10. Big Fish

Big Fish:

Because the original soundtrack had a number of songs included, there’s quite a bit of score that didn’t make it on, but it’s all here now. It’s weird for me to say that because I never listen to my own music, but reviewing all the music for the Music Box and hearing it for the first time in years. I am actually surprised. (I know that sounds terribly pretentious, like I’m surprising myself with my own music, and reading that makes me kind of retch, but I guess I’m saying that it’s an odd sensation.) Maybe I’m just becoming sentimental. I particularly like “Journey To Spectre,” which has a lot of color and moods in it.  The combination of “Spotting Sandra” and “Joining The Circus” kind of work as a Sandra Duet together. “Circus Montage” and “Leaving Jenny” are both favorites as well. I really don’t know why they weren’t on the original. But it’s all history now.

More worktapes. They’re finally at the point in my “mock-up demo” development where I can bear to listen to them without cringing. The slow evolution of available sounds was finally paying off. And at this point, I was really putting everything into the demo, all the orchestration as I heard it, all the instruments. And I expected the finished version to sound close, much better, and richer, of course, but still very close to what I had created synthetically.

“Harmonics”—it’s another case of an early experiment that never found a home in the movie. “Goodbye Theme” is clearly Sandra’s theme and very close to what made it into the score. “Sandra’s Theme” is really just another variation when I was in the process of sorting that stuff out…exactly where I might take a theme and what I can do with it and where it was capable of going… all part of the experimentation process. “An Idea”—an odd little thing that did eventually find a home. “Jenny’s Theme”—just a simple version of her theme, my favorite in the score. “Early Finale Demo”—this was an early attempt at the cue when I was working to picture. Parts survived and parts didn’t.

—DE