Popular Post karelm 2,903 Posted February 18, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 18, 2019 For Christmas, I got a year subscription to Masterclass, an excellent online resource where very accomplished experts extol their wisdom for a reasonable fee. I have been thoroughly enjoying incorporating these masterclasses into a routine and will surely lament when my membership expires. A few days ago, I started the Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring masterclass. Here is the trailer since no one better to introduce you to this course than Zimmer. This course offers a unique perspective into the technique, approach, and technology of one of the most influential composers working today. Full disclosure, I am not the biggest fan of his output or his approaches however his impact and influence are unquestionable. I do not regard Zimmer as a genius of talent BUT he is a very solid producer of musical content that accomplishes the goal of director and/or film and that qualifies him for being worth studying. This course costs $99 if you purchase it alone or $180 if you get the full access year subscription (my recommendation and then indulge your curiosity). Every one of the Masterclasses I've seen have been very professionally produced and with what seems like the full passion of the subject masters weather it be film making (Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Jodie Foster, Natalie Portman), writing, photography, cooking, or music. These are definitely not a collection of has-beens but some of the most influential people in very deep and personal exchanges. I LOVED the Chris Hadfield course on astronautics. Very informative, passionate, and inspiring.,,full of insight and personal perspective. These course are a steal at their price. Ok, so now on to the Zimmer course. The course starts off a bit bumpy when he talks about themes and musical story telling but by episode 4 (directors), Zimmer is full of anecdotes that are full of insight. Many of the stories deal with famous movies we are all familiar with and Zimmer himself seems to enjoy this topic. I loved how he frequently refers to his humongous ego but also demonstrates rare humility how he was put in his place by the director or other party. A particular example, his story of using Cubase (a music digital audio workstation) and telling the developers "listen to me, I'm a PROFESSIONAL" when he was reminded by the developers that the interesting ideas come from some kid in the Bronx ... people least valuable to them were the professionals because they are set in their ways. The person working in their basement usually comes up with the great out of box ideas that they incorporate into the product. A tidbit Zimmer mentions was that he isn't used to the audio in his studio being so low (so he can be heard talking while demonstrating) because he usually keeps his studio at the same volume as the theater so you can feel the vibrations that the audience will get. I thought that was an interesting tidbit and glimpse into his thinking and process. After a while, it becomes clear that the ego that Zimmer exhibits is not particularly significant and he also shows humility through self depreciation, humor, and nuance. Where Zimmer's brilliance is really on display is how he conceives of his ideas and musical textures such as episode 7 (Sound Palettes) and 8 (Synths) where he gives a virtual tour of his process of creating sounds for a film and demonstrates examples from Interstellar and Dark Knight. These were fascinating to me and he says he plays piano with one hand and controls the development of the sound with the other hand. He makes the point that it isn't different than a violinist who uses their left hand for vibrato and tone quality. That's a very good point. He puts a lot of interest in tone quality. So can produce massively interesting sounds with a note or two (Dark Knight/Joker). It's a valid point. He is clearly a sound sculptor. This series definitely increased my appreciation for his contribution to film music. He is at his best when demonstrating his process and talking about business/production issues that he is probably the best at. In summary, Zimmer fans will adore this, non-Zimmer fans will benefit greatly from this. It is a valuable resource well worth the cost. Don't let the initial topic or two dissuade you. He seems to be very much aware of his flaws and that is actually an endearing quality that should not dissuade you from hearing his insight and value. It also shows him to be a far more sophisticated talent than his simple drones might show. I don't mean you have to love his music. But rather, his ideas and thought process is absolutely worth everyone hearing (non fans included). EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention, I don't know the full duration of the masterclass but guess it is about 3 to 4 hours. John, Jay, Loert and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 3,307 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Glad to hear it's not just his usual fluff and verbal diarrhea. Sounds really interesting. Will check it out sometime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Great review! I've enrolled in both Zimmer's course and Martin Scorsese's course on filmmaking this year. Really enjoying both so far. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Wow. Awesome review @karelm. Many of your points are a great reflection of my view of Zimmer, and you hit the nail on the head in describing such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkgyver 1,645 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Reads like a Hans Zimmer promotional video that you pay for. JoeinAR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 It's great insights from a lovely man. Worth it for the professional or the merely interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ii2 210 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 12:03 AM, Knox Harrington said: It's great insights from a lovely man. Worth it for the professional or the merely interested. Lovely man but not so lovely music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 minute ago, Ii2 said: Lovely man but not so lovely music. Surely you jest. The man has composed many a fine film score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ii2 210 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Just now, John said: Surely you jest. The man has composed many a fine film score. Its just that...lately...he's been scoring music with that deep loud noise that lasts while the rest of the instruments play their own thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Illustrious Jerry 3,356 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 ... Ii2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ii2 210 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 @The Illustrious Jerry, Gladiator is excellent! I didn't know it was Zimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothless 963 Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 I followed Zimmer masterclass back when it was released and it is indeed interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,508 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Zimmer. Masterclass. Teaching. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, etc. karelm, John, JoeinAR and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 3/7/2019 at 10:49 AM, Richard said: Zimmer. Masterclass. Teaching. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, etc. I was thinking the blind leading the blind. He has loads of humility. He has almost as many 1 star scores. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 On 3/21/2019 at 2:38 PM, JoeinAR said: I was thinking the blind leading the blind. He has loads of humility. He has almost as many 1 star scores. What a silly thing to say, Zimmer is the most influential film composer of the last few decades. Dixon Hill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Repeat after me, Joe! Hans Zimmer is good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Stefancos said: What a silly thing to say, Zimmer is the most influential sound designer of the last few decades. Fixed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Stefancos said: What a silly thing to say, Zimmer is the most influential film composer of the last few decades. Hanz Zimmer has more 1 star scores than any composer working. He isn't influential he has a team ready to write noise in a heartbeat. He is a terrible composer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Well, i tried! JoeinAR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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