Hans Zimmer Clip

[Harpya]

Hi,
in case anyone in here is interested, you can watch a short 3 and a half minute piece about Hans Zimmer, that was just broadcasted on ZDF German television on the heute-journal, Germany's most influental news magazine.

It is all in German, but at least you can see some of his (new) studio, and hear a few seconds of the Pirates soundtrack he is currently working on.


http://www.heute.de/ZDFmediathek/inhalt/31/0,4070,3940287-5,00.html

[Crossingsound]

couldn't understand a lick of it, but super kewl to watch. thanks for sharing!

[WoodIsGood]

Anyone know what kind of keyboard he uses? I'm still looking for a good midi controller and so far nothing jumps out as outstanding.

[Harpya]

It's a Doepfer LMK4+.

[WoodIsGood]

Do you know if this is a decent midi controller? It must be up to a certain level of quality if Zimmer uses it, but how does it feel compared to M-Audio or CME, etc.?

[Sequent]

Bleh... doesn't work on this g5, will have to retry later. (I'm at work, so a lot of the 'fun' stuff is disabled.)

In the past it looked like he was using his Kurzweil also as a controller. Which I don't blame him as I think it has a really nice action. As I said, I can't view the video right now, but if the picture on that main page is any indication, it appears that the Kurzweil is still in place.

The Doepfers have a different shape and finish.

...or is that picture different from what we see in the video... grrr... I wish I could watch it NOW!!!

:(

[Harpya]

The picture is from the clip, and it is a Doepfer LMK4+, trust me. :)

It is mounted underneath the desk. The nice thing about the Doepfer being that all the controls are in front on the left.

[Sequent]

I trust you! As I said, I can't view the clip right now, but soon...

BTW... does anyone know if there was an interview with Hans in any of the English language music mags? The way there was one for Harry Gregson-Williams in Sound on Sound? I don't remember one myself, but I'd be surprised if there hasn't been.

One that I remember really enjoying was one with James Newton Howard in Keyboard (I think it was), where he talked about how he works with his samplers in order to do mockups, etc. Some nice tricks in there that I still use to this day.


The picture is from the clip, and it is a Doepfer LMK4+, trust me. :)

It is mounted underneath the desk. The nice thing about the Doepfer being that all the controls are in front on the left.

[Harpya]

Here is a rough translation of Hans' soundbytes:

The first soundbyte says, that even though people have been claiming for ten years that he works on several films at once, he really does them one after the other. He also says how he finished Da Vinci Code at four thirty in the morning and started Pirates the next day at ten.
In the long soundbyte in the middle he speaks about his father's death when he was six and how he used the music as refuge. Even today, when he has an argument with his wife, he starts to hum some tunes.
In the one shot where he is sitting at his keyboard, he says, that he sits there all day and that it sometimes takes six weeks till he has a little something that means something.
During the scoring session he says that this is the best moment, when there are 100 people going in the same direction. That there is something in the air that you otherwise only have with soccer...
In the last sentence he tells the story wherby a child says to it's mother "when I grow up I want to be a musician" and its mother answeres with "you can't do both.

... And in the very end, inaudible but you can read it from his lips, he shouts "Oh, shut up Alan" to his mixer Alan Meyerson who was making fun of Hans' German.

There will be more of that session with Hans on German TV soon, probably in early July.

[Sequent]

Finally had a chance to see that snip. Pretty cool. The new studio space is not what I would have expected. It was not so high tech but more House on the Rock - which if you live anywhere near Madison, WI - you know what I mean. :)

Meaning... the reds and the 19th century Victorian type feeling with the sitting chairs and such.

Regarding his German... kind of shocking actually. I thought he was a native speaker, but he sure doesn't sound like it. ???

But it was very very cool to see that. Thank you very very much for sharing that link!

[Harpya]

You are welcome, there might be more in a few weeks. :)

Regarding his German: he is a native speaker and absolutely fluent of course. But he has a funny mix of English accent and a local German dialect, because he left Germany in his teens. All his professional life as a musician took part in English, that is why English comes easier to hime when he talks about his work.

[Sequent]

Cool, DO please post if/when you see the new clips come up. Much appreciated!

Regarding Hans' German, thank you for clarifiying that. I did think he was a native speaker and he obviously speaks it fluently, but the pronunciation is what threw me off - especially towards the beginning of the interview. The mix you mention is what I was hearing then, and of course, hearing things on the tiny speakers of my laptop and in the middle of the night after a long night didn't help either! :)



You are welcome, there might be more in a few weeks. :)

Regarding his German: he is a native speaker and absolutely fluent of course. But he has a funny mix of English accent and a local German dialect, because he left Germany in his teens. All his professional life as a musician took part in English, that is why English comes easier to hime when he talks about his work.

[kstevege]

I love these interview clips, especially being able to see what gear the composers are using. It looks like CUbase sx on the monitor?

ANyone know of a website with more artist video clips like this one?

[Harpya]

I love these interview clips, especially being able to see what gear the composers are using. It looks like CUbase sx on the monitor?

ANyone know of a website with more artist video clips like this one?

Yes, it is Cubase SX 3. I don't know about an artist video site, but this one is also interesting with videos of pros talking about their gear:
www.recordproduction.com

[Philzy]

Wow this is an awesome post thanks.
The music for pirates sounds amazing, that will be a definate purchase when it is released.

Thanks again

Chris

[Harpya]

Wow this is an awesome post thanks.
The music for pirates sounds amazing, that will be a definate purchase when it is released.

Thanks again

Chris

Yes, and it is very varied regarding atmosphere and sound. In some parts the whole orchestra has been put through a Diesel guitar amp. So, stay tuned... :D

[Phantom]

What I wouldn't give to meet Hans Zimmer

I have to meet him..... some day!

:)

[Harpya]

Some fans apparantly made a translated version (subtitles) of the clip which now found its way onto www.hans-zimmer.com. You find it behind the Pirates 2 logo.

[mixolydian]

:eek: The pirate-orchestra is playing headbanging trash-metal, definitely! :D

Thanks for the link, missed that on t.v. Will there be some informations when the other clips will follow?

Regards

[Randall Flagg]

Agreed.

The "riff" does sound like a metallica or megadeth. I can already see some metalheards headbanging to "Pirates"

Hell yeah!!! :D


Anyway I loved Badelt's score (he's one of my favorite composers) but I wanna hear something different from Hans.