Guess what? I made a new website!
http://timprebble.com/musicforfilms/
Apart from documenting the music I create for films – my first feature film score being for The Orator, I also plan to release music on the new site that is intended for films that haven’t been made yet… But more on that in the coming weeks….
The Orator has been so warmly received it is amazing, and it was a real honour to attend the New Zealand premiere last week. It was my first time seeing the film with an audience and the response was truly fascinating. In hindsight this should have been obvious but as the film is in Samoan language, and the majority of the audience at the premiere were Samoan, it meant most of the audience laughed at anything funny as they heard the dialogue, whereas anyone relying on subtitles laughed moments latter when they had assimilated the subtitle of the funny dialogue… And there was a lot more laughter than I ever expected! But it was so beautiful to experience the deep emotions the film conjurs in the audience, especially when you have watched every frame of the film literally thousands of times…
If you live in New Zealand or Samoa, then I strongly urge you to go see this film, in the cinema. It deserves to be seen and heard in the medium it has been created for. A few people who know me very well said after the premiere that they thought it was my best work, ever… and I would likely agree with them. Back before the film was released I did a talk at Victoria University for some film students and when I described the score for The Orator as minimalist, someone asked did I mean in terms of the style of music or the amount of music in the film. I took great pleasure in replying: BOTH! (Over-scored films is a modern disease!) And since the release of the film I’ve been truly humbled by some of the comments about the score. Relatedly I had a ‘moment’ when we were in Vietnam, on the boat in Ha Long Bay – my only means of checking email was via my cellphone (no, its not an iPhone) and I was a little excited when I got an email from the producer saying the first review had been published from the Venice Film Festival, she didn’t make any other comment other than ‘phew!’ So I quickly followed the link to the review in Variety Magazine and skim read it on the tiny screen of my phone… My heart skipped a beat when I read one of the last comments in the review “Melancholy score and sound design by Tim Prebble enhances the tragic mood without overdoing the emotions or the ethnic vibe.” Its obviously nice to be mentioned positively in a review, but those very two aspects the reviewer commented on were exactly the intent both the director and I had with the score. I was so thrilled!!!
After a little goading I have since gone through all the score cues and selected my favourites and compiled them into a little self contained EP – the total running time is under 20 minutes, and as it is so strongly tied to specific moments in the film I really intend it to be heard by people who have seen the film, but regardless you can have a listen at here or download a copy here (pay whatever you like)
Soifua!
Great blog. Keep up the wonderful work.