I’m thrilled to announce that Capcom and Sumthing Else will release two Dark Void albums this Tuesday, February 9th.  Of course, the first and most essential is the 80-minute album Dark Void, Original Video Game Score. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed a single CD of mine better check this out, because it ranks right up there with the best albums I’ve ever put together.  Second (perhaps) only to the double-disc BSG Season 4 album, this music is the most sweeping, epic and kick ass soundtrack I’ve ever created.

There’s little I can say about the score I didn’t already discuss in depth in this here.  Every theme and unique soloist can be found on the album.  Here’s the scoop on the official track list with exclusive audio clips: Read the rest of this entry »

Albums, Video Games | 23 Comments »

SPOILERS AHEAD: Reins of a Waterfall continues to expand the characters and the world of Caprica, and so the character themes in the score are also adapting. While this episode doesn’t introduce any new thematic material, it does use the current library of themes in new ways.

The first cue helps establish Lacey’s isolation at school, as she walks through the hallways while her fellow students scorn her for being friends with a terrorist. (Dude, her friend is frakkin’ DEAD, cut the girl some slack!) The orchestration of the main theme here is unique, because it rests atop a freely ascending accompanimental line in the violin and clarinets.

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Caprica | 30 Comments »

Video Blog #2:

SPOILERS AHEAD: The gentle refrains of a boys choir float down, as if from a celestial balcony, as we are transported to a monastery in the mountains. The opening ten seconds of Sanctuary promise something special, and the rest of the episode does not disappoint. Here, the mythology behind the main characters is explored further and the score bursts across the episode with new character themes and a larger, more operatic approach.

(Session photography courtesy of Andrew Craig)

The element of the score that stands out the most is, of course, the boys choir. The producers and I wanted to open the episode strong, with music that simultaneously communicates fun, energy, adventure and a credible Catholic undertone, to help establish the monastery setting. I never thought we’d actually get a choir, because they are extremely expensive, but the series producers believed in the idea and made it happen. A Wednesday night idea, Thursday morning budget approval, Friday afternoon composition and Saturday orchestration led to a Sunday choral session!

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Battlestar Galactica | 25 Comments »

SPOILERS BEYOND: After the intimate two-hour pilot film that established the major characters and themes, Caprica now takes off and expands the world and characters. The appropriately-titled Rebirth is the first of several episodes that pushes the boundaries of the narrative beyond the world of the Graystones and Adamas, and gives us our first real glimpses of Caprican society. We witness snippets of Caprican television broadcasts, a huge pyramid match, Tamara’s high school, the Dive Bar and the city center where thousands of citizens gather to mourn the victims of the terrorist bombing.

This series presents a unique set of challenges for me. I have all the usual jobs of a television composer: match the mood of each scene, bring to the surface emotional arcs that may not be coming across, write and develop character themes as necessary and stay tastefully out of the way of dialog and sound effects. However, I also have the added duties of helping to realize Caprican society by writing and producing source pieces for every environment where they may be helpful.
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Caprica | 48 Comments »

This entry presents my first official VIDEO BLOG:

SPOILERS AHEAD: Embassy Row shows Chance’s search for a spy who killed his former colleague Danny.  In the process, he fights henchmen, rouge double agents, jumps a motorcycle over armed guards and joins forces with a sexy government agent.  All in a day’s work for Christopher Chance!

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Human Target | 32 Comments »

The time has finally come:  time to change the name of “Bear’s Battlestar Galactica Blog.”

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Other Projects | 120 Comments »

MODERATE SPOILERS AHEAD: After many months (or arguably years) of anticipation, the “BSG” prequel series “Caprica” premieres tonight on SyFy.  Originally released as a two-hour film on DVD last spring, with a subsequent soundtrack album release in June, most hard-core BSG fans have probably already experienced this.  For any of you who don’t know, “Caprica” is a prequel series to “Battlestar Galactica” that chronicles the origins of the robotic Cylon race that will ultimately wipe out most of humanity.

Those of you who have been enjoying the soundtrack CD know that this two-hour film introduces several important melodic and rhythmic themes.  Beginning next week, you will finally hear that musical world expand and develop into exciting new ideas, themes, melodies, songs and score.  I also just tonight approved the final “Caprica Main Title” which you will hear next week (and it kicks ass).

I plan on blogging detailed entries about each episode, so check back each week after you’ve seen the show.  And if you’re watching the pilot tonight for a second or third time, try to pick out the variations of the Graystone and Tauron Themes that are woven throughout the score.

There’s little I can say about the “Caprica” pilot that I didn’t already cover in my blog last spring, when the DVD came out.  So, I’m reposting that entry with updated sound clips so you can hear the themes being discussed…

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Battlestar Galactica | 32 Comments »

Next month, La La Land Records will release the final* official Battlestar Galactica soundtrack album: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan / Razor. This CD includes cues from the two straight-to-DVD films that flanked either side of Season 4. The first track features a very special musical guest: Scott Ian of Anthrax!

The album comes out February 23rd.  Here’s the official track list (as usual, you heard it here first!):

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Albums, Battlestar Galactica | 67 Comments »

SPOILERS AHEAD: Human Target’s second episode airs tonight, now in its regular Wednesday timeslot.  Rewind takes Chance from a speeding train to a crashing jet, and also allows Chi McBride’s Winston to get involved in the action.  The pilot was scored with a pretty large orchestra, and surprisingly, Rewind was recorded with an even bigger ensemble.  As a result, the score is even more bombastic and powerful.  And where the pilot scored strove only to introduce the Chance Theme, here I have begun to expand the thematic texture of the series.

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Human Target | 15 Comments »

DARK VOID, the first video game I’ve ever scored, is released today for X-Box, PS3 and PC!

MODERATE GAME PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD: When I was a kid, I was enthralled with Capcom’s Mega Man II. I battled mechanized evil robots and saved the day as the curiously bombastic 8-bit music seeped into my imagination. Those catchy melodies and bold arrangements, realized in glorious sine wave synthesis, were among my first musical influences. I dreamt of one day creating my own video game score, one that could grow past the limitations of 8-bit hardware and match the scope and breadth of the orchestral film scores I also adored. Exactly twenty years later, Capcom would give me that chance, offering me the score to Dark Void.

Having spent the first several years of my musical career scoring television and films, I approached writing for an interactive medium with no previous models in mind. And I sought none. As an avid life-long gamer, I knew what I wanted to hear: a swashbuckling orchestral score in keeping with the grand story. I wanted the music to constantly adapt, as if it were being written specifically for the gamer, with virtually no repetition whatsoever. I sat down with the development team at Airtight Games and described to them my musical aspirations. They said this was impossible, and thus, I knew we were on the right track.

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Video Games | 53 Comments »

DARK VOID ZERO is released on DSiWare today!  PC and iPhone aps are coming soon.  I scored the game in a completely authentic 8-bit style, based on the musical themes of my orchestral score to Dark Void.

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Dark Void Zero is a prequel story to the events of Dark Void, which comes out tomorrow for X-Box, PS3 and PC.  The evolution of my completely 8-bit Dark Void Zero score began last spring, when Capcom announced me as the composer for Dark Void. As part of an April Fool’s prank, Capcom and I released a track I created called “Theme from Dark Void (Mega Version).”

I created that track during my last days of composing the real Dark Void score as a way to thank to gang at Capcom for such a rewarding and creative experience.

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Video Games | 15 Comments »

Tonight the series Human Target premieres on FOX, featuring my original score and Main Title Theme.  This score is arguably the most ambitious, audacious and shamelessly romantic of my career to date.  Unlike anything I’ve done in the past (and 99.9% of everything on television), it is recorded every week with a full orchestra of live musicians.  The sheer scale of this music dwarfs my efforts on Galactica: the average HT orchestra is nearly double the size of the largest group I was ever afforded on BSG.

(Click image above for full-res panoramic.  All session photography by Andrew Craig.)

While working with a full orchestra every week was part of what initially drew me to this project, it is not what makes this series so enjoyable.  The real thrill of scoring Human Target comes from the unprecedented creative freedom I’ve been given to create the kind of sweeping, thematic and adventurous score largely absent from both the small and large screen in recent years.

And while the heart of the score is old school, its not a throwback or a parody.  The arrangements and instrumentation have their roots in classic film scores, but are also simultaneously contemporary with my work on BSG and T:TSCC.  My goal was to create a continuation of classic orchestral scores, not a regurgitation of them.

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Human Target | 33 Comments »

Next week is a good time to be a fan of big, kick-ass orchestral Bear McCreary scores, because I have (count’em) three new scores premiering in a single week, each recorded with a full orchestra!  And all three projects have sweeping character themes woven into the music, featuring some of the best melodies I’ve ever written in my life. First up…

SUNDAY JAN. 17 at 8/7c on FOX: HUMAN TARGET

Don’t let the cheesy pop music from the ads fool you:  Human Target has a thematic and lyrical orchestral score, inspired by the classic scores of Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein and John Williams.  One of the only shows on TV with a weekly orchestral score, this could be the largest and most ambitious TV music in decades.  The typical HT orchestra is literally twice as big as the largest orchestra I ever had on BSG. Soundtrack fans will not want to miss this one!  Then, two days later…
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Caprica, Human Target, Video Games | 50 Comments »

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Frakkin’ Amazing 2010!
From me and the rest of the music team.

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Other Projects | 56 Comments »

Video Games | 29 Comments »

Capcom announced the winner of the Dark Void Remix Contest:
Jesse G. (aka Main Finger), representing from my home state of Washington!

Video Games | 8 Comments »

Brendan McCreary and Raya Yarbrough are performing in a unique double-bill concert at Room 5 in Los Angeles, on November 28th, 2009.  I will be a guest musician, playing accordion.

I normally don’t blog about every single concert by members of my Battlestar (and/or literal) family, but this one is special.  Rather than simply dividing their time into two sets, Brendan and Raya have integrated their songs into one seamless set list.  And rather than missing their full bands, I’ve found that the intimate musical setting allows you to appreciate every note, every gorgeous harmony and catchy melody even more.  We’ve been rehearsing in my living room all weekend, and it sounds frakkin’ incredible.  Even though its an acoustic set, it’s going to truly be epic.

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Concerts / Performances | 66 Comments »

This has got to be one of the coolest contests out there for soundtrack fans!  Capcom & URB are sponsoring a Dark Void Remix Contest.  You have the chance to remix the “Theme from Dark Void” and enter to win a bunch of cool prizes.  The winning entry may even be used in game promos or in a digital soundtrack. Best of all, the individual track assets are made available to you, so you can peel back the layers of my orchestration and mess around with the various elements.

The details and official rules are available here at the official site. (You must create a Capcom Unity account to log in.)

And, for you loyal blog readers, I’ll even help you out.  :)  Upload your draft somewhere and post a link in the comments field below and I’ll listen to it and make some suggestions for you.  Now remember, I’m only one of the deciding judges, so even if I like what you do that doesn’t mean you win.  But, I look forward to listening to as many entries as I possibly can. Be warned, this contest ends December 15th, so you have to get moving!

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Video Games | 61 Comments »

I will be scoring Titan Rain, a new anime film from the producers of Ghost in the Shell.  The announcement of both the film itself and my involvement in it was made today at Animation Asia Conference 2009 in Singapore.

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Films | 24 Comments »

Finally… Finally… Finally!

I’ve been teasing you loyal blog readers about a big announcement for weeks, and here it is: NBC Universal and Apple have finally worked out their issues and, at long last, my scores for Battlestar Galactica are available on iTunes.

This has been an annoyingly arduous process for me.  Seeing the episodes in the top downloads on iTunes every week for years while my scores were relegated to physicals discs was a drag.  So, this is a big step.  But we’re still only halfway there. There’s a bunch of material that’s supposed to be there still missing (like Season 1 for example!). The Eureka soundtrack will also be on iTunes soon.

Best of all, there is (and will be even more) exclusive iTunes content available.  First up, the world premiere music video and single of “Apocalypse (Theme from ‘The Plan’)” performed live by the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra in concert are now on iTunes.

Raya Yarbrough sings the Gayatri Mantra in the “Apocalypse” video.

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Albums, Battlestar Galactica | 112 Comments »