Transformers Movie Score

The score is being done by Steve Jablonsky. I hope there's hints of the original Transformers theme in the movie score. I hope there's a score soundtrack that comes out. As of right now they only have the soundtrack w/ various artists being released. The movie comes out in 5 days. I can't wait!

 

It's a Michael Bay film, how good can the score really be?

 

his other films have had decent scores. (i.e. The Rock and Armageddon)

 

OMG LOL!

 

I thought Jablonsky's score for The Island (another Bay film) was good. Not the greatest by any means, but I found it enjoyable.

 

I've heard good things about Steamboy, but never a note of this guy's music. I have an open, yet pessimistic mind.

The movie itself, though, looks genuinely awesome.

 

Hey, hey, hey, now! The rock is a great adrenaline pumping, hang onto your seat score! It's only unfortunate that it was copied many times in other MV scores.

It worked well enough in the film, but I found it quite monotonous on album.

Also, it has been confirmed that this is Decepticon's Theme. Not too intriguing. Hopefully, his other material is stronger.

 

It's all Media Ventures crap. It's generic in the Island and it will be generic in Transformers. Fortunately Conor here is probably the only person who is going partly for the score...

 

Just saw the film, probably Michael Bay's best you if follow the three Bay rules of course: Shut off brain. Watch. Get ready for a helluva good time (and some moments of absolute cheese)! This is one of those films that is best experienced in a theater packed with Transformer nerds who cheer throughout the film and clap as soon as the credits roll. Best time I've had at the theater in some time.

The score is pretty standard MV fare. There were about 3 strong good cues melodically, but were of course played by all instruments at the loudest volume possible. Most of the other stuff was serviceable. I did notice a lot of strong similarities to other scores -- probably from the temp track. The most blatant ripoff was of the Powell's Bourne films. Other temping stuff I noticed were the Kraken from Dead Man's Chest and some stuff from Armageddon.

I don't think a score release is necessary. We've heard most of this many times before.

I can't even imagine what Poledouris or Goldsmith could have cooked up for this...

 

The score reminded me a lot of Armageddon. But I liked it.

 

Does Michael Bay exclusively use Media Ventures/Remote Control Productions for his films?

 

I think talented composers run when they see his name attached to a project.

 

Anyone know when the score will be released on CD? If it's getting released, that is.

 

It's rumored that there is a score release in the works, but there has been no official announcement.

 

Great!

Man, first the Spider-Man 3 score and now this. What's happening to the world?!

 

Lots of movie scores don't get released. In fact, during the Golden Age of film music, it was extremely unusual for a score album to be released. Spider-man 3 is a mediocre pastiche of past music and original material, hardly the music Spider-man was. Transformers is just Remote Control Productions stuff. Now, if Williams, Newton Howard and Doyle start losing commercial CD releases of their scores, I'll be worried.

 

I like the score on it's own terms, but I thought it was too rich and emotional for the subject matter. Something more understated would have been better.

 

I'd say the most obvious rip-off was from the Terminator scores, with the pounding 5-note percussion motif. Not to mention the chopping strings rhythm from Batman Begins.

 

Heck, they aren't even releasing the complete scores for Williams' work on the prequel trilogy (save for TPM) like they did for the original trilogy (and I am not waiting decades for that). It's a true shame that unless you work in the business, you can't have access to full film scores these days. The LOTR expanded scores are anomalies (and they still haven't released the ROTK one. I can understand Spiderman 3 not being released since there wasn't really much new material, but at least they should put some of them up on iTunes. I would love to listen to some of the better themes from Transformers such as the Autobots, etc.

 

Although I wasn't crazy about the Transformers' score, I do think it should be released, just like I think most film music should be released. A lot of scores probably don't make great listens on their own, but there will always be people who fall in love with the music from seeing the movie, no matter how good or bad it may actually be.

With the relative ease and little expense to putting up complete scores on iTunes I really think this is an untapped avenue. Especially now that iTunes is offering music at 256 kbps, I don't see why this isn't being done. Since online stores have only been around and become very popular in the last 3 or 4 years, it may yet still be too soon, but I hope this will happen one day.

 

Should sound effects from films be released on CDs? Should concept art books be released? (Only a few films, like the Star Wars films, have been so lucky.) How about recordings of the actors' dialogue?

Perhaps you can appreciate how lucky we are to have a soundtrack business at all. Let me repeat: score albums did not exist until a few decades ago. Would Korngold and Steiner have wanted albums of their music released? It would have been nice, but it didn't happen until decades later, when the few master tapes that weren't destroyed by studios were recovered, or when conductors like Charles Gerhardt recorded new score albums.

A few second-rate action movie scores aren't out, but that doesn't mean soundtrack releases are becoming unprofitable. It only means that studios occasionally get lazy/greedy, or that these scores just suck and aren't worth CDs (I'll leave it to you to decide). In fact, the future for soundtracks is looking rather good to me, with more complete scores released immediately (like Casino Royale on iTunes), and many soon after, with labels like Film Score Monthly releasing pre-1980 scores all the time. All that worries me is sound fidelity; scores available only through iTunes are compressed, and as far as I am concerned, damage. CD quality should be maintained. Really, CD quality should be superceded - DVD-A or SA-CD at the very least ought to be the standard. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening, as the vast majority of the populace will settle for a sloppily compressed MP3 or iTunes AAC file.

By the way, Christopher Young's complete score to Spider-man 3 (but without the note-for-note adaptations of Danny Elfman's music by various ghostwriters - darn!) will be released in November.

 

You guys also have to think about the fact that if a studio wants to release any part of a score on CD, the music has to be remixed. Certain instruments may be mixed higher or lower on the film's soundtrack to cut through dialogue or sound design elements that would end up sounding terrible on the score release. Many studios these days don't want to spend the time or the money to go back and remix the entire score as would be necessary for a complete score release.

 

If there's is a viable market for sound effects, actor's dialogue, and concept art books then, yes, it'd be great if they were released. The thing is with iTunes, scores (and sound effects) could be released in their complete form for very little cost to the studio. I don't think anyone is suggesting that soundtrack releases are becoming unprofitable, just that more could be done. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that we get what we do, but there's always room for improvement no matter how unlikely we are to get it.

And like I said, I won't touch iTunes 128 kbps albums, but now they're offering higher quality 256 kbps files. Besides, a university study has shown that the vast majority of those they studied couldn't tell the difference between 192 kbps and CD quality audio. I'm trying to find the article again so I can link it.

 

I bought a soundtrack once where part of it was just sound effects, I found it to be boring, but it's been several years since I've listened to it, maybe I'd be more entertained now.

 

The only thing I distinctly remember from the score is the chanting for the Decepticons. And that's only because it was the same note played over and over again.