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Is that why he’s not a good composer?
I don’t claim to be fan to any extent, and so my knowledge is limited but has he done a succesful score by himself ever? I mean, the only two scores of his that I know to have been popular, are Gladiator (on which he was helped by Klaus Badelt and Lisa Gerrard) and Pirates, for wich Badelt is credited first, and Zimmer with his 15 extra composers. I mean what? Does this guy have any artistic integrity? At least Danny writes the scores he writes.No surprise there.
Listen, I love my computer, and as a composer just getting into the game on projects that have little to no budget for music, it’s nice to be able to produce a decent-sounding score without spending money on musicians.
But unlike me, ol’ Hansy is very much rolling in it. He’s got the big budgets. He’s got the connections. And in spite of all that, for the life of me, I don’t understand why he doesn’t seem to respect the natural sound of an orchestra. I see these clips of a live orchestra being recorded for his own scores; even then, it rarely sounds really real. I would never believe it if I didn’t see it. He doesn’t just produce; he overproduces to the point of pretentiousness. I get that that’s his signature “sound,” but that doesn’t make it a great one.
To make this somewhat relevant here, Elfman is one of those few holdouts these days that doesn’t try so hard to “beef up” the orchestra. His use of electronics as its own unique instrument alongside the orchestra—rather than supporting it or replacing it—I think, is impeccable. It’s a quality I try hard to reflect in my own scores, as well—even if “my” orchestra isn’t real (yet).
That said, Hans is getting much bigger films than Elfman (and I, obviously). And I’m no accountant, but I’m pretty sure that means he needs to do little more than wave his enormous wads of cash in front of me to argue his success. So, what do I know?
Damn. this Zimmer sounds arrogant as hell.
bookbinder3 Wrote:
> I don’t claim to be fan to any extent, and so my
> knowledge is limited but has he done a succesful
> score by himself ever?He did Rain Man by himself and as far as I know The Lion King pretty much zimmer-only work.
That’s cool!
I’ve always been a lover of electronic music (and Zimmer is my favourite composer after Williams, Elfman and Goldenthal), and that guy is a wizard in all things electronic, synthy, programs and the mix of acoustic and samples.
Cool guy, cool music!
I love electronic music, however, I personally think his use of electronic sounds is somewhat heavy-handed. His music sounds tinny and generic. He could do with some tips from Wendy Carlos. Her sounds have nuance and warmth, but that’s another era, I guess. I’m partial to a bit of The Lion King, though, but how much of that did he write himself? I think Mr Elfman is one of the few composers that has successfully blended synthetic sounds with ‘real’ instruments. His samples sound organic. I do agree with what Mr Zimmer said about scores having more prominence, but maybe not in the way he goes about it. I want to scream sometimes when a score is practically inaudible. Some people think that a score shouldn’t call attention to itself, but I totally disagree. Just like the cinematography or costume design of a film, you should notice the music and appreciate it.
Well, Zimmer is not really a “pure” synth composer. He often merges elements of prog rock (rock beats, simultanous chord shifts etc.) with orchestral music – both sampled and acoustic.
After THIN RED LINE, he has veered more and more away from the power anthem that he defined in the late 80’s and into more textural soundscapes which I personally find very engrossing. The man never ceazes to amaze with his ability to renew himself.
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