We at GoSeeTalk claim to be huge film score fans but there’s someone we know who puts both our passion and knowledge to shame. Hailing from London, living in Northern Ireland since 1990, host on a number of film and music related outlets, including his own “Movie Magic” show, is one Tim Burden. Raised on golden era Hollywood music his father was the John H. Burden, a past principal of the London Symphony Orchestra who played on some of the most iconic film scores of all time. I’ve admired his work and professionalism for some time and admittedly there’s a bit of Tim Burden’s “movie magic” in all my interviews. You may…
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Exclusive: Interview (Part III)…Film Composer Steve Jablonsky on Experimentation and Career Experiences
We’ve come to the final post, Part III of the 90 minute interview we had with the incomparable Steve Jablonsky. Hitting on a number of topics we got a deeper look into his process and Steve offers even more personal experiences and insight into his phenomenal scores. If you’re just joining us, check out Part I and Part II (really, if you love film music, they’re not to be missed) but if you’re all caught up then enjoy the final leg in this trio of interview posts with amazing composer Steve Jablonsky. ——————————————————————————————————————————— – “Making sounds” as opposed to just composing them is a very proprietary approach. But do you think,…
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Exclusive: Interview (Part II)…Steve Jablonsky’s Big Break, His Process, and Living In Michael Bay’s World
In Part I of our interview with film composer Steve Jablonsky we talked about his recent score for Ender’s Game. A major player in the word of film music Jablonsky has made a name for himself contributing to and fully scoring some of the most successful blockbusters in the last decade. Working with the likes of Harry Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer, Jablonsky has become an in-demand composer and he continues to score films for some of the biggest names in the industry. So jump right into Part II as we discuss Steve’s big break, scoring a slew of horror remakes for Michael Bay’s production company Platinum Dunes and of course…
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Exclusive: Interview (Part I)…’Ender’s Game’ Composer Steve Jablonsky
For more than a decade Steve Jablonsky has been composing riveting scores for some of Hollywood’s most bombastic blockbuster films. From the Japanese anime Steamboy (directed by legendary filmmaker Katsuhiro Otomo), to Michael Bay’s The Island and Transformers series to scoring no less than 4 feature films in 2013 alone, Jablonsky’s epic sounds have become a staple in the world of action films. Whether things are blowing up on the silver screen, the TV screen or in video games, Jablonsky is one of only a handful of go-to composers who consistently deliver diversity and complexity along with high energy themes. Originally focused on becoming a recording engineer, Jablonsky’s career as a film composer developed after assisting…
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Exclusive: Interview…Nathan Johnson Talks Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rian Johnson and the Musical Mojo of ‘Don Jon’
A gifted musician in his own right, film composer Nathan Johnson creates such unique musical soundscapes for every movie, short film and project to which he’s attached. This year he composed the score to Don Jon, which is Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s modernized interpretation of the iconic thief of hearts. With a sound and style that’s so varied and diverse, Johnson’s scores have given such a unique atmosphere to films like Brick and Looper. We got to chat with Nathan about his work on Don Jon, his process working with different directors and so much more. Below are the highlights of our time with him. ——————————————————————————————————————————— – An interesting take on the fabled Don Juan DeMarco, Don Jon…
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Interview…(Part II) Film Composer Carl Thiel Talks More Music, Robert Rodriguez and ‘Machete Kills’
Award-winning music writer/producer and film composer Carl Thiel was born into a European family and raised in Mexico City, Carl was exposed to a rich and wide variety of cultural experiences and musical styles from a very early age. As a young boy, he would listen to his father (a Swedish immigrant with a doctorate in music) play Mozart and Bach on the piano, while his older siblings would play Beatles and Carpenters albums. His mother, a perpetual student of the spiritual and healing arts and the daughter of German and Austrian immigrants, shared her love for Strauss and Vivaldi, as well as meditation and inspirational music. Immersed in the huge metropolis,…
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Interview…Jim Mickle On Religion, Horrror Taboos, & Writing What You Know In ‘We Are What We Are’
As you might be able to ascertain from my review of Jim Mickle’s We Are What We Are, I really, really dug the film – it’s a serious breath of fresh air in an October that’s bizarrely lacking in horror releases (in fairness, the Carrie remake opens next week, but I have a feeling that’s going to be scary for reasons other than its horror beats). Cannibal fare might be relatively niche even in horror, the most niche genre umbrella of them all, but every element that makes up the film’s whole plays in a way that’s universally pleasing; gorehounds don’t get to claim exclusive dibs on what Mickle has done…
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Interview…(Part I) ‘Machete Kills’ Composer Carl Thiel Discusses Collaborating with Robert Rodriguez
Film composer Carl Thiel is an award-winning music writer/producer. Over the course of his career he’s worked with a multitude of musicians and personalities including Willie Nelson, Bob Schneider, Los Lonely Boys, John Debney, and Del Castillo to name just a few. Carl currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Texas Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and frequently volunteers his time to teach and work with high school and college students across the state during educational events. But it’s his collaborations with visionary director/filmmaker Robert Rodriguez that occupy a large portion of his resume (he’s even a member of Robert Rodriguez’s pet project band Chingón). In the last decade Carl has lent…
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Interview…Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks ‘Don Jon’, Jersey, & the Ritual of 35mm
After returning to acting following his post-3rd Rock From the Sun hiatus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s star remains on the rise, and yet it’s impossible to argue that he’s still growing up. Part of that stems from the smart choices he’s made following his second coming – he’s picked a blend of independent projects and more commercially available films, ranging from Brick to Inception – but more than anything, it’s because of Don Jon, his latest production and his first stint directing and writing on a feature-length movie. Anchoring his film in New Jersey, Gordon-Levitt steps in front of the camera to bring his hero, a modern take on that classical literary…
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Interview…Robin Foster on Scoring Sean Ellis’ ‘Metro Manila’
British composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robin Foster may draw inspiration from bands like Radiohead and composers like Ennio Morricone but really he has a style all his own. What he calls “cinematic post-rock” is a mesmerizing and dreamy mix of electronic loops, and airy synths that are driven by waves of guitars. His close collaboration with Oscar nominated British writer/film director Sean Ellis has lead to soundtracks for prestigious global brand names such as Hugo Boss and Kenneth Cole and last year he composed the score to Ellis’ feature film, Metro Manila. The action thriller recently won the highly prestigious Audience World Dramatic award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in January 2013 where…
