The Force Awakens The Force Awakens begins recording at Sony in LA today

[Once 605]

So is The Force Awakens now going to be listed in "Soundtracks conducted by others" on his wikipedia discography?

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Bespin 8,480]

So is The Force Awakens now going to be listed in "Soundtracks conducted by others" on his wikipedia discography?

It would be the 7th... for the 7th Episode of SW... woooooo, that's a sign!

But Ross may only get a "co-"condutor credits, we will see...

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Like Jerry referening Patton in The Burbs?

[Jay 37,336]

So is The Force Awakens now going to be listed in "Soundtracks conducted by others" on his wikipedia discography?

[Arpy 4,145]

There should be a thread entitled 'So, did Williams, you know...do it?' speculating his credits on the CoS score and another thread entitled 'What the @#$! is an orchestrator anyway?'

[Incanus 5,714]

There should be a thread entitled 'So, did Williams, you know...do it?' speculating his credits on the CoS score and another thread entitled 'What the @#$! is an orchestrator anyway?'

Wompi!

[Henry B 50]

Tom, you may believe this is a non-issue, but it's understandably alarming for many. I mean, no offense but where the hell do you think you're posting? It's just been kinda sad. As it turns out, the road to the Episode VII score has been a very rough one indeed. Williams cancelled all concerts, Thomas Newman is scoring the next Spielberg film (that one still isn't even registering in my brain), Hollywood instead of London Symphony Orchestra for Star Wars, the score for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, now Williams not even conducting...even the most cynical JWFan poster has secretly shed a tear. I've tried to stay positive. I mean, we'll be getting a John Williams Star Wars score regardless. Hey, maybe this is just shitty series of circumstances: the back issue, the scoring schedule for Star Wars, the abysmal quality of Crystal Skull the film...

Film score conducting is a very technical skill. It is not about infusing the music with enthusiasm and magic. Watch Williams conduct this legendary piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGsbKZnaT8E&t=1m45s

To me, getting upset about William Ross conducting is like getting upset that the orchestral parts aren't handwritten by Williams. It's a task that can be delegated; it doesn't affect the final product in any way. Besides, Williams isn't one of the top conductors in the world. He's not even necessarily the best conductor for his own music. Remember the Skywalker Symphony recording of Star Wars? As for the Hollywood session players taking over for the LSO: the LSO is not perfect. They are actually regarded as a second tier orchestra, from what I understand (top tier = Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, etc.). I agree that the brass sounded kind of awful in KotCS, but I think it was more of a mixing issue than a performance issue.

I'm just glad that Williams is actually doing this score. Didn't we all expect the job to go to Giacchino when Episode 7 was announced?

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

Afraid to click on the bit with major spoilers. Is just solely knowing which theme that is a spoiler? Because if not, could someone just post what theme it is?

[Balahkay 627]

Afraid to click on the bit with major spoilers. Is just solely knowing which theme it is a spoiler? Because if not, could someone just post what theme it is?

Yes. It's Yoda's theme. Of course, nothing is confirmed. Even the source isn't concrete about the usage of the theme since it says the theme seems to be included. The use of the theme doesn't necessarily mean Yoda will play a part in TFA, either.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

Afraid to click on the bit with major spoilers. Is just solely knowing which theme it is a spoiler? Because if not, could someone just post what theme it is?

Yes. It's Yoda's theme. Of course, nothing is confirmed. Even the source isn't concrete about the usage of the theme since it says the theme seems to be included. The use of the theme doesn't necessarily mean Yoda will play a part in TFA, either.

Alright, thanks man.

[Bilbo 3,709]

I think by now it's pretty clear: Williams wrote all the new themes and most or all of the actual new music (e.g., the action cues with the spiders and the basilisk), and he had Ross help him work in the material from the first film.

By the way, I finally did it - I figured out how much of COS is copied note-for-note from the first film. Going by running time, it's about 21.9%. Not quite as high as I expected, but I was also noticing how that 21.9% is scattered across the entire score, sometimes in snippets of 5-10 seconds. That's part of what makes it feel like such a cut-and-paste job at times, I think. (And then another 2% is cribbed from AOTC and Jurassic Park.)

What bits are from JP, I've never noticed!

[mstrox 6,649]

I was hoping for Jar Jar's theme!

Of all the dead characters, Yoda seems like the most likely one to make a reappearance (considering Force ghosts have offered counsel before).

I do think this whole score description is BS though.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

I was hoping for Jar Jar's theme!

Of all the dead characters, Yoda seems like the most likely one to make a reappearance (considering Force ghosts have offered counsel before).

I do think this whole score description is BS though.

If he does reappear, I wonder if he'll be CGI Yoda or puppet Yoda.

[Bilbo 3,709]

I was hoping for Jar Jar's theme!

Of all the dead characters, Yoda seems like the most likely one to make a reappearance (considering Force ghosts have offered counsel before).

I do think this whole score description is BS though.

If he does reappear, I wonder if he'll be CGI Yoda or puppet Yoda.

Frank Oz has said himself you couldn't go back to the puppet and anytime Yoda is used in promotional stuff it's the CGI one. Always featured with a lightsaber too.

Anyway, I'm 100% sure Yoda will not be in this film.

[Jay 37,336]

Yoda doesn't have to be in the film for his theme to be

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

True. It could just be a mention of his name or something like that.

[mstrox 6,649]

I was hoping for Jar Jar's theme!

Of all the dead characters, Yoda seems like the most likely one to make a reappearance (considering Force ghosts have offered counsel before).

I do think this whole score description is BS though.

If he does reappear, I wonder if he'll be CGI Yoda or puppet Yoda.

Frank Oz has said himself you couldn't go back to the puppet and anytime Yoda is used in promotional stuff it's the CGI one. Always featured with a lightsaber too.

Based on what we know about this production thus far (leaning heavy on practical effects when possible, leaning heavy on original trilogy nostalgia). I think that if JJ Abrams were going to use Yoda, he'd use a puppet.

I don't agree with Frank Oz - I think that if you look at the saga chronologically, the "puppet" is the more recent one. Plus, if he appeared as a Force ghost, he wouldn't exactly need to be dynamic (no saber, no flipping, no leaping, etc). I think he'd be puppet, with CGI assisting with certain shots (think The Phantom Menace before they replaced the puppet on the Blu-rays).

With the exception of Clone Troopers, I don't think that any of the CGI characters in Star Wars thus far (including Yoda) were particularly effective. Mostly because of the times (character animation was really only becoming barely viable at the time of the prequels), but also because I don't find CGI character animation effective in general. Even in The Hobbit, which I think is probably the most masterful display of character animation yet, it's still super cartoonish to me.

So my hope is that, in the case of a Yoda cameo (and in the case of any other character that they can pull off without CGI) they'd go with the tangibility of muppetflesh over the convenience and dynamism of animation.

Yoda doesn't have to be in the film for his theme to be

True - he wasn't in Bespin and his theme was a high point in that sequence. I also could see Yoda's theme taking on a new identity as part of the Force family of themes.

[Balahkay 627]

If Yoda was in it, we probably would have gotten wind of it by now. At the most, he may be mentioned by name, but I doubt he'll show up as a force ghost. Abrams would definitely try to get Oz to voice if he had any lines and we haven't heard anything about his involvement.

[mstrox 6,649]

If Yoda was in it, we probably would have gotten wind of it by now. At the most, he may be mentioned by name, but I doubt he'll show up as a force ghost. Abrams would definitely try to get Oz to voice if he had any lines and we haven't heard anything about his involvement.

Frank Oz reprised the role of Yoda in "Star Wars Rebels" in the middle of season 1, and they kept that mum until the week before it aired. I don't think it's out of the question.

I would hope not, though. Six major returning characters (Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2, 3PO) from the original trilogy is pushing it as it is. I'd rather start fairly fresh with the new big 3 of Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac.

[Luke Skywalker 1,794]

Yeah, Luke could quite him or think about him.

BTW the 'attack music' could be the rebel fanfare.

And that has to be in this film. It was in ROTS anyway.

Based on what we know about this production thus far (leaning heavy on practical effects when possible, leaning heavy on original trilogy nostalgia). I think that if JJ Even in The Hobbit, which I think is probably the most masterful display of character animation yet, it's still super cartoonish to me.

That is, because the hobbit is not the current pinnacle of CGI animation. AT ALL.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

WRONG

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Balahkay 627]

Nah, this is the best:

[King Mark 3,630]

that's "defending" music

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That's "running away" music!

[Tom 4,650]

I rank the Asteroid scene as the best marriage of film to score out there (yes, even better than the finale to ET).

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

BTW the 'attack music' could be the rebel fanfare.

That's what I thought.

[Muad'Dib 1,801]

But didn't that interview with Williams say that he was going to revisit some of the franchise's themes much later on?

[peter.anschutz 43]

I don't know, when I hear the phrase "attack music" I don't think of the Rebel Fanfare... But then again, I just want as much new material as possible

[SimJD 3]

BTW the 'attack music' could be the rebel fanfare.

...or the Tie Fighter Attack music that was also quoted in ROTJ. That would really stand out as a nod to the OT.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

But didn't that interview with Williams say that he was going to revisit some of the franchise's themes much later on?

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. He said something to the effect that he was going to but hadn't yet. The fact that most of what has been claimed to have been recorded at this point are seemingly prior themes makes me convinced the report is BS.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm guessing William Ross will adapt the old themes.

[Incanus 5,714]

Williams will probably do as he has always done with Star Wars music. Revisit the old themes here and there but focus strongly on creating new themes and ideas for a fresh score. His albums usually reflect this too, always more focused on the new material and shying (too much I think) from the older themes. I think this is the natural instinct for any artist, not to retread too much and focus on the new. Funnily Williams is the sequel-king of Hollywood and he still feels this way. I would have thought that he by now would see his old themes more as a help and organic part of the whole to be quoted when needed but he really seems very conscious about using them and tries to refrain from using too much of them. He is very quick to point this out in the interviews he does. I guess he does this so he would not be labelled as someone who just regurgitates his older material.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Now, I haven't been disappointed about any SW7 score news until this point (I don't even care about Ross conducting). But the presence of "some of the attack music from the OT" is a bit of a let down. I want certain themes from the OT to reappear as needed, but recycling "attack music" (a la ROTJ?) is kind of a let down for me. Action music is something I want to be fresh and new to fit the new action situations. If this rumor (and it is nothing more as far as evidence goes) is true, I really hope it's not *another* rehash of the TIE Fighter Attack cue used for the scenes we've seen in the two trailers of the Falcon being pursued by TIE fighters through a crashed ship (again, a la ROTJ).

If it's any consolation, the news is probably fake.

[Arpy 4,145]

"Attack music" is very vague, surely it could just sound like the sort from the OT?

I'm hoping for more trumpety swirls ala 'Attack Position' from ESB!

[Mattris 416]

As for the Hollywood session players taking over for the LSO: the LSO is not perfect. They are actually regarded as a second tier orchestra, from what I understand (top tier = Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, etc.).

The London Symphony Orchestra is not "second tier" by any stretch of the imagination. Where did you hear that, Henry?

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Bespin 8,480]

For me, as long as The Throne Room is not in the End Credits.... Because that one, I still do not understand.

[Mattris 416]

Agreed. That should have been its own track... on the second disc of a 2-CD release. Maybe some day...

[Incanus 5,714]

For me, as long as The Throne Room is not in the End Credits.... Because that one, I still do not understand.

I think it was something Johnny wanted to do for purely nostalgic reasons, a sort of send off to SW. Little did he know he would be scoring another one ten years later.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Williams will probably do as he has always done with Star Wars music. Revisit the old themes here and there but focus strongly on creating new themes and ideas for a fresh score. His albums usually reflect this too, always more focused on the new material and shying (too much I think) from the older themes. I think this is the natural instinct for any artist, not to retread too much and focus on the new. Funnily Williams is the sequel-king of Hollywood and he still feels this way. I would have thought that he by now would see his old themes more as a help and organic part of the whole to be quoted when needed but he really seems very conscious about using them and tries to refrain from using too much of them. He is very quick to point this out in the interviews he does. I guess he does this so he would not be labelled as someone who just regurgitates his older material.

Well said. Personally, I'm not that bothered about JW quoting verbatim old material or entire musical passages for nostalgic reasons. I guess it's part of the overall filmmaking process in some circumstances. We're probably much more biased because we know the music inside out since many years. That said, in case of Williams, literal quotes of old material is only a small percentage. I'm pretty sure there will be some of it in The Force Awakens too, but only in those moments where he and Abrams feel it's required. 98% of the music is gonna be brand new.

[mstrox 6,649]

Based on what we know about this production thus far (leaning heavy on practical effects when possible, leaning heavy on original trilogy nostalgia). I think that if JJ Even in The Hobbit, which I think is probably the most masterful display of character animation yet, it's still super cartoonish to me.

That is, because the hobbit is not the current pinnacle of CGI animation. AT ALL.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find better character animation than AUJ's Gollum (I'm not talking about all CGI, just character animation)

[Henry B 50]

As for the Hollywood session players taking over for the LSO: the LSO is not perfect. They are actually regarded as a second tier orchestra, from what I understand (top tier = Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, etc.).

The London Symphony Orchestra is not "second tier" by any stretch of the imagination. Where did you hear that, Henry?

Second tier as in: still the best players in the world, immaculate sight reading ability, but not the top in artistic direction and programming choices. Maybe the term is too harsh; they're still really near the top of course.

[Lewya 360]

Based on what we know about this production thus far (leaning heavy on practical effects when possible, leaning heavy on original trilogy nostalgia). I think that if JJ Even in The Hobbit, which I think is probably the most masterful display of character animation yet, it's still super cartoonish to me.

That is, because the hobbit is not the current pinnacle of CGI animation. AT ALL.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find better character animation than AUJ's Gollum (I'm not talking about all CGI, just character animation)

Add Smaug to the pot.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I'm guessing William Ross will adapt the old themes.

Like he did on COS? Wait, didn't he write original music for that film too? I don't remember. Can anyone enlighten me on that whole situation?

Oi, get your own material!

[BloodBoal 7,538]