Un terrible virus annihile 90 % des habitants en Ecosse. Pour endiguer l'épidémie, le gouvernement anglais construit un mur infranchissable. L'Ecosse est désormais un no man's land barbare et violent où les survivants sont coupés du monde.
Lorsque 30 ans plus tard, le même virus réapparaît au cœur de Londres, un commando de choc part en mission suicide rechercher un éventuel vaccin dans une Ecosse contrôlée par des gangs rivaux...

 

Please Mister Bates, for the readers of inter-activities, how would you describe or characterize your own musical style?

TB -  It is difficult to speak about one’s self in that way. I can only say that my music is passionate, and sometimes passionately disturbing.

 

 

What is your technique when you’re writing music? Do you compose on paper, or work into a computer? 

TB - I write directly in the computer. The process by which films are now made requires precise demos prior to the actual scoring sessions for the purpose of clearly illustrating the finite character of the score for the director, producers and the studio. There is little time to put pencil to paper in the process, so I begin my work in the same platform the music will be delivered to the dub stage.

 

What do you feel when you’re composing and what do you like in this process?

TB – I try to allot time for the essence of a film (or its aesthetic) to steep in my bones long enough for me to develop a strong creative and emotional connection to the material on any of a number of levels depending on the style and genre the movie. What do I like? Nice people and time! LOL.

 

How do you choose a project to work on?

TB – I don’t know that I choose what projects I work on. I can’t say that I am entirely in that place in my career as yet. But I do aspire to work with certain directors, which happen to be the circle of filmmakers I have worked with over the past few years.

 

DOOMSDAY

 

How did you come on DOOMSDAY board, and what were the requests you got from the crew? And more especially, Neil Marshall? 

TB – Neil asked me to do the film, for which I am most appreciative. He really wanted the music to have a great deal of energy while embracing classic 80’s music qualities. Fortunately I loved much of the same music from that era as Neil, who has great taste in music altogether. The film is a true mixed bag of styles and genres, so it was a great challenge to create a fluid and congruous score while embracing the myriad stylistic influences that Neil wanted to be inherent in the music for the film.

 

How would you describe the story of the film?

 TB – You really have to see the movie. It’s too insane for me to effectively outline the story in 500 words or less. It is about abandonment, redemption, anger, power, justice and injustice alike…LOL.

 

What was your approach to the score?

 TB – My main objective was to embrace Neil’s desire to have fun and make the movie sound unlike anything that has come out in some time. The greater challenge was to do so without diminishing the plight of our heroine and her comrades.

 

What kind of an orchestra and what size did you choose? With whom (orchestrator, editor, Neil Marshall’s...) and how did you worked with them?

TB – We recorded a large orchestra (average 90 pieces) and a 64 voice choir at Air Lyndhurst studios in London.

My orchestrator / conductor is Tim Williams. He is my next-door neighbor in Los Angeles. He flew to London with me as we have done for past projects, including “300.” Dina Eaton is the music editor who was my liaison to Neil and the editorial staff. We had good fun on the project!

Did you use a temp track and what kind? Did you use specific instruments, what kind, and what for?

TB –  I never willingly listen to or refer to temp tracks. This is the most frustrating aspect of film scoring for any true composer. As for the “non-orchestral” instruments, I played a good number of synthesizers on the score, as well as guitarviol. My long-time associate Wolfgang, who rocks the entire gamut of electronic instrumentation, also contributed a great deal of modular synthesizer to the score.

 

How did you use guitar in this score?

TB – I plugged it into an amplifier and played pretty much on the spot one take. There was no time for deliberation.

 

What woman chorus bring in your score?

TB – Azam Ali, who sang on “300,” contributed solo vocals to the music.

 

How did you treat with the 80 ‘s style of film music( TERMINATOR, MAD MAX and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK) (what kind of sounds, instruments did you use for that…)? 

TB – Most of those colours were expressed with synthesizers. My main keyboards for this project were the Prophet 08 and Moog Voyager.

 

 

How did you treat the orchestral/electronic mix?

TB – No matter what film I am writing music for, the underlying concept is that of a hybrid. Since I have done so many “low-budget” films I am used to supplementing the music with whatever means possible to give the end product a rich sound. And though I now tend to work on larger films, this aspect of creating music has become part of my style.

 

How did you treat with vintage and modern music? (Percussions, guitar…)

TB – I have experimented with percussionists for years to develop the textural motifs that you hear in my scores. The DNA of these experiments are part of my secret collection!

 

How much time do you have to compose your score? 

TB – A few weeks.

 

What could you say about the funny “Can, can” (French) at the end of the cd? Why this choice?

TB – This was Neil’s choice. I think it’s great!

 

What did this experience bring to you, for your career, personally…?

TB – It was absolutely great working with Neil Marshall and his editor, Andrew Mac Ritchie. Dina Eaton was great too! The whole experience was truly fun.

 

Can you tell me about your projects? What else are you working on now? May you tell us more about: The Belcoo

 Experiment, The Day the Earth Stood Still,  WatchmeN, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.

TB – I prefer not to discuss projects I am currently working on until they are complete.

 

Since 2004, you've composed score for more specific films like: DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS SLITHER, SEE NO EVIL, DAY OF THE DEAD, 300, HALLOWEEN and now DOOMSDAY (king horror, violent or gore films). For a new project, if you could choose you another genre, a kind of story and a filmmaker, what would they be?  

TB – I would love to have scored the film version of “The Road,” which is a great Cormack McCarthy novel. Nick Cave is doing the music so I am sure it is going to be great.                                                                                                                      

 

Among all your scores what are the ones you like the most? Can you explain us why?

 TB – I am really happy about most of the film experiences I have had. “Dawn” was great because it is a great film, and it was the beginning of my working relationship with Zack Snyder. So much of what I take with me from a film experience is based on the experience I have with the people involved in making the film.

 

Do you have specific message to add for our readers?  

TB – Thanks for being supportive of my work. It means a great deal to all of us film composer geeks!                                                      

Thanks and all my congratulations.

 

 

 

Du fantastique au cinéma d'anticipation musclé

Après les films fantastiques Dog Soldiers et The Descent, le cinéaste Neil Marshall considéré comme l'un des chefs de file du nouveau cinéma d'horreur britannique, aborde avec Doomsday un univers plus centré sur l'anticipation et l'action pure. Pour cet ambitieux projet, Marshall a souhaité une mise en scène "à l'ancienne". Il explique : "Je voulais absolument que les scènes d'action soient les plus réalistes possibles, ce qu'on voit très rarement au cinéma de nos jours. Il était hors de question d'utiliser des fonds verts ou de recourir au travail au filin : pour moi, il s'agissait de faire appel à des cascadeurs audacieux capables d'être suspendus à un bolide lâché à 130 km/h ou de sauter dans une voiture qui s'emplafonne dans une autre."

Des influences majeures

Doomsday rend hommage à des oeuvres majeures du cinéma d'anticipation des années 70/80 telles le Mad Max de George Miller ou le New York 1997 de John Carpenter, même si, selon le producteur Steven Paul, le réalisateur Neil Marshall "a apporté sa touche personnelle au film." Un réalisateur qui avoue, au sujet du cinéma d'anticipation et d'action qu'il remet au goût du jour : "C'est un genre un peu délaissé depuis quelques années, et qui me ramène aux films que j'adore."

Un voyage à travers l'imaginaire

Pour définir l'expérience Doomsday, le réalisateur Neil Marshall déclare : "Bien qu'on ait le sentiment d'un voyage dans le temps, on ne change pas vraiment d'époque. Les différents univers du film coexistent tout dans la même temporalité. J'espère surtout que le spectateur passera un bon moment, dans ce voyage à travers l'imaginaire."

Rhona Mitra : une actrice en action !

La jeune actrice britannique Rhona Mitra, l'héroïne de Doomsday, est plutôt spécialisée dans le cinéma d'action (Beowulf, Get Carter, Highwaymen : la poursuite infernale, Shooter tireur d'élite) et était donc la comédienne rêvée pour le réalisateur Neil Marshall. "Elle a été formidable à son audition, et quand on l'a revue à Londres, on a compris qu'on tenait notre Sinclair", affirme le cinéaste. "Son interprétation du personnage allait dans un sens très physique, ce qui ne l'empêchait pas de comprendre sa sensibilité et son rapport à son passé."

Un virus particulièrement répugnant

Les séances de maquillage de Doomsday montrant les répercussions du virus "La Faucheuse" ont demandé beaucoup de travail. "Le réalisateur Neil Marshall souhaitait que ça ait l'air aussi répugnant que possible", se souvient Paul Hyett, responsable des maquillages sur le film. "On voulait donner le sentiment que si un malade vous toussait dessus, vous pouviez en mourir ! J'ai étudié les symptômes de plusieurs maladies, notamment de mycoses et de maladies vénériennes. On trouve toutes sortes de maladies de peau peu ragoûtantes sur Internet..."

Un champion de karaté au casting

Hennie Bomana, champion de karaté sud-africain, a accompagné l'actrice Rhona Mitra dans sa préparation physique, notamment pour son combat contre le géant Telemon.

Lieux de tournage

Pour l'essentiel, le tournage de Doomsday s'est déroulé en Afrique du Sud. Après deux mois ensoleillés passés à l'extrémité du continent africain (ou furent tournées de nombreuses scènes extérieures), l'équipe est retournée à un climat plus frais, passant deux semaines en Ecosse puis bouclant le tournage à Londres.