Product Description

Designed to speak clearly and intelligently to non-musicians and musicians alike, Inside Film Music is a must for every film music fan. Through its more than forty lively, insightful interviews, it delves deeply into the creative process, the basics of musical thought, filmmaking's collaborative nature, and the individual psyches of its participating composers. It covers every current style of film music, the essence of what it means to write a score for motion pictures ... and much more.

Composers featured included Academy Award Winners John Barry (Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa, Goldfinger, Dr. No); Rachel Portman (Mona Lisa Smile, The Cider House Rules, Chocolat); Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love); and Gabriel Yared (Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley, City of Angels, The English Patient).

Also interviewed are Academy Award Nominees John Debney (Sin City, The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, Spy Kids); Philip Glass (The Hours, Kundun); Mark Isham (Freedom Writers, The Black Dahlia, Home for the Holidays, Quiz Show); Marc Shaiman (How Harry Met Sally, Ghosts of Mississippi, A Few Good Men, City Slickers, Misery); and Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, The Polar Express).

Additionally there is commentary from Marco Beltrami (Hellboy,The Terminator 3); Mychael Danna (Little Miss Sunshine, Capote); Cliff Martinez (Wonderland, Traffic, Sex, Lies and Videotape); and Jeff Rona (TV series: Homicide, Chicago Hope, Profiler).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #623879 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 358 pages

From the Inside Flap
"Fascinating and ear-opening! Draws the reader into a passionate, intricate and collaborative world, explaining the roles of inspiration, technology and sheer hard work. You'll never hear film music quite the same again!" --Tom Null, Citadel Records

"A trove of wonderfully interesting comments by a fine, eclectic cast of composers. Good Stuff!" -- Michael Schelle, author of The Score

About the Author
Christian DesJardins is a musician who's currently writing composer Christopher Young's biography, the first in a planned series of film music biographies penned by Mr. DesJardins.

Customer Reviews

An amazing, "must have" new book on the art of film composing
"Inside Film Music: Composers Speak" is an insightful and indispensable new book documenting the art and craft of film composing. Christian DesJardin knows how to ask the right questions in order to uncover new and in depth information from a fantastic selection of the best in the business. One aspect, among many, that sets this book apart from other interview books, is the wonderful cross section of talent of composers, orchestrators, contractors, and directors -- all of whose interviews come together to paint a vivid picture of the current state of the art form. This is a "must have" book for any film music or movie fan, composer, or member of the movie or music industries alike.

very helpful
I bought this for my husband who is a middle school band director. He is using this as one source for teaching a class about movie music. He loves the book and has found it very informative and helpful.