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Modern Sounding - Hybrid Soundtracks are very popular these days

The difference; Vangelis composed always with synths only at that time...Blade Runner was his first step combining is synthesizer abilities with orchestral scoring and jazz influenced themes....

The Tenet soundtrack is perfect in the movie, but as music itself, its more than underwhelming...
If you look at Nolans movies... the Inception ost brings so much more to the table...I am not a fan of zimmeresk Music, but Mr.Zimmer showed us all, how modern oder hybrid scoring works... I don´t know,if he is the end result or only a composer, who can only survive with his "little helpers"....

If you listen to tenet without seeing the movie...difficult
 
The difference; Vangelis composed always with synths only at that time...Blade Runner was his first step combining is synthesizer abilities with orchestral scoring and jazz influenced themes....

The Tenet soundtrack is perfect in the movie, but as music itself, its more than underwhelming...
If you look at Nolans movies... the Inception ost brings so much more to the table...I am not a fan of zimmeresk Music, but Mr.Zimmer showed us all, how modern oder hybrid scoring works... I don´t know,if he is the end result or only a composer, who can only survive with his "little helpers"....

If you listen to tenet without seeing the movie...difficult

Definitely a departure for Nolan for sure... And as some who really like CN's films I hear that.. But Raymond Scott was doing the same thing back in the 50s, and his history very much involved jazz.


Im just saying that this trend really isn't new at all.. It goes back as far as the history of synthesis.



(Self-indulgent, nostalgic link added for fun and for anyone who may be unfamiliar with Scott... :P)

 
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If it's perfect in the movie, that's what matters, isn't it? Soundtracks are meant to go along with the movie they were made for - they are not made for enjoyment as standalone music.

Very true.

But, I really like it when a Soundtrack can do both functions, enhance the movie's ambience/emotional content, and be enjoyable music to listen to without the visual component.
 
I feel some people look down, and have a snobbish attitude towards any soundtrack that is not purely orchestral
I think you mix two things up.

It's not about orchestral vs electronic/hybrid/whatever.

It's about flat plain Copy/Paste + layering sluggish composing vs composing that engages in all that stuff masters were capable of, i.e. vivid refined musical compositions.

This piece is 100% "hybrid" scoring, synths + orchestra, but you can hear it's a fricking great composition, not some vapid noodling.



You could swap all the orchestral instruments for electronic and it would still be a kick-ass piece of music.
 
I think you mix two things up.

It's not about orchestral vs electronic/hybrid/whatever.

It's about flat plain Copy/Paste + layering sluggish composing vs composing that engages in all that stuff masters were capable of, i.e. vivid refined musical compositions.

This piece is 100% "hybrid" scoring, synths + orchestra, but you can hear it's a fricking great composition, not some vapid noodling.



You could swap all the orchestral instruments for electronic and it would still be a kick-ass piece of music.


No, I know exactly what you mean here, and I'm not mixing things up.

Hybrid Orchestration has it's own qualities as well.. There is the Great, the OK, and the Ugly as well. It's part of the craft of Orchestration.

It's imho. a complex extension to traditional Acoustic Orchestration, and is quite a complex, and challenging field of modern orchestration. I appreciate a well crafted Hybrid Score, when the non acoustic sources blend in, as if they were natural extensions/complements of their acoustic sources, the resulting sound can be very interesting, and rewarding to hear. New, fresh, and exciting.
 
I think you mix two things up.

It's not about orchestral vs electronic/hybrid/whatever.

It's about flat plain Copy/Paste + layering sluggish composing vs composing that engages in all that stuff masters were capable of, i.e. vivid refined musical compositions.

This piece is 100% "hybrid" scoring, synths + orchestra, but you can hear it's a fricking great composition, not some vapid noodling.



You could swap all the orchestral instruments for electronic and it would still be a kick-ass piece of music.


Vapid noodling to some may be art to others (or at least a good soundtrack to a movie, in which it almost always plays a supporting role) - it could even become the majority of people. What then, to precious, pre-conceived notions of what qualifies as "good"? At that point, anything orchestral would qualify as vapid noodling.

Movies soundtracks are a restricted and limited genre. Maybe more change and experimentation is needed? Why does a score have to be "hybrid"? Why can't it just be a guitar? Or a synth? Or a digeridoo? Or recordings of engine noises that are then mangled and played through a pipe organ?

Art over time changes because: people. Movie soundtracks aren't some exceptional, rarified art form - it's sound and music in support of a visual medium with an auditory component. The audience will determine if the soundtrack was one that worked. If they care.

Personally, yes, I prefer songs and structure. But I'm not so young anymore.
 
I think you mix two things up.

It's not about orchestral vs electronic/hybrid/whatever.

It's about flat plain Copy/Paste + layering sluggish composing vs composing that engages in all that stuff masters were capable of, i.e. vivid refined musical compositions.

This piece is 100% "hybrid" scoring, synths + orchestra, but you can hear it's a fricking great composition, not some vapid noodling.



You could swap all the orchestral instruments for electronic and it would still be a kick-ass piece of music.

Being that this is Goldsmith I know I'm probably setting myself up to step in a big pile of dogshit :P.

But honestly I just don't find that to be a piece of music that holds its own without the film. I don't hear a refined composition, and the meandering mickey mouse style chromaticism mixed with the rhythms that sound like footsteps isn't refined, it's a rehash of the same scoring devices used over and over in that era.

The Tenet score conveys a lot more anxiety, tension and has a brooding/threatening tone IMO. It also has a much more technological and futuristic tone which I hardly doubt was an unintentional choice..

Maybe it's not your cup of tea which is totally understandable... But a film score is ultimately there to reinforce the film not satisfy the composer's musical whims...
 
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If it's perfect in the movie, that's what matters, isn't it? Soundtracks are meant to go along with the movie they were made for - they are not made for enjoyment as standalone music.
I can imagine way less boringly repetitive music that would enhance the drama tenfolds, so no, it's not perfect for the movie.

When you put flat repetitive music into a dramatic film, it hardly reflects what's happening in the film, unless the scenes are flat, boring and repetitive.
 
I only ask myself two questions when assessing music: do I like it?, and does it achieve what it’s trying to do?

Good and Bad have no place in discussions on art. That is my honest opinion, and I don’t expect it to resonate with everyone. That said, I stand by it, and teach all of my students to approach it the same way.

I don’t have to enjoy a work of art to feel that it was well crafted and served its purpose well. Likewise, I don’t have to think the work of art fulfilled its purpose well at all to enjoy it.

The broader point is this; people will create the art they want to, and they should. Don’t like it? That’s okay! Acknowledge that and move on. Those artists will continue to create their art whether or not you appreciate it, and they will lose no sleep with the latter.
 
And this is a painting.

Untitled, 1969 - Mark Rothko - WikiArt.org




Those examples are not the Tenet level crap (that Expanse track was way better), but why has the music become so flat and featureless?

The B-est 1950s horror flick and ambientiest 1960s twilight zone music is way more interesting and musical than this.


It irks me I must bitch about nearly everything, but so much of the current music is so meh. :roflmao:

Everyone who can draw a midi note and load up a synth in their DAW is a composer now.

You're missing the point here.

Throw everything about the composer in yourself out the window.

Watch the movie/story (whatever that may be) again, and see how a certain approach to a score feeds it.

I was watching this movie "Unhinged" (however people make of this movie), and it features a gone guy who loses it with society. What's the score? Simply lots of "copy and paste" relentless thumps. No melody, no harmony, nothing. Is it boring by itself? Yes. Does it sound like a guy who has lost all sense of meaning in his life, and now he's just going to kill any mofo who crosses his path? Yes. -------------and to me, that's fine enough.



There's room for all kinds of approaches to different movies thankfully, quite a few which you would like.

But in filmscoring, anything can go.
 
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But honestly I just don't find that to be a piece of music that holds its own without the film. I don't hear a refined composition, and the meandering mickey mouse style chromaticism mixed with the rhythms that sound like footsteps isn't refined, it's a rehash of the same scoring devices used over and over in that era.
And Williams is just a rehash of Holst, Wagner and Korngold.
 
If it's perfect in the movie, that's what matters, isn't it? Soundtracks are meant to go along with the movie they were made for - they are not made for enjoyment as standalone music.

Correct - many often forget this. A cook may be very good at mingling at the dinner table; but at the end of the day, if he/her doesn't cook, fuck him/her. There are plenty of socialites out there who are good at mingling.
 
Hi,

It would be interesting to see what are some of the Hybrid-Style Soundtracks you are fancying these days.

You can post a Youtube version of it on this thread, so we can get to share some of the Hybrid-Style scores we fancy. I'm especially interested in the newer, more recent released Hybrid-Scores, not just the older 80's/90's. etc.

Thanks,
Muziksculp
 
Unapologetically in love Westworld. I think he recurring theme below fits the story brilliantly. It's mysterious but delicate, sad with a touch of hope, etc... It fits the duality of the story really well...







I still think Fury Road is one of the grittiest action scores of the past decade. This Cue is relentless. Just when you think it's going to let up it picks up, each time getting even grittier than before.







Probably a favorite of many around here... The entire score is fantastic. I couldn't count the number of times I've just sat and listened to it end to end:


 
These composers aren't writing this stuff for their own ego - they are writing it to enhance the picture which is what they are hired to do.

Sometimes what fits the picture is not going to line up with music that stands well on it's own. These days we've associated an orchestra to less modern atmospheres - so while it still might be one of the driving parts of a score involving fantasy and scifi - or cartoons, ect - things that involve current time/modern atmospheres revolve around what people today actually listen to, our reliance on technology - ect. Even a modern film/series that takes place in some rural area without a whole lot of technology probably features many acoustic and simple instruments - while some inner city crime drama might incorporate more synth beds, pulses to reflect the pace and vibe of the surroundings.

These film composers are still focusing on the same things stravinksy would have... what is the metaphor?

Zimmer talks about why he featured the organ so heavily on interstellar, how pieces like the dream collapsing is representative of the original song they listened to to wake up as it's slowed down and warped in interstellar - and how the ostinatos in the dark night were this driving persistent force while the joker was a distorted string that kept being tightened but never quite snapped... these are all metaphor - and all super effective.

Sure zimmer has a knack for buying up talent, but ultimately his vision for how the score should work is why he gets hired, and why his work is effective. This is a very different medium than impressionalists but the same concept - so the need to disrespect it because the note choices are more fundemental while the sound design/instrumentation does the heavy lifting is without warrant. They aren't setting out to write an orchestral opus - they are setting out to capture and enhance what the director is going for.
 
Sure zimmer has a knack for buying up talent, but ultimately his vision for how the score should work is why he gets hired, and why his work is effective.
Your whole post is really on point, this sentence is a great summary though... If someone hires you to score a film they don't hire you to write music that satisfies your ego. They hire you to compose music that helps tell the story...

I'm sure we all have scores we love, but feel could have been even better... In reality none of these decisions are in the hands of the composer... Be it the director or music supervisor; any score is a compromise between the vision of the composer and the reality of whichever power(s) decide what makes the cut and what doesn't...
 
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