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Has David Arnold been announced as replacement composer for this film yet?

Yeah, I miss the good old days of, "I hate sand."

Not sure we can read much into that, considering he's talking about TPM anyway.

They troll now!

Episode 29: The Film Music of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Technically we did... years ago.

I'm with @Tom on this one. Something feels disingenuous about Trev's comments, especially that part where he mentions JJ retaining his ideas. Seems more like CT justifying his story credit and one-noting himself.

So we now have the answer to two predictions (whether we'll hear a fragment of the score in advance, also whether JW was still recording on the 11th of Nov). These clever people got both answers correct! @A. A. Ron @Alex @ATXHusker @Balahkay @Darth Porkins @Evanus @First TROS March Accolyte @Jay @Joelius Caesar @JTWfan77 @Mattris @Not Mr. Big @Ricard @Score @SilverTrumpet @Smeltington @TheUlyssesian @woj @ymenard

Ah, you're right. It's subtle but you can hear it backing the strings in a few places at the start, here: As you say, it's a wonderful amalgamation of orchestration where all these different textures blend seamlessly and create a pleasing, even sound. ... then you compare it to the 'whack you over the head' subtlety of TFA's mix: It's just so... uneven. There's no warmth to the recording and everything sounds disparate. I know some people prefer this style but it's not my cuppa tea. It sounds like an unfinished master that hasn't been balanced properly, with percussion/brass mixed too hot and way too much separation between instruments. So yeah, the dry brass and loud xylo is pretty disconcerting from this clip (especially if JJ asked them to revert to a TFA-style mix). When you compare it to the recording acoustics of the prequels, there's just no comparison in terms of orchestral balance. The xylo is allowed to be front and centre but all the different sections (flute, trumpets, timpani and xylo) are given equal weighting in the mix: A

I really need to pick up this score at some point, sounds great!

Why post this thread 4 times?

Not that I can recall. It seems like an instrument he relies on when writing this style of modular music which can be easier edited for the final cut (much easier to chop a bunch of xylophone hits in half than 4 bars of trumpets or strings). But that's just my theory. It was certainly prevalent in that 2002 AOTC action writing phase.

Does the recording of Main Title in that video above sound different to anyone else? Definitely not the TFA or prequel version...?

Why does the immensely well funded "Republic" use tanks with tread in the prequel trilogy when there's clearly an abundance of hover technology available? Tread vehicles don't even make sense in a universe where hover technology exists, but I don't see anyone nitpicking those details in the prequels. Maybe remote factions of the First Order just don't have the same resources to afford hover bikes, or these particular bikes have been repurposed using scrap from relics of the Empire. More to the point, does it really matter?

Film was locked yesterday so yeah, whatever was recorded in those final sessions was mixed and inserted into the sound mix within a few days. Pretty impressive. Should mean no edits for those sections (but they could be inserts covering other edits for all we know).

JJ said work is now officially finished on the film, which means everything JW recorded last week was the last thing added to the mix (and should be intact, without any more picture edits).

It does sound drier than TLJ, but not quite as dry as TFA. I just hope the mix isn't brass heavy again. It's fine if the recording is dry but the mix needs to be balanced.

That's my main concern. The longer runtime gave me hope the film would allow scenes and moments to breathe so the music could stretch its legs. It's my biggest issue with the pacing of TFA, that everything moves so quickly from one scene to the next that JW never gets a chance to develop long ideas (unlike the more indulgent, longer TLJ).

Wasn't it the runtime distributed by Disney to all theatre chains so they could schedule the sessions?

That looks awesome! Love the blue logo, works beautifully with the blue in the poster.

I'm sure the cue (and score) will be overflowing with loud brass fanfares. I thought the strings underscoring that reveal worked really effectively. Reminds me a bit of his scoring in Hyperspace, with the change in energy and orchestration ramping up the excitement.

That makes sense, a huge chunk gone from the start of the film and replaced with something shorter (filmed at Black Park in September). Maybe they were holding off on the OST pre-orders for this reason, because the opening act was restructured and JW didn't know what music to include?

Yet we're none the wiser on the Han Solo and the Princess arrangement.

There should be a theme for people firing blasters, a theme for troopers talking into walkie talkies, and a motif for each vehicle involved in the chase! Such a wasted opportunity, Williams is just phoning it in!