A world of possibility in film scores
Lateral Saturday: A very brief survey of soundtrack innovation
The realm of film scoring is lush with possibilities.
Whether it be the rich, classic sounds of Hollywood from Korngold to John Williams, or the experiments in new eras of music with everyone from Vangelis to Hans Zimmer, the history of this music builds ever onward and upward.
Conversations with a composer friend of mine range quite a bit, often talking about the opportunities for what sounds to include.
Or perhaps even building the story around the music.
Movies scored by T Bone Burnett certainly come to mind.
And not just his low-key musical that is O Brother Where Art Thou.
There’s also his shape note-employing, folksy Cold Mountain.
Before learning of Cold Mountain, I had a similar idea to use the sound of the Sacred Harp in film.
For me, that has been including it in a short film telling the story of the Binding of Isaac, to add to a sweeping and momentous feel.
And then sometimes you just get a wild-hair and randomly message your composer that we should make something with Ben Franklin’s glass armonica in it.
I’m a sucker the classic sounds though.
For instance, the sound I did for my space western audio drama, Starshear Rim, I specifically wanted to bring the triumphal beauty of Elmer Bersteinian westerns into a happy marriage with the John Williamsian space operas.
To take it back even further in each specific musical subgenre, it was like a matrimony of the sounds of Copland and Holst.
Check out a playlist I made at the time to capture the feel.
Knowing just how melodically embedded both these orchestral sounds were, it made sense to then put it together and have the stars and plains meet with their combination of strings and horns.
It’s an idea I’d love to go back to some day, and if I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get to go back to Endymion.
There’s a whole world of sounds to discover.
Think about the way that Vangelis makes synths sound like lonesome noir saxophones in Blade Runner.
Or how Zimmer incorporated bagpipes into the new Dune.
There’s a world of possibility, and a whole gamut of choices to make.