Settling the Score

You've probably heard his music. Actually, I guarantee that you've heard his music because it is that recognizable. The man's name is Hans Zimmer and he is the closest thing we have to a legend of scoring today. Inception, The Dark Knight, Kung-Fu Panda, Gladiator, The Pacific, Sherlock Holmes, and even Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 are just some of the media that Hans Zimmer has provided scores for. His style is very intense and relies heavily on the brass section of his symphony to move the action along. This is best seen in Inception and The Dark Knight movies that have a lot of action and require an epic score to set the tone.

The video above is a live performance by Zimmer and his symphony at the Inception premier. They play a song from the movie which is meant to accompany an action scene but still sends the same message without the video sync. What I find most interesting about his work is his ability to blend electronic instrument with real ones to create an effectively moving score. Many purists would say that this is "cheating" but Zimmer does not flaunt this technology but rather uses it to enhance and support the real instruments he uses. This shouldn't come as a surprise because Zimmer was in "The Buggles" who sang "Video Killed the Radio Star" which practically paved the way for the advent of electronic instruments and music. Basically this guy is the man especially since this is how he describes his process..."I wake up around noon, light a cigarette, get a cup of coffee, sit in the bathtub for an hour and daydream, and I usually come up with some ideas... " All in all a very talented individual who doesn't accept mediocrity in any movie he scores. Next time you're watching a movie notice the score and what it does to add to the action and dialogue.