Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Do you own Music for a Darkened Theater II? It’s on there. He DID write the music. It was a little weird but he wrote it.
Man. This is depressing. It seems to be the Year of Kevin Feder-line-me-up-in-a-corner-and-shoot-me-in-the-head. I see his photo and his “rap” news posted everywhere.
Wow,
Check out this message board Yahoo gave him…
http://mb.music.yahoo.com/music/artists/forumview?bn=mus-27916334It’s hilarious. It’s not just me.
I feel kind of dorky when it comes to Nevsky. I have several copies of that score, and most of them I ripped to my computer’s system this last year. I bought a 200GB drive specifically for traveling with this stuff. I’m fairly certain it’s the Telarc version though. I didn’t pop the CD in to check it on it’s own (only the label) but it’s the only 12-track copy I own… I think.
Actually Nigel, I was mistaken. It is indeed in print. And it’s not the version I thought. I had to look at the disc it’s self. It’s the Telarc Version. I checked Prokofiev.org.
http://www.telarc.com/gscripts/title.asp?gsku=0143
It’s funny. Prokofiev would have likely been one of the best film composers in cinema history if he would have only scored more movies!
Actually, I think the one I have is out of print. It’s German manufactured copy, “Deutsche Grammophon”. I have the RCA copy too. There’s a few more out there, but the “Deutsche Grammophon” one is the best I’ve heard. The tempo, the chorus, the performance, everything was just nailed.
Hmm, they’re playing The Frighteners on TV right now as I write this.
Weird.Just incidentally, I wonder if anybody else noticed that maybe Danny paid homage to Prokofiev with his frighteners theme? As far as I remember, It started out as a small melody in the score to Alexander Nevsky back in the 1930’s.
See?
http://www.twilight-land.com/clips/Nevsky.mp3Maybe I’m just crazy, but those first first five reoccuring notes are spot on, especially when they turn low and dark.
But on that subject,
The second movement in his Kije Suite, likewise, sounds eerily similar to the end titles for Black Beauty, after which the Tenor Sax enters and everything sounds very akin to the playful nature in The Nightmare Before Christmas.http://www.twilight-land.com/clips/Kije.mp3
But my favorite of Prokofiev’s will always be what inspired Elfman the most, “The Battle on the Ice” from Alexander Nevsky. Infact he used to play bits of it in his Mysic Knights shows. The three-note villain theme, in particular, for the invaders is almost a jello mold for what Elfman does for all his villain themes. You can use it in any decent epic made today and it will work just as well as it did back when it was first written.
http://www.twilight-land.com/clips/nevsky_battle.mp3
Then again, maybe I’m just making connections where I want to make them.
I’m sure I’m not though. Elfman’s gone on record citing Prokofiev as one of his biggest inspirations.It would definitely be higher profile and bigger in budget than the first. Jackson is a household name now.
Would he bring Danny back though?
Delays are great. They mean Danny has more time to work on and refine his score, and that’s a composer’s dream.
I know you shouldn’t plug your own stuff on this forum, but I just spent a bundle on registering a new online label. It should be done by January I think.
In short, I’ll advertise your music for free, just to get it out there — if you want. I know how hard it is to get your stuff heard and, also, I know you Elfman fans have the same mentality as me so I would suspect some of you have a lot to offer. Just think of the site as a cross between Sundance and iTunes.
Here it is…
http://www.twilight-land.comEmail me if you want to become a member. I’m trying to add as many artists as I can. I’ll even help you sell your stuff if you want. That won’t cost anything to set up.
As for the score, I’m still happy. We get the Seranada and Elfman is working with another artist on new music for the piece too. It’s not like someone we don’t know is coming in and doing the new stuff alone. Elfman is there too.
Yeah, it was me. Check the website for Spectrasonics’ Symphony of Voices. It’s one of the coolest libraries around. It has quotes from the likes of James Newton Howard, Hanz Zimmer and (yes) Danny-boy. MP3 Examples are online as well.
“The Boys Choir is amazing. We used them in Good Will Hunting. Very Impressive.” – Danny Elfman (Batman, Men in Black, Black Beauty, Good Will Hunting)
YOU STAY THERE TO COPY IT BY HAND.
YOU STAY AT WARNER BROTHERS FOR A COUPLE HOURS TO DO SO.
THEN YOU LEAVE.
YOU DO NOT TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU.Dude, You need to think.
Warner Brothers owns the original conductor’s score.
1. THEY OWN IT SO IT’S IN THEIR ARCHIVES.
2. THEY DON’T SELL IT.
3. THEY MAY LET YOU LOOK AT IT IF YOU SHOW UP IN PERSONIt’s not that hard to grasp.
Sometimes overpowering a movie is what makes Williams’ scores memorable. If he didn’t beat us over the head with his themes he probably wouldn’t be so popular.
If Living?
John Williams. He’s one of the only one’s left who does it the old fashioned way: with pencil, paper, a stop watch and a metronome. It still blows my mind how many movies he’s done this year. He’s in his seventies and doing more movies than ever. The man has a definite style of composition and writes memorable themes. Also, he’s humble.
If Dead though?
Bernard Herrmann. Enough said. He influenced EVERYBODY.
Dude, I know.
Back in the days when I was in a US Government high school in Germany my buddies didn’t know who the hell I was talking about when I told them who I listened to. They’d be listening to Nirvana or some shit and I’d be chilling to the smooth sounds of Batman Returns. They’d laugh and make fun everytime they saw a CD.
Then ofcourse we’d all get drunk as hell on the economy and I’d pull out my CD player and play 94’s Boingo for them. That was their first real introduction and there was no more laughing after that. That CD was so awesome.
Wow that sounds simple. VIenna is not a program and you can’t just download it. You have to buy it. It’s a VERY expensive instrument sample library that took years to create. The Orchestral Cube alone costs up in the thousands.
Hey Knight,
I’m using Vienna for the sustaining instruments and GPO for only keyboard and percussion instruments. For some reason instruments with a “decay” sound wonderful with GPO while “sustaining” instruments suck. Vienna is wonderful with everything they have though (their performance tool creates some of the best legato passages I’ve ever heard) so I use it as much as I can to fill in the gaps. They have the best muted string samples I’ve heard as well.
From an orchestrator’s standpoint, Bernard Herrmann loved mutes, on strings AND BRASS, so I also used a bit of the Sam Brass collection too. They have some pretty realistic samples of straight and harmon mutes in their library, as well as cuirve horns, although I’m still hard pressed to find any sample libraries with decent cup mute samples. I’m looking for X-fade aswell (where you can create realistic crescendos with dynamic morphing). Vienna is great with that. It’s particularly compelling on their stopped horn.
Speaking of that, I have a recording I did of Bernard Herrmann’s “House on K Street” that I thought came out pretty good.
Here’s a temporary link to a short little cue from K Street titled “MURDER!” (it will be online for only a couple days):
http://s59.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2CPFQ9BQ3XWW52OW8VBLQQVPB8I think you misunderstood me. YOU CAN’T TAKE THE SCORE HOME WITH YOU… EVER. They might let you in to look at it on the lot after signing a document (since you’re 16 your parents will have to sign it for you) but that’s all. You can bring manuscript paper with you and copy it down yourself. This is all assuming they let you in though.
As to the arrangement,
I’m working on Bill Wrobel’s music to Alfred Hitchcock’s the Birds. It sounds just like a lost Bernard Herrmann score. I already mocked up some old CBS pieces Herrmann did. They came out pretty good.
Here’s an analysis of the score by Bill Wrobel himself
http://www.filmscorerundowns.net/herrmann/wrobel_birds.pdfWarner Bros owns all the Batman scores, right on down to Batman Begins. Again, you’ll have to go to Burbank (presuming they’ll even let you in) and show up in person. They won’t copy anything for you.
4000 Warner Boulevard,
Burbank, CA. / (818) 954 1744 or (818) 954-1008I think that’s it.
Batman and Batman Returns were both Warner Bros. ventures and their lot is located in Burbank. If you’re ever around that area you can try calling and telling them you’re a film score analyst and would like to make an appointment to study some old manuscripts “FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY”. You have to sign a legal document — I forgot to mention that — before you’re allowed in.
Also, UCLA has a number of vintage scores in their library.
