Hans Zimmer – Film Music
Nathan Atkinson
Music 1010
What is Film Music?
 Music played in conjunction with a screenplay, film, etc.
 Used as background noise, to add another level of
emotion to the visuals and dialogue, to add more
entertainment value to films, movies and other visual
media
 Primary purpose is to set the mood or tone of the film.
History of Film Music
 Began as silent films with live orchestra, similar to an
Opera or Ballet
 Sometimes bruiteurs or “noisemen” were used in theaters
to create early live sound effects .
 Piano played a large role in shorter films – Siegfried
Kracauer, author of Theory of Film, remembers childhood
movies as having a drunken pianist who paid no
attention to what was happening on screen but played
random tunes, following no pattern or beat
Aspects of Film Music
 David Raksin – “You may not be able to have the correct
development or correct proportions in the sequence
because you can’t be developing something musically
when the picture’s doing something else.”
 “Music seems to capture our emotions... The music is in
some way transmitting an emotional message which is
responded to by the listener in the appropriate way.”
(Lack, 284)
Hans Zimmer
 Born Sept. 12, 1957 in Germany
 Began musical career playing keyboard/synth for the
band The Buggles as well as other bands during the 70s
and 80s.
 Began composing in 1980s, mixing and fusing tradition
orchestral music with electronic elements
Composing the Score
 Zimmer says he habitually procrastinates and requires a
deadline for motivation to finish his pieces.
 He was hired 5 weeks before the original Pirates movie
was to be finished and wrote the score in one evening.
 Use of leitmotif – using the music to describe or introduce
ideas and characters, e.g. – Joker – screechy cello line
Inside the Movie
 Hans Zimmer tries to place music “inside the film.”
 Music from the Batman movies reflected characters and
surroundings. It wasn’t “larger than the story line”.
 Music from Inception “tells the story”. It is inside the film
and is part of the story.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVkQ0C4qDvM&fe
ature=player_embedded
Movies
 Well-known movies scored by Hans Zimmer:
 Dark Knight Trilogy (worked with Howard Shore on Batman
Begins)
 Man of Steel
 Sherlock Holmes (2)
 The Bible
 Pirates of the Caribbean (all movies)
 Inception
 Gladiator
 The Lion King (parts of the soundtrack)
 Rain Man
 The Last Samurai
Awards
 Nominated for Oscar: 1989, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2010,
2011
 Won Oscar: Lion King – 1995 Best Music, Original Score
 Nominated for Golden Globe: 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2007, 2009, 2011
 Won Golden Globe: 1995 – Lion King Best Original Score;
2001 – Gladiator
 Won Grammy: 1995 – Lion King; 1996 – Crimson Tide; 2009
– Dark Knight
Interview with NY Times
 “…I so couldn’t care less about awards. I know I’m not
supposed to say this. But when you work with Chris Nolan,
when you work on a movie like ‘Inception,’ it’s for the
adventure.”
Works Cited

Morgan, David. Knowing the Score. 1st ed. HarperCollins, 2000. 7. Print.

"Hans Zimmer - Awards." . IMDb.com, Inc.. Web. 20 Nov 2013.
<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001877/awards>.

Larsen, Peter. Film music. 1st ed. London: Reaktion Books, Limited, 2005. 19, 21. print.

Lack, Russell. Twenty Four Frames Under: A Buried History of Film Music. London: Quartet
Books Ltd., 1997. 284. Print.

Binkley, Christina. "Hans Zimmer: The Maestro in the 'Batcave'." Wall Street Journal. (2011).
Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703775704576162250644951060>.

Itzkoff, Dave. "Hans Zimmer Extracts the Secrets of the 'Inception' Score." NYTimes.com.
NY Times, 28 Jul 2010. Web. 21 Nov 2013.
<http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/hans-zimmer-extracts-the-secrets-of-theinception-score/?ref=music&_r=1 >.