Jurassic Park Cover Entry - John Williams
Hey everyone!
Here is my entry for the jurassic Park re-score.
I’m possibly the biggest John Williams fan on the planet… so this contest was a dream come true, especially as this is my favourite score too! So first i would like the go through my creative process as there was a lot that i did with this, as i got a bit carried away!
Creative process
- Introduction - i love the island theme and it just so happens that i love the original introduction on the french horn and woodwinds. i tried a few things and then came up with the bold idea to copy the introduction until the main theme comes in. to do this i used Spitfire libraries mixed with majestic horn by Orchestral tools. so for this part of the composition ive not faltered from the original. i just worked it it by ear as i have for the rest of the piece. i also start in the home key of Bb.
*Main theme - I then introduced the main theme in the strings with a solo Cello, this is slightly different to the original as i chose my own chord voicings and you’ll actually hear the chords themselves have been adapted and often are more rich harmonically in places… this is a homage to how i think John Williams might have scored this if he had the creative freedom away from the film as he’s a big jazzer… so there are a lot of extension chords that hint towards mixolydian. in the second part of the main theme i them move towards a more rich harmonic pallet, introducing some woodwinds, Harp and Celeste.
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Theme 2 - I then crechendo into the second theme which is much more lively. All the time im adapting my tempo to keep it feeling loose and expressive, this enables me to add more emotion into the samples. this is where you hear i now play with the rhythm extensively and my part writing becomes much more distinguishable. the horns woodwind take up the melody in typical fashion while the bass is reinforced with timpani and Bass Drum. im also making great use of Mallets and bells to create that graneouso feel to the composition.
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Island theme brief return - i then briefly return to the island theme with a pulsating bass ostinato which reinforces the home key of Bm… this is more energetic than the first time we’ve herd it but not too energetic sos to keep the mood of the theme intact. i then introduce the second part of theme 2 but i use it to transition from Bb to the new tonic centre of C major.
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Final Glimpse of Theme 2 - Theme 2 now returns with triumphant return as the orchestra joins in Tutti (all together) and in a faster tempo of 120bpm as if this is a chase scene between Jeff Goldblum and the T-rex that threw him into a porta-toilet cabin. Harmonically this is similar to the firsttime we have herd it but the triplet theme you heard earlier is established more as a theme, as i planned to reuse it after this section.
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Triplet theme used as a Codetta - yep, i cant say it any other way, i used the triplet theme to add tension, swapping between tonic, secondary dominant and tritone substitution to link the last theme and the outro (coda).
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Coda - In typical Holst fashion i added a coda outro that is heavily rhythm focussed while the woodwinds and Horns return with theme one. this is a homage to what we herd right at the start. Yes, just as the Horn introduced us to the piece, it is now wrapping up the piece with a npd to the first theme… we dont hear the first theme in its entirety, but we do hear the development of that theme as i create a new variation.
Other considerations i had when approaching the piece were that i wanted the piece to continually gain pace, so that is why the tempo crechendos while also keeping some expression.
i used a variety of compositional techniques to create this track which include:
Tutti
polyphony between sections.
call and response between sections.
orchestration techniques. (ill go into detail in the comments if anyone wants to know)
counterpoint.
i used a piano reduction before orchestrating.
in depth use of harmony.
Libraries i used.
Spitfire Studio Orchestra
Albion 1 strings
Orchestral tools Timpani
orchestral tools Majestic horn
Albion 1 legacy cymbals
Performance samples Caspian
Action strikes
BBSO
Spitfire orchestral Piano and a piano from Piano Book.
Tebleau strings
Full List of instruments
- Woodwinds
piccolo
flute
clarinet
oboe
Bassoon
- Brass
trumpet
Horn
Trombones
Tenor Trombones
Cimbasso
- Strings
Violin 1+2
Viola
Cello
DB
- Percussion
Cymbals + Swells
Timpani
Bass Drum
triangle
wood block
- Tuned percussion
Gong
xylophone
glockenspiel
marimba
Tubular Bells
Piano
Now without further ado, here is my entry for this months Jurassic Park Competition.
RAAWWRRR!
Heres a Soundcloud link and a youtube link. the soundcloud link is an amended version where ive pulled down some faders as i felt they were too loud, but between both versions i think its just a taste thing 
