The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack: Inside the Discordant New World of Film Scoring

by Stephan Eicke

Overview

Do you want to pick up a light saber whenever you hear John Williams' Star Wars theme? Get the urge to ride into the desert and face down steely-eyed desperados to the refrain of Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? Does Hans Zimmer's Pirates of the Caribbean score have you talking like Jack Sparrow?

From the Westerns of the 1960s to current blockbusters, composers for both film and television have faced new challenges—evermore elaborate sound design, temp tracks, test audiences and working with companies that invest in film score recordings all have led to creative sparks, as well as frustrations. Drawing on interviews with more than 40 notable composers, this book gives an in-depth analysis of the industry and reveals the creative process behind such artists as Klaus Badelt, Mychael Danna, Abel Korzeniowski, Walter Murch, Rachel Portman, Alan Silvestri, Randy Thom and others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476676319
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Pages:	227
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stephan Eicke was editor-in-chief of the only European film music magazine, Cinema Musica. He co-founded the CD label Caldera Records, and has taught classes in Germany, the Netherlands, Kenya, Ghana, and Belgium. He lives in Germany.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Sound of Change
Sir, You Are Standing on My Toe, Sir
Lieutenant Gadget
Something Familiar, Something Similar
Turn Down the Sound, I Can’t Hear the Music
Let’s Do It Together!
The Hans Method
Instead of a Fireman
Summary
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Perspectives are informed and well-intended…Eicke’s book is a very interesting one by investigating a topic not elsewhere covered in film music books and daring to point a spotlight at struggles that lie within the film music workplace.”—Musique Fantastique

From the Publisher