• Bear McCreary

    Composer for film, television and videogames. Credits include "Battlestar Galactica," "The Walking Dead," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "Caprica," Step Up 3D, "The Cape," "Human Target," "Dark Void," "SOCOM 4," "Trauma," Wrong Turn 2, "Eureka" and the Rest Stop films. This blog focuses on the scores to "Battlestar Galactica" but other projects and various aspects of film music are frequently discussed.
  • "One of the best blogs in the business. It's a fascinating look at the process of making music for film and television and the care he takes with aligning the score with the twists and turns of each character's plot lines." (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
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    I’m Scoring an Anime Movie! – UPDATED: With a Message To Fans

    Posted by Bear McCreary on November 20th, 2009

    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.

    Titan Rain represents the accumulation of many incredible artists, designers and writers, whose previous work includes Ghost in the Shell, JIN-ROH, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Afro Samurai, Heroic Age and Freedom Formula: Ghost of the Wasteland.

    For me, its an incredible opportunity to work in the sci fi anime genre.  Films such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell were a part of my first inspiration to become a composer, so this really is a dream come true.  And Titan Rain looks like it will deliver a powerful story, concept and visuals.  I’ll make sure the score lives up to that promise.

    We start production on the film next year, so you guys will get to see (and hear) it in early 2012.  The early concept art and scripts I’ve seen thus far alone are enough to fill my imagination with musical ideas.  I think this one is going to be a lot of fun.

    Check out the full press release for more details.  And stop back here in a couple days;  I’m doing two more entries about an exciting concert and contest before the end of the weekend.

    UPDATED 11/24/09:

    Titan Rain producer and screenwriter Edmund Shern just sent me a special note to all you fans out there that I just had to post here.  He also included a picture of the big announcement in Singapore:

    ( L -> R) Maki Terashima Furuta (VP, Production IG USA), Tow Ubukata (Screenwriter, Titan Rain), Atsushi Takeuchi (Director, Titan Rain), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (President/Founder, Production IG and Producer, Titan Rain), Edmund Shern (CEO/Founder, Storm Lion and Producer/Screenwriter, Titan Rain). (Back row, Bear McCreary in spirit in Singapore!)

    “To the fans of Bear McCreary,

    Director, Atsushi Takeuchi and myself are huge fans of Bear’s work especially on BSG (which is at Season 3 in Tokyo). Given our shared respect for Bear’s ability to infuse traditional and modern instrumentation and to bring a soul to a project, we leapt at the opportunity to have Bear on board our sci-fi CG Anime.
    _
    My mentor, Barry Levine who is both an amazing producer (Hercules, Freedom Formula) and a veteran music supervisor (Judge Dredd, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Driving Miss Daisy) constantly stresses the importance of a great soundtrack in augmenting the emotional depth of a story and so I decided to take things a step further by introducing the composer into the creative process at the start of the project that would in turn inspire us in what we do.
    _
    Following this blog has been a great educational experience and I hope that our creative process will allow for us to be equally open in sharing this amazing experience as it unfolds.
    _
    Until then, like you, I hungrily await more releases from Bear. C’mon Bear… R-a-z-o-r tracks already! :)
    _
    Edmund Shern
    Co-Writer / Producer, Titan Rain”
    _
    Don’t worry Edmund!  I’m working on Razor and The Plan right now!  :)
    _
    -Bear

    Posted by Bear McCreary on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 11:39 am.

    24 Responses to This Blog Entry:

    Before the end of the week, eh? I guess someone didn’t learn his teaser lesson =P

    Congratulations on the gig, GitS was a phenomenal film. Looking forward to this!

    -Scott

    Left by Scott Armitage on November 20th, 2009

    WOW! A bunch of people have tried talking me into watching Ghost in the Shell and I haven’t gotten around to it. But there’s no way I’ll dream of missing Titan Rain. I always wanted to get into watching these kinds of films/shows and what better time than on a Bear McCreary show?

    And contest!? I can’t wait.

    Left by tmcarlee on November 20th, 2009

    Wow, talk about diversification! A leading sci-fi show, a medical drama, a computer game and now an anime. You are conquering the scoring world on all fronts :-). This is a great strategy. Resistance is futile :-).

    Left by Wanderlust on November 20th, 2009

    P.s. As far as concerts go, show Toronto some love!!

    Left by Scott Armitage on November 20th, 2009

    Bear, if you find the time, I have a question: to what extent would you consider Philip Glass to be one of the composers who somehow influenced you? You are certainly not a minimalist composer, well not always, and yet some of your music reminds me of Glass. Some people would not consider him to be a “genuine” composer for some obscure reasons, but while I do not enjoy everything he composed, I certainly enjoy most of his music. And he could also be credited with bringing more Eastern aesthetics to Western music. So would you openly consider him to have influenced you?

    Left by Wanderlust on November 20th, 2009

    Congratulations Bear! Can’t wait to hear the rest of the news.

    :-)

    Left by SueN on November 20th, 2009

    Guess it’s time for me to give Anime a try…

    Left by Jonny Boy on November 20th, 2009

    Very cool news! :)

    Left by SeskaLien on November 20th, 2009

    Cool, I’ll definitely check it out! I really enjoyed Ghost in the Shell.

    Can you give any hint as to the type of score we can expect? I take it you’ll try to get us a soundtrack?

    Left by cory on November 20th, 2009

    That is really really awesome! Bear, I think by now you have covered all the media that can be scored. You are all over the place.

    I am not too much of an anime fan, but movies like Jin Roh really got to me, especially because of the soundtrack. Can’t wait to listen to your contribution to Titan Rain. I got a really good feeling about it already ;-))

    Left by Daniel on November 21st, 2009

    Hey Bear,

    Sounds pretty epic and yay it’s a film released in cinemas.

    I do enjoy my anime and this looks pretty epic.

    Can you give us any hints of what route the score’s goin to go down. Orchestral, electronic, etc… From what I’m reading the technology involved is going to be groundbreaking, perhaps calling for a groundbreaking sound, one that takes full advantage of cinema sound systems. Just a thought…

    Wanderlust…

    I asked Bear whether Philip Glass was an influence, but not really was the reply. To be fair sometimes Bear music does remind me of Glass’ music, but I think that might owe to the much greater influence of Ravel and his somewhat brittle structure, which can sometimes sound like Glass’ repitition (I love Ravel don’t worry). But that’s just my two cents on the topic :)

    Left by NeoFall on November 21st, 2009

    Wanderlust… “Bear, if you find the time, I have a question: to what extent would you consider Philip Glass to be one of the composers who somehow influenced you?”

    NeoFall basically answered this question already for me, but yeah… the answer is basically “Not Really.” I have tremendous respect for Glass but I must say that his philosophy of thematic development is nearly the antithesis of mine. My musical attention span is very short; I like music to evolve and change rapidly, to be unpredictable. Anytime my music bears resemblance to his is more a testament to the musical sensibilities of the producers and directors I’m working with than my own personal ones.

    As NeoFall pointed out, if I were to pick out a classical composer who influences me the most, it would either be Debussy or Ravel. Perhaps Prokofiev.

    NeoFall & Cory…

    I can’t really give you any hints about what the score will be like just yet, because I don’t really know. My first instincts suggest it will likely contain a blend of orchestral writing and a pop / rock backbone. I will have to see what tone the creators are going for.

    -Bear

    Left by Bear McCreary on November 21st, 2009

    Cool. Just going on feelings from the poster but perhaps this would be a project that some Jerry Goldsmith type synthesized percussion would really gel with. Since he’s been gone there’s been no one who can really compete when it comes to that. but as you said it’s early days yet. It really was a cool sound, and this could be a chance to really add electronic percussion to your mastery of drum art :)

    So the 5 hour version of Einstein on the Beach wouldn’t be your idea of music ecstasy, ha!

    Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky suite is particularly epic (had to be said!).

    Left by NeoFall on November 22nd, 2009

    Bear,I’m curious to ask: Do you watch anime when you have the time? Have you seen Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society or Appleseed Ex Machina? What made you decide to score this project?

    Left by smystal0 on November 22nd, 2009

    Hey guys,

    I hope you check out the update to this post. I just got a nice note from the producer / screenwriter Edmund Shern that I wanted to share with you!

    -Bear

    Left by Bear McCreary on November 24th, 2009

    NeoFall… “Just going on feelings from the poster but perhaps this would be a project that some Jerry Goldsmith type synthesized percussion would really gel with.”

    I always adored Jerry’s synth work. Something to think about. And yes, Alexander Nevsky is amazing. I did an entire research paper on that film / score in college.

    smystal0… “Do you watch anime when you have the time? Have you seen Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society or Appleseed Ex Machina? What made you decide to score this project?”

    I do… when I have the time, which is basically very rarely. I haven’t seen those two projects, but I will try to check them out. I’m sure I’ll brush up on all the anime I’ve missed out on as I gear up to score this project. The reason I decided to score this project is because the premise is interesting and it presented me with the rare opportunity to collaborate with the filmmakers from the ground up. I did that with BSG’s “Someone to Watch Over Me,” where I was involved with everything from the script through the final dub, and it was amazing. I think we’re going to be able to create a really amazing film.

    -Bear

    Left by Bear McCreary on November 24th, 2009

    Wow, what a wonderful note from Mr, Shern. And how awesome is that last sentence? :)

    Left by Jonny Boy on November 24th, 2009

    Hey Bear,

    wow! That’s flamin’ that you’re going to be doing an anime! I love anime – I mean, I guess I’m partial, being an anime character myself, but I’ve been a BSG fan for years now, and I just love what you do. Any Chance you’ll be doing a version of the band in 2-D? I would love to come to a concert.

    Keep on burnin,
    Lee, Fire Nation

    Left by ISing4Cylons on November 24th, 2009

    Bear: Prokofiev you say? When he scored Alexander Nevsky that absolutely ruled!
    Try “Thor Missiles” by William Stromberg and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra for sheer fear. Especially with The Plan.

    Left by Macker on November 25th, 2009

    My favourite part of Alexander Nevsky is when the roman catholic army starts appearing on the bottom of the horizon, engulfing it slowly and the score starts mimicing the sound of the horses galloping. Pretty hair raising stuff!

    Modern films could learn a trick or two about joining the image with music in that way, not just engulfing everything at the audience, cuz the only effect that has is of noise.

    Left by NeoFall on November 26th, 2009

    That sounds awesome! Seems to be a perfect match!

    Left by keytars_forever on November 27th, 2009

    Lee… “I love anime – I mean, I guess I’m partial, being an anime character myself”

    Well, hopefully we’ll do a concert in your neck of the woods one day. Flameo, hotman!

    NeoFall… “My favourite part of Alexander Nevsky is when the roman catholic army starts appearing on the bottom of the horizon, engulfing it slowly and the score starts mimicing the sound of the horses galloping.”

    Yeah, the entire battle sequence is astonishing.

    -Bear

    Left by Bear McCreary on November 27th, 2009

    I’m almost a month late in responding to this news, but wanted to share my 2 cents.

    Honestly, I’ve never been a big anime fan but I’ve always respected the art and skill that goes into creating it and I can only imagine how awesome your score will be.

    Looking very forward to it! Any news of new Bear McCreary projects is like Christmas!

    Left by MattH on December 14th, 2009

    I highly recommend the work of Kenji Kawai. He’s been around quite a while, and has scored most of Mamoru Oshii’s films. Ghost in the Shell is an iconic one, but I found his work on Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2 to be even better. He’s also got some hauntingly beautiful melodies in Oshii’s most recent theatrical film, The Sky Crawlers.

    Another beautiful one is the score for “Sword of the Stranger” by Naoki Sato. It’s reminiscent of James Horner at times, but don’t hold that against it. Sword of the Stranger is a beautiful, beautiul film that’s worth checking out anyway.

    Left by steveTP on January 19th, 2010

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