tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post3858917963182878020..comments2024-03-27T10:27:59.266-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: The House Between: Composer's Notes!John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-20375193723611084442007-05-11T17:57:00.000-04:002007-05-11T17:57:00.000-04:00Use it! Use it! John should have a good cut on CD....Use it! Use it! John should have a good cut on CD. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-51968108700084018562007-05-10T16:30:00.000-04:002007-05-10T16:30:00.000-04:00Kim's "The House Between" song? You know I hadn't ...Kim's "The House Between" song? You know I hadn't thought of that. That would be appropriate! But that is not my decision (as it's not our music). <BR/><BR/>So, what do you think, Kim? It could be "THE HOUSE B...onus Track"! :-)<BR/><BR/>MateoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-88526920557588228092007-05-10T16:26:00.000-04:002007-05-10T16:26:00.000-04:00Thanks for the compliments. It is always a thrill ...Thanks for the compliments. It is always a thrill when people like your work. <BR/><BR/>Our biggest obstacles were a lack of time and busy lives. As a fellow anonymous poster noted, I also work on the books at POWYS which keeps me very busy! <BR/><BR/>John had never heard any of our music (Cesar's or mine) before--this is our first musical collaboration. So his decision to ask us to score the series was based on our working relationship on John's novels for Powys. (Cesar had photographed the cover for John's novel, The Forsaken, with Vicente Gallegos-Aguazul.)<BR/><BR/>We discussed the project and, I believe, John sensed that I "got" it. I approached Cesar to work on THB with me. Cesar is a very busy individual: psychologist, teacher, father, Aztec dancer...talk about multi-talented! But after thinking it over, he agreed to do it. <BR/><BR/>We worked well together. And having been friends for 20(!) years, it was easy to express ourselves and share ideas without worrying about egos. And Vietnamese pho is the grease in the wheels. :-)<BR/><BR/>John refers to the final piece of music used in the series in his production diary entry for "Departed". I can't mention the title of the cue (it would be a spoiler!), but I look forward to seeing how it fits with the final filmed sequence. <BR/><BR/>That anticipation of seeing how one's work is ultimately utilized in the final film is something that only those who worked on the show can experience. We don't do any of the music editing (putting the music into the episodes) so it is always a thrill to see what John does with it! I'm sure that is a feeling shared by the cast and crew.<BR/><BR/>Finally, the Travis character informs a lot of the music. Lee, you'll understand when I say that many of the musical cues feature melodies that repeat, such as the music underlying the "boredom montage". Consider it musical commentary.<BR/><BR/>MateoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-15964342514576915122007-05-10T16:20:00.000-04:002007-05-10T16:20:00.000-04:00will the house between song be on the cd too?will the house between song be on the cd too?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-80380846786225373222007-05-10T11:12:00.000-04:002007-05-10T11:12:00.000-04:00I think the only one we didn't get to was a revoic...I think the only one we didn't get to was a revoiced and rearranged version of Travis's theme. "Ni modo."<BR/><BR/>That's a shame. I really liked my theme as it was. But revoiced and rearranged would have been glorious. You guys did an OUTSTANDING job with this. As I told John when he previewed the first episode with your music, that it made all the difference in the world. It really helped make the series that much better in presentation. Thank you both for putting the final piece in to make this show awesome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-84364199655644140202007-05-09T19:42:00.000-04:002007-05-09T19:42:00.000-04:00Damn! Now my head can't fit through the door! (I h...Damn! Now my head can't fit through the door! (I hate when that happens!)<BR/><BR/>MateoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-75551189439759177322007-05-09T17:02:00.000-04:002007-05-09T17:02:00.000-04:00Is this the same Mateo of POWYS Media fame? If so...Is this the same Mateo of POWYS Media fame? If so, you are one very, very multi-talented dude. Look forward to the CD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-27018257831561428902007-05-09T15:38:00.000-04:002007-05-09T15:38:00.000-04:00Now why I put apostrophes in my plural forms I hav...Now why I put apostrophes in my plural forms I have no idea! Embarassing. As usual, for an editor, I caught the mistakes AFTER the goddamn thing went to press!<BR/><BR/>Mateo :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-11867162000197647912007-05-09T15:34:00.000-04:002007-05-09T15:34:00.000-04:00This is the third time I've tried to reply, Howard...This is the third time I've tried to reply, Howard. The previous two seem to have disappeared into the mist.<BR/><BR/>Yes, there will be a soundtrack CD. We are cleaning up some of the recordings (removing hiss, mostly). And once that is done, we'll be choosing the cues that will be put on the album. We gave John nearly two hours of music, so not everything will fit on one CD. Besides that, many cues are simply different versions of the same thing. John often requested 20 second, 40 second and 60 second versions of character themes, for example, to give him more choices. <BR/><BR/>Also we often revoiced performances to get different results. For example, all the different variations on Arlo's theme are the same performance (on an electronic keyboard that does not make any sound but just records which keys we played and how hard we hit them) with different patches (FAIAP, instruments) chosen.<BR/><BR/>There is no need to have four versions of the same piece on the CD, of course. So we will choose which one we like best.<BR/><BR/>If anyone would like to suggest a cue that they liked for inclusion on the CD, just let me know! My favorite's include the music in Episode 4 when the resident's try to save Bill ("Saving Bill") and the music under his delirious ravings as he spills his secrets to Astrid as he slips in an out of coma ("Bill's Coma"). <BR/><BR/>I am also fond of the piece underlying Bill's explanation of Project Habitat ("Anything is Possible"). <BR/><BR/>MateoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-26552281835456050982007-05-08T01:13:00.000-04:002007-05-08T01:13:00.000-04:00When I scheduled John's interview for Destinies-Th...When I scheduled John's interview for Destinies-The Voice of Science Fiction, I asked if he could send a CD of music from "The House Between" to play in the background. I was thrilled when he sent a disc with all the music he had received up to that point, and ran it a couple of times during the course of the interview, since it was only about 15 minutes long. I think the new music composed for the series as it has progressed has really evolved to capture the mood of the show. So, Mateo, are there plans for a soundtrack CD for "The House Between?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-74974105771587028622007-05-07T16:47:00.000-04:002007-05-07T16:47:00.000-04:00I must admit that all along we had planned to writ...I must admit that all along we had planned to write a piece based on the melody of the song, but we simply never got around to it. We had our hands full just trying to get each episode's score done in time for the editing process! More often than not, we'd finish each episode's score on the weekend before it would be uploaded to VEOH.<BR/><BR/>John commented that every other Monday was like Christmas. He'd wake up to find 20-30 new pieces of music waiting for him in email.<BR/><BR/>There were a few musical plans that didn't come to fruition. One was a guitar overlay on Arlo's theme, another was the intstrumental variation on the song's theme. There were also a few short cues that were written, but remain unrecorded... Ultimately, our personal and professional commitments reasserted themselves and we had to stop. Nevertheless, we did record nearly all the cues that John asked for. <BR/><BR/>I think the only one we didn't get to was a revoiced and rearranged version of Travis's theme. "Ni modo."<BR/><BR/>MateoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-55003651281526211342007-05-07T09:57:00.000-04:002007-05-07T09:57:00.000-04:00Kudos, indeed - the music is not at all what I had...Kudos, indeed - the music is not at all what I had expected it to be. It's as unique as the house itself. I am tickled to know that the scoring was as personal and intuitive for you guys as the acting was for me... but I am curious, what are your thoughts on the song I composed for Episode 2? I must admit I was worried that it wouldn't 'fit' with the rest of the music for the show, but we were all flying blind to a degree. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-57491303678088134002007-05-07T09:41:00.000-04:002007-05-07T09:41:00.000-04:00Just this weekend, I introduced a new viewer to "T...Just this weekend, I introduced a new viewer to "The House Between"... after watching the pilot episode, his first comment was "Who did the music?" There's no question that the original score adds a lot to the mood and professionalism of the finished series. Great job, Cesar and Mateo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com