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How should they Score the Silver Chair?

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How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby twinimage » Dec 14, 2013 6:05 pm

I know this is a early to discuss this aspect of the film (post production), but film scores are one of my favorite pieces to a movie and I wanted to start talking about it, now that SC is closer to being made. :)

First off, I love what Harry Gregson-Williams did for LWW. I think the Narnia motif was really good and sounded unique. Great memorable music.
PC was mostly just recycling LWW music. I heard every single motif from LWW, even ones that I think didn't apply to the scene (i.e. Mr. Tumnus' motif).
I was delightfully surprised that VDT didn't recycle previous music. We did hear the Narnia motif a few times. The rest was original and sounded nice at best, but not memorable.

So, who do you think should score SC?
What kind of sound would you like to hear for this film? Do you think the previous Narnia motif should return? Should the music be similar to the previous films? Something new???

My initial thoughts. It would be cool to hear what John Williams would do. He's one of the greats. Not sure if he'd be the best fit though. When I think of SC, I think more of the music being less orchestral and more "rustic" per say. Like imagine Celtic oriented instruments, rather than an entire orchestra, during the "walking" parts. I could be way off though.
I could take or leave the Narnia motif. If you want to make a stronger connection with the previous films, include it in there at points. I'd like there to be a nice, subtle (not cartoony/goofy) motif for Puddleglum and a dark atmospheric or ambiance-like theme for the Underlands.

Let me hear your thoughts and opinions! :D

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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Impending Doom » Dec 15, 2013 11:26 am

If they're distancing themselves from the previously films they should probably get rid of the 'Narnia' motif. As for who should score the film, I'm not sure, but since the book is different in tone then previously ones, I'm hoping it has a differnt feel. Something totally new would be nice... maybe something darker? I really like the Celtic idea you suggested twinimage! I could see that really fitting for SC.

Doesn't the directer usually have a composer he likes to work with? Both Harry Gregson-Willams and David Arnold were brought on the project because they'd worked with the directors before. So if Adamson comes back, like Greshem wants, its likely we'd see Gregson-Willams back as well.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby twinimage » Dec 15, 2013 1:22 pm

Very good point. Many directors have the same composer for their films. Tim Burton/Danny Elfman, Bryan Singer/John Ottman, Steven Spielberg/John Williams.
Silver Chair does have a rather different feel from the books before it. So something totally new wouldn't be out of the question.
I wouldn't say make it "darker". I feel that's the default, go to answer now a days. It doesn't need to be "dark", unless the scene at hand calls for it, like the parts in the Underlands. It also depends on how they plan to approach the film, like the tone and feel they are going for. If they did want it to feel "darker" or more serious, Hans Zimmer may be a good choice. He seems to score more for films that require less whimsical music.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Aslan Fan » Dec 16, 2013 3:21 pm

James Newton Howard would be a good choice. He's proven himself to be a genuine composer that can wield whimsical music as well as the driven. I would hate to see the original Narnia themes go but I think that's going to happen if we like it not. Goodbye Harry Gregson-Williams :(( . I hope James Newton Howard can do it though. :)
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby twinimage » Dec 31, 2013 9:31 pm

I was trying to think of a movie that had a style of music I thought could be a nice match to Silver Chair. George Fenton may be a nice candidate for scoring the film. He scored the 1998 "Ever After" movie. That was an excellent and fun score, IMO. I can see him do well with SC if he went for a similar sound. It kind of matches my previous comment about a rustic, Celtic sound.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby wild rose » Jan 03, 2014 3:17 pm

Personally, I would like Harry Gregson-Williams to do the score because I'm a REALLY big fan of his and love most of the scores he made. Often times I wouldn't even know that the score to a certain film was his and I'd be all in love with it and then realize that it was him who did the score and love it even more. I love both the scores for LWW and PC. But I do agree, that a lot will probably depend on the director (and a number of other factors). But honestly, to me, no one will do it as good as Harry Gregson-Williams will be able too, but that is simply my personal opinion :)

twinimage I agree that the score for the 1998 film Ever After was an excellent one, one of my personal favorites actually (along with the film itself) George Fenton could possibly be able with something that will really match SC, seeing how he really nailed it with Ever After:) I think he could be a very good candidate, (though personally, I'd still prefer Harry Gregson-Williams ;)) )
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Trusty » Jan 04, 2014 2:10 pm

As I'm a big fan of soundtrack music in general I try to keep track of leading composers/studios! One that comes to mind for me is Thomas Bergeson from 'Two Steps from Hell' studio as he tends towards the slightly edgy/dark, which I feel is the impression the book leaves on most people.

You can hear a more full-blooded track of his here, or a lighter, more drifting/lonely piece here.

Another option could be the Hans Zimmer & Lorne Balfe duo that came together to score for The Bible TV Series. It was memorable, effective music that I thought really made the series (which was, sadly, deficient in a lot of other areas imo). You can hear The Bible theme and two variations of it here and here. The score was a single theme that wove a single thread through the entire duration of the series, and this approach is what (in my opinion) makes it remarkable, and reminiscent of how Gregson-Williams handled LWW's music.

In fact I think good music is a main ingredient, and really makes or breaks a cinematic story for me. Then again I'm unusually affected by audio elements and would even ask why they leave it for post production?? What if key scenes actually reflected the movement of the score (as they tend to do in trailers), wouldn't that add to a better sense of fluidity?

Ultimately - I just hope the composition is more successful than the ones we heard in PC or VDT!
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Impending Doom » Jan 04, 2014 4:39 pm

One that comes to mind for me is Thomas Bergeson from 'Two Steps from Hell' studio as he tends towards the slightly edgy/dark, which I feel is the impression the book leaves on most people.


Very interesting choice! I to am a huge fan of his compositions. I know he does trailer music and even some T.V shows, but I'm not totally sure if he would make a movie soundtrack. Anyways, I would love for him to score SC, he could really add a lot to the movie.

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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Trusty » Jan 04, 2014 5:51 pm

Impending Doom wrote:I know he does trailer music and even some T.V shows, but I'm not totally sure if he would make a movie soundtrack.


Yeah I thought that too, there's probably more independence for the artist in writing trailer music than soundtracks and he might like that. You never know though! He's definitely got the right sound.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Narnian_Storm » Jan 06, 2014 6:43 am

I think Thomas Bergeson would be great if he did that sort of thing. I like TSFH music a lot too and think it would fit perfectly. Hans Zimmer is always a good choice- he has so many amazing scores to his name.

While we are throwing out names, what about Howard Shore from LOTR/The Hobbit? I think his style would fit well in Narnia, especially the Silver Chair with its darker tones.

And for the record, I personally really enjoyed the PC score ;)
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Trusty » Jan 06, 2014 1:33 pm

PC music was pretty good imo too (I like "Arrival at Aslan's How") but like some others I did feel it was mostly a repackaging of the LWW score, without really making it its own. Still a good listen though!
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Glumpuddle » Jan 10, 2014 6:54 pm

In my opinion, continuity is generally overrated. I feel this way about casting as well for the most part.

I really just want to see a good Silver Chair movie, and a fresh start for the franchise. I would like to hear a brand new score.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Aslanisthebest » Jan 10, 2014 9:25 pm

Though I felt like the score of PC was a bit redundant, I liked that it was reminiscent of LWW. Both those soundtracks are lovely. However, the music somehow stagnated with VDT. I know it was a new composer, but the music didn't feel fresh or really unique. And I was so disappointed that there was not Ramandu and his daughter's song--the musical highlight of the book.

I like Harry Gregson-Williams' work, and I would be excited to hear what he would do with TSC. Another person I'd like to hear would be Thomas Newman. John Williams would be really interesting, too. Though it's unlikely, it would be really neat if independent artists could work on scoring TSC. I agree that it should be a brand new score. Since, like GP said, the franchise is new, a return to Narnia without the weight of the first three films, including music, would make me look forward to the movie.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Reepi » Jan 11, 2014 12:36 pm

James Newton-Howard is one of my favourite composers, but I'm not sure how well he would do at something like Narnia.

LWW had an excellent soundtrack, Evacuating London, The Battle and Only the Beginning of the Adventure are tracks that are still amongst my all-time favorites.
PC was adequate for a sequel, but the darker tone meant the tone of the soundtrack changed as well. Overall, I like LWW better.
VDT was good for the most part, not the best, but I personally like it for some of the themes. Something most people don't know, though, is that David Arnold reused some themes for VDT, from Godzilla, of all things :|

I will certainly look forward to who they choose for the score...
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby Meltintalle » Jan 11, 2014 4:00 pm

I hesitate to put someone forward based on a familiarity with only one complete soundtrack, but what about John Powell?

I have no idea if it could be pulled off or not, but an orchestrated Elizabethan sound could be very Narnian. (Sort of like what Arnold Schoenberg did with some of the Bach fugues which are a slightly later style than what I have in mind.) The solo lute would be a nice foreshadowing of the Lady of the Green Kirtle.
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Re: How should they Score the Silver Chair?

Postby David West » Jan 11, 2014 11:20 pm

Personally, I find John Williams horribly boring much of the time. He's composed some classic scores, no doubt, but at this point in his career his stuff isn't particularly memorable. His scores also tend to be VERY heavy on saccharine sentimentality and whimsy, which isn't something I want to see in The Silver Chair. It's the darkest Narnia book to be adapted to date, as well as the most adventurous and quest-oriented, and I think that the music should reflect that. It should be adventurous and sweeping with occasional moments of darkness. And, of course, there should be a few well-placed reprisals of Harry Gregson-Williams wonderful Narnia theme.

I'm glad to see someone mentioned John Powell. The first score I remember really noticing him for was The Bourne Identity, but it's his How to Train Your Dragon score that really made me love him. It's absolutely phenomenal. I'm sure he'd deliver something great here. James Newton Howard would, of course, be a reliable composer for this sort of film as well.

A really left field choice that will probably never happen but could be awesome would be Benh Zeitlin and Dan Romer. Thye scored (and Zeitlin also directed) "Beasts of the Southern Wild." I actually didn't particularly care for the movie, but the score is unbelievably beautiful. It's easily my favorite score since How to Train Your Dragon in 2010.

It's actually really hard to pick highlights from the Beasts of the Southern Wild score because, save for a few songs mixed into it, literally every single track is incredible. It's one of the few movie soundtracks I can listen to straight through without skipping some of the inevitable boring stuff. I really can't recommend it enough. If you want to check out a few tracks to get a good feel for what it's like, try "Until the Water Goes Down," "The Confrontation," or, my personal favorite, "Once There was a Hushpuppy."
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