10 replies to this topic

[Hapori Tohu]

Nathan Furst, composer for the first three Bionicle movies' scores, recently did an interview discussing his compositions. The right, or wrong, mix of music can make or break a movie, and he discusses his history in making sure the score is just right in all of his works. Read it <a href='http://www.runmovies.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=678:nathan-furst&catid=35:interviews' target='offsite'>here on Soundtrack</a>.

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[TheSkeletonMan939]

He mentioned that not all scores have formal recording sessions... I wonder if BIONICLE had any? I think Ninjago did because the tracks on Jay Vincent's site have slate numbers, but I could be wrong...

[jala12]

Too bad he didn't score Legend Reborn. The music in that movie was very forgetteable and I find it funny how the composer of that movie actually looked to Furst's pieces as inspiration. I would never have guessed.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Interesting interview. I agree with jala12 in that I wish his music was in TLB. But still, his music in the first three Bionicle films was great.

[TAK The Voyager]

Too bad he didn't score Legend Reborn. The music in that movie was very forgetteable and I find it funny how the composer of that movie actually looked to Furst's pieces as inspiration. I would never have guessed.

Me neither.

But hey, it's cool that he thought the Bionicle music was some of his best work. I think so and a lot of us would've liked to have seen him come back for the last film.

[Ghabulous Ghoti]

His work on BIONICLE is probably where I draw my love of orchestral music from.

Edited by Ghoti, Oct 03 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[PhillipL]

He mentioned that not all scores have formal recording sessions... I wonder if BIONICLE had any? I think Ninjago did because the tracks on Jay Vincent's site have slate numbers, but I could be wrong...

I can confirm that Bionicle did not have any live orchestral cues. Possibly some solo instruments, but no large ensembles. Nathan Furst has an incredible ability to make virtual instruments sound as realistic as they can.


Over the years, I've spoken with Nathan several times, via phone, in person, etc; and while there are a lot of things I can't openly say, I can say this: He had a very great time working on Bionicle. The whole filmmaking team were great friends to him and he said that the Bionicle trilogy was one of those times he could truly flex his imagination.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

I always tend to have mixed feelings about Nathan Furst's music. The scores for the BIONICLE movies suited the films themselves quite well, but I've never quite felt that they were definitive of the franchise as a whole, since they largely lacked that blend of mystical and mechanical that defined the BIONICLE music of 2001 and that I felt did justice to the franchise's duality.

At the same time, it's excellent that Nathan Furst enjoyed his work writing for the BIONICLE movies and that he really considers it some of his best work. Truly writing a score for something as complex as BIONICLE is a difficult task and I think Nathan Furst did admirably at trying to meet that challenge, much better at least than the writers for the TLR score which had few outstanding or memorable moments.

[fishers64]

I actually like Nathan Furst's music off the first three movies - really did a good job of capturing the dramatic feel of them and...well, they are just plain flat good music in my opinion.

I also don't think that any brand of music completely captures the whole of Bionicle, but that's just me. Nathan Furst's music works for the 2003-05 feel of the characters in the movie in which they were in. He did a good job there; hats off to him.

At the same time, I also don't think the TLR score was too bad. Has anyone listened to it? The music was a bit more lighthearted, but that's because TLR was just a more lighthearted film to begin with. Just because one does not like that film's more lighthearted feel does not mean that the score writers should be blamed for trying to capture it.

[Meiko]

He mentioned that not all scores have formal recording sessions... I wonder if BIONICLE had any? I think Ninjago did because the tracks on Jay Vincent's site have slate numbers, but I could be wrong...

Ninjago really doesn't actually. Jay Vincent and Mike Kramer mostly do digital composition, and like Jay said when I talked to him on the phone, the tracks are usually done around their houses.

[ReckoningReckoner]

The Bionicle music had always been awesome. Especially the ones from Bionicle 2 (the kikinalo one)

Though you start to see the flaws in the movies, the music remains to be pretty awesome.

Also, the music seemed reminiscent of the music from "Walking with the Dinosaurs", so maybe that's why I like it so much.

Edited by Summer Don't Know, Oct 08 2012 - 05:50 PM.