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James Horner's TITANIC (2017 4CD expanded edition from La-La Land Records)


Jay

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I doubt Clemensen actually knew that was what Horner intended. I think he just meant more in a general sense that it was not the carved up version of the score as it appears in the film and is mostly representative of Horner’s final intentions, which goes without saying

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Just found a couple of unreleased cues in a behind-the-scenes video that I saw on YouTube:  "Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave (Alternate Ending)"; and the "Violin Tool Kit" insert used in the "2 1/2 Miles Down" film edit, which is interestingly higher pitched in the original recording.

 

 

 

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Why does CC keep insisting the Titanic has 2 themes instead of 3? He has now reviewed this set but still thinks the love theme and the main theme are one and the same.

 

The main theme is the one that is used over the main titles. The love theme or Rose's theme is the one used for the song.

 

Why does he conflate the 2.

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1 hour ago, TheUlyssesian said:

Why does CC keep insisting the Titanic has 2 themes instead of 3? He has now reviewed this set but still thinks the love theme and the main theme are one and the same.

 

The main theme is the one that is used over the main titles. The love theme or Rose's theme is the one used for the song.

 

Why does he conflate the 2.

 

The theme that begins the film reflects the tragic side of Titanic, and is reprised in "A Life So Changed" and "Hymn To The Sea".  The more heroic and uplifting motif that's first heard in "To The Keldysh" is called the "main theme" in that cue sheet.  And it's meant to reflect joy and the spectacle of Titanic.  This motif is later heard in "Distant Memories", "Southampton", "Leaving Port", and "Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch".  It's used again in "Post" and "Hymn To The Sea" but is more sombre.  Last but not least, Rose's theme is the same as the love theme.  "First Sighting" is basically a "sneak peek" of the motif when Jack sees Rose for the first time, and then we hear it in its entirety during the flying scene.  This is the theme that became "My Heart Will Go On".

 

Strictly speaking, the love theme and opening theme are by no means one and the same, if you're talking about the melodies.  It's just that in "Rose" and "My Heart Will Go On", the flute plays the first several notes of the opening theme before Sissel and Celine Dion begin singing, respectively, and again before the key modulates up a minor third.

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26 minutes ago, TitanicFan2018 said:

 

The theme that begins the film reflects the tragic side of Titanic, and is reprised in "A Life So Changed" and "Hymn To The Sea".  The more heroic and uplifting motif that's first heard in "To The Keldysh" is called the "main theme" in that cue sheet.  And it's meant to reflect joy and the spectacle of Titanic.  This motif is later heard in "Distant Memories", "Southampton", "Leaving Port", and "Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch".  It's used again in "Post" and "Hymn To The Sea" but is more sombre.  Last but not least, Rose's theme is the same as the love theme.  "First Sighting" is basically a "sneak peek" of the motif when Jack sees Rose for the first time, and then we hear it in its entirety during the flying scene.  This is the theme that became "My Heart Will Go On".

 

Strictly speaking, the love theme and opening theme are by no means one and the same, if you're talking about the melodies.  It's just that in "Rose" and "My Heart Will Go On", the flute plays the first several notes of the opening theme before Sissel and Celine Dion begin singing, respectively, and again before the key modulates up a minor third.

 

Thanks I know the 3 themes, I was more pointing out that CC doesn't know them.

 

I like to think of the sad tragic theme as the main theme as it perfectly encapsulates the film and it gets prime placement over the main titles and many other key spots in the film. And the other theme to be the theme for the ship. And of course the third theme is for the romance/Rose.

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4 hours ago, kaseykockroach said:

Rose doesn't get her own theme? The romance is her identity?

 

Though the love theme is primarily used to reflect the romance between Jack and Rose, it's also used to signify Rose breaking free from her engagement with Cal.  Remember that the motif is used in "A Woman's Heart Is An Ocean Of Secrets", which is heard during the arrival in New York where Rose takes Jack's last name.  So yes, in that case, the love theme is also Rose's theme.  Last but not least, "Rose" is used in the "An Ocean of Memories" film edit when the old Rose is dreaming or passes on (her soul going to the Titanic wreck and reuniting with Jack in Heaven), and the camera is panning over her photos of when she was younger.

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I just want to say that while I don't know this score as intimately as you guys do and don't listen to it very often, I really quite enjoy reading you guys dissecting all the various pieces that ended up all over the place, what Cameron did vs how Horner originally wanted it, what the themes represent, etc.  I like this thread a lot :up:

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I think CC is right. Take Unable to Stay as an example. The two themes are used when Jack and Rose are about to be separated. As Rose jumps back on Titanic, the love theme is interrupted by that different theme, so isn't that her theme or a B section of the love theme?

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4 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

I think CC is right. Take Unable to Stay as an example. The two themes are used when Jack and Rose are about to be separated. As Rose jumps back on Titanic, the love theme is interrupted by that different theme, so isn't that her theme or a B section of the love theme?

 

In "Unable To Stay, Unwilling To Leave", after the prolonged flute and synth bass intro, it begins with the tragic theme (Sissel and flute) and briefly goes into the first part of the love theme (played on synths and English horn), and as Rose jumps back on the ship, the tragic leitmotif is repeated in a different key and on flute and Uilleann bagpipes (the latter is removed from the stereo mix in the film version) and then segues into the ending of the love theme before the mood becomes more frantic and action-packed (Cal chasing Rose and Jack all the way to D deck).  

 

In this particular cue, both the tragic and love themes are used together as Jack and Rose were about to be separated, but Rose got back on the ship to reunite with him.

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5 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

I think CC is right. Take Unable to Stay as an example. The two themes are used when Jack and Rose are about to be separated. As Rose jumps back on Titanic, the love theme is interrupted by that different theme, so isn't that her theme or a B section of the love theme?

 

Well they're being separated by the tragedy surrounding them, before being reunited. I absolutely think they're two separate themes.

 

Of the renditions of the tragic theme that come to mind, they're all concerned with loss/separation/remembrance.

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Also, I can't help noticing this bit in CC's review, concerning the latter part of 2 1/2 miles down:

 

Quote

This material really illuminates Horner's descending suspense motif starting at 1:15 into the cue and extending into subsequent scenes. This music is not enjoyable, really, but it may fascinate an avid Horner collector.

 

Whaaa? It's one of the most musically interesting scenes in the film! How does one have to be an 'avid Horner collector' to enjoy it? Weird.

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5 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

That's a good point. Tragedy theme it is from now on, then. I might revisit the score just to see how that theme is used in the score now, knowing it isn't Rose's...

 

I don't want to overstate but the tragic theme might be Horner's best theme.

 

It's emotional impact is unparalleled. 

 

It's usage in the movie is sublime.

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With regards to the score, I discovered that the OST version of "Hard To Starboard" (w/ added extensions on disc one of LLL) and the alternate on LLL disc three are different recordings of the cue.  Besides the synths not being present, other things I've noticed about the alternate are more prominent strings, percussion a bit more reserved, low brass more prominent, snare drums less "pure" sounding.  And in the moment in the collision sequence where Jack moves Rose away from chunks of ice falling onto the boat deck, the low brass phrases the iceberg leitmotif differently than what we're used to hearing in the OST version; the trumpet playing those repeated short trills over the leitmotif is a bit louder, and the timpani leading into the next section (watertight compartments flooding and people escaping through the closing watertight doors) is softer.  When I created my custom album for additional music and alternates, I even used that film stem whatchamacallit for the proper low-brass phrasing of that leitmotif because the LLL cue has the OST version edited in its place.

 

The film used "Hard To Starboard (Alternate)" but with the synths added in.

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One could say the same about the alternate "Death of Titanic", but I don't think it's necessarily a different recording as in different performance, but rather just different mixing. 

I see the themes as follows: 

"Tragedy":
Main Title / A Promise Kept (film version)

 

"Main Theme" / the "TITANIC" theme: 
To The Keldysh / Relics and Treasures / Southampton (strings) and subsequent cues of the grandeur of the ship
I feel this theme (my favorite) is representative of two aspects: 
The main theme melody is more of Titanic itself, and the synth chorus in Southampton, Leaving Port and Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch are more of the excitement of the people aboard, especially Jack in the latter two cues. 

 

"Mystery":
Rose Revealed / Distant Memories / My Drawing / An Ocean of Memories

"Love Theme":

First Sighting / Rose /  The Portrait and subsequent cues of that nature

"Ocean" or whatever name might fit for the darker, ominous music for the sea: 

2 1/2 Miles Down / Rose's Suicide Attempt / Hymn To The Sea

Also, 2 1/2 Miles Down is one of the most interesting and fascinating pieces of music Horner wrote for the film. I love it. 

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NL, since you have rejoined the discussion, I was wondering: Has any producer ever publicly confirmed that Promenade-Butterfly Comb was assembled unchronologically? I know that, when you consider the final cut of the film, Rose comes between them, but is it possible that this was actually one cue when Horner wrote his music? I just think it's rather weird that Matessino/Bulk would present everything chronologically except for that little cue.

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But in that case, why didn't they notice that Hymn to the Sea works WAY better after Ocean of Memories than that stupid Post thing? They end and start in the same key and would work so well together. Or why didn't they join Murdoch's suicide with something else?

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You can say that the OST version of "Death of Titanic" and the alternate cue are the same performance.  Just that the latter is just orchestra with no synths.  In the case of "Hard To Starboard", I think the alternate cue is a different performance from the OST version.  Below are the differences regarding how that section I was talking about is performed.

 

2:41 to 2:52 - notice how this section is performed different than in the OST version.  Trombones and tuba have a small break in between a couple notes, trumpet plays louder, softer timpani

 

 

4:09 to 4:20 - this is the version we're all familiar with.  Trombones and tuba play the iceberg leitmotif more legato without breaks, trumpet plays a bit more softly, louder timpani.

 

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Everything you're describing is mixing. The mixer could do that easily to craft the music around the needs of the surrounding sound effects and dialogue. d

No one has, at least on here or FSM, commented on the specifics of the album like that (Promenade / Butterfly comb)

We attempted to interview them about it ala JWFAN but never replied as far as I know. 

 

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54 minutes ago, NL197 said:

Everything you're describing is mixing. The mixer could do that easily to craft the music around the needs of the surrounding sound effects and dialogue. d
 

 

 

My guess is that the first example (jointy95's recreated "A Building Panic" film edit where he used LLL material along with the film stem) is likely the film mix of "Hard To Starboard",  and I could probably be right.  The low brass phrasing in "Hard To Starboard" (Alternate) on disc three of the LLL album is exactly the same as in the OST version.  NL, correct me if I'm wrong on some things.  

 

That film stem whatchamacallit is the film mix of the score, albeit JAC Redford's recreations of the film edits.

 

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1 hour ago, bollemanneke said:

You'd think those producers would understand that an interview would be appreciated by a lot of us.

 

Exactly. It's not worth it to talk about a score deemed impossible to expand for 20 years?

1 hour ago, TitanicFan2018 said:

 

My guess is that the first example (jointy95's recreated "A Building Panic" film edit where he used LLL material along with the film stem) is likely the film mix of "Hard To Starboard",  and I could probably be right.  The low brass phrasing in "Hard To Starboard" (Alternate) on disc three of the LLL album is exactly the same as in the OST version.  NL, correct me if I'm wrong on some things.  

 

That film stem whatchamacallit is the film mix of the score, albeit JAC Redford's recreations of the film edits.

 


Obviously you're talking about the edits of a certain final fantastical shrine like place....though personally I think the whole idea of recreating the film edits are beyond awful as a listening experience for the majority of the score. But I do indeed think it's not a case of different recordings but merely mixing for different uses, such as dialing out synths for the film edit discussed a while ago (the diamond / ' We are Royalty Rose' scene). Bump up the strings in one passage, mute the tuba in another, take out the snare drums every other bar, whatever the case might be. The performances would be the same, but 'sound' different because of the mixer fudging around with it. I'd have to get back to you on the similarities between the two versions. I don't have it on hand to compare at the moment. 

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12 minutes ago, NL197 said:

but merely mixing for different uses, such as dialing out synths for the film edit discussed a while ago (the diamond / ' We are Royalty Rose' scene). Bump up the strings in one passage, mute the tuba in another, take out the snare drums every other bar, whatever the case might be. The performances would be the same, but 'sound' different because of the mixer fudging around with it. 

 

A lot of the different mixes I like, especially bumping up the bass line in "Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch", dialing out the synth choir while amping up the harp in "Rose", and dialing out the Uilleann bagpipes in "Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave".  Also, in the film mix of "Hard To Starboard", the clarinet and snare drum are dialed out from Mr. Andrews' stateroom until the lookouts uttering "Jesus Christ" under their breath.

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For the custom I did, I put the bass back into "Take Her to sea", but without the film edit shortening the passage, and used the pipe-less version of "Unable to Stay" while fixing (as best I could) the awkward edit in the left-right bouncing rhythm effect. I definitely prefer the film mix of "Rose" to all the versions released of that cue. 

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8 hours ago, NL197 said:

For the custom I did, I put the bass back into "Take Her to sea", but without the film edit shortening the passage, and used the pipe-less version of "Unable to Stay" while fixing (as best I could) the awkward edit in the left-right bouncing rhythm effect. I definitely prefer the film mix of "Rose" to all the versions released of that cue. 

 

When I redid the "Take Her To Sea" film edit, not only I made the cuts such that they flowed more musically, but I also recreated that bass line in GarageBand (using bass guitar tracks) and added it back in (I tried using the film stem, but you can still hear a bit of "Trapped on 'D' Deck").  With Rose, once I noticed the differences between the audio mixing between that alternate LLL cue and the film mix, I went ahead and recreated the film mix myself, using both the alternate LLL track and the OST version, as well as delicately adding in a fan-made mix of the OST cue that only has Sissel's vocals and the flute (all other elements dialed out).  I also recreated the synth that doubles Sissel up an octave (it's heard in the film mix, but dialed out in the LLL cue) in GarageBand and then put it in.  The synth I redid in is rather different-sounding (strings) but actually blends in well.

 

Here's how I created my custom film mix of "Rose":

beginning to 0:23 - Rose [Alternate]

0:23 to 1:09 - Rose OST version

1:09 to 2:06 - Rose [Alternate] (vocals-only mix and recreated synth added in)

2:06 to end - Rose OST version (again with vocals-only mix)

 

Because I used the LLL alternate, it still has the harp being all over the stereo mix.  However, my recreated string part kind of fixes this problem.

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If you used a fan-made mix of Rose without the other elements, it was likely from a source of mine. Years ago I made a breakdown of the OST and provided the various channel configurations as separate albums - a 'surround channel' album, a 'center channel' album, etc. Been at this a while. 

If you're willing, I'd like to hear what you did with "Murdoch" since mine was a mix of the film edit and the bass line from the film stem, since it was thankfully just the ending that I needed and that's what the film stem had free of other elements. 

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Yeah it's just the center channel of the 5.1 mix (DTS CD and SACD). 

Play a cue like Southampton like that and most of it is snare drum, bell and occasionally woodwinds for the choir parts. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/10/2018 at 10:45 AM, NL197 said:

Yeah it's just the center channel of the 5.1 mix (DTS CD and SACD). 

Play a cue like Southampton like that and most of it is snare drum, bell and occasionally woodwinds for the choir parts. 

 

Try playing the film version of Southampton like that, and I'm curious to how that would sound.

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without a 5.1 mix that's not drowned in sound effects, that's just impossible to do properly. It's the same thing though, any time the synth choir plays mostly on its own there's very little else playing along. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

35mm transfers of a lot of fan favorite films have been circulating around for while now, it's kind of like the hip new thing.  It started with people tracking down Star Wars prints since GL ruined the originals, but I've seen transfers of stuff like Jurassic Park, True Lies, the Matrix, etc.  Basically anything that had its colors and/or cropping changed on home video, or isn't even available in good HD at all, or whatever else.  I'm not surprised Titanic is getting done too.

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I might prefer this over kk650's regrade, since that uses the unmatted Blu with cropped FX shots, while this preserves the aspect ratio.

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After recreating all of the film edits, I also created a custom score presentation as well as albums for additional music & alternates, source music, and of course the film edits.  I did my score presentation similar to NL's in many ways, like splitting crossfaded cues, putting the film versions of particular cues in their respective order in the score instead of their OST counterparts (except "Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch", "Unable To Stay, Unwilling To Leave", and "Death of Titanic"), and adjusting the audio in some of the cues.  Below is my custom score presentation and other albums I created for my iPhone.  Audio adjustments will be listed in parentheses.

 

SCORE PRESENTATION

 

1. Main Titles (restored Sissel's vocals, removed the "Logo" Uilleann pipe solo completely as it can be heard in "Never An Absolution" from the OST)

2. 2 1/2 Miles Down

3. To The Keldysh (removed crossfade)

4. Rose Revealed (removed crossfade)

5. Distant Memories

6. My Drawing (removed crossfade)

7. Relics & Treasures (removed crossfade)

8. Southampton (film version - from LLL disc 3)

9. Leaving Port (film version - from LLL disc 3)

10. Take Her To Sea, Mr Murdoch (film version - added in the heavier thumping bass line from the film mix, recreated the ending heard in the film using the alternate version from LLL disc 3 and the OST version, no micro-edits, no tracking in the Southampton OST version)

11. First Sighting (removed crossfade)

12. Rose's Suicide Attempt (removed crossfade)

13. Jack Save's Rose

14. The Promenade (removed crossfade)

15. Rose (film version - taken from the film mix)

16. Butterfly Comb (removed crossfade)

17. The Portrait (eventual film version - initially a piano demo)

18. Lovejoy Chases Jack & Rose

19. Lovemaking

20. Hard To Starboard (added in the metallic whooshing sound for the iceberg like in the film, 3:19-3:49 removed the atmosphere synth using the alternate version from LLL disc 3 and adding in the ostinato synth, 4:11-4:20 is the passage without the clarinet and percussion taken from the film mix, also added in the amped-up low brass phrasing of the iceberg leitmotif w/ trilling trumpet from the film stem)

21. Rose Frees Jack

22. A Building Panic (removed the crossfade into the panpipe-dulcimer passage using the film mix and the beginning of "A Building Panic [Album Suite]")

23. Unable To Stay, Unable To Leave (film version - removed Uilleann bagpipes using film mix)

24. Trapped on 'D' Deck (removed crossfade into the anvil strike using the ending of "A Building Panic [Album Suite]")

25. Murdoch's Suicide

26. The Sinking

27. Death of Titanic (film version - combined OST version with alternate from LLL disc 3 to remove synths in some parts as heard in the film)

28. A Promise Kept (film version - combined the OST version with the alternate 2nd part from LLL disc 3)

29. A Life So Changed

30. A Woman's Heart Is A Deep Ocean Of Secrets

31. An Ocean Of Memories

32. My Heart Will Go On / Post (crossfaded the end of the song into "Post")

 

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On 8/8/2018 at 1:29 AM, NL197 said:

Obviously you're talking about the edits of a certain final fantastical shrine like place....though personally I think the whole idea of recreating the film edits are beyond awful as a listening experience for the majority of the score.

 

In this particular case, yes, a set made entirely of film edits is jarring and not very pleasant. I kept 3 or so for my playlist. I had the film edit of the sinking sequence for a while before reverting to the LLL tracks.

 

For me there's a major difference between something like the sinking sequence which is a giant mess of repeated/looped/rearranged bits, and some of the smaller instances where a track was repurposed for an important scene and leaves no blatant evidence that it was tracked. The two that stuck out to me are one of the brief lifeboat scenes which ends with Rose's Suicide Attempt and Rose rescuing Jack which brilliantly uses 2 1/2 Miles Down. In total I believe I have 3 film edits with the rest pretty much just the LLL main program (with Rose's theme 95% removed).

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3 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

In this particular case, yes, a set made entirely of film edits is jarring and not very pleasant. I kept 3 or so for my playlist. I had the film edit of the sinking sequence for a while before reverting to the LLL tracks.

 

For me there's a major difference between something like the sinking sequence which is a giant mess of repeated/looped/rearranged bits, and some of the smaller instances where a track was repurposed for an important scene and leaves no blatant evidence that it was tracked. The two that stuck out to me are one of the brief lifeboat scenes which ends with Rose's Suicide Attempt and Rose rescuing Jack which brilliantly uses 2 1/2 Miles Down. In total I believe I have 3 film edits with the rest pretty much just the LLL main program (with Rose's theme 95% removed).

 

After having listened to the score presentation several times, I too don't like many of the film edits nowadays.  And even before I created my custom score presentation, I didn't like that most of the micro-edits don't flow musically.  That's why I modified a lot of micro-edits and transitions (or got rid of micro-edits completely), and even restored/created clean beginnings of certain film edit cues.  However, SOME of the edits do actually work, like "2 1/2 Miles Down".  And in the edit of "A Building Panic", there are two spots that particularly work well.  First, the scene were Jack rams down the gate with a bench, I like how "Hard To Starboard" is mixed in with a few seconds of the "Al Bathra" cue from Courage Under Fire.  Second, when the introduction of the cue returns in the scene where one lifeboat is coming down right on top of another, there are drums mixed in; those work well too.  I guess I'll have to redo the "Southampton" film edit again, this time completely removing the micro-edits, and only add in the opening piano solo from "Promenade" as well as the chimes and slower strings from the "Trailer" cue.  

 

That being said, I also don't understand how most fans were expecting the score 'as heard in the film' to be released and got disappointed after LLL released the full score.  For good reasons, those film edits didn't get released (though they can be recreated with LLL material).

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Well some people may be sufficiently new to score collecting that they simply don't realise how tracking and editing works in a film. I didn't know that when LotR/HP came out in my infancy.

 

But yes, I think that in the stampede of praise for the composer's original intentions it can be forgotten that there's a good reason for many edits/tracking - sometimes they work better. On a set like this, which is 'composer-intended' at its most extreme, there should be nothing wrong at all with occasionally liking what Cameron tracked in, or wanting to hear a mix from the film, rather than what Horner originally wrote. I still fail to understand how the film mix of Unable to Stay wasn't included, especially as it appears very prominently twice in the film. That's not even an edit - it's a different mix, and the suggestion that I should simply listen to Horner's cue and be happy with it.... well, sorry.... that's not what's in the film.

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Anyways here are the rest of my custom albums.

 

BONUS MATERIAL

 

Additional Music & Alternates 

1. Never An Absolution

2. Trailer

3. The Portrait [Album Version]

4. Logo [Alternate Extended Version]

5. 2 1/2 Miles Down [Violin Tool Kit & Alternate Ending] (ripped it from electronic press kit behind-the-scenes video, adjusted the audio to be on all channels, original pitch unlike in the film)

6. Wild Piano (recreated by myself)

7. Drone & Chord (again recreated by myself)

8. Southampton [Album Version]

9. Leaving Port [Album Version]

10. Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch [Album Version] 

11. Leaving Port [w/ Alternate Ending] (from LLL disc 3)

12. Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch [w/ Alternate Ending] (from LLL disc 3)

13. Rose [Album Version]

14. The Portrait [Original] (this was the version Horner initially intended but instead the piano demo was used in the final film)

15. Lovejoy Chases Jack & Rose [Alternate]

16. Hard To Starboard [Alternate] (again added in the amped-up low brass from the film stem, the OST mix doesn't work there)

17. Hard To Starboard [Extension] (removed the crossfade from the larger cue using the film mix)

18. A Building Panic [Album Suite]

19. Unable To Stay, Unwilling To Leave [w/ Alternate Ending] (the flute solo that closes the film, but I achieved a clean ending by ripping it from the EPK video and adjusting the audio to be on all channels)

20. Death of Titanic [Alternate]

21. A Promise Kept [Album Version]

22. A Promise Kept [Alternate 2nd Part]

23. Hymn To The Sea

 

On 9/19/2018 at 10:28 AM, Richard Penna said:

Well some people may be sufficiently new to score collecting that they simply don't realise how tracking and editing works in a film. I didn't know that when LotR/HP came out in my infancy.

 

But yes, I think that in the stampede of praise for the composer's original intentions it can be forgotten that there's a good reason for many edits/tracking - sometimes they work better. On a set like this, which is 'composer-intended' at its most extreme, there should be nothing wrong at all with occasionally liking what Cameron tracked in, or wanting to hear a mix from the film, rather than what Horner originally wrote. I still fail to understand how the film mix of Unable to Stay wasn't included, especially as it appears very prominently twice in the film. That's not even an edit - it's a different mix, and the suggestion that I should simply listen to Horner's cue and be happy with it.... well, sorry.... that's not what's in the film.

 

Personally, I don't mind differences in mixing (e.g. bumping up Sissel's vocals and the harp while dialing out the synth overlay and removing the synth choir in "Rose", removing the Uilleann bagpipes in "Unable To Stay, Unwilling To Leave", bumping up the bass line in "Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdoch", etc.); those work well as a matter of fact.  And I have to agree with you that it would've been great had LLL released the film mixes of those particular cues (no matter if they were in the main score presentation or on disc 3, though I would've liked to see the OST cues get put with the additional music & alternates while putting the film version counterparts into their proper order in the score).  I also don't understand why the version of "Unable To Stay" with the flute ending wasn't included.  

 

One instance of what Cameron tracked in working better than what Horner intended is "The Portrait".  I personally think that piano demo works better than the cheesy synth cue on disc 1 of LLL.  And "Trapped on 'D' Deck" is another example.  The ending of the cue with the "Death of Titanic" preview music (rising brass chords, Bartok pizzicato cellos & basses, anvil strikes) works better for the scene where Jack is trying to unlock the gate and the corridor is rapidly flooding than what Horner intended.  

 

Anyways, what I was mainly referring to was the chopped up-tracked-looped-confetti nonsense.  Most of the film edits are a horrible listening experience.  But some of them work, as you mentioned.

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BONUS MATERIAL (continued)

 

Film Mixes and Edits

 

Since I already have an album of these, I'm only going to list the changes I made to particular film mixes/edits I recreated.  I also removed "Rose Revealed" and "A Woman's Heart Is A Deep Ocean Of Secrets" from this album, as they're already in the score presentation (and they're unedited in the film as well)

 

Opening Titles / 2 1/2 Miles Down [Film Edit] - used the 'Violin Tool Kit' insert pitched down, recreated part of the "Nearer My God To Thee" synth accompaniment myself

 

My Drawing [Film Edit] - removed crossfade

 

Relics & Treasures [Film Edit] - removed crossfade

 

Southampton [Film Mix] - only added in the piano from "The Promenade" in the opening, chimes and slower strings added in from "Trailer", no sloppy micro-edits

 

Leaving Port [Film Edit] - added in chimes from "Leaving Port [film version]" in the ending of the "Southampton" OST version but dialed down

 

Take Her To Sea Mr. Murdoch [Film Edit] - added in the thumping bass line from the film mix, smoothed out micro-edits so that they're more musically sound

 

First Sighting [Film Edit] - lengthened the cue by one second, removed crossfade

 

Rose's Suicide [Film Edit] - removed crossfade

 

Butterfly Comb [Film Edit] - the entire cue but shortened by 15 seconds via micro-edits 

 

Hard To Starboard [Film Edit] - added in the metallic swooshing sound effect for the iceberg, like in my score presentation

 

Unable To Stay, Unwilling To Leave [Film Mix] - combined jointy95's version with the OST version and a small part of the film stem, removing the dialogue echo completely

 

Trapped on 'D' Deck [Film Edit] - allowed the entire strings-only ending of the cue to play, like in "Titanic Live" concerts

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