THE EPIC SOUND BLOG

Our collection of bite-size, audio related stories from around the web.

Audio interview with Assassin’s Creed composer Lorne Balfe


January 30, 2012

A great interview by Marius Masalar over at Tracksounds with ‘Assassin’s Creed: Revelations’-composer Lorne Balfe. Check it out below, and hop on over to Tracksounds for the full details on the interview:
 

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Marius Masalar talks with composer Lorne Balfe about two of his latest projects: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Skylander: Spyros. Balfe also reveals how he got into video game music, the challenges of writing music for popular sequels and what he considers his dream project.
 

CORRECTION: Lorne Balfe composed the exhibition trailer for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, which was the third game of the series, not the second as he inadvertently stated.
 
Episode Highlights
 
02:06 — How did you transition from film to video games?
06:27 — How did you come to work on SKYLANDERS
13:13 — Did you feel that you had to be dutiful to the original Spyro?
15:25 — WHYBLT? – Hugo, Twilight for Chamber Orchestra
17:22 — Assassins Creed: Revelations – How did you work with composer Jesper Kyd?
24:14 — What were some of the musical highlights for you from AC: Revelation
27:00 — What sort of reactions have you gotten to your music for AC: Revelation
28:51 — The next Assassins Creed, Sherlock Holmes, Anthems, and Bat Man
33:01 — What is your ideal project?
36:02 — The Ron Howard/ Canon Project
40:10 — Taste, subjectivity, and style

 





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

Category game audio,music Tags , , , , , —

Video interview: ‘Drive’ & ‘Contagion’ composer Cliff Martinez


January 26, 2012

Over at Tracksounds, Christopher Coleman posted this video interview with ‘Drive’ and ‘Contagion’ composer Cliff Martinez:
 

Cliff had just come back from an early morning screening and mentioned he was running on a few hours of sleep as his duties as a Jury Member of Sundance were starting to take its toll on Day 6 of the festival, however Cliff was pleased to sit down with me for this interview.
 
We discussed his work on DRIVE, CONTAGION, his working relationships with his directors and his experience as a Jury member at Sundance 2012.

 

 





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

Category film sound,music Tags , , , , , , —

The Sound and Music of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’


January 17, 2012

Another great feature from – this time on the sound for ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’:
 

In this SoundWorks Collection exclusive we talk with Composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Sound Re-recording Mixer Michael Semanick, and Re-recording Mixer, Sound Designer, and Supervising Sound Editor Ren Klyce.
 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 English-language drama/thriller film. It is the second film to be adapted from the Swedish novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson. The first was a 2009 Swedish-language/English dubbed film. The 2011 film was written by Steven Zaillian and directed by David Fincher. Daniel Craig stars as Mikael Blomkvist, and Rooney Mara stars as Lisbeth Salander. In essence, the film follows a man’s mission to find out what has happened to a girl who has been missing for 36 years, and may have been murdered.

 

 





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

Category film sound,music,sound design Tags , , , , , , , , —

John Williams: From ‘Jaws’ to ‘Star Wars’ to ‘War Horse’ and ‘Tintin’


January 4, 2012

There’s an excellent feature on John Williams over at The Wall Street Journal – do have a look:
 

Mr. Spielberg credits the composer for making him “a better director than I could have ever been without him.” Recalling the blockbuster that made them both household names, he describes the “esoteric” placeholder music he’d selected as a model for the “Jaws” score—and how Mr. Williams forced him to reconsider.
 
“He said, “Steven, it’s not an intellectual film. It’s a pirate movie,” the director says, adding, “John is like a great writer. He rewrites me musically every single time.”
After the success of “Jaws,” Mr. Spielberg nicknamed Mr. Williams “Max,” after Max Steiner, who wrote the first memorable original feature film score (for “King Kong”) and helped establish the orchestral language of the movies.

 
Read the full feature on John Williams here.
 
(via @YvetteJJackson)





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

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In-depth audio interview with composer Michael Giacchino


December 20, 2011

Another great, in-depth interview by Daniel Schweiger over at Film Music Magazine, this time with composer Michael Giacchino on the music for MI4 and more.

 

Spying is a dangerous business, one where your survival depends on stealth and disguise, a skill set employed at barely above a whisper. On that account, it’s likely that Michael Giacchino wouldn’t last long as a member of the Impossible Mission Force. After all, his music is just having too much damn fun saving the planet with seconds to spare.
For if he took on the terrorist 1% with pulse-pounding action in “Mission Impossible 3,” Giacchino’s newest IMF assignment for “Ghost Protocol” steps up the stylistic adrenalin to truly impossible runs of excitement and suspense. It’s an A-ticket adrenalin ride through retro spy rhythms, exotic musical locales and brassy action writing that seems like a superhero score waiting to happen.

 

Check it out below:

 

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  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

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The Sound and Music of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol


December 19, 2011

Another excellent sound feature from Michael Coleman – this time on the sound and music for ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’. Check it out:
 

 





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

Category film sound,music,sound design Tags , , , , , —

Interview with ‘Lord of the Rings: War in the North’ composer Inon Zur


November 9, 2011

Tracksounds has an audio interview up with composer Inon Zur on his work on Lord of the Rings: War in the North:
 

Composer Inon Zur, a devoted Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fan talks about his latest composing project: Snowblind’s LORD OF THE RINGS: WAR IN THE NORTH. He talks about how appreciates the differing challenges that such games provide, the experience of conducting 3 live performances of his music at E3 this year, and more!
 
Episode Highlights
 
00:52 — Welcome and Intro: Inon Zur
02:35 — How were you feeling the day of the game and score release?
04:38 — conducting the live performances at E3
07:26 — What was your connection to The Lord of the Rings prior to this project?
09:33 — How did you come on to this project?
11:34 — Walking the line of making the music your own but connecting it to Shore
15:09 — Starting from scratch or buidling onto an existing musical world.
19:12 — Concluding thoughts

 

Hear the interview here.
 





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

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How to NOT compose for television


November 7, 2011

Over at Scorecast, Jai Meghan shares his observations on the pitfalls of composing for TV:
 

It is pretty daunting to look at the TV landscape and the people who are already involved with scoring for television and ask yourself: How in the hell am I ever going to get a shot? So many shows are in production, not to mention the fact that television is not just about the “regular season” anymore — it’s about a fragmented “season” that now runs year-round.

The “Big Three” networks are now starting to show the signs of a marathon runner trying desperately to keep up with the young bucks that are also on the course. These “youngins” are starting to become directly responsible for some of the best drama and comedy on television, with second and third-tier premium cable leading the pack with content that cannot be shown in a regular primetime slot.
 
With all of these variables at play in the current TV landscape, and given the fact that most people would still rather recline in the comfort of their own living room than brave cellphones, babies, and teenagers with laser pointers in a theater setting, TV is 2.0 these days.
 
As a film composer, you might be wondering how to tap into this luxurious stream, and how to start looking for TV gigs today in the crowded river of television composers?

 
Read the full feature on telvision composing here.
 





  Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact

Category music,television sound Tags , , —

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