of Tintin" or 'Tinker-Tin" is kind of a full orchestra, but less brass (3 horns, 1 trumpet con sordini, 1 trombone).

No there are other clips where you see him recording the present cue and it is a small ensemble. You it very clearly at 3.53. Also the 'The Adventures of Tintin' does not include any string instruments, apart from a double bass performing the 'walking bass'. In the clips with the full orchestra you can see the cellos playing on one side and you can see in the reflection on the grand piano that the violins are playing as well. We can't see woodwind or brass, they are out of sight but we can presume they will be playing since they wouldn't set the orchestra up like that if they didin't. As I said it can't be the present cue because the cellos, violins etc do not play in it. That's why it's so exciting, who knows what other kind of thing John Williams could have written ?

There are strings in "The Adventures of Tintin". I've studied the score. The cello section accompanies the "walking bass line" when the orchestration gets more dense further on. And the violins and violas play very briefly about halfway through. The version he did with the small jazz band was probably an earlier version of the final, more fully orchestrated cue. The sheet is marked as "Tinker-Tin" REVISED. The instrumentation is
6 Saxophones (3 alto, 3 baritone)
1 Clarinet
2 Bass Clarinets
3 Horns
1 Trumpet (con sordino)
2 trombones
tuba
Percussion (drum kit/chimes)
Accordion
Synthesizer
Piano
Harpsichord
1st and 2nd Violins
Violas
Celli
and 1 solo bass.

Mods, if this is sensitive information, feel free to delete my post.

[Jason LeBlanc]

Discussion of all sheet music is completely allowed, no worries

[Hedwig]

They're not performing an alternate cue - you can hear them playing the present cue in the background. The instrumentation of "The Adventures of Tintin" or 'Tinker-Tin" is kind of a full orchestra, but less brass (3 horns, 1 trumpet con sordini, 1 trombone).

No there are other clips where you see him recording the present cue and it is a small ensemble. You it very clearly at 3.53. Also the 'The Adventures of Tintin' does not include any string instruments, apart from a double bass performing the 'walking bass'. In the clips with the full orchestra you can see the cellos playing on one side and you can see in the reflection on the grand piano that the violins are playing as well. We can't see woodwind or brass, they are out of sight but we can presume they will be playing since they wouldn't set the orchestra up like that if they didin't. As I said it can't be the present cue because the cellos, violins etc do not play in it. That's why it's so exciting, who knows what other kind of thing John Williams could have written ?

There are strings in "The Adventures of Tintin". I've studied the score. The cello section accompanies the "walking bass line" when the orchestration gets more dense further on. And the violins and violas play very briefly about halfway through. The version he did with the small jazz band was probably an earlier version of the final, more fully orchestrated cue. The sheet is marked as "Tinker-Tin" REVISED. The instrumentation is
6 Saxophones (3 alto, 3 baritone)
1 Clarinet
2 Bass Clarinets
3 Horns
1 Trumpet (con sordino)
2 trombones
tuba
Percussion (drum kit/chimes)
Accordion
Synthesizer
Piano
Harpsichord
1st and 2nd Violins
Violas
Celli
and 1 solo bass.

Mods, if this is sensitive information, feel free to delete my post.

I stand completely corrected- silly me. I've always been quite good at picking out instruments that are playing in pieces, but I suppose John usually does use a very big ensemble. I really can't hear the strings at all, not violin or cello. And I never noticed a tuba either. Well then it is most likely just the recording of the present cue.....

[tannhauser]

Yeah, having listened to it again more carefully, I can't hear the strings either, it does just seem to be that small ensemble.

[Josh500]

Yesterday I rewatched "Tintin"!

And I gotta say, the "Pursuit of the Falcon" is clearly the highlight scorewise. I don't think this cue is edited even once, and I am pretty sure the music was recorded first, and the editor cut the scene accordingly (that's what JW was talking about in the featurette!). The grand statement of Tintin's theme is so fantastic, it sends shivers of excitement down my back whenever I watch that scene...

The trumpet starts only when Tintin gets a firm grip on the handlebar, you see. And as he is briefly thrown into the air before he grabs the lampshade (I think that's a lampshade) there is this whooooooosh heard!

Oh, and the falcon!!! Man, JW catches and accompanies every movement of the wings, apparently! I imagine the floutist was pretty much out of breath afterwards!

[Incanus]

The film version of the cue has been edited in several places, mostly microedits plus the ending differs from the album version as they had to lengthen it for the tense dialogue before Tintin dives into the water. Here in the film there is a different version of Tintin's theme, a tad more hopeful version than the dire one on the album.

[Josh500]

Here in the film there is a different version of Tintin's theme, a tad more hopeful version than the dire one on the album.

How do they differ?

I didn't think it was the same performance, but I didn't notice any difference in orchestration... you sure about what you are saying?

[Incanus]

I just checked and the album version crescendoes much more dramatically in the final rendition of Tintin's theme than the film version. So there are small changes here and there in the cue. At first I too thought that the whole piece was in the film as it is on the OST until I listened more closely.

[Stefancos]

But the take on the FYC is the same as on the OST. And officially the FYC can only use what was in the film.

So I can only conclude that you are wrong! Wrongidy wrong wong!