register

  • Categories

Vanilla 1.1.4 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

 

Composer Beginnings!

General Discussions » Composer Beginnings! (Posts 1 to 12 of 12)

  1.  
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010 edited
    I've always been very fascinated by how composers start out in the biz and what things they do BEFORE their first feature film score. So put your knowledge to good use and tell us what you know of your favourite composers and what noteworthy things they did before their first feature film score!

    I'll start with my three:

    Name: John Williams
    First feature film score: DADDY-O (1958)
    Age at the time: 26
    Noteworthy things before that: Williams worked as studio pianist on various jazz albums and scores in the late 50's (as well as orchestrator), but of his own compositions, there are two cool jazz tracks, "Hello" and "Aunt Orsavella", that were recorded already in 1956. Additionally, there's the travelogue YOU ARE WELCOME (1952), which I've always been very curious about, as well as his piano sonata from 1951 which must be brilliant (it's his only piano concert piece to date, after all!). All in all, I'd say he was pretty accomplished before he landed the DADDY-O gig.

    Name: Danny Elfman
    First feature film score: FORBIDDEN ZONE (1980)
    Age at the time: 27
    Noteworthy things before that: Elfman joined The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in 1976 (after spending a year in Africa) and quickly became their musical leader and composer. Although some of the music was covers by the likes of Django Reinhardt, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington etc., there were also some brilliant instrumental bits that showcased Elfman's talent - the piece for a gamelan ensemble, for example, or the elusive "Piano Concerto No. 1 1/2". It would be awesome with an official release of this material.

    Name: Elliot Goldenthal
    First feature film score: COCAINE COWBOYS (1979)
    Age at the time: 25
    Noteworthy things before that: Goldenthal wrote a whole series of student film scores while he was at the Manhattan School of Music in the mid 70's (which I'm very curious about...one of them has leaked to youtube), but there's apparently several concert works that he wrote in his teens too, like the ballet "Variations on Early Glimpses", which he did at age 14(!) in 1968. How cool wouldn't it be to hear some of these?

    Interestingly, all of these were pretty accomplished musicians when they wrote their first feature film score, and they were all in their mid 20's. Makes me feel old and washed-up, even at 33.

    Now it's your turn!
    I am extremely serious.
  2. Name: Thomas Newman
    First feature film score: Reckless (1984)
    Age at the time: 29
    Noteworthy things before that: After gaining his Master's in Music at Yale studying piano and violin, Newman played around in bands, one of them called "The Innocents" and another "Tokyo 77" (I still need to get their CD), and even dabbled in musical theater like his father. Interestingly, just before his film-scoring career began in earnest, Newman got a chance to orchestrate a famous cue in John Williams' Return of the Jedi, when Darth Vader dies at the end ("The Battle of Endor"?).

    Name: James Horner
    First feature film score: The Lady in Red (1979)
    Age at the time: 26
    Noteworthy things before that: Earned his Bachelor's in music from UC-Southern California and his master's and doctorate from UCLA, where he later taught music theory. Scored several works with the American Film Institute and two concert pieces, called "Conversations" and "Spectral Shimmers". It's almost tempting to call him a failed classical musician, but that totally minimizes his massively successful career in film.

    Name: Alexander Desplat
    First feature film score: Le souffleur (1986)
    Age at the time: 25
    Noteworthy things before that: Studied with multiple musicians from France, the U.S., South America, and South Africa. Has given Master Classes at the Sorbonne in Paris and the Royal College of Music in London.

    After reading their backgrounds, I totally forgot how highly educated these composers are. I do sometimes get the feeling, especially with Horner, that they do take an academic approach with their scores, which might explain why they feel so much like a labor of love (Avatar is a great recent example).
    •  
      CommentAuthorLSH
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010 edited
    Name: James Newton Howard
    First feature film score: Head Office (1985)
    Age at the time: 34
    Noteworthy things before that: After making a living as a studio synthesiser programmer, James was contacted by Elton John and became his band's regular keyboardist during the 1970s. He then began providing orchestral arrangements for John, for hits such as 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' and 'Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word'. Howard then went on to become a regular session musician and record producer for artists and bands such as Crosby, Stills & Nash, Toto, Cher and Barbara Streisand.
    •  
      CommentAuthorDemetris
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010
    Excellent idea and an extremely informative and useful topic. Let's expand it !
    Love Maintitles. It's full of Wanders.
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010
    LSH wrote
    Name: James Newton Howard
    First feature film score: Head Office (1985)
    Age at the time: 34
    Noteworthy things before that: After making a living as a studio synthesiser programmer, James was contacted by Elton John and became his band's regular keyboardist during the 1970s. He then began providing orchestral arrangements for John, for hits such as 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' and 'Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word'. Howard then went on to become a regular session musician and record producer for artists and bands such as Crosby, Stills & Nash, Toto, Cher and Barbara Streisand.


    Yeah, that's a pretty cool background to have before you even made your first feature film score. In that respect, 34 is very young (even though it's a bit older than the others so far).
    I am extremely serious.
    •  
      CommentAuthorsdtom
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010
    Henry Mancini did material to begin his career with UI. He worked on such blockbusters as Tarantula.
    Thomas
    listen to more classical music!
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010
    Name: Hans Zimmer
    First feature film score: MOONLIGHTING (1982)
    Age at the time: 25
    Noteworthy things before that: Zimmer was a synth wizard from an early stage and consequently associated with various electropop bands in the late 70's and early 80's, including Buggles, Krisma and Helden. I'm only familiar with the first, but would like to check out the other two more properly. He also did a bunch of jingles and ads and stuff while he lived in London...I wonder if they are musically worthwhile? In the beginning, his film work was in association with his mentor Stanley Myers (including MOONLIGHTING). I'm not sure what his first, "pure" solo effort was.
    I am extremely serious.
  8. Hey, I wanted to add that biggrin

    His first purely solo effort might have been In 1986/1987, something along the lines of The Fruit Machine. Filmtracks lists Castaway, but I am not sure.

    Going for Gold *is* musically worthwhile, Timmer will agree.

    Zimmer also produced a Sally Oldfield album and his samples were given to Mike himself in early 1990s. Mike Oldfield used Hans's sounds in Tubular Bells II
    http://www.filmmusic.pl - Polish Film Music Review Website
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2010
    PawelStroinski wrote
    Hey, I wanted to add that biggrin

    His first purely solo effort might have been In 1986/1987, something along the lines of The Fruit Machine. Filmtracks lists Castaway, but I am not sure.

    Going for Gold *is* musically worthwhile, Timmer will agree.

    Zimmer also produced a Sally Oldfield album and his samples were given to Mike himself in early 1990s. Mike Oldfield used Hans's sounds in Tubular Bells II


    Going For Gold biggrin I've put a sample up for Thor on this same thread at the FSM board wink

    p.s. I didn't know the Oldfield/Zimmer connection before?
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
  10. One of my very best friends co-owns tubular.net and found me interviews where Oldfield admits to getting Zimmer's synth libraries from Trevor Horn who produced Tubular Bells II. The Sally album produced by Hans was "Strange Days in Berlin". He also played synths (he was a very popular session keyboard player, seemingly) on a previous Sally album.
    http://www.filmmusic.pl - Polish Film Music Review Website
  11. I'd like to explore that connection further.
    http://www.filmmusic.pl - Polish Film Music Review Website
    •  
      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeDec 3rd 2010
    Name: Alan Silvestri
    First feature film score: THE DOBERMAN GANG (1972)
    Age at the time: 22
    Noteworthy things before that: Making your feature film debut at 22 is pretty damn impressive. To be honest, I don't really have that much knowledge of Silvestri before that other than that he apparently toured with Wayne Cochran for a while. Does anyone know if he did any media work or concert works, pop songs, whatever? SOMETHING must have landed him the feature film gig.
    I am extremely serious.

1 to 12 of 12

  1.