Batman Movie Score

[01010111]

I'm supposed to score my friend's batman movie that he's making with lego's. Where he hasn't given me a screen play, or a storyboard or anything I'm just trying to find good tunes to listen to for inspiration. Any suggestions?

p.s.
He wants the movie to be dark, so it kinda has to ride on the music because legos are hilarious no matter how they are filmed.

[Bellyheart]

Listen to Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer's score of Batman...and then their other stuff. What are you using to score?

[01010111]

Well I hadn't decided, I have a violin, mandolin, dobro, banjo, baritone guitar, bass, micro korg, reed organ, and both acoustic and electric guitars. I know enough people that I could get just about any instrument I wanted on there, I'm still pretty chummy with my old orchestra conductor, but I'd have to write the parts using the a fore mentioned instruments and write them out for the appropriate instruments.

I'm thinking about coming up with different musical themes/instruments for different characters in the story, kinda like peter and the wolf, while using a simple combination of instruments for the rest. So far I know there's Batman, clayface, and those lego bionicles in it.

Offhand I can only think of two movies that I really love the music in them Dracula and Suspira (a little over the top, though, "WITCH"). Most of the time I can't really stand movie soundtracks, it feels like they're trying to overwhelm you with emotion because you're too dumb to figure out what's going on. I feel like that a lot of the time when I listen to Danny Elfman too.

And this is the best version of Dracula
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJFyvhJ24uo[/youtube]

[Bellyheart]

If you have the ability to multi-track you should. I imagine the instrumentation you had could lead to some really good things. Simple and atmospheric. I wish i lived up the street. I'd help you out. It's amazing what a simple rhythm and a tone of ambiance can do really. Especially if dark is the goal.

Philip Glass is the man. If I scored anything. I'd combine him and Elfman.

[rbtr]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxySK01v1os[/youtube]

[aen]

I feel like Tim Burton and Prince really have no idea what the fuck Batman is about.

But, pertaining to your original question, I think a minimal droning kind of thing would go well. I'd CERTAINLY establish musical/instrumental themes for the chracters, ala peter and the wolf, or the cello that represented the Joker in TDK.

[jrmy]

http://www.alloyorchestra.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alloy_Orchestra

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asl-U7VLAnY[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN1cCneik30[/youtube]

[andtheLiquidmen]

As a huge soundtrack nut/freelance composer, all I have to say is this: no matter what you do...please...please..PLEEAAASSEEE avoid sounding like Hans Zimmer.

[01010111]

After a quick google search on Hans Zimmer I can guarantee it will sound nothing like his work. He's kinda the epitome of what I don't want to do. Giant everything in a super trendy way.

It will definitely feature lots of drones. I might try and use some tape loops and circuit bent tape machines to change the pitch and texture of the loops. There are these big 500 gallon tanks on the neighbor's farm that makes cool rolling thunder and tympani type sounds. I've been dying to use them on something ever since I found them, it'll take some creative recording to use them though. I'm going to use this as an excuse to get all the noise equipment that's too cool for my current band

If we lived in the same neighborhood bellyheart I'd definitely be up for collaboration. Most of my musical collaborations here haven't gone so well, they either get married and drop out, or are weird musically. The last collaboration I did was with this guy who could only write marches, it was like being in a band with John Philip Suza.

That Alloy Orchestra sounds pretty cool, so they just get on stage and play along with the movie? If so, that would be the best theatre event ever.

[jrmy]

That Alloy Orchestra sounds pretty cool, so they just get on stage and play along with the movie? If so, that would be the best theatre event ever.

Yep, I'm pretty sure that's the way they work, though they have recorded some of the soundtracks (Metropolis, for one), so I guess you could play the pre-recorded version. But I know that they have done live events... supposedly it's pretty amazing.

Oh, and I would love to hear what those giant 500 gallon tanks sound like recorded. Can you get a mic inside? Maybe a 3-mic setup to really get the full range of sound: one outside the tank, one inside the tank & one overhead. Hell, that right there could be a whole song!