Locrius

Hello,
The date is Sept 24th, coming up soon! I know that John is making a few orchestra revisions but I don't think it's anything major. At least I don't think, I'll find out soon when I get the parts.
Thanks,
Tom

You lot who are whining about "50.00 for a CD!" have no idea how Kickstarter works.
 
You're donating to make the project happen. The CD is a bonus. If you don't want to donate and just want the CD, wait for the CD.  Crikey.

Hi all! This is Tom Hooten. Thanks for sharing on the project! For those upset that the $50 is a lot for a CD, the premise is more as a tax deductible donation to help fund the project, and the signed CD is more of a free "thank you," along with the digital download and thank you note (the previous level rewards). I hope that makes sense.
 
About timing, I actually have 2 large donors that are funding enough of the project to hire the musicians and book the studio. The whole project costs about $100k! This money being raised here is mostly for the post-production costs (editing it all together, printing CD's, making it digital, among other fees that add up). So we are set for the recording session with the previous donors, but this helps to finish the project!
 
Just to answer some questions. I hope that makes sense. Thanks again for all of your support!
Best,
Tom Hooten

If a sudden dance sequence bothers you in Temple of Doom, you're not watching it right. Sit back, turn your brain off, go along with the ride and have fun. It's immensely entertaining.

But JW's "Anything Goes" arrangement is awesome!! Brilliant orchestration.
 

In general, and not just for JW titles, I don't like the concept that they take money from the customers not just before shipping the items (which would be fine), but even before receiving the items from the manufacturer. If they say that an item will start shipping on day X, as a customer I assume that they physically have all the CDs already.

The fact that Maestro John Williams generously agreed to conduct his Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra and his Theme from Born On the Fourth of July and record both (the former of which has never been recorded with him conducting it) for release on CD, that private donors have generously contributed to this project, the fact that this has been a dream of Thomas Hooten to make this recording (and that he wants no financial gain from this), and that people are giving their time to make this project a reality makes this worth while.

Really??? I thought it was horrible. 

Maybe Gia will learn a thing or two about writing music by collaborating with JW on this.

Maybe Gia will learn a thing or two about writing SW music by collaborating with JW on this.

Wow I've seen that EOTS scene several times before but chills washed over me watching it just now. 😍

I came to film music from classical so the opposite of you.  What is your take on the Japanese composer, Takemitsu or Philip Glass?  These are composers whose film and concert music are indistinguishable but this does mean their film music tends to be more abstract. 
 
For example, Takemitsu's soundtrack to RAN is so beautiful and mystical.  It  does take place in Imperial Japan so expect lots of traditional Japanese elements but this fully stands on its own as wonderful music and I have heard it several times in concert halls where the audience was mesmerized. 
 
Similarly, Philip Glass's Mishima is one of my favorite String Quartets and is music from a film produced by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. 
 
This Kronos CD of Philip Glass' quartets is one of my favorite CD's because of the perfect listening experience (structure)...listening to the five quartets in this order feels like one massive work that develops as it moves on each note to the next over the course of the entire album.   I LOVE this CD. 
 
I am curious what are your thoughts on these "film scores" that are concert works.  There might not be a tune...it is more like a meditation on a philosophical concept or time, place, or character for example.  You might simply dislike abstract music.  In a composer like JW, there is a large range between his famous film music and his concert music.  In composers like Takemitsu or Glass, not so much.  I also believe part of this comes to learning why something is great.  I hope that isn't condescending because I don't mean it to be but it is sort of like tasting a very expensive wine, not everyone intuitively understands the qualities that define greatness in wine.
 
I tend to prefer subtext to text. It is less "on the nose" but closer to the true meaning of a thought, idea, or feeling.  Perfect example, Saving Private Ryan does not score battles.  It doesn't score what is happening.  It scores moods, thoughts.  I love that score.  I've mentioned this scene as one of the most sublime and beautiful examples of subtext in film scoring:
 
 
This scene is just one of the best Spielberg has ever shot (shout out to the exceptional cinematography from Allen Daviau who also did E.T.).  The context is of course a boy in a prisoner camp who is separated from his family.  He has a life long obsession with flight.  The film never states this but shows it throughout.  Here in the midst of the labor camp he approaches the Japanese zeros as the pilots prepare for a likely doomed mission (which the film never states but we know through the lens of history).  The sound design fades out and we hear no sound of troops, construction, etc., we just hear what the boy thinks.  Beauty, majesty, and joy of flight.  The soldier takes aim at him and rather than scoring the scene (danger music), since the boy is oblivious to the soldier yelling and pointing a gun, we don't hear any of this.  At 0:58, the soldier sees the pilots which he too regards as on a different level of heroics.  They stand with the rising sun (symbol of Japan military) behind them as the pilots and boy salute each other because they share the divine aviators spirit.  The soldiers salute the prisoner. JW is brilliant at subtext.  I read Michael Collins (Apollo 11 first trip to the moon) book where he mentions his experience meeting the Soviet cosmonauts in 1968.  They were supposed to hate each other but they bonded on a unique aviator/explorer level at a subtextual level and shared their distaste of the situation that put them at odds. 
 
When listening to JW's concert music think of subtext.  Though Empire of the Sun has bold and beautiful melodies, unlike Glass and Takemitsu, there is a wide range between JW's film music which is mostly hyper realism and his concert music which is more subtext and abstract.  When listening to classical music, focus on the subtext not the text.  Sort of like when tasting a great meal, don't focus on the primary tastes (sweetness, garlic, butter, etc.) but focus on the complexity and balance which makes it great (that the sweetness blends so perfectly with the tartness,etc., that each flavor is in balance rather than over done).
 
Hearing concert music is based on hearing subtext. 

No one is questioning whether or not the final product was performed using samples, though... @Drew was questioning what it sounds like. Why is this so hard to understand??? He didn't ask whether or not samples were used. He asked if it sounds like it was mostly/entirely samples. There are some soundtracks that use samples, but in a very unobtrusive/non-obvious way, to the point that I think it's all 100% real orchestra.
 
You are fundamentally misunderstanding the question. It's like you're not even reading it.

Dude, I don't care if Balfe and Soundtrack Meme's families have been feuding for generations. The question that was asked, is perfectly valid and, from my own experience with the score, warranted. The thing sounds (on first listen at least) like it's 99% samples. Is there a real orchestra buried somewhere in there? Sure; it's a Hollywood movie, of course they've hired an orchestra. But the Tweeted question asked whether other people think it sounds like mostly samples. Which, IMO, it does. And apparently some other people think the same.
 
Again, I couldn't give any less of a crap if Balfe's great-grandpa murdered Soundtrack Meme's, or vice versa—I don't care why the question was asked; if he didn't ask it, someone else should have. It was valid and is something that evidently multiple people can relate to, regarding this score. So, yeah. You can keep going on about "feelings" and what you think it "means", but there is nothing wrong with the question and nobody should feel bad for asking it. In fact, the only person who should feel bad is the idiot who tagged Balfe (which again, was not Drew) to get this whole thing stirred up.

Motivation is irrelevant when it's a valid and reasonable question. You've already admitted to caring more about feelings than facts.

With the release of American Dreams, i tried to hear Bergensen's previous efforts again
 
And this track :
(mind the audio volume)
 
 
First, it is nice for Powell to have been able to create his own music style, but..
How could anyone other than Powell could well imitate and emulate his style easily, and with sophistication, such as that track..!??
...............
 

Thanks for those videos @SUH!
Still, I'm with @Loert on this one.  The modified version sounds better to me.  It almost feels like the song hits a wrong note in the film version.
But, those are my ears.  

What? It was a subjective question. No right or wrong answer.
 
 
Really not sure why people keep bringing this up. If I know that I think McDonald's chicken nuggets don't taste like real chicken, does that mean I'm not allowed to ask and see if anyone else thinks so too? @Drew's question is asking to find out if anyone else thinks it sounds like samples. That is a totally valid question.
 
By your logic, no one should ever put out surveys for instance, because their own personal opinion on the question is all that matters; if you have any interest in finding out if other people share your opinion, too bad—not allowed to do that. /s
 
If I have an opinion question for other people, then "knowing the answer to my own question" (aka my own opinion) is irrelevant. Of course @Drew already knows his own opinion on something he is asking others about.
 
If I think that Strauss sounds a lot like Mahler in a particular passage of a particular piece, am I not allowed to ask if other people think the same? I mean, again, by your logic, I "already know the answer" to my own question i.e. I already have an opinion, so it's not acceptable to find out other people's opinions.
 
Do you not see how ridiculous that is?

Definitely HP 1-3.  I'd prefer them released individually rather than a box set, though.

Part of the flaw of saying that we shouldn't judge music at all outside of the film is that many of us are aware of how music works in context. We have enough expertise to have a good idea of how the music will work, and if the music could have been any better.
 
I'm not saying this to be a dreaded know-it-all.

OT: Looking at your screen name...are you Borg?

Absolutely agree 100%.
 
If we had to hold all discussion of new film score music albums until we saw the film in question, what a dreadfully boring place this would be.

Pretty often, actually. And the ones that I have seen the films to, I only saw the film to because I already considered the score a favorite. Great scores often influence my movie-watching choices. But seeing the film has nothing to do with initially cementing a score as a favorite.
 
I considered Horner’s THE LAND BEFORE TIME an all-time favorite for years before I finally got around to watching the film. I consider Williams’ MONSIGNOR a favorite; still haven’t seen that movie, but if I do at some point, it will be entirely because the score is so good. Come to think of it, this all dates back to my childhood; the first score I ever fell in love with—THE PHANTOM MENACE—I considered my favorite well before I even saw the film.

No one is questioning whether or not the final product was performed using samples, though... @Drew was questioning what it sounds like. Why is this so hard to understand??? He didn't ask whether or not samples were used. He asked if it sounds like it was mostly/entirely samples. There are some soundtracks that use samples, but in a very unobtrusive/non-obvious way, to the point that I think it's all 100% real orchestra.
 
You are fundamentally misunderstanding the question. It's like you're not even reading it.

What? It was a subjective question. No right or wrong answer.
 
 
Really not sure why people keep bringing this up. If I know that I think McDonald's chicken nuggets don't taste like real chicken, does that mean I'm not allowed to ask and see if anyone else thinks so too? @Drew's question is asking to find out if anyone else thinks it sounds like samples. That is a totally valid question.
 
By your logic, no one should ever put out surveys for instance, because their own personal opinion on the question is all that matters; if you have any interest in finding out if other people share your opinion, too bad—not allowed to do that. /s
 
If I have an opinion question for other people, then "knowing the answer to my own question" (aka my own opinion) is irrelevant. Of course @Drew already knows his own opinion on something he is asking others about.
 
If I think that Strauss sounds a lot like Mahler in a particular passage of a particular piece, am I not allowed to ask if other people think the same? I mean, again, by your logic, I "already know the answer" to my own question i.e. I already have an opinion, so it's not acceptable to find out other people's opinions.
 
Do you not see how ridiculous that is?