Music - a Discovery

background

Hans Zimmer, a German born world renowned score producer, has had significant impact on the music industry through his creative and innovative method of blending diverse styles, such as integrating orchestral sounds with electronic music.

As the head of the Film Music Division at Dreamworks, and having contributed to the music composition in over 150 films, Zimmer has experienced great commercial success and fame within the industry, reflected in both his position and his reputable awards. He has been presented with 4 Grammy Awards, 3 Classical BRIT awards, 2 Golden Globes and an Academy Award for Best Original Score. He began as a keyboard player for numerous bands across the 70’s, such as the Buggles, and later wrote advertising jingles, however Zimmer’s notable rise to fame and success began when he partnered with Stanley Myers in the 1980’s and cofounded Lillie Yard Studio. It was during this time that his personal style of scoring was recognised, and due to this he went on to compose music for films such as Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean and Inception.

It is evident from Zimmer’s many award nominations and wins that the artist is one that has had a huge impact on the film and music industries. Being labeled a “visionary” from many highly ranked critiques, Zimmer has adapted with todays technologies and has also been a large part of the development of many techniques. An example of Zimmer’s creative mind is told from the eyes of a previous employee of such who writes:

“But (Zimmer) also fearlessly pushes himself, challenging the limits of what is acceptable in our medium. In Batman: Dark Knight, long before we had footage of the film, Hans asked Heitor Pereira (guitar), Martin Tillman (cello), and me (violin and tenor violin) to separately record some variations on a set of instructions involving 2 notes, C and D. This involved a fair amount of interpretation! Then we had to listen to each other’s work and re-interpret that. The end result was a toolbox of sounds that provided Hans with the attitude of his score.

L Months later, I joked with him about how “useful” my efforts had been. Alan told me that, actually, they had turned out to be a crucial element of the score, that he often pulled out the orchestra and went to my performances when something needed to be edgy or raw.

This quote not only shows how Zimmer has pioneered the creative side of film production but also how highly regarded he is even in the eyes of a previous employee.

Not only has Hans Zimmer worked with a variety of highly regarded film directors, he has also worked with many other composers. In a field where total control is something that is desired from most composers it is evident that Zimmer is

From Zimmer’s production of a total