Tim Burden's Movie Magic - 3 episodes with Mike Matessino (discussing DRACULA and THE HARRY POTTER COLLECTION) now available

[Bryant Burnette 654]

'Tis a strange place at times.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,892]

I have to say that reasoning Mike gave to why JKR didn't want the children's suite released struck me as a bit bizarre...

[Bryant Burnette 654]

I don't think I even knew that suite existed until David W. Collins talked about it on The Soundtrack Show.  This is probably my most anticipated part of the box set, now.

 

Glad I never knew about it before!  That would have driven me nuts.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,892]

I didn't even know about it either until I had obtained the recording sessions several years ago. It took me about a year before I finally learned what they were. I thought they were just test recordings or something, since only a couple instruments are used in each one.

[Holko 9,526]

And it's absolutely fantastic!

[Incanus 5,714]

I just heard this. Fantastic and fascinating interview with Mike! So many little anecdotes and nuggets of behind-the-scenes information. Keep up the excellent work Tim @mahler3!

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

6 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Listening to this interview and wonderful music sitting here in my den, with the Christmas tree all lit up and other holiday decorations around.  Making me feel all warm and festive.

 

You put up your tree this early? I guess it's fake then.

[Incanus 5,714]

1 minute ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

You put up your tree this early? I guess it's fake then. 

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Way too early to put up a Christmas tree. Week before Christmas at the very earliest.

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

3 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Way too early to put up a Christmas tree. Week before Christmas at the very earliest.

 

Right, my Finnish friend!

 

And you should know, with Santa being one of your citizens.

[Gurkensalat 340]

Great interview!

But as happy I am to get this box and all the music, I am a bit saddened to hear that Mike prepared high Rez 5.1 sources, only to not release this level of quality. I know that I am in a small minority, but I am an avid fan of multichannel music on SACD, DVD Audio or Blu-ray Audio. It would have been perfect if they would have included the 5.1. tracks, like the LOTR recordings did. 

@Jay do you know if this was discussed at some point during the preparation of the release? Or if there might be a possibilty of a later release? Even as download only that would be great. 

 

[Holko 9,526]

Well they are archived now that way, so maybe if Warner will be interested in reissuing these in the future, they will have these perfect proper files.

[Incanus 5,714]

I am a bit baffled why Rowling originally nixed the release of the Children's Suite but am so happy she gave her approval now to include it in this boxed set. As Jay said this will be magic in a box. One can only hope and dream that future releases of Star Wars and Indiana Jones would follow suit in terms of production and comprehensiveness.

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

1 minute ago, Incanus said:

I am a bit baffled why Rowling originally nixed the release of the Children's Suite but am so happy she gave her approval now to include it in this boxed set. As Jay said this will be magic in a box. One can only hope and dream that future releases of Star Wars and Indiana Jones would follow suit in terms of production and comprehensiveness.

 

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the elusive Star Wars children suite and Indiana Jones children suite that Lucas and Spielberg for some inexplicable reason nixed.

[Incanus 5,714]

16 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the elusive Star Wars children suite and Indiana Jones children suite that Lucas and Spielberg for some inexplicable reason nixed.

To which I can only say, keep dreaming.

[Holko 9,526]

I can kind of see her point, being protective of the IP and not letting it be slapped on everything and devalued:

Harry Potter numbers

History with Hermione

Multiply with Minerva

File your taxes through the Owl Post

Learn about the Orchestra with Harry Potter!

Valuing more in-universe kind of merchandise over this is commendable, it's just a shame a fantastic bunch of JW music fell victim of it early on.

 

A fantastic interview by the way, very informative and the trailers are great!

[bollemanneke 3,346]

Listening now. This is a dream and a Christmas for the books.

[Incanus 5,714]

3 minutes ago, Holko said:

I can kind of see her point, being protective of the IP and not letting it be slapped on everthing and devalued:

Harry Potter numbers

History with Hermione

Multiply with Minerva

File your taxes through the Owl Post

Learn about the Orchestra with Harry Potter!

Valuing more in-universe kind of merchandise over this is commendable, it's just a shame a fantastic bunch of JW music fell victim of it early on.

Although if you could have inspired learning about history or the orchestral instruments and music through the medium of Harry Potter related things, it certainly would not have been a bad thing.  

[Amer 2,104]

'Future Proofing' is the new lesson here boys. Apparently he mentioned the same about the Superman project in another Tim Burden session. 

[bollemanneke 3,346]

Ah, so JKR vetoed the Children's Suite release, did she? Dislike her even more now.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

11 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

Ah, so JKR vetoed the Children's Suite release, did she? Dislike her even more now.

 

It's her IP, she's entitled to do what she wishes with it.

 

I'm not surprised, this was at the absolute height of Pottermania, she'd only just recently sold the film rights and was famously very nervous about what that meant for her property. I can imagine there would've been thousands of proposals for Potter-related things that required her approval at the time, all while she was trying to write the fifth book. It must've been maddening.

 

It's a shame the Children's Suite was never released at the time, but ultimately it really didn't need to be; the score was so incredibly impactful that it was more than enough to educate a whole generation of children about the orchestra and film scores (myself included). I couldn't help smiling hearing Matessino repeat that sentiment, particularly as I am a professional composer and orchestrator now myself. That first score was the spark that lit the fire of my love for music.

[bollemanneke 3,346]

You know, I might respect that deciison had she not been losing her mind over the past few years. Why does she have to be difficult about music? How about, I dunnno, vetoing the fourth game, David Yates, Cursed Child...? And for someone protective their IP, she's doing insane stuff now.

[Holko 9,526]

She just completely stopped caring when the 7 books were done, that's it.

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

It's all about the money now.

[Once 605]

If Rowling hadn't vetoed a release of the Children's Suite, Williams might have added new 'miniatures' with each new film. I've been thinking about that all morning.

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

Probably not for CoS. Anyway, he did concert arrangements for alle three films, which is almost the same.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

18 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

You know, I might respect that deciison had she not been losing her mind over the past few years. Why does she have to be difficult about music? How about, I dunnno, vetoing the fourth game, David Yates, Cursed Child...? And for someone protective their IP, she's doing insane stuff now.

 

You may not like the Potter world output (and I’m personally not much of a fan of any of it since the last book), but she’s not losing her mind. Her detective novels are pretty good reads.

 

As far as her vetoing goes, there’s probably a million things we’ll never see that she didn’t approve, and a lot of it was probably terrible. The Children’s Suite happens to be a nice thing, but it’s not like it was personal. The tone in here implies some very offended individuals.

[bollemanneke 3,346]

Fair enough, I read the first one and it was good. She's losing her HP mind.

[crumbs 14,313]

8 minutes ago, Once said:

If Rowling hadn't vetoed a release of the Children's Suite, Williams might have added new 'miniatures' with each new film. I've been thinking about that all morning.

 

😭

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

6 minutes ago, Docteur Qui said:

The Children’s Suite happens to be a nice thing, but it’s not like it was personal.

 

How would you know? It was probably a part of her personal vendetta against JW!

 

[Once 605]

7 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Probably not for CoS. Anyway, he did concert arrangements for alle three films, which is almost the same.

He could have composed the miniatures for CoS in 2003. I really like these small arrangements for the different parts of the orchestra. Anyway, it's just been on my mind.

 

The same goes for the rest of the films. I keep thinking about how Pettigrew's theme would be used in GoF and (shortly) in HBP. Or how the melody from 'Harry Gets His Wand' could evolve into a theme for The Elder Wand in DH. Or how Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography would inspire some very interesting music from Williams in HBP.

I wish I could stop thinking about this all the time - but I guess I have to think about something while waiting for the set to arrive.

[crumbs 14,313]

All 5 non-Williams scores are a series of embarrassing missed opportunities. Williams established a rich tapestry of themes, a musical library from which other composers could draw upon for inspiration, yet most of them saw fit to disregard what he established and do their own thing. You'd go crazy getting upset about it, it's just how it is -- besides, Williams did the same to his own groundwork when he wrote Azkaban.

 

But hey, at least Hooper saw fit to quote the Azkaban Quidditch motif for a romantic comedy montage.🙄   

[Holko 9,526]

Doyle at least crafted a very good score with character and identity.

[crumbs 14,313]

Yeah, I'll give him credit for that. At least he replaced what Williams introduced with something pretty impressive and memorable. Can't say the same for much that followed (sorry, I just don't get the love for Desplat's scores; a few brilliant highlights but overall very generic and unmemorable. The poor guy fell victim to Yates' mandate of sucking the life out of everything).

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

4 minutes ago, crumbs said:

You'd go crazy getting upset about it, it's just how it is -- besides, Williams did the same to his own groundwork when he wrote Azkaban.

 

That’s what prevents me from getting overly upset about Williams not doing the subsequent films - he’d already jettisoned all of his previous themes and there was little reason to think he’d bring any of them back. 

[crumbs 14,313]

I'll give Desplat credit because you can tell he tried really hard to inject lots of Williams-isms and quirky orchestration into his score, even if he didn't bring back any of the key themes (far out, Window to the Past would have been PERFECT at the end of DH2 ), but for the most part it's fairly dull underscore.

[Once 605]

I remember being very disappointed that 'Hogwarts Forever' wasn't included in CoS.

However by Azkaban I was sure that he would write great new themes for each movie, and if it was ever necessary to bring back older ones he would probably do so. Oh well!

3 minutes ago, crumbs said:

I'll give Desplat credit because you can tell he tried really hard to inject lots of Williams-isms and quirky orchestration into his score, even if he didn't bring back any of the key themes (far out, Window to the Past would have been PERFECT at the end of DH2 ), but for the most part it's fairly dull underscore.

Yeah, he really tried. I remember him being so excited about playing with Williams's themes in the early interviews after he was hired for Part 1.

[mrbellamy 6,286]

I really appreciate how Hedwig’s Theme is used in the last two scores. Doyle and Hooper limited it to obvious “showstopper” statements but Desplat worked it into the underscore with dramatic intention many times. And it’s nice that he thought to use it for Hedwig’s last stand. 

 

I have infinite musings about the latter five scores but the real headscratcher for me is that nothing for Voldemort ever stuck. Especially when Williams made such a definitive impression right away. Even Desplat failed to carry his OWN theme over to Part 2! Mess.

 

2 hours ago, Docteur Qui said:

It's her IP, she's entitled to do what she wishes with it.

 

I'm not surprised, this was at the absolute height of Pottermania, she'd only just recently sold the film rights and was famously very nervous about what that meant for her property. I can imagine there would've been thousands of proposals for Potter-related things that required her approval at the time, all while she was trying to write the fifth book. It must've been maddening.

 

It's a shame the Children's Suite was never released at the time, but ultimately it really didn't need to be; the score was so incredibly impactful that it was more than enough to educate a whole generation of children about the orchestra and film scores (myself included). I couldn't help smiling hearing Matessino repeat that sentiment, particularly as I am a professional composer and orchestrator now myself. That first score was the spark that lit the fire of my love for music.

 

I agree, I can sympathize with Rowling during that time. 

 

I think by “too educational” she might have thought it seemed a bit stuffy and to be honest a Britten-esque “Children’s Suite” orchestral album is sort of a quaint and outdated idea. It would have been great just to have it all released but even though I loved “Hogwarts Forever” I don’t know that I would have bought or listened to the miniatures that much at the time as a kid. I suppose there is a good chance it would have become a new standard in elementary music classes which is kind of cool to think about in terms of Williams’s legacy, but on the other hand it could take the fun out of it. The soundtrack did its work capturing a generation’s imagination and stoking our curiosity in orchestral music regardless. 

[bollemanneke 3,346]

Well, you could also argue that the OST is superfluous as well because all the masses seem to want are Hedwig and HWW. And like MM says, it's a weird album. I'll be disposing of my copy soon.

[TownerFan 4,983]

Great interview as usual, with lots of interesting thoughts by MM and many anecdotes. Keep 'em coming, @mahler3!

[Lockdown 238]

I really hope the latter films receive this exact treatment that Williams scores did. It would be really cool if Warner had access to demos or alternates of cues from the scores that we don't even know about. Like, Hooper's scores as I recall, had no alternates in either of the sessions leaks...but I'm sure he was probably one of the composer's to have the most rewrites given how he was not as active as the other composers he was "competing" with. But I can see the downside, how many people would actually support Hooper's work and buy an expanded / complete set of his scores? Probably not as many as would buy Williams, Desplat's, or Doyle's...which is unfortunate as I think he put a great deal of effort into those scores.

[TSMefford 1,509]

6 minutes ago, Lockdown said:

I really hope the latter films receive this exact treatment that Williams scores did. It would be really cool if Warner had access to demos or alternates of cues from the scores that we don't even know about. Like, Hooper's scores as I recall, had no alternates in either of the sessions leaks...but I'm sure he was probably one of the composer's to have the most rewrites given how he was not as active as the other composers he was "competing" with. But I can see the downside, how many people would actually support Hooper's work and buy an expanded / complete set of his scores? Probably not as many as would buy Williams, Desplat's, or Doyle's...which is unfortunate as I think he put a great deal of effort into those scores.

 

I would absolutely buy all of them. I know that's just me, but there's 1 person! Lol.

 

I know Hooper's aren't well-liked, but I love his score for Half-Blood Prince. If Order of the Phoenix had the film version of Fireworks then I'd go for that too. 4, 6, 7.1 are a definite yes for me.

[Lockdown 238]

The film version of Fireworks can be heard in the Half-Blood Prince End Credits...or at least Fireworks without the electric guitar overlay.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

12 hours ago, mstrox said:

I know that’s just the 21st century for ya, but I hate audio and video content.  Reading is where it’s at!

Likewise. As much as I'd be interested to know what is said, I really do much prefer reading it.

Knowing how these things go, I'm probably not going to find the chance to listen for a full hour.

Reading is so much faster.

[TSMefford 1,509]

1 minute ago, Lockdown said:

The film version of Fireworks can be heard in the Half-Blood Prince End Credits...or at least Fireworks without the electric guitar overlay.

 

The version if Half-Blood Prince is an edit of the film version from OoTP, but there's stuff it's missing. So it's a VERSION without the guitar, and I'm satisfied for now. If the original version as featured in the film was ever put out...I would jump at that...Idk why, but I love that cue. 

2 minutes ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

Likewise. As much as I'd be interested to know what is said, I really do much prefer reading it.

Knowing how these things go, I'm probably not going to find the chance to listen for a full hour.

Reading is so much faster.

 

I have a 30 minute commute. So, half on the way in and half on the way back.

[Jurassic Shark 12,072]

12 hours ago, Faleel J.M. said:

Music is audio though

 

I guess he prefers to read the sheet music.

[TSMefford 1,509]

Just now, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I guess he prefers to read the sheet music.

 

That would be something wouldn't it? I bet somewhere out there there's someone who only reads music.

[Josh500 1,615]

7 hours ago, Incanus said:

I just heard this. Fantastic and fascinating interview with Mike! So many little anecdotes and nuggets of behind-the-scenes information. Keep up the excellent work Tim!

 

I remember Tim Burden used to post here a lot, wonder why he doesn't anymore.

 

Agree, loved the interview, interspersed with the music. 

[bollemanneke 3,346]

Personally I prefer listening to reading and hardly read anything anymore these days.

 

And I would buy all the HP scores too, if they were expanded properly.

[mrbellamy 6,286]

On 11/28/2018 at 9:16 AM, Lockdown said:

I really hope the latter films receive this exact treatment that Williams scores did. It would be really cool if Warner had access to demos or alternates of cues from the scores that we don't even know about. Like, Hooper's scores as I recall, had no alternates in either of the sessions leaks...but I'm sure he was probably one of the composer's to have the most rewrites given how he was not as active as the other composers he was "competing" with. But I can see the downside, how many people would actually support Hooper's work and buy an expanded / complete set of his scores? Probably not as many as would buy Williams, Desplat's, or Doyle's...which is unfortunate as I think he put a great deal of effort into those scores.

 

I think 4 is the only one left that I would buy as a listening experience, but the process of 5/6 interests me. I remember a Yates interview where he said Hooper had to basically audition for WB before they hired him and an early version of "The Ministry of Magic" that he wrote during pre-production was one of the things that got him the okay. Yates also mentioned playing a demo of the Sirius/Harry theme to Radcliffe while shooting.

 

Some Yates quotes from the liner notes.

 

Quote

 

He begins his work in pre-production - even before I've shot a frame of film. In that formative period, we get to play  a lot, trying out ideas to storyboards that I've drawn. I've often used music Nick has written at this early stage to play to actors or crews, to give them a sense of atmosphere or character.

 

Nick then works throughout the shoot, and into post production. The score for the Order of the Phoenix took over a year and a half from conception, exploration, development to delivery.

 

 

Quote

Nick often says I push him more than any other director he has ever worked with, but I don't push him nearly as hard as he pushes himself. He writes and re-writes constantly. He wrote far more pieces for The Half-Blood Prince than could ever be used in the film. At heart, he is restless and determined to ensure that he leaves no stone unturned as he explores the film and the way music can help deliver it.

 

Wonder how much of this stuff even exists anymore. It's not anything they'd ever release but I'd certainly be curious to hear the most wildly differing alternates, or to look at one of the more elaborate sequences ("Room of Requirement" for example) and track its development through all those demo revisions.

[TSMefford 1,509]

4 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

 

I think 4 is the only one left that I would buy as a listening experience, but the process of 5/6 interests me. I remember a Yates interview where he said Hooper had to basically audition for WB before they hired him and an early version of "The Ministry of Magic" that he wrote during pre-production was one of the things that got him the okay. Yates also mentioned playing a demo of the Sirius/Harry theme to Radcliffe while shooting.

 

Some Yates quotes from the liner notes.

 

 

 

Wonder how much of this stuff even exists anymore. It's not anything they'd ever release but I'd certainly be curious to hear the mostly wildly differing alternates, or to look at one of the more elaborate sequences ("Room of Requirement" for example) and track its development through all those demo revisions.

 

I'd love to hear more of Hooper's work. Desplat's Part 1 I'd also gladly take all I can get.