Film score composers; influence & inspiration

The influence of modern movie music

Film scores are profoundly powerful and uniquely influential forms of music. The crisp, rich and explosive bass-heavy sound systems in modern cinemas make for an exceptional listening experience that’s quite unlike how music is typically enjoyed. Volume levels are thunderous in comparison to any home music system, there’s no crowd noise as a distraction (unlike at live events), and when combined with an emotive story and towering visuals, the score goes beyond the realms of mere audio and becomes a visceral multi-layered experience.

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I’ve written and produced piano and orchestra scores as well as electronic and rock film music that have undoubtedly been shaped, both consciously and subconsciously, by my experiences watching Hollywood films, and my personal picks for most influential film score composers include Hans Zimmer, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails), Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo & Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) and of course, John Williams.

Hans Zimmer

Born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1957 to parents who were both musicians, Hans Zimmer began his career playing keyboards and synthesizers in the 1970s with the band “The Buggles.” Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom where he worked as a studio musician with artists such as David Bowie (on “Let’s Dance”), Tina Turner (on “Private Dancer”), and Duran Duran (on “Seven” and the “Ragged Tiger”).

After moving to the US Zimmer composed scores for several films during the 1980s, including Thelma & Louise and Rain Man, and he has since gone on to compose music for over 150 films. His most notable film score compositions include The Lion King, Gladiator, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, Pirates of the Caribbean and Dunkirk.

As a multi award winning film score composer, Zimmer’s works are probably most notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements, a style which has subsequently been mirrored by many other composers.

The soundtrack to Interstellar, an epic sci-fi film by Christopher Nolan, is one of Hans Zimmer’s best film scores. Haunting, hypnotic, surging and emotive, the organ based score was well received by both critics and audiences alike. In words infinitely more majestic than my own, a chief film critic at Variety, Scott Foundas, said “Hans Zimmer contributes one of his most richly imagined and inventive scores, which ranges from a gentle electronic keyboard melody to brassy, Strauss-ian crescendos.”

The soundtrack was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.

The dark royalty free film score music album features many tracks that combine both electronic and orchestral elements, and Hans Zimmer’s influence is definitely at play here.

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails)

Trent Reznor is an American musician, composer, and producer. He began playing piano at age five and later learned to play the drums and guitar. He started working in the music industry as a sound engineer, then became a studio engineer, before going on to be the founder and front man of the Cleveland-based industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails.

His first release as Nine Inch Nails was Pretty Hate Machine in 1989. The album reached number two on the US Billboard 200 and went platinum, and the 1992 album “Pretty Hate Machine” was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance. I purchased both of these albums not long after they were first released, and they instantly stood out as being uniquely different to anything else I’d ever heard before – forceful, raw, industrial and unapologetic.

After releasing multiple albums as Nine Inch Nails Reznor went on to work with a wide range of musicians from both the rock and electronic music genres. He has also collaborated with artists from other genres such as hip-hop and classical, and in 2016 Atticus Ross (a composer and producer) formerly joined Nine Inch Nails.

Ross was born in New York City into musical family; his father was a jazz saxophonist, his mother played piano, and his brother became a guitarist. Ross began playing music at the age of ten when he learned to play cello, piano and guitar.

The pairing of Reznor and Ross in Nine Inch Nails led to the two scoring unique music for films such as Bird Box, Patriots Day, Waves, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, Mank and The Social Network.

Of the scores that Reznor and Ross have composed The Social Network soundtrack stands out above all others for me, with the films headlong pace being fuelled by the intensity of the composition. The score was largely well-liked by critics and gained considerable praise in the film industry. It was nominated for 15 awards, winning 8, including Best Original Score – Motion Picture at the 2010 Golden Globe Awards and Best Original Score at the 83rd Academy Awards.

I haven’t written any pieces that directly mirror those composed by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, but their influence can subtly be heard in several electronic rock tracks on the dark royalty free film score music album.

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk)

Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo consisting of two members, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The group formed in 1993 and were initially regarded as a house music production duo, but later became better known for their experimentation with synth pop and electronic music, as well as extravagant live shows.

In 1997 Daft Punk released their debut album “Homework”. It was one of the most hyped albums of the year and its success helped revive house music throughout Europe. In 2001 the follow up album “Discovery” sold over 10 million copies worldwide with multiple singles breaking into the top ten in both the UK and US.

The duo’s chart success in part led to the 2005 Daft Punk soundtrack for Tron: Legacy, which was arranged and orchestrated by Joseph Trapanese. It is a unique blend of electronic and orchestral music, and it is one of the most iconic in recent memory. In the film, Daft Punk’s score is used to create a sense of wonder, ambition and discovery, and this was achieved using a combination of sweeping orchestral themes, tight arpeggio strings, deeply atmospheric synthesizers and brooding downbeat electronic elements.

Tron: Legacy earned the Austin Film Critics Association’s “Best Original Score” award, was nominated for Score of the Year and Breakout Composer of the Year, and won the International Film Music Critics Association’s “Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film.” At the 54th Grammy Awards, the soundtrack was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Visual Media.

The tracks Before The Storm, Flight Or Fight and Tech Noir on the royalty free dark film score music album were majorly influenced by Daft Punk, and in particular, the unique and impactful Tron : Legacy movie score.

John Williams

It’s impossible to write an article about influential film score composers and not mention John Williams.

John Williams was born into a musical family in New York City in 1932. His father was a jazz musician and his mother was a pianist. He started learning the piano at the age of six and later went on to study composition at the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York City. He was a conductor in two orchestras and also the director of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and his first major break came when he was offered the opportunity to compose the film score for The Sound of Music. The score won him an Academy Award, a Grammy Award and Golden Globe Award.

With a career dating back to the 1950’s John Williams is one of the most decorated film score composers in history. He has garnered 52 Academy Award nominations, five of which he won; six Emmy Awards, winning three; 25 Golden Globe Awards, four of which he won; 71 Grammy Awards, winning 25; and seven British Academy Film Awards.

His awards are boundless, and he has also composed some of the most iconic film scores in modern cinema, including Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter and Home Alone, to name but a few.

Unlike other composers discussed above, I personally find it very difficult to pick one or two scores that stand out above other work. John Williams’ music is so universal, prolific and enduring, that it almost forms a soundtrack to life itself. Hearing a particular piece of film music from his near endless catalogue can transport the listener to a childhood Christmas, a distant holiday memory, a past relationship or emotional event.

E.T. and Star Wars were two of the films that I first saw as a child in the cinema, and both scores left an indelible mark me. John Williams film scores are more than just music, they are emotion and memory combined, and he is one of just a few composers whose music has been able to touch and mould the life experiences of generations of cinema goes.

Two pieces that I have composed that were most influenced by John Williams would be For Father, For Son and Shining Waters, both of which are available on the uplifting royalty free film score music album.

Royalty free film score music inspired by the greats

Undoubtedly numerous other film score composers and producers will have influenced my own music as well as pieces on my royalty free film score music albums. I would add Alan Silvestri, Michael Nyman, Danny Elfman, Bear McCreary, Howard Shore, Alexandre Desplat, Steven Price, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Rich Vreeland to the list of talented creative’s who have all had a significant impact on modern cinema, audiences and music producers alike. It’s simply impossible to compose an original piece of music that in some way, shape or form has not been influenced by the path already trod by these great soundtrack writers.