Movie Scores

It’s true, movies scores are abstract without the film itself.  Yet, without music to fill the gaps stories can feel lackluster.  Well composed music has the ability to punctuate important scenes and guide the viewer through an immersive experience.  Two modern composers stand apart as creating scores that linger: Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman.

Hans Zimmer

Zimmer started on the music scene playing the keyboard in the background for the Buggles hit, “Radio Killed the Video Star” (click here to see the video) His first musical score was for the film Rain Man. The score he composed for score for The Lion King sold over 15 million copies of the soundtrack and earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score‚ a Golden Globe‚ an American Music Award‚ a Tony and two Grammy Awards. Zimmer has scored over 100 songs for films.  Chances are, you’ve heard the work of Zimmer without even knowing it! I have a soft spot for his work with Pirates of the Caribbean.  The music builds the tension for the action scenes that are pivotal to the story of the film.  A video including this song is featured below.

To learn more about Zimmer and his long discography, click here.  

Zimmerman is also teaching a masterclass in which he teaches how to score films.  He emphasizes the importance of story.  Here is a preview for his masterclass.  \

Danny Elfman

Another big name when it comes to modern film composing is Danny Elfman.  He is famous for composing the “The Simpsons” and “Desperate Housewives” themes, and the score of the 1989 Tim Burton Batman Movie. Elfman’s score for Batman went on to win a Grammy for “Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture.” He has worked with Tim Burton on other films as well such as the scores of Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and Nightmare Before Christmas.  Nightmare Before Christmas is unique because it features Elfman’s score along with his voice as the lead character.  I’ve included a song from this movie to illustrate his various skills (and because ’tis the season!).  This also is part of a key turning point in the story.

To read more about Danny Elfman click here.

John Williams

Williams has scored some of the most popular films in history.  For his decades of work he has earned Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.  His work with Steven Spielberg led him to score his films, Schindler’s List, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, four Indiana Jones films, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Munich, Hook, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Empire of the Sun, The Adventures of TinTin and War Horse.  He also composed music for all seven of the Star Wars movies and the first three Harry Potter movies.  Below is a medley of his work.

If you’d like to read more about Williams many MANY accomplishments, head to his biography on his webpage which can be found here.