Hi everyone,
Thanks to all who showed concern for the crazy weather certain parts of the country have been socked with. Shore is actually out of the country right now, and as far as I know, his NY staff is all safe and sound. Chicago hasn’t seen nearly the snow NY has, but we’ve been in a deep freeze. I’ve been riding the thermostat a bit, but no huge concerns.
>>>Suggestion: don't be afraid to put in numerous and frequent time stamps!>>>
Time stamps are a tricky affair, since you can’t automatically assume that the book readers actually own the CD boxed sets. Of course, they likely will in most instances, but still... Anyway, I think we’ve come up with a very good, interactive solution… you’ll see.
>>>And maybe you remember my hint that you might want to have bits for the more musically technical among us set off from the main text so those who don't want or need that can still get a through composition, as it were.>>>
I’m trying to avoid an abundance of off-set sections of text in the layout, only because I don’t want the book to read like stereo instructions. But the gist of this idea will still be addressed. Again, you’ll see in time.
>>>Now there we go... Why not take a particularly interesting (and intricate) exemplary passage and give us the nuts and bolts of how it went from multiple tracks of each instrument to a final mix and edit and then how you worked out your elucidations... Where does M. Shore do it, at home, at a studio, whose-all input is considered? If more than one pair of ears, are there any moments of gentlemenly sotto voce disagreement and how are they resolved... You know, the usual impertent interviewer type questions digging for drama and newsworthiness (read: conflict!! both interpersonal and within M. Shore's mind)...>>>
Jim Breuning (who you see credited with Material Preparation in the boxed set credits) oversees most of the nuts and bolts of the editing on the sets… and as each draft is completed, discs and spreadsheets are distributed to Howard, project supervisor Alan Frey, me… and probably a few others. Notes are made, Howard looks through everything, decides what, if anything, should actually be changed, and another draft is assembled by Jim. This process is repeated until a final draft is achieved. I think I may have described it before as the rock tumbler technique, and that’s really what it is. Each subsequent draft brings the piece closer to a final, polished work.
There aren’t disagreements per se, because we’re all pretty much shooting ideas to Shore. He’s the mastermind—considering and assembling all possible suggestions. This is his music and his vision, and it’s incredibly important that he stay at the helm. But he’s wonderfully open to suggestions and keeps the environment such that you never feel intrusive making them. It’s a wonderful creative / business model, really.
>>>So, you're saying that ROTK will still feature the complete, unedited recordings (and by that I mean the pure compositions), and currently you're about to mix them?>>>
ROTK will be assembled exactly as have FOTR and TTT. No deviation from the norm. I think we were all rather pleased with the way those came out, if I do say so.
>>>Also, for *my* snare drum question - I know, we German all look/sound/post alike... I've been trying to break down the pattern of what it's playing, especially during the first 30 seconds, but there are so many eighth and sixteenth rests in there that I'm screwed.>>>
I’ll write it out for you sometime, if I remember. Don’t be afraid to bother me!
>>>This is, I think, one of my true wishes...have the complete score in front of me while listening to the CRs...
>>>Now that would be heavenly. Unfathomably so.>>>
It is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, I assure you!
>>>It's a wish that will never, ever, come true...I can't imagine the full scores ever being made available in any way.>>>
It’s actually not impossible, believe it or not. I’m not dropping hints at this point, but it’s not an absolute impossibility.
>>>I'm not sure if this has been mentioned/asked, but is there the possibility of having Howard or you, Doug, introduce/explain tracks or connected sets of tracks on any bonus disc(s)? Since I imagine there will be many places where the music will not flow particularly well, I think it would be cool to hear Howard or you discuss a cue--what's different about it, why it wasn't used, etc before it plays. Or maybe this could be a DVD-audio option: listen with pre-track audio commentary by Doug or Howard.>>>
You are decidedly on the right track here!
>>>The biggest obstacles would be whether an orchestral score of the Complete Recordings even exists (it may just consists of a very large stack of left-over sketches from the original recording sessions which would have to be edited themselves). And also, even if such a finished score exists, the process of scanning it into digital form would be quite a costly labor.>>>
As pointed out above, this in particular, is not an obstacle at all. The scores are being engraved for archival purposes even now. Fellowship is already done, in fact.
>>>Hmmm...I'm not sure I understand. What I was referring to was, for example, Dwarvish Interlude, and probably more music like that. Now that you mention "written but not recorded" and "written but not set to the film", I'm not sure what category this belongs to. But I hope you understand what I'm talking about.>>>
Well if a piece was written—or sketched—but never recorded, it’s highly unlikely that it’ll be recorded at this point, simply because of the money involved. That said, there’s pretty much nothing that falls into this category. Everything that was written into a finished form was recorded. Dwarvish Interlude, for example, was never set to music, so there’s nothing to hear.
>>>* One of the things I went ga-ga over abou these two sets has been the Advanced Resolution tracks. There is no comparison when it comes to such moments as "The Wolves of Isengard" or the Helm's Deep sequence. I was wondering if there was ever any talk about releasing the original albums, which are, as acknowledged, a very different listening experiences from the CRs, in that format as well.>>>
I’ve honestly never heard any talk about this, and though I imagine it’s not out of the question, I bet it would be a ways off only because of the PR nightmare it could potentially create. The boxed sets have already been met with a few cries of “Double Dipping,†despite the fact that they’re *fairly* unique from the original albums. You want to avoid the Star Wars-esque backlash for as long as you can, I think.
>>>* Would it be too much to hope that the prospective "rarities" disc might be doubled in DVD-Audio as well?>>>
Not too much to hope for at all… Mostly depends on storage capacity at this point.
>>>* You've discussed multimedia content as a supplement to your (eagerly awaited) book. Now there is a lot of speculation about what this might mean... would this possibly be taking the place of said "rarities" disc, or would it be in addition to it?>>>
I’m gonna give you a dodgy answer on this one and just say, don’t worry, you’ll get everything. I’ll explain when I can, I promise.
I will say this, I’m quite amazed and the accuracy of some of the guesswork I’ve seen around here lately.
>>>* I was just wondering if the choral piece from the very start of the "The Great River" (track 15, original FOTR soundtrack) will appear again? It's a great piece that I hope hasn't been forgotten about.>>>
Well, it’s not forgotten about in the sense that it’s on the OST. I don’t think it’s likely the rarities disc will contain material that was presented on the OST, but not in the CRs only because you’ve already got that material—unless there’s a significant reason for doing so. I don’t want you to pay for the same thing twice.
>>>* What is the instrument that sounds at 1:51 of "Weathertop" (disc 2, track 1, CR)? It is almost like a synthesised sound but I know that that Mr. Adams said there were none used in the scores. It sounds like a sword slicing through the air.>>>
The answer provided above is right on – it’s a bowed cymbal, a Howard Shore favorite (check out his work in Seven sometime).
>>>I was also reading an interview on AICN recently with the producers of the EE DVD's. They said that they hoped to do another EE release in the coming years and that they had something like 20-30 hours of documentary material that they hadn't released previously. I was wondering how much of that included footage of the recording sessions and if this will make it's way into the multimedia content in some form?>>>
There’s a little session footage that’s never been seen, and it may be able to escape the archives sometime soon. Possibly…
>>>Edit: And Doug, would Peter Jackson be making an appearance on the multimedia disc? I mean, I remember I'd read somewhere that he and Shore had spoken about someday releasing the music as a whole. It'd be cool to hear him speak about Shore's accomplishment I think they've both now worked 7-8 years on the Lord of the Rings. Pretty commendable. And haven't you been around LOTR some 6 years or so??>>>
Jackon’s involvement would probably depend on the logistics of his schedule and the production’s schedule. So it’s a definite “maybe.â€
I got the LOTR call May 16, 2001, so nearly 6 years now. And yes, I remember the exact day, what can I say?
>>>Anyway, regarding possibilities for the 'rarities' content - the DVD-Audio edition of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has commentary tracks for each song, similar to a director's feature commentary. This could be a useful feature that would avoid discussion over the music, but might preserve the surround experience for those so equipped...>>>
Commentaries are definitely on the table at this point. Even saying that, I’m saying too much, so I’ll say no more… for now.
>>>I came across this -
http://www.moviemusic.com/mb/Forum1/HTML/013360.html - Doug, when you refer to the 150 pages, is that the book you are currently working on, and if so, do you know how many more pages it will be, as that post was back in 2004............... I'm very excited ........>>>
Thanks! Yes, this is the same Music of LOTR book that’s in the pipeline right now. 150 is still a good ballpark, but it probably looks to be a bit longer at this point… it all depends on the layout, fonts, etc.
>>>Also a question to Mr Adams to pass on to Mr Shore for a response...... - I listened to Mrs Doubtfire, and when it came to Track 10 - "The Show's Over", straight away at the start of the track, memories came to me of Alan Metter's 1988 film "Moving" - do you know if this will ever get a release??????>>>
There are a number of Shore’s scores that have never seen the light of day, but it’s always possible that something could be put together at some point!
Gee, I feel like I’ve regressed. By the end of TTT I felt I was finally able to give everyone specifics, but now at the early stages of ROTK and the book, I’m back to vague nothings! Sorry guys… you know the drill, I guess. There’s only so much I can talk about at this stage, but I promise I’ll keep you as well-informed as I can!
Best,
-Doug