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TheUlyssesian

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Posts posted by TheUlyssesian

  1. Even Tintin's score was the film's only Oscar nomination.



    The Social Network, 127 Hours, The Hurt Locker, Michael Clayton, and Babel are are pretty great scores. The fact that they were nominated is not really the issue I have with the Academy's music branch. They actually do a pretty decent job of nominating worthy scores, it's the ones that win that are almost never the best.

    If stuff like Pan's Labyrinth, 3:10 To Yuma, and Fantastic Mr. Fox can get nominated, that is against expectation, so can The Wind Rises.

    I thought they were horrible. And I had seen and loved Hurt Locker and when the nominations were announced it was the first I realized the film even had a score.

  2. Frankly, the score nominations that the Academy usually does are absolutely vomit worthy. They just nominate whatever is up for Best Picture. They nominate unremarkable stuff like Argo, Social Network, 127 Hours, Hurt Locker, Michael Clyaton, Babel etc. etc.

    Actually this should be much simpler. There are only about 236 members in the Music Branch. You require around 40 No. 1 votes to get a nomination.

    If the studio is prudent and sends the CD to all the 236 members of the music branch and have them listen, this could get nominated.

    But something like Zimmer will get nominated for 12 Years a Slave and/or Rush. Or some unremarkable Desplat or Santaolalla will get nominated.

  3. NOTE: I searched for a thread but couldn't find it. If it exists please direct me there.

    The Wind Rises is the final film from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. And he collaborates again with the great Joe Hisaishi whose score for Ponyo (2008) was a masterpiece.

    This is the magnificent main theme from the score.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQntnZObfc0

    I found it achingly beautiful.

    The opening phrase of the theme seems exactly the same as the main theme from Ennio Moriccone's 1900 (Novocento) so much so that whenever I hear it I expect it to break into Moriccone's theme but it instead follows into Hisaishi's beautiful and lovely theme.

    (at 2:53)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77LUb4z30oY

    Also the interlude of Hisaishi's theme reminds of another italian giant, Nino Rota

    (0:33-0:59 & 1:48-2:14)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQntnZObfc0

    But overall I find this to be one of the loveliest themes of the year. You can listen to the entire score on youtube. It's gorgeous.

  4. In the case of Nolan and Zimmer, they start discussing music and its function even before filming begins.

    And they still come up with scores like TDKR. What's the point of those discussions if it still results in a score like TDKR? They might as well not have a discussion.

    That a discussion took place earlier doesn't lend credence to a score. The proof of the pudding is in the eating as is the proof of the music in the listening. And based on that evidence, it just sounds like a load of worthless bollocks.

  5. Think back to the memorable edit of Eliot's mother and Keys finding the abandoned van to the boys riding their cycles. Happens at 4:28 in the below clip. Exceptional. We never see much of these today. Today's audiences will find it cheesy.

    I don't think they do. I'm getting tired of score buffs underestimating the "audiences" capacity to know what they like and the greatly assumed audience lack of sophistication that comes with those conjectured notions. Audiences are you and I, they even have tastes beyond the latest Michael Bay offerings. Audiences love the classics dearly just the same as you and I.

    Such moments are unlikely to happen not just because of the audiences but also because of the directors today. Very few directors would whole-heartedly hand over their locked picture to a composer and let him run rampart with a sweeping orchestral score. I think the young directors today are insecure, they feel they might have to compete with the composer over the vision of the picture.

    And I seriously mean this. If you are giving your film to a composer as all-encompassing as John Williams or Max Steiner or Bernard Hermann, they can literally direct the film again in the recording room. They can alter the pace of the story, slow down sections or speed up sections, create drama or empathy or suspense as they want, they literally have the power to transform a movie and as I said ":direct it a second time" so to say. Very few directors today would be up for that or would be encouraging of that. I think any great scores that we get today are more by chance and inspite of the director's efforts instead of due to them.

    You think say Nolan or Fincher would be up for a John Williams style score where the score could literally re-design the movie? No. You get rubbish like Trent Reznor or Zimmer plastered over their movies like so many sound effects and hum drum.

  6. Saw the film again. The best moment of scoring in the film, a bit where the score actually syncs up with the visuals is 57 seconds into the below clip.

    The reason I absolutely love Williams and Giacchino (baby Williams) is because how beautifully their score syncs up with the visuals. When a burst of music is perfectly timed to a cut or an action, it really reaches a confluence of music and images that is thrilling beyond all measure. Zimmer never does that, he makes just blanket sounds which are applied like wall-paper to the visuals, no synching up at all. Syncing up is very hard to do, you have to write very intricately, blanket sounds are just lazy.

    But anyways in the afore-mentioned moment, a sync up does happen and it is one of the most epic moments in the film. Its when Clark rushes to holds up the falling iron structure, Zimmer's trademark BBRRAAAMMMM kicks on and for once it provides a thrilling accent to the visuals. The drums suddenly turn into this deep and masculine BBRRAAMMMM which is appropriate given the its a very masculine moment as we see the first demonstration of Superman's physical prowess. Really great moment - drew applause from my audience.

    Rest is a washout. Think of that edit from the spaceship landing on earth to the fish boat. Both Williams and Giacchino would have made it one of the most memorable moments in the film. Think back to the memorable edit of Eliot's mother and Keys finding the abandoned van to the boys riding their cycles. Happens at 4:28 in the below clip. Exceptional. We never see much of these today. Today's audiences will find it cheesy.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZheJFPGBTw

  7. While I was watching the sequence where Kal's spaceship is flying towards earth, I was thinking to myself, Giacchino would have killed this scene with a big grand sweeping 2 minutes of nearly sound effect free music. Zimmer's was just loud.

    The score is okay, not horrible but not great either. The movie is okay too though more tending towards bad.

    Btw, what's the deal with Henry Cavill's body? Was it real? He has the body of a god basically.

    Yes. Those topless shots are the real thing.

    Definitely one of the most striking moments in the film, if not the most.

    Any topless Lois Lane?

    Adams was kinda sexless to the extreme. Though Faora was sexy as hell.

  8. While I was watching the sequence where Kal's spaceship is flying towards earth, I was thinking to myself, Giacchino would have killed this scene with a big grand sweeping 2 minutes of nearly sound effect free music. Zimmer's was just loud.

    The score is okay, not horrible but not great either. The movie is okay too though more tending towards bad.

    Btw, what's the deal with Henry Cavill's body? Was it real? He has the body of a god basically.

  9. Listened to some tracks, and I must say it got boring so fast. The theme is extremely banal - the Clark Kent "theme". It gets banal because it is so simplistic that there couldn't possibly variation or anything like that. Just two note phrases.

    from (0:46 onwards)

    Is this what passes for a theme these days?

  10. Anyone notice that for his official concert suite track, Star Trek Main Theme, Giacchino has added notes to his theme?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCI0I28HqfQ

    From 1:06 to 1:26, he has added a new passage it seems to solidify the theme as a stand alone theme rather than as a motif because in its previous version (likely Enterprising Young Men), the Star Trek theme itself was a motif and wasn't being performed on its own, it segued into Spock's theme. Now with its own secondary passage, it a stand alone "theme" so to say and can be performed as a concert suite.

    I might be wrong but seems that way to me.

  11. Saw the film today. Some notes

    1. The main theme is used very often and has many grand statements. It was supposed to be Kirik's theme but is now a general purpose main theme, applied to the Enterprise, Kirk as well as any other heroic act by any chaarcter apart from Spock.

    2. Spock's theme (Vulcan theme) is used very often for stuff concerning him. An action variant for the finale is striking.

    3. Harrison's theme also gets its moment to shine.

    4. The London calling stuff is also prominently featured.

    5. The score is given a lot of room to shine, many moments the score is loud and can always be clearly heard. J.J. clearly valued Giacchino's contributions and did not bury the score under sound effects.

    6. The End Credits piece is the Alexander Courage theme and not the Giacchino theme.

    Overall I liked it. A nice fully orchestral and tuneful/medlodic score. Almost an aberration these days rather than the norm.

    Giacchino rocks!

  12. http://www.watertower-music.com/releases_spotlight.php?search=WTM39426

    Listened to the samples

    Look At The Stars seem to have the piano chords heard at the start of the third trailer.

    Sent Here For A Reason again has them

    Terraforming again seemed to have them

    This Is Clark Kent again has them

    I Have So Many Questions again has them

    Flight again has them

    What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving The World? again has them

    Earth again has them

    Goodbye My Son actually seems to have a melody (!!!), a woman humming something

    Oil Rig, If You Love These People, Terraforming, Tornado, You Die Or I Do, Ignition, I Will Find Him, Are You Listening, Clark?, You Led Us Here, Earth, Arcade were just banal and tone deaf

    Some of it sounded like a really inferior Tron - specially Launch

    I also heard the Inception far trombone a couple of times.

    This Is Clark Kent genuinely seems to have the begining of a pinao melody but the sample cut off. I was shocked beyond words.

    Flight seems to have a big statement of those chords. But what are those??? Is a theme? What is it? It just sounds like two note chords to me.

    General Zod seems to be a sound effects track rather than music

    It seems the action music will just be loud banging drums.

    QUESTION: Are those piano chords the Superman theme???

  13. Is it considered out of fashion these to write melodies? Is it crude. To write themes to represent people and places or ideas. To have rythm or flow in your music, or development and counterpoint, orchestral color?

    Has Zimmer ever written a fully symphoic score with many themes and developement and resolution? With orchestral lushbess and beauty.

    MOS just sounds loud.

  14. I ma guessing this is a question only about music so will reply as such.

    1. Lawrence Of Arabia

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWC7ZYwnuPQ

    2. Gone With The Wind

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS33Pv-A9d8

    3. Breakfast At Tiffany's

    4. Umberellas at Cherbourg

    5. 400 Blows

    El Cid

    Doctor Zhivago

    North by Northwest

    Spartacus

    A Passage To India

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGYUDoSWDJM

    Ben-Hur

    Catch Me If You Can

    To Kill A Mockingbird

    The Magnificent Seven

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAZQhatbj3A

    Shane

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DVPxbsTccg

    Amarcord

  15. post of Hans Zimmer in VI forum about the trailer music:

    (taken from FSM message board by a member there who posted it)

    Re: Man of steel Trailer

    Posted: Today at 6:05 pm

    The music is actually from the score. A little bit recut - the tune is actually a bit longer in it's development. What you think of as synth sounds are 8 pedal steel guitars. Best organic pad sound yet The perc is the session I did at WB and Fox with 15 drummers:

    JR Robinson

    Jason Bonham

    Josh Freese

    Pharrell Williams

    Danny Carey

    Satnam Ramgotra

    Toss Panos

    Jim Keltner

    Curt Bisquera

    Trevor Lawrence Jr

    Matt Chamberlain

    Ryeland Allison

    Sheila E

    Bernie Dresel

    Vinnie Colaiuta

    with the amazing JunkieXL conducting (There is something to be said to get a drummer who is a star of EDM and knows how to get a crowd of twohundred thousand people dancing at his shows to liontame and energise this lot!)

    But of course the real plus is the lack of sound effects...which gets us back to that other thread about dubbing music loudly

    I'm glad you liked it!

    -Hz-

    Which forum is VI. Please link to the original post?

    The opening theme in the trailer sounds like something I have heard before.

    Is it this...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsqiXASjVuU

    Maybe not, but it sounds like something I have heard before.

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