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If you watched Tony Zhou's recent "Every Frame a Painting" episode about why the Marvel movies all have such unmemorable soundtracks (where he blames temp score

If you watched Tony Zhou's recent "Every Frame a Painting" episode about why the Marvel movies all have such unmemorable soundtracks (where he blames temp scores), you should also watch the response by Dan Golding where he claims Zhou has misidentified the real culprit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcXsH88XlKM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcXsH88XlKM Carefully avoiding saying whether it's good or bad, Golding (like this article) says Hans Zimmer is almost solely responsible for why films and trailers sound the way they do right now. Whether or not you like it, and see Zimmer as a musical villain or not, it's kind of interesting that we're living in the middle of a one-man revolution in a particular artistic field.

mazelife 10y ago
Dan Golding's response seems pretty on-the-nose to me. Although I think he's right to cite Zimmer as someone who pioneered a certain method and style that has become prevalent in a big chunk of movie genres, I think the real culprit here (if you want to lay the blame somewhere) is just the economics of the Hollywood filmmaking system, which prizes cost-control, speed, and consistency of product above all else. It's sad to see the composer Patrick Doyle get cited in both of those video essays for his music for Thor (which I agree, is generic and boring) because it illustrates the extent to which really talented film composers can get absorbed into this system. His scores for Henry V [1], Dead Again, and Carlito's Way all stand out as really shining example of 90s-era film scoring. [1] Great example of his work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM
dublinben 10y ago
Zimmer is often accused of scoring more movies than he actually does, because other composers are told to simply copy him. Whether you're actually paying for the real deal or not, your movie is going to end up with the same sound.
- twoodfin 10y ago
  As this article points out, Zimmer "scores more movies than he actually does" because he's built a kind of film score workshop where dozens of collaborators turn out scores in his style by the bushel. I first discovered this when Pandora spun up a rousing number from Klaus Badelt's Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack and I swore I was listening to Gladiator. Badelt is a longtime Zimmer collaborator. It's interesting that Zimmer himself took credit for composing the music for the Pirates sequels once the franchise was an (unexpected) smash.
  - cm2012 10y ago
    Pirates has a really memorable soundtrack though.
cJ0th 10y ago
People like to moan about Zimmer (and I do loathe his scores with a passion) but he just gives the studios what they demand: A score that fits a deadline, certain quality standards and the budget. If it weren't for Zimmer someone else would have filled his role. It's just what happens to a product or industry that is past its heyday. The same happens, for instance, within the garment industry. Once a (non luxury) brand is well established it "optimizes" the costs of its clothes until people complain that the quality has become unacceptable.
- tudorw 10y ago
  The IBM option ;)
  - edkennedy 10y ago
    "You never get fired for hiring Zimmer"
- anigbrowl 10y ago
  Zimmer is a bit of a hack (albeit a very talented one) but I'll take one of his scores any day over Danny Elfman, who seems to arrange everything through a permanent sugar high.
  - ant6n 10y ago
    A lot of Elfman's stuff is pretty dark - example Batman Returns.
    - vanderZwan 10y ago
      Or his Oingo Boingo years: https://vimeo.com/47162346 https://vimeo.com/47162346
      - tomcam 10y ago
        That piece feels like it's in 7/4 or maybe alternating 4/4,3/4 measures

mazelife 10y ago

Dan Golding's response seems pretty on-the-nose to me. Although I think he's right to cite Zimmer as someone who pioneered a certain method and style that has become prevalent in a big chunk of movie genres, I think the real culprit here (if you want to lay the blame somewhere) is just the economics of the Hollywood filmmaking system, which prizes cost-control, speed, and consistency of product above all else. It's sad to see the composer Patrick Doyle get cited in both of those video essays for his music for Thor (which I agree, is generic and boring) because it illustrates the extent to which really talented film composers can get absorbed into this system. His scores for Henry V [1], Dead Again, and Carlito's Way all stand out as really shining example of 90s-era film scoring. [1] Great example of his work here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM

dublinben 10y ago

Zimmer is often accused of scoring more movies than he actually does, because other composers are told to simply copy him. Whether you're actually paying for the real deal or not, your movie is going to end up with the same sound.

twoodfin 10y ago
As this article points out, Zimmer "scores more movies than he actually does" because he's built a kind of film score workshop where dozens of collaborators turn out scores in his style by the bushel. I first discovered this when Pandora spun up a rousing number from Klaus Badelt's Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack and I swore I was listening to Gladiator. Badelt is a longtime Zimmer collaborator. It's interesting that Zimmer himself took credit for composing the music for the Pirates sequels once the franchise was an (unexpected) smash.
- cm2012 10y ago
  Pirates has a really memorable soundtrack though.

cJ0th 10y ago

People like to moan about Zimmer (and I do loathe his scores with a passion) but he just gives the studios what they demand: A score that fits a deadline, certain quality standards and the budget. If it weren't for Zimmer someone else would have filled his role. It's just what happens to a product or industry that is past its heyday. The same happens, for instance, within the garment industry. Once a (non luxury) brand is well established it "optimizes" the costs of its clothes until people complain that the quality has become unacceptable.

tudorw 10y ago
The IBM option ;)
- edkennedy 10y ago
  "You never get fired for hiring Zimmer"
anigbrowl 10y ago
Zimmer is a bit of a hack (albeit a very talented one) but I'll take one of his scores any day over Danny Elfman, who seems to arrange everything through a permanent sugar high.
- ant6n 10y ago
  A lot of Elfman's stuff is pretty dark - example Batman Returns.
  - vanderZwan 10y ago
    Or his Oingo Boingo years: https://vimeo.com/47162346 https://vimeo.com/47162346
    - tomcam 10y ago
      That piece feels like it's in 7/4 or maybe alternating 4/4,3/4 measures