Batman 1989 and Dark Knight Rises 2012

Introduction

 The narrative or pictorial aspect of a motion picture can be considered its melody underscore. With this concept in mind, the theme song of any film shapes its message and even influences moods and perspectives. Tim Burton’s Batman’s theme song was composed by Danny Elfman. Steve Bartek orchestrated the theme song with Smalley Steven and Sinfonia performed the masterpiece (Halfyard, 2004). The Batman theme song was later adopted in other Batman-related films and animations. On the other hand, the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ is a follow-up to Nolan’s The Dark Knight. The music album contained three songs which were also featured in the movie. Hans Zimmer composed ‘Dark Knight Rises’ soundtrack. Hans Zimmer composed a memorable theme song. Even though Danny Elfman’s theme song design was dark and heroic hence befitting the character and the storyline perfectly. Hans Zimmer had a lot to retain the work of his predecessor. This essay will demonstrate the similarities and differences between the two composers and draw tangle and physiological features of the music.

Composer’s biographies

‘Batman’s soundtrack was contained in an album dubbed ‘Batman’. As stated earlier, Danny Elman was the main composer of the album and produced by Jon Peters. Elfman also played the main songs in the album as instructed by Tim Burton. Born Daniel Robert Elfman in 1953. He grew up to be a composer, vocalist, and music producer. He first burst into the limelight with his 1980's song Oingo Boingo and since then he rose to international recognition for composing more than one hundred songs (Denby, 2008). His newly acquired fame and status made him recognized all over the world. He was later to compose the Batman soundtrack. Apart from doing soundtracks for motion pictures, he composed songs for ‘desperate housewives’ series. Due to his consistency and talent, he was nominated for an Oscar and two Emmy awards. Elfman was raised in California and observed his family’s Jewish and Russian customs. Adopting to a racially integrative community situated in the Baldwin Hills. His interaction with music in the local theater led to his love for composing movie soundtracks.

 In ‘The Dark Night Rises' the leading soundtracks were composed by Hans Zimmer. From the composition to the sound, Hans made a mark with the melodies. Hans Zimmer was born in 1957 in Germany and is known for his music composition and production in the movie arena. Zimmer’s work is well-known across the board due to its integrative electronic melodies and customary orchestral structures. All through in the 1980s he made music for more than 150 motion pictures, Zimmer’s most notable works were from the lion king animation and inception. He even was nominated for a Grammy for his exemplary compositions (Nolan, & Thomas, 2012). Zimmer spent his early career in the United Kingdom and later went on to the USA. Before moving to the US, he played piano at his home and also had part-time lessons as he never liked the strict routine associated with ceremonial music lessons. In the end, his drive and passion for music drove him to teach himself music composition and production which went a long way in influencing his motion picture soundtracks. This led to his long-awaited fame and best-known composure to date.

Composers’ Filmographies

 In the motion picture ‘Charlie and the Chocolate factory’ Elman wrote and sang all the melodies. He had to record himself singing in various ways and also cautiously manipulated the audio to make the songs attain different pitches- both high and low vocals. Elfman was also part of the group which created the ‘Forbidden Zone’ (1980) soundtrack. In this motion picture, Elfman mixed classical music with rock and roll. The audience could match the mood of the film to the soundtracks playing in the background and this gave Elman a lot of credit for such good composure in music taste (Gilmore, 2013). The ability to write several kinds of music in more than one style showed Elman's talent and creativity in music. Additionally, in 1993, he produced ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ where he is credited for writing, singing, and composing the entire sound in the Tim Burton film. The style was lush and threatening hence perfectly highlighting Elman's vocals. Not forgetting ‘Beetlejuice’ (1988), Elfman ensured that he styled the melodies to fit the intensity and persuasive nature of the entire motion picture in terms of instrumentation, dramatic buildup, and even percussions.

 On the other hand, Hans Zimmer composed ‘Driving Miss Daisy' (1989). Zimmer's sonic sound is bold and extremely polished. Most of the time, it is loud, consistent, and intense. He accredited for most of the time and accurately depicting characters promptly and basis. In this particular motion picture, Zimmer ensures that the sound is light and welcoming as it depicts the family life of people. This movie showed his ability to make soundly based on the need and character foundations of a particular style. Furthermore, in ‘The Amazing Spiderman 2' (2014) Zimmer composed and wrote a ravenous and uninhabited brass soundtrack. The combinations of dubstep rhythm, metal choruses, and guitars made the sound energetic and entertaining.  Zimmer ensured that he used his creativity to push up the plotting scenes and the music. In this particular sideman motion picture, Zimmer combined efforts with Pharrell Williams to form a sound which many people would admire and like for the superhero flick. In the 2006 controversial film, ‘Da Vinci Code' Zimmer used musical pomposity and subtleness at the same time. Astonishingly, he insinuates piousness through a range of choral parts and modest orchestral openings.

 

Composition and Style

 In Batman, the soundtrack depended on the themes dark and heroic. This matched Batman's heroic stature. The soundtrack has its exceptional sound influenced by the creators and singers. As stated earlier, Danny Elfman composed and wrote the score. The music ushers in a glorious and dashing heroic sound. This makes it sound dramatic and malleable hence making an authoritative statement. One of the main features in the score is Prince who wrote and sang some of the songs in the album. These features and styles of composition applied to composers of both films. One of the primary elements in Batman's (1989) soundtrack is Prince's input in the sound and singing style. Elfman does his part and changes the entire theme song into a love song for the main character and his lover. Featuring Prince as the main singer makes some of the songs have a gothic feel to them. After the main theme, Elfman balances both the scenic acts as he creates atmospheric energy within the tunes and time placement of the beat (McGowan, 2012). The middle and final runs of the score are and intuitive as the audience can sing along and even tend to reply to some of the lyrics.  In ‘The Dark Night Rises' (2012) the music has a calm beat to it swoop-dum-dum-dum. The motion picture made use of various musical instruments such as violins and guitars to make them sound natural and alive. The right claustrophobic mixture and multisided chants in different scenes made the movie good and effective in steering the storyline above the normal. Besides, the chants included numerous voices hence complicating the tempo and entire music theme.

            In short, in terms of similarities, the two composers ensured that the movies had a heroic theme to it. Nevertheless, flow and instrumentation completely differed due to time and time and trend. A modern-day Batman hero is to be respected and strong as compared to a past Batman who had to rescue the day. Thus, years and time affected the sound. In the late 1980s, rhythm and blues was a popular genre but in 2012.  Hence the two composers heavily relied on the trends and target audience.  In ‘The Dark Knight Rises', (2012) the composer only retains some elements of instrumentation and orchestration so that he can retain sonic emblems of previous sequels. Music is a form of continuity and trying to create something new sometimes may backfire on the composers and this is the reason sometimes people try to retain the cohesive elements of past motion pictures. The scores of both the motion pictures align the tone from the beginning to the end. The aesthetic and experimental veers into a fantasy dynamics and customary storyline structure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Denby, D. (2008). Past Shock. New Yorker, 21.

Gilmore, J. (2013). Absolute Anxiety Test: Urban Wreckage in The Dark Knight Rises.

Halfyard, J. K. (2004). Danny Elfman's Batman: a film score guide (Vol. 2). Scarecrow Press.

McGowan, T. (2012). Should the dark knight have risen. Jump Cut, 54.

Nolan, C., Nolan, J., & Thomas, E. (2012). The dark knight rises. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video.