BBC Radio documentary on film music.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Pretty interesting I must say, with quite a bit of time spent on the Zimmer/RC sound.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03bfjqv/Sunday_Feature_Sound_of_Cinema_Composing_for_Hollywood/

[Incanus 5,714]

A very interesting show indeed and contains great discussion, e.g. on temp tracks and problems that those create. Funnily Horner when speaking of recycling of the homogenous sounds from one film to the next stays quiet of his own brand of recycling. Though not the same as the RCP style of one succesful formula fits all type of thing, I think it is perpetuating another kind of sound to infinity.

There is a really interesting insight into the whole RCP music production.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

It came across to me that perhaps Horner considers his own recycling to be different from the en masse style of RCP recycling where everyone more or less sounds the same. I mean, no one else is trying to imitate Horner.

[Incanus 5,714]

It came across to me that perhaps Horner considers his own recycling to be different from the en masse style of RCP recycling where everyone more or less sounds the same. I mean, no one else is trying to imitate Horner.

Indeed. I was actually trying to say that in my above comment in other words.

[TownerFan 4,983]

This is absolutely one of the most honest and frank pieces of film music journalism I've ever heard.

That's all you need to hear to know what's wrong with contemporary Hollywood film music.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Just listened to this. Very disheartening. Lorne Balfe sounds as dumb as a box of rocks.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

I was quite surprised by the quality myself to be honest, and the narrator/interviewer seemed rather knowledagable about the topic.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I thought it was of a very high quality, too. Jonathan Coffey knows his stuff.

[Incanus 5,714]

I thought it was of a very high quality, too. Jonathan Coffey knows his stuff.

He does indeed. And it was a rather disheartening plunge into the depths but he had rounded up a good group of some of the industry greats to shed a light on the situation.

[Quintus 5,399]

I was quite surprised by the quality myself to be honest, and the narrator/interviewer seemed rather knowledagable about the topic.

Who was you expecting, Bruno Brooks?

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

I was quite surprised by the quality myself to be honest, and the narrator/interviewer seemed rather knowledagable about the topic.

Who was you expecting, Bruno Brooks?

I must admit I am not familiar with Coffey, or much of radio in particular. I was browsing for something to listen to at work and stumbled across that. Haha.

[crocodile 8,000]

I find the comments on Goldenthal/Bates debate quite interesting.

Karol

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

It's interesting how evasive Balfe gets. I was half expecting to say 'I'm shutting your butt down.'

[nightscape94 965]

I'm actually quite surprised at the level of access he was granted with Zimmer and his team. At least the interview took advantage of that and asked questions that everyone seems to be afraid to ask.

[crocodile 8,000]

Yes, just finished listening to the whole thing. Very interesting and nice to see Horner giving JW some love again.

Is there a way to record this? Download Helper doesn't work.

Karol

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

It's interesting how evasive Balfe gets. I was half expecting to say 'I'm shutting your butt down.'

I can almost feel Coffey's eyebrows raising during Balfe's section.

[TownerFan 4,983]

I'm quite surprised this great piece didn't garner more attention from fans.

If you wanted evidence that the King is naked, it's here.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Is this part of that other thread Quint started? You guys' comments sound interesting. Need to watch this when I'm home from work.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Was Quint's thread about BBC's Sound of Cinema season that has been going on for a while?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fs3cy

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I believe so. I recall that being more amateurish in nature so was just curious since everyone said this one was top stuff.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

This is like a Louis Theroux doc compared to that.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Is this part of that other thread Quint started? You guys' comments sound interesting. Need to watch this when I'm home from work.

Its a radio program.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Watch, listen, whatever. I'm at work, all I saw at the link was a video player.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Just finished. Good stuff.

[Bilbo 3,709]

Great dicumentary.

Really interesting how the Scottish RC guy basically did not want to talk about the colaborating composers. I don't really buy Zimmer's explanation of "crediting". Since when have orchestrators etc. not been credited?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Despite Lorne's beating around the bush, Hans answered the question right after.

[crocodile 8,000]

Great dicumentary.

Really interesting how the Scottish RC guy basically did not want to talk about the colaborating composers. I don't really buy Zimmer's explanation of "crediting". Since when have orchestrators etc. not been credited?

I think they were both referring to ghostwriters here.

Karol

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Incanus 5,714]

Finally listened to the whole thing. It was quite interesting.

Lorne Balfe was lolific.

(About the groups of composers) "I don't... I... I... I just don't... Yeah... I d... I'm... Mmmm... Yeah... I... I don't wanna talk about that".

Richard Kraft's example of temp track (5'09) was also noteworthy.

Oh, and at 22'50 "So how does Balfe actually compose and why is his approach so successful?" followed by a lame synth sample. Hilarious.

It's something that makes you laugh before it makes you cry.

[KK 3,307]

That was an excellent interview. It really brings a lot of issues in Hollywood music to light, straight from the composers' mouth! It was rather disheartening to actually hear how the RC composers write (the lack of notation, reading electronic blocks, etc), and even shed light on how modern film music rely largely on pop music chords. I also found it interesting to hear Zimmer confess that he's grown tired of his old style and is much more fond of his minimalistic work (which we all knew, but it was nice to hear it from his mouth). Gabriel Yared's words ended the piece quite well.

It's great stuff, if a bit depressing.

[Quintus 5,399]

anyone know how to download this? I'm unlikely to be able to stream it, but listening in the car would be good.

[Bilbo 3,709]

That was an excellent interview. It really brings a lot of issues in Hollywood music to light, straight from the composers' mouth! It was rather disheartening to actually hear how the RC composers write (the lack of notation, reading electronic blocks, etc), and even shed light on how modern film music rely largely on pop music chords. I also found it interesting to hear Zimmer confess that he's grown tired of his old style and is much more fond of his minimalistic work (which we all knew, but it was nice to hear it from his mouth). Gabriel Yared's words ended the piece quite well.

It's great stuff, if a bit depressing.

I sought out his Troy score after listening to this. Only listened to bits and pieces and but I really liked what I heard.

[KK 3,307]

Which one? Yared's rejected score? It's fantastic! Back when he got rejected, he put the score for free on his website (but I believe it was taken down eventually?). There is a copy of the score floating on the internet. You should get it asap.

[Bilbo 3,709]

Which one? Yared's rejected score? It's fantastic! Back when he got rejected, he put the score for free on his website (but I believe it was taken down eventually?). There is a copy of the score floating on the internet. You should get it asap.

Yes that's what I'm on about, the rejected one and yes I have obtained a copy. Haven't had a chance to give it a full listen but I've enjoyed what I've heard.

[Quintus 5,399]

Well I managed to stream it anyway. Superb interview, brilliant. I do believe that Zimmer has become diluted; I do agree with the notion that the man himself is brilliant but trend dictates that he shall be copied and mimicked to within an inch of his artistic life - TO THE POINT that his integrity has been damaged in the eyes (and ears) of The Discerniables. And Zimmer himself is as responsible for that/this situation as the greedy and nervous money men are and he knows it all too well.

I sensed the regret in his voice. Didn't you? Hans is well aware of the legacy he has become the latest figurehead of. I think he wishes he could reinstate and preserve the artistic integrity of film music.

Yet this was actually a much more complex, thought provoking program than that. It's rare that the politics of film music craft are debated (in reality), but here we are with a fairly mainstream documentary which pretty damn pointedly attempted, I think with relative success, to investigate the plague of generic shite we're currently in the firm grip of for now and the foreseeable.

But above all else I took away from this that most stunning final word from Gabriel Yared. When he talked about ethics in film music composition, I was even a little bit moved.

Wait, why am I even emotional over this? Just ignore me.

This is like a Louis Theroux doc compared to that.

It's all part of the same 'season of shows', dumbarse!

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/Pages/Introduction.aspx

[Quintus 5,399]

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/Pages/Introduction.aspx

In your fuckin' dreeams, boy.

[crocodile 8,000]

Which one? Yared's rejected score? It's fantastic! Back when he got rejected, he put the score for free on his website (but I believe it was taken down eventually?). There is a copy of the score floating on the internet. You should get it asap.

It's interesting to get brief quotes from both Horner and Yared on the subject. And it surprised me that Jimmy acknowledges his 9-day work didn't help film much (and probably not worth the bother).

Karol

[Koray Savas 2,251]

How is Zimmer responsible for other people copying his success? I like this little program because it sort of tackles the artistic integrity of the film score industry (and the film industry to an extent) head on, and we get to hear some top composers talk about it; but it doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I just find it a joy to hear people like Yared and Horner discuss how they need to adapt to the change. Would have loved to hear Goldenthal on 300. It's simply stuff that no one asks, but primarily because it's pretty disrespectful in its direct accusatory manner.

[crocodile 8,000]

In a same way Spielberg can be blame for existance of modern blockbuster, I guess.

Come on, Koray. We need a scapegoat - that's how our species is wired, inexplicably.

Karol

[Incanus 5,714]

In a same way Spielberg can be blame for existance of modern blockbuster, I guess.

Come on, Koray. We need a scapegoat - that's how our species is wired, inexplicably.

Karol

Hey it is a nice psychological mechanism that you can transfer all the sins of the community into one being and send it to the desert to die with our transgressions! Genius!

[chuck 154]

That's not genius, that's genetic anomaly.

[Incanus 5,714]

That's not genius, that's genetic anomaly.

Genius, genetic anomaly. Potato, potAto.

Let's not get caught up in nomenclature. We should be looking for the scapegoat instead!

[chuck 154]

Ah, not everybody's an Einstein, genius.

Finding scapegoats on the other hand, everybody can do that!

[crocodile 8,000]

Stop arguing and think of a way in which we could lure Zimmer to our sacrificial altar. A pyre will do, too.

Karol

[chuck 154]

That would be pretty easy, methinks. Just lure him with a film to score (any genre will do) and he'll go in like a dog chasing a bitch!!!

[publicist 4,643]

To flog the already quite rotten horse once more...

Gabriel Yared pondering work ethics was rather sad/funny, since everyone else seems to agree that the art of music has no place in current film music. What i find rather puzzling is that the 'sound suppliers' interviewed treat this modern blockbuster sound as legitimate form of music, which it really isn't. It's sound design, by and large, at least the underscore - and there is much more care labored over the sound design than any compositional quality. And as we all know, films which actually want and require a good composer are far and few between - even in Thor's much heralded outside-Hollywood sanctuary there is a rather small fraction of films that let the music come to the forefront. It's just not very en vogue today.

[chuck 154]

Now who could be blamed for that?

Hmmm....

[publicist 4,643]

All the 14-year olds who still fill the aisles every year?

[chuck 154]

And you wonder why Disney's still in business?