Brian scoring lacrosse film Crooked Arrows

Brandon Routh as Coach Joe Logan in Crooked Arrows.

Brandon Routh as Coach Joe Logan in Crooked Arrows.

Nice mention at the Film Music Reporter that Brian is currently scoring the upcoming sports drama Crooked Arrows. The movie directed by Steve Rash (Can’t Buy Me Love, The Buddy Holly Story) follows a rag-tag Native American high school lacrosse team that is forced to join the elite New York Prep League, which is comprised of better trained and equipped rivals. The film starring Brandon Routh, Gil Birmingham, Crystal Allen and Chelsea Ricketts is written by Brad Riddell and Todd Baird. J. Todd Harris (Bottle Shock) and Mitchell Peck (Priest) are producing the project, which is co-produced by Sports Studio (Miracle). Brian will be recording his Native American influenced score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony next month. Crooked Arrows will be released in theaters this spring. 

SCOREcast Episode 31: Total Request (Sorta) LIVE!

Original Air Date: October 1, 2011

This Episode: SCOREcast Episode 31: Total Request (Sorta) LIVE!

Co-hosts:Deane Ogden & Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier SCOREcast announcer: Jeff Rechner  iTunes RSS Link

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In this episode, the boys answer your questions in our very first social media-centric episode of SCOREcast. Nothing is sacred—topics include samples versus live instruments, composer copyright issues, dealing with your first film project, handling directors, where to live when starting a film scoring career, and much, much more. We’ll also give you a sneak peek into what we have planned for SCOREcast’s 5th Anniversary, and how you can get the full scoop coming up on what’s ahead for the website and podcast. Check it out!

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2011/10/scorecast-31-total-request.html

SCOREcast Session: Music Editing AVATAR

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Original Air Date: September 18, 2011

This Episode: SCOREcast Session: Music Editing AVATAR

Co-hosts: Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier SCOREcast announcer: Jeff Rechner  iTunes RSS Link

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In this SCOREcast Session episode originally recorded on June 4, 2011, Brian Ralston sat down with composer James Horner’s long-time music editor Jim Henrikson and Cuetime software developer and music editor Dan Brock to discuss the role of the music editor in the Hollywood feature filmmaking process. Get ready for an incredibly entertaining episode full of stories from some of filmmaking’s greatest moments, including a behind-the-scenes rundown on how the music for James Cameron’s 3D sensation Avatar was recorded. This is one episode you will not want to miss!

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2011/09/scorecast-session-music-editing-avatar.html

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VOYAGER to premiere at LA Shorts Fest's Opening Program July 21 @ 1pm

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Very exciting news regarding the Sci-Fi short film VOYAGER that Brian scored as part of the University of Arizona film scoring workshop back in April.  VOYAGER has been accepted into the largest short film festival in the world for its world premiere.  The prestigious Los Angeles International Short Film Festival later this month. 

Voyager will open the festival in program number 1 at 1pm on Thursday July 21, 2011 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters in Hollywood. (8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90046).  Tickets (which go on sale beginning July 14th) are $12 per person for each short film "program"...which will buy you a screening to about 60-90 minutes of the best short films from around the world.  

Brian will be in attendance supporting the film as will director Jared Potter who will be traveling down from Seattle that week.  So...for anyone who can come out on a Thursday afternoon to support the film and see it...please do come by. 

One of the challenges with opening the festival in program #1 is that you have to get the word out to everyone to come see the screening before the festival begins via the internet and other marketing tools, rather than inviting everyone attending the festival at the various social events that take place all week long.  So please help spread the word. 

More information on the film can be found at the film's new official website: www.voyagerfilm.com (This website should go live any day now).

Below is a short trailer director Jared Potter put together for the festival.  The film is already generating some preliminary buzz by the few industry folks who have privately seen it thus far.  And Jared's incredible CGI work in Voyager has certainly impressed some important industry folks.  A glimpse of some of that work can be seen in the trailer below.  The film will also premiere in the LA Short fest with a new surround sound mix by sound designer Lisa Fowle at Dragonfly Sound.  This film is going to look and sound amazing. 

Brian is extremely excited to have contributed the score to this impressive project.  The last film Brian scored that premiered at the LA Shorts fest was The Rece!pt in 2005 which went on to win Best Comedy at that festival, qualifying it for Academy consideration in 2005. 

Click the play button below to see the trailer stream from Vimeo:

Voyager Trailer from Jared Potter on Vimeo.

Trailer for the short film Voyager. Directed by Jared Potter.

Official Selection LA Shorts Fest 2011

Teaser video from VOYAGER scoring session

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Brian's recent trip to Arizona to conduct the film scoring workshop and live scoring session was a complete success.  Director Jared Potter's film VOYAGER will premiere at the Fox Theater in downtown Tucson on Saturday, May 14th at 7pm.  Below is a little teaser of Brian's score edited together with live footage from one of the sessions in AZ. 


Brian to guest speak at the University of Arizona.

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Brian has been invited to speak next week, April 15th at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.  The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television, the Hanson Film Institute an Xerox presents a film scoring seminar/workshop and recording session to be headlined by Brian on April 15th, 2011.  The presentation will take place in the Harvell Bldg, Room 104 at 10:30am - 12:00 noon and is open to all students.  Followed by a pizza lunch.  At 1:30pm - 5:00pm, a live demonstration film scoring recording session will take place in the School of Music recording studio, music room 57 (basement).  NOTE:  Due to limited space in the recording studio, to attend the recording session, you must have signed up for a 30-minute slot during the previous session. The lecture portion of the event will be focused on the process of scoring music for film and television.  Topics will be discussed from both a music viewpoint and a filmmaking viewpoint.  So both film students and music composition or performance students interested in film scoring are encouraged to attend.  Brian will also answer any questions students might have about the process and provide some audio/video examples and demonstrations of the process of scoring a scene. 

For the recording session in the afternoon, the event will not only serve the purpose of recording music for Jarrod Potter's thesis film VOYAGER...but it will also serve as a live demonstration of the recording process of cues with live musicians. 

Many thanks to Dan Brock who has put a lot of time and effort in organizing this event, to the U of Az School of Theater, Film & Television, professor Jeff Haskell and the School of Music and Wiley Ross from the U of Arizona recording studio. 

DON'T FADE AWAY Australia DVD release set for April 6th

The film Don't Fade Away which stars Ryan Kwanten, Beau Bridges and Mischa Barton and features a score by Brian is set to have its DVD release in Australia on April 6, 2011 through Ovation Entertainment.  The film is directed by Luke Kasdan.  The film's star Ryan Kwanten, known to many from his role as Jason Stackhouse in HBO's True Blood is a native of Australia.  This is the first English-speaking territory where the DVD has been officially announced.  The film will have a U.S. release on DVD this summer, though the date has yet to be announced. 

Cinefantastique Online Interview with Brian on scoring Battle of LA

http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2011/03/music-for-a-mockbuster-scoring-the-other-battle-of-l-a/ 

Author and writer Randall Larson interviewed Brian and co-composer Kays Alatrakchi about their work on scoring the SyFy original movie Battle of Los Angeles which premiered on the channel March 12, 2011.  The article is called, "Music for a Mockbuster: Scoring the Other Battle of L.A."  Larson contributed “The Score” column to Cinefantastique magazine from 1983 to 1999.  He is the author of Musique Fantastique, A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema (1984) and Music from the House of Hammer (1996), Larson also published CinemaScore: The Film Music Journal during the 1980s. He currently writes a bi-weekly film music column for buysoundtrax.com, reviews horror soundtrack CDs for Cemetery Dance magazine, writes for Music from the Movies and Film Music magazines, and writes soundtrack CD liner note books.  His well crafted column/interview with Brian and Kays discussed the process they went through in scoring the almost wall-to-wall musical score which started back in November 2010.  Larson is also including part of this interview in his upcoming 4 volume book on Science fiction film music.

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The SyFy ratings are in and like the Asylum's B-Sci-Fi flicks or not, nearly 2.2 million viewers were tracked for the Battle of LA premiere.  This marks the third Syfy Saturday Original Movie to shatter the two million viewers mark so far in 2011, joining Mega Python Vs Gatoroid (2.35 million) and Behemoth (2.16 million).

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Brian scores new SyFy Original Movie - Premieres March 12

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Brian recently scored a SyFy Original Movie that will premiere on the SyFy channel March 12. Of course, they had to call it Battle OF Los Angeles.  Wink, wink.  See the difference there?  The "OF" makes a big difference.  SyFy has to have their fun alien invasion film too.  Brian co-composed the fun, bombastic score with a talented composer colleague Kays Alatrakchi.  With almost 90 minutes of music scored nearly wall to wall in the film...there was a lot to be done in a short amount of time. 

A little promo/trailer has been put out by SyFy and can be seen below.  Be sure to check it out when it premieres Saturday evening March 12 on the SyFy channel.

SCOREcast No. 29: Christopher Lennertz

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Original Air Date: February 25, 2011

This Episode: Episode No 29: Christopher Lennertz

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier

SCOREcast announcer: Jeff Rechner

iTunes RSS Link

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Chipmunks, Spartans, and bunny rabbits——Oh my!! In our 29th episode, Emmy-nominated composer Christopher Lennertz (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Marmaduke, Hop!) stops in to hang out with Deane and Brian and talk about everything from scoring features, games, and television to didgeridoos and chocolate bunny rabbits! The boys also discuss a new film music financing model that is gaining traction in industry circles, and they continue the ongoing discussion of the proposed composers union in order to highlight a few very interesting recent developments. If this episode sounds like it is packed to the gills, that’s because IT IS! Hunker down and take it all in!

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2011/02/scorecast-no-29.html

SCOREcast Session:2011 NAMM Wrap-Up Episode

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www.scorecastonline.com

Original Air Date: January 31, 2011

This Episode: 2011 NAMM Wrap-Up Episode

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier SCOREcast announcer: Jeff Rechner

iTunes RSS Link

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In our very first SCOREcast Session episode, Deane and Brian go in-depth with their impressions from this year’s NAMM Show. Utilizing a different format in this episode, the boys walk you through the hits and misses from the convention floor and also answer a few listener emails from last months regular episode. If you were at NAMM this year, you’ll appreciate the more detailed descriptions of some of the items that were highlighted during our 2011 NAMM Video Series. If you weren’t in Anaheim, get your notepad ready… You won’t want to miss some of these killer products coming out in 2011!

SCOREcast No. 28 - "2011 Pre-NAMM Episode"

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Original Air Date: January 11, 2011

This Episode: “2011 Pre-NAMM Episode”

Co-hosts: Deane Ogden and Brian Ralston

Guest Host: Richard Bellis 

SCOREcast theme composed by: Jeroen “Kejero” Rogier

iTunes RSS Link

We’re ringing in the New Year with our 28th episode, and we’re mixing up the format… yet again! In this edition of SCOREcast Podcast, Deane and Brian welcome Emmy-winning composer Richard Bellis along for the ride to talk about the state of the industry, how the Academy decides eligibility for the Best Score Oscar®, and what emerging technologies are will carry forth into 2011 for media composers. Also, pay special attention for an “Easter Egg” in the final 1/3 of the show: A special shout-out to those of you attending the NAMM Show this week in Anaheim, California. We are just full of surprises today on this show, so sit back, relax, smoke a cigar, and enjoy. (Okay, don’t really smoke a cigar!)

TOPICAL LIST 1. The Re-Sophistication of the Craft 2. The Rise of “Celebrity Scores” 3. The Academy Award Nomination Process 4. Trending Technologies for Composers 5. “The Composer Census”

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DISCUSSION LINKS

00:45:25—The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

(The Oscars®)

00:47:09—Rules of Eligibility: Music

(The Oscars®)

00:52:55—CineOrch

(CineSamples)

00:56:42—Sibelius

(notation software)

00:57:49—DP Control™

(Digital Performer iPad app)

00:58:05—AC-7 Pro

(Saitara Software Universal DAW Controller for iPad)

00:59:44—Boxwave Capacitive iPad Stylus

(Boxwave)

01:01:12—Kontakt

(Native Instruments)

01:01:11—Spectrasonics

(64-bit virtual instruments)

01:01:20—EastWest Play 2

(EastWest sample libraries)

01:03:24—Ray Colcord

(award-winning composer/orchestrator)

01:06:16—2011 Film & Television Composer Census

(The Composer Census Group)

01:10:42—AMPTP

(Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers)

01:12:43—NLRB

(National Labor Relations Board)

01:13:30—Teamsters Local 399

(The Teamsters Union)

01:34:26—Blue Icicle

(XLR-USB adapter)

“TOP PICKS” LINKS Brian Ralston’s Top Picks

01:18:43—PogoPlug

(personal streaming studio server device)

01:23:33—Jam Kat

(guitar pick switcher)

Richard Bellis’ Top Picks

01:25:47—Backblaze

(unlimited off-site backup solution)

Deane Ogden’s Top Picks

01:28:46—Orchestral String Runs

(Kontakt-based string run sample library)