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You favourite cues of JW underscore?

Discussion in 'Composition 1' started by Luke Johnson, Dec 13, 2019.

  1. So I’m rewatching Composition 1 and got to where Mike is talking about underscore and how masterful JW is and how musical his underscore is. Can anyone give me examples of their favourite underscore cues that JW has written? Would be interesting to check some different music out!

    Thanks

    Jono
     
  2. #2 Alexander Schiborr, Dec 13, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2019
    Hi Luke,
    There are many many great imho. But to give a few examples of movies which you might want to check out:

    1. Witches of Eastwick
    2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
    3. SW - The Empire strikes back (of course the first one too..)
    4. Jaws
    5. Hook
    6. Hidden Gem (at least for me) also: War of the Worlds, Minority Report (!!),
    7. Maybe something slightly different: Terminal and Catch me if you can

    Also, it doesn´t hurt to check out his earlier movie works from the 50s to 70s, where you might find the early John Williams, plus examples and his work for TV (Amazing stories and his stuff for NBC is very cool)

    Very sure some other mates here will give you many more examples, but that is my small list so far. It also makes sense to dive into things like what influenced him. A whiiillle..ago I started looking at this subject a bit closer and so while it might sound old fashioned to you, I would still recommend checking out some of the 40s music from Composers like Korngold, Steiner, Miklos Rozsa) some concert work also (Stravinsky, Holst, but also stuff from late romantic era from Tschaikowsky (I love his work) or Mahler)

    And you can always ask questions. :) PS: And take a break from buying gear and go work on your chops! ;))
     
    Luke Johnson likes this.
  3. Hey Jono

    Do this:

    1. Get "The Phantom Menace" on DVD, and rip it to a file format which will allow you to bring the vid into your DAW (for your own personal use; not for distribution purposes, obviously)
    2. Get "The Phantom Menace" full score on CD, and rip it
    3. Bring both into your DAW
    4. Using the vid music as a guide, line up each cue from ripped from the CDs, so that music is now in sync with the film
    5. Export the vid with the vid audio muted

    You know have the entire movie with original music only, and you can now see, without interference from D/E, how musical the underscore really is.

    Cheers.
     
    Doug Gibson and Luke Johnson like this.
  4. Thanks. Well, it doesn’t sound old fashioned to me. I was brought up on Holst (thanks to my mother).
    Thanks man. Yes, I love all of these scores (also love Holst - my mum said when I was a kid she would put on The Planets to "relax me" haha). I so agree, Minority Report is a gem. Not only a great film but the music is excellent. I know some people don't consider JW's work at that point to be the same as his lighting bolts from his ass stage haha!

    My question was really about whether anybody has any favourite cues of underscore (as opposed to stand out cues with all the catchy themes that most people immediately latch onto) as I'm always interested in other people's tastes. Of course, I guess I should just cut the shit and study all of JWs work deeply and love every note. Might get a little better if I did! haha

    I'm currently working on a piece that's just orchestral instruments and writing it with samples. Taking a long time, and it's probably dog shit compared to what most can write but I'm learning a lot and having fun doing so. So, I'll share it when it's ready for a first slaying haha
     
    Paul T McGraw likes this.
  5. This is an excellent idea. Thanks. I shall do this when I have some time over Christmas! :)
     
  6. Yes, please do. I can't say I recall ever seeing a piece of yours posted for feedback. We'll be nice.
     
    Luke Johnson and Paul T McGraw like this.
  7. Will do. I posted a small piece when Red Banned got launched. Was my first time writing a simple Piano Strings piece for my sister's wedding (using Libraries and recorded a live Violin and Cello - also my first time writing something with a rubato click track). Trying to get better though so feedback from anyone that writes orchestral music is a good thing.
     

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