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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/03/20 in all areas

  1. Came back from there, amazing setting but the lack of music is very disappointing. I only heard re-arranged snippets of the Galaxy's Edge theme at the entrance. and new pieces in the Cantina. The ride Rise of Resistance was full but I did the Falcon ride . I had the role of an "engineer" and had to press buttons on the side panels and I thought that was actually distracting to watching the visuals of the ride. I also did Star Tours at Hollywood Studios twice and it was different each time. I was very impressed by that too because it had updated visuals (falcon chase from TFA and TLJ Battle of Crait) .It was also my first time at Disney World Star Wars day at Sea on the Disney Fantasy Cruise ship had the Star Wars soundtracks blaring all day on the loudspeakers and it was AMAZING. I have a suit on because I had to wear it on the plane later but it was a cold day
    6 points
  2. Loert

    The Composer's Thread

    Here's my latest composition: The first few seconds have been floating around inside my head for the best part of a year, so I finally decided to make something out of it!
    3 points
  3. Let's also not forget 'insecure' and 'intolerant', wherein -- if someone evaluates a film differently from oneself -- that person is apparently 'clueless' and 'arrogant'. See, easy to make accusations. Perhaps if it is constructive debate you're looking for, personal attacks is not the way to attain it?
    3 points
  4. Because the trombone is based on the fundamentals and partials of each scale. So the lowest note you play in each position is the fundamental. Then in that one position you go up through the partials in what matches the harmonic series. Unlike a piano where each note is separated chromatically, the trombone has notes separated by partials and orchestrating in this way tends to be more open, clean sounding. Since trombonists understand this very well, they tend to have more open, tighter sound. Of course sometimes you don't want an open sound, you want a darker, thicker sound, but a strong understanding of these concepts helps you achieve your objectives with greater clarity. Below is the harmonic series for B flat and you'll see these are all the notes in first position. Notice how the lower notes to the left are separated by an octave, then a fifth, then a fourth, then a third...the harmonic series that is the foundation of a triad and tonality. Not only that, but the first six notes in the harmonic series below are in the exact order of good clean voicings for note doubling and spacing. If you overlapped the first five notes into a single octave, you'll get the B flat major triad. If you played through the first six notes, you'd get B flat, B flat (up an octave), F (up a fifth), B flat (up a fourth), D, up a third, F, up a third. That makes 3 B flats, 2 F's, 1 D. The third is the least doubled note in standard voicing with the root (B flat in this case) the most doubled followed by the fifth of the chord (F) and you see here that is exactly what the trombone notes are doing when played in their partial. Having a good understanding of this only helps the clarity of your voice leading. Take the opening of Close Encounters as an example, that cluster that crescendo's to C major triad for the opening reveal of the desert has only one instrument playing the 3rd, a trumpet. Most instruments are playing the C and around have as many are playing the G so this is an example of murky dissonance going to very clean, tight consonance following that same principle. Also we don't tend to overuse or misuse the louder instruments which tend to dominate. Take a listen at 4:23 here. The entire orchestra is at the same dynamic, triple forte. The entire string choir is playing the same note, G, in octaves at 4:18. That is around 72 people playing the same note and they get pulverized when just three trombones come in at the same dynamic at 4:23. A little goes a long way and having a very solid understanding of how to balance and best utilize what the big guns are used for helps the quality of your orchestration. Third, many orchestrators start from the fundamental/root/bass and work up. So if the root is solid, everything can sit nicely on top of that. If the foundation isn't great, it's going to hurt everything else. The B flat harmonic series (1st position):
    3 points
  5. And the cars, the uniforms, the merchandise...😎🎉 I honestly think John Williams is the only one who can satisfyingly finish this saga.
    2 points
  6. In certain time zones, it is still 2019.
    2 points
  7. So many great performances, his smaller role as a man quietly in existential pain in Winter Light is a personal favorite I also particularly love his delivery of one of my favorite lines in Hannah and Her Sisters: "If Jesus came back, and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up."
    2 points
  8. Arranged by Randy Kerber into a 5+ minute, ambient/world music-like piece. Kerber also composed various original cues for the marketplace area.
    2 points
  9. it was in Orlando Florida I was tagging along with my friend's family so I had no say in where we were going. Just 1 Disney day..No time for Magic Kingdom . Mostly Hollywood Studios (Toy Story World, the Cars thing, Muppets, Aerosmith ride, the Twilight Zone mansion elevator ride and 4 hours looking at the stuff in Galaxy's Edge. I did get to meet Darth Vader on the ship
    2 points
  10. No one was wondering where you were since you already post so sporadically and mainly in video game threads. But you certainly chose one of the worst possible times since Titanic to take a cruise.
    2 points
  11. I think people have speculated about this, but it hadn‘t been confirmed yet (as far as I know). Now, ASM has confirmed in an interview with Bavarian television that JW is indeed writing a new „big“ violin concerto for her. She says it will be premiered „next summer“ (likely meaning summer 2021), even though she also talks about taking a sabbatical next year ( I guess she will make an exception for the premiere?). Here‘s the interview (in German). The relevant part starts at 13:13: I’m hoping that the premiere will bring JW back to central Europe. 😁
    1 point
  12. https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2021/01/27/Across-the-Stars-The-Music-of-John-Williams-0700PM
    1 point
  13. I reckon the quote about Yates asking Desplat during the recording of one of the cues (Ron Leaves was it?) is a bit of crowd-pleasing PR. Maybe they just hadn't thought contractually about the last film, and Yates decided during recording that he was definitely happy with what Desplat was doing and saw no reason to switch composers.
    1 point
  14. In The Force Awakens the idea of an old Ford works becuase he's not so quintessentially an action hero as he is as Indy, AND he's not the lead which allows him to play the part of the older mentor. An old Indiana Jones is just a sad, miserable concept.
    1 point
  15. No, but you're very welcome to send one my way though!
    1 point
  16. Same here. Even if I wasn't conceptually against any sequel to The Last Crusade (which I am), I can't believe people actually want to see an action-adventure movie where the action hero - which Indy undeniably is - is pushing 80. It was ridiculous in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and its all the more ridiculous now. I don't want to see an old, pathetic Indy. I much prefer that he lives on in my imagination as young and vibrant; which is exactly why having him ride into the sunset was so bloody PERFECT.
    1 point
  17. You can replace one of the options no one's voted for yet, and probably never will, with No Ticket
    1 point
  18. Yes, I only owned a legit cd of Poseidon. I like the main titles of all but due to sound issues and completnessless they didn't get much playtime. I hope they do now
    1 point
  19. Not yet - it's on my player along with a whole bunch of other scores I got since November that I haven't had the time to focus on yet. Darkman, Dolores Claiborne, Toy Story 4, MIB: International, Us, Hooten Plays Williams, Ziegler: Music from the Star Wars Saga, Us, Scream 2, etc. etc. Eventually!
    1 point
  20. Doesn't this start shipping on the 13th of this month?
    1 point
  21. Ford V. Ferrari Polished and and well-crafted racing drama where Christian Bale upstages everything else with a performance full of personality. I liked the movie, but I can't help feel it was too by-the-numbers. The script relied on conventions and exposition heavy dialogue. The pacing was a tad sluggish. The resolution a tad pretentious in a manufactured way. The music was just there. Needed more poetry and pizzazz to rise above the status of adequate. 3/4 . Knives Out Rian Johnson really impressed me in this one. He's gleefully subversive here, and crafts a kind of murder mystery that's part Adrian Monk, part Poirot, and part Clue. What especially impressed me is that this is a very contemporary movie, but one that I feel both captures and transcends its time. There are plenty of anachronisms (the house, Blanc, the throwback genre), and plenty of present day dynamics (politics, economics, trends), but put together in a way where, say, 20 years from now, people will look at the film and say "Oh, yeah, that's how the 2010s were!" instead of, "Ugh, this is so 2010s." In other words, a future classic. Performances are solid. Craig's accent is ridiculous, but I guess that's the point. Ana de Armas is perfect in her role as Marta. There are some plot questions, and the movie's political message (which suggests that rich, powerful white America ((left and right)) has gotten too decadent for its own good and will soon be replaced by good, hard-working minorities) may not be for everyone, but I really dig how Johnson integrated it into the story. Solid, solid stuff. 3.5/4
    1 point
  22. RIP Definitely one of the men I thought would live forever. An end of an era indeed...
    1 point
  23. Senseless bickering on an internet message board bears zero importance.
    1 point
  24. Can you imagine the level of the mind that watches wrestling?
    1 point
  25. I know less than half about myself half as well as I deserve.
    1 point
  26. The only way they can save it now is to have the singer Drake play Nathan Drake.
    1 point
  27. Hi everyone! This week we have two cues! We're excited for new themes and dark scary plot developments. Cue No. 13: Rita Skeeter and The Letter Cue No. 14: Sirius Discussion Thank you for listening!
    1 point
  28. Yeah, that and When You Wish Upon a Star influencing Spielberg and Williams' work on Close Encounters' music! BTW, Chen G., just try to stick with the program here. Anyway, in that movie the aforementioned An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Fievel's sister Tanya Mousekewitz has wanted to be -- of all things -- a singer, right? Well, guess what? In that aforementioned Fievel Goes West movie, she finally gets her chance and opportunity to sing when, one day, a cat, of all creatures, happened to discover Tanya's rather beautiful and very nice singing chops as she sang the song "Dreams to Dream" outside the unfinished violin shop... And Tanya Mousekewitz gets to perform and sing a song called "The Girl You Left Behind" in, of all places, a saloon! Get it?! A saloon bar, of all places, dummies! That's also why Tanya wants to be a singer in Fievel Goes West, and she got her chance and opportunity to sing in the movie! And don't forget that Disney Dust effect inspired by Disney's 1950 Cinderella when Tanya cleans up nicely in the mirror! I was just kidding, but you get what I mean, especially, Dreams to Dream from Fievel Goes West, especially as sung by Cathy Cavadini (aka Blossom of the Powerpuff Girls)?
    1 point
  29. This is probebly my favorite Indy score so to pic only one cue is hard. But I will go with Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra, because it has always been one of my favorite once.
    1 point
  30. I listen to Fallen Kingdom’s end credits suites more often than you guys would probably want to know.
    1 point
  31. Actually, Uncharted could be a decent, fun show, with every episode dealing with Nathan in one location trying to find some ancient relic. It'll be like a live-action, big budget version of a 90s/early 2000s adventure cartoon.
    1 point
  32. I thought this was another person named John Williams, aside from the guitarrist, the economist, the scientists, athletes, etc., that we already know of.
    1 point
  33. Thanks for the info! I’m going to a trumpet festival in LA in July, where Tom Hooten will be performing his concerto at the Hollywood Bowl. It sure would be great to see him there. But I’m guessing he’ll be in Tanglewood during that time.
    1 point
  34. Well that's certainly advanced planning. Great to see John isn't planning to slow down or stop travelling anytime soon.
    1 point
  35. The whole score is insanely good. So choosing one cue over another is a bit like having a handful of polished gold and asking which piece shines the brightest. So keep that in mind when I say that Indy's Very First Adventure is the winner for me. It's got a draw-you-in kind of introduction, leitmotivic statements, non-leitmotivic tunes that really stay with you, colourful orchestration, and perhaps most importantly, it suits the scene like a glove - to me, it makes the scene. But there's something strikingly different about this score as a whole over its two predecessors in the Indy series. Interestingly, its action music revolves around major and minor scales rather than Williams' more typical twentieth-century-type scales and chords. The phrases also fall in a regular 4-bar pattern far more often in many portions of most of the action cues. Tunefulness is also at a series high here, with entire action cues being more or less dominated by a long-lined melody: Indy's Very First Adventure, Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra, Belly of the Steel Beast, etc. And along the same lines, the Scherzo has a light, Mendelssohnian character to it. I suspect that these are because of the more lighthearted nature of the film, especially with Connery as a kind of comic relief sidekick. You don't find this kind of thing in Star Wars very much because it is by its nature more serious than the Indiana Jones series despite also including comedic elements in each film. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I love this score! Williams' sensitivity to the overall tone of a film and his seemingly endless bag of tricks to express that tone never ceases to amaze me.
    1 point
  36. https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances/1116/2020-07-30/john-williams-anne-sophie-mutter-across-the-stars
    1 point
  37. You see, "pretty visuals" is a reductive description. Film is in the unique position to unfold in time and space, and have both visuals and sound at its disposal. It can also segue seamlessly from storydriven to less storydriven segments. In other words, it can communicate all kinds of ideas and themes and content that go beyond plot, characters, actions and choices. This is something that is curiously absent from a great many evaluations. Well, not so curious, perhaps. We are 'weaned' on Hollywood storytelling, and anything that isn't aristotelian and classical feels strange. But that doesn't diminish the alternative's value, quite the contrary. To get lost in the visual geography of a Resnais or Antonioni film is a value all in itself, and it has absolutely zero to do with story. Even within classically told Hollywood films, there are all kinds of things happening beyond storytelling -- like AVATAR, for example, which is more about visceral experience. Same for ALIEN or BLADE RUNNER, to keep it to Scott. In short, we need to rid ourselves of this notion that story/script is the be-all, end-all aspect of film as a medium and artform.
    1 point
  38. No recordings exist, obviously, but it's probably the instrument he played the most besides the piano. He "fooled around" with several instruments in his youth, including cello and percussion, but he most often mentions the trombone - as in the quote above. Even if he never became a trombonist (and thank God for that!), he has indeed written some great parts for the instrument in his scores.
    1 point
  39. I loved that the majority of this episode put the brakes on big time, and focused so much on the relationships between all the characters, old and new. All of the stuff with Soji questioning her reality whilst genuinely enjoying this too-good-to-be-true idyllic setting was very well-done, if a little too back and forth between the extremes of "I don't trust any of you or anything!" and finding a sense of belonging. I'm bummed that the prophecy stuff seems to be run-of-the-mill robot apocalypse, but I'm hoping there'll be some twists that make it more nuanced and compelling. One thing I noticed watching this episode is that every returning character we've seen thus far feels like they've followed a very natural trajectory in their lives over the in-universe years. Hugh being a director of a Borg rehabilitation center, Riker and Troi living in peaceful semi-retirement, etc. Sorry to dredge up the ancient comparisons, but with the Disney Star Wars movies, whether you enjoyed or not the returning characters and where they were, it doesn't feel very...intuitive. When Hugh got killed--the third time the show has brought back a decades-old character then kills them off--I gasped. But I also thought, "Here he was, committed to leading a noble cause, amid a Borg ship." It felt very appropriate, and poignant even. Compare that with Han's death in Force Awakens...I felt numb and disappointed in myself that I couldn't make myself feel the emotions I thought I should. Next episode looks really good: with Seven of Nine returning, this show has proven that outside of name drops and cute one-liner references, that these character returns are way more than fan-service cameo spots, and are an integral part of the story.
    1 point
  40. The scenes with Riker were great!
    1 point
  41. Here he is talking about his music they don't even play there.
    1 point
  42. Which one is the boot that has Tom Cruise screaming “Penis!!!” after the End Title alternate? That’s the one I have.
    1 point
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