One of the joys of contributing outros for John August’s Scriptnotes podcast is the frequent excuse to learn more about a specific composer’s style. In this case, I was asked to write something that combined the five-note Scriptnotes theme with Hans Zimmer’s and James Newton Howard’s score for The Dark Knight:
By now, these string ostinatos and minimal brass lines are familiar tropes of superhero films, but it’s always educational to try to emulate a composer’s signature sound and then introduce a new melody into that.
For me, the biggest surprise came from the time it took me to find a good “whoosh” sound and apply a track delay effect with the right amount of decay to conjure the flapping cape (or wings) of The Batman. I think it’s worth remembering that what makes these scores unique and memorable is more the tailored sound design and less the actual orchestra.
This process was also a good reminder of the importance of having an artistic voice. What’s most interesting about any artist isn’t their influences, their theory, or the things they’ve borrowed from other people, but rather the few unique ways in which they stand alone.
- Matthew
If you’d like to work together, feel free to contact me here.