One
of the most exciting
assignments I received was
a chance to sit down with
the incredible composer,
Cliff Martinez. We met at
the Sundance Film Festival
Headquarters in the Park
City Marriott Hotel. I was
initially concerned
because I knew this was
the hub of the festival
and finding a quiet place
to chat would be close to
impossible. We decided on
speaking in this tranquil
swimming pool area that
had glassed ceilings
giving us the warmth of
indoor heating along with
the beautiful sunlight
from above. Cliff had just
come back from an early
morning screening and
mentioned he was running
on a few hours of sleep as
his duties as a Jury
Member of Sundance were
starting to take its toll
on Day 6 of the festival,
however Cliff was pleased
to sit down with me for
this interview. We
discussed his work on
DRIVE, CONTAGION, his
working relationships with
his directors and his
experience as a Jury
member at Sundance 2012.
It
was a pleasure speaking
with Cliff and I'm happy
to say that his film
ARBITRAGE which screened
at Sundance this year sold
to Lionsgate on January
25th. (via
Hollywood Reporter) -
Bradley Winston
In-Film Score Review: The
Raid
THE RAID
Directed by Gareth Evans
Music by Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese
Review by: Bradley Winston
One of the most anticipated films at Sundance, The
Raid, is a flurry of flying fists, feet and sweat
all to the rhythmic score provided by Mike Shinoda
and Joseph Trapanese. Praised as “relentlessly
exciting*” and “an action masterpiece**,” the film
has left audiences out of breath and clutching their
still-beating hearts thanks to the non-stop
adrenaline rush that director Gareth Evans provides.
As a rookie member of an elite special-forces team,
Rama (Iko Uwais) is instructed to hang back during a
covert mission involving the extraction of a brutal
crime lord from a rundown fifteen-story apartment
block. But when a spotter blows their cover, boss
Tama (Ray Sahetaphy) offers lifelong sanctuary to
every killer, rapist and thief in the building in
exchange for their heads. Now Rama must stand in for
the team’s fallen leader Jaka (Joe Taslim) and use
every bit of his fighting strength – winding through
every floor and room to complete the mission and
escape with his life.
The score is relentless as the action. Paired with
the action, the music takes you on a thrill ride
that you never want to end. Primarily an electronic
score of drum machine beats and unique sounds, the
music could easily be trapped in a techno pit like
the Chemical Brother’s score to Hanna, but the
heart-warming strings and soft piano touches in the
human-element moments of the film draw you back to
reality to realize you care about these
human-punching bags and want the lead actor, Iko
Uwais (“Rama”), to defeat his enemies and get home.
The main theme introduced early on in the film,
continually teases the audience with a feeling of
unfinished melody as the characters fight their way
up a 15-story building. We don’t actually hear the
entire theme played out until the final credits when
the score blends into an original song produced by
Shinoda sparks to life and eases us back to reality.
The cord tension pulls at your subconscious so much
that when you finally hear the full melody and the
action is finally over you can actually relax and
let the experience of the ride wash over you.
The Raid marks Mike Shinoda’s first score as a film
composer. His career is primarily known as being a
member of Linkin Park and contributing many
influential songs to movie soundtracks over the
years. Joseph Trapanese collaborated with Daft Punk
on the riveting score to TRON: Legacy and recently
contributed to five tracks on M83’s latest
double-album release, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” as
well as scoring projects like The Bannen Way and the
upcoming animated series TRON: Uprising.
The Raid will release in theaters on March 23rd
nationwide. There are no plans to release a score
soundtrack at this time.
BMI Roundtable: Music in Film
- The Creative Process
