BobCobb wrote: ↑

January 6th, 2023, 2:56 pm

We should be talking about the IMAX trailer music because thats 100% the score.
Its dark, intense, got some wild synth noises like when they cut to Downey.

The music in the theatrical trailer might not even be in the movie.

ConcreteDrifter wrote: ↑

January 5th, 2023, 8:58 pm

Is it safe to say it sounds like Nolan because Nolan tells his composer what he wants?

THE MUSIC


To create the score for Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan turned again to Oscar®-winning composer Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther films), who had written the music for Tenet. “Ludwig’s work on the film is both deeply personal and historically expansive,” Nolan says. “It achieves the effect of building out an emotional world to accompany the visual world that Ruth De Jong designed and Hoyte van Hoytema shot, and it draws the audience into the emotional dilemmas of the characters and their interactions with the vast geopolitical situations that they’re confronting.”

• Nolan says he had no preconceptions about the music for the film, but he did offer Göransson an idea for a starting point. “I suggested he base the score on the violin,” Nolan says. “There’s something about the violin to me that seemed very apt to Oppenheimer. The tuning is precarious and totally at the mercy of the playing and emotion of the player. It can be very beautiful one moment and turn frightening or sour instantly. So, there’s a tension—a neuroses—to the sound that I think fits the highly strung intellect and emotion of Robert Oppenheimer.”
• Göransson, inspired by Nolan’s suggestion and the vivid imagery he witnessed during the early stages of pre-production, embarked on a creative exploration, harnessing the expressive potential of the violin. Driven by an unwavering desire to capture the delicate intersection between beauty and dread, Göransson’s creative endeavors manifested in an array of captivating experiments. Techniques such as the incorporation of microtonal glissandos were deftly employed to expand the sonic palette, infusing the music with an ethereal quality. Collaborating with esteemed musicians from the Hollywood Studio Orchestra, Göransson began shaping Oppenheimer’s musical world with an intimate solo violin performance, capturing the essence of the character. As the story evolved, the ensemble gradually expanded to include a quartet, octet, and ultimately a large ensemble of strings and brass. This progressive orchestration reflected the deepening complexity of Oppenheimer’s journey, enriching the musical tapestry with each new addition.
• Throughout the early stages of his composition process, Göransson was steadfast in his commitment to preserving the organic essence of the violin and strings, opting not to rely heavily on modern production techniques. “The heart and the heartbeat of the music is all driven by an organic orchestra, with a human touch to the music,” Göransson says.
• In addition to Oppenheimer’s theme, other musical motifs associated with specific characters and themes followed the same ethos. For instance, Kitty Oppenheimer and the Robert-Kitty romance were underscored by a haunting piano melody. As the score progressed, Göransson found strategic opportunities to introduce more contemporary production elements. Notably, synthesizers were employed to symbolize the impending doom and haunting consequences of Oppenheimer’s creation, creating an otherworldly atmosphere for the Los Alamos motif.
• During the post-production phase of the film, the recording of the score came together during an intense 5-day period. Göransson, inspired by his artistic vision, pushed both himself and his fellow musicians to the very limits of their technical abilities. Notably, the montage sequence featured a complete, unbroken recording that proved immensely challenging to achieve, requiring numerous iterations and dedicated efforts to perfect.