Music makes a good movie. Seriously. What would Titanic be without that haunting melody playing in the background? Would Jack's death be moving? Music is one of the most important parts to making a great film. It gives the movie life and displays the mood of the scenes. In order to capture an audience, one must move them. One way to do this is to devise a melody that will touch their hearts, or just stay stuck in their head all day until they buy the soundtrack. As wonderful as they are, film scores don't just write themselves. Below are some of the most successful and well know film score composers of today.
Danny Elfman James Horner John Williams Howard Shore References
Danny Elfman was born on May 29, 1953 in Los Angeles, California. He originally was in a rock band called Oingo Boingo from 1978 until 1995. Even while in the band, Elfman was approached by Tim Burton in 1985. Burton wanted Elfman to write the score for his first feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman would later go on to write scores for more than ten of Burton's movies. He has become one of the most successful and popular film score composers, being nominated for three Academy Awards and other awards such as Emmys, Grammys,and Golden Globes. In additon to composing, in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Corpse Bride, Elfman provided the singing voices for Jack Skellington, the Oompa Loompas, and Bonejangles.
Danny Elfman's filmography includes:
James Horner, born August 14, 1953, was born in Los Angeles, California. Horner spend much of his early life in London at the Royal Academy of Music where he studied under Gyorgy Ligeti. Horner has a masters and doctorate degree in music. Horner composed his first film score in 1980 for Humanoids from the Deep, but his first major work was in 1982 with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Horner has won two academy awards, both for Titanic, and several other awards.
James Horner's filmography includes:
Born on February 8, 1932, in Long Island, New York, John Williams would later go on to be one of the most successful film composers ever. When he was still young, Williams's family moved to Los Angeles where he would study with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In 1952, Williams was drafted into the U.S. Air Force, where he served until 1954. Williams's first score was written in 1958 for the movie Daddy-O. Williams would later also go on to work with Steven Spielberg, starting in 1974, and George Lucas. Williams has won five Academy Awards and has been nominated 45 times. Williams has also written the music for four Olympic Games.
Some of John Williams's more recognized works are:
Howard Shore was born on October 18, 1946 in Toronto Canada. Shore would later go to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and perform with a group called Lighthouse from 1969 to 1972. Shore was the music director for Saturday Night Live from 1975 until 1980. Shore has worked several time with director David Cronenberg. He is an Academy Award winner in addition to winning and being nominated for several other awards.
Howard Shore's filmography includes:
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Joanne Wright. April 24, 2007