Original subtitles

What is slightly misleading about what

we're doing right now, you know, you

know, it's like it looks a bit like a

real studio, um, or something like that,

but it's just a computer and a bunch of

screens and a couple of not very good

speakers. So we we can just pick this up

and you know off we go. The thing that I

don't think works is to try a movie to

try to make a movie if you're not in the

same town as the people. I don't think I

think you you never get the subtlety of

the conversation if you try to do these

things over Skype or any of this. Um

the the the hardest thing I mean I the

hardest thing I think we ever did was

um on inception

we were supposed to record the score on

London and the volcano in Iceland blew

up so we couldn't you know the planes

weren't flying which wasn't actually

strictly true. We could have gotten to

London but we were worried about not

being able to come back. So, we used all

technology at our disposal. I mean, we

literally put um more cameras than you

guys have right now. We put I think six

cameras in amongst the orchestra. We

miked the orchestra in a way. I had um I

had control over the talk back from here

so I could speak to them. And we knew

all the players. So if I heard a voice

asking something in the orchestra, I

knew it was Mary the basis or somebody,

you know, because but during these

sessions starting at 2:00 a.m. our time,

watching them take their lunch break at,

I don't know, 6:00 a.m. our time,

watching them file out and it was just

brutal. And and you don't get the

communication, you don't get the

subtlety, you don't get the music

happens in real time.

and performance happens in real time and

even the slight delay just it just

throws our natural rhythms off. So and

and I think everything that we do is

about communicating with each other. Um

and the I mean it's just it's just the

way I like working is I like I I like

making the direct the director and the

editor be part of the band.

Um, look, I play a computer, you know,

the editor plays a computer, you know.

Uh, so it's not about that. It's about

the conversation. It's about

feeling what, you know, and and and

instantly feeling what they're feeling

when you play them the piece of music. I

mean, again, it's this thing about you

need to listen, but sometimes it's not

even with your ears. You just need to

feel what they're feeling. They don't

need to say anything.

It's really amazing what what happens

how you can

start with a piece where all the notes

are played well and it's all you know

it's all musically correct

but the emotion isn't quite there and

you can work on that. I mean, you can

really work on that and you can really

get that to blossom and suddenly you get

these moments where it is undeniable

that the story is being told in the

correct way, that everybody's on the

same page, everybody knows why they're

playing the note. I mean, um, it's it's

a weird thing when you have a when you

have a large orchestra,

you know, the front row is going to be

playing exact and passionate, etc., you

know, and the, you know, as it goes down

the line, it might not be your best

players. That doesn't mean they're not

necessarily technically proficient, but

they might not have a great tone or

something like this. And my ear doesn't

go to the guy who plays the loud wrong

note. My ear always picks up the one

person who doesn't quite know why

they're playing the note. They don't

know what story to tell. So, there's

like an indifference in their sound. my

ear goes there and and I know, okay, got

to have a bit of a chat here, you know,

and and and and figure out how to how to

encourage and help and get everybody to

understand what what it is we're trying

to do. And and the great thing is about

these musicians, I mean um

they are so, you know, they are so used

to storytelling with their instruments

that they get it.

directors are envious when when they

come to the orchestra session because

you know there are 100 plus people

sitting there

and first of all they're not chatting

they're paying attention and imagine you

have a scene with 100 plus extras it's

you know it's quite hard to go and

wrangle them you know I mean it's close

to 100 plus puppies or something

sometimes but here here these people.

They're sitting there and you can tell

them what to do and they will they will

do it beautifully. They are experts at

picking up their instruments and making

a beautiful sound. If you want a

beautiful sound, if you want a scary

sound,

they could scare you to death. So, you

you have this each one of them is a is a

complete expert. Um, and they're experts

at being human beings at expressing

humanity. So

figure out how to get that, you know,

figure out how to get yourself some of

that. Get that out of them. I mean, that

that that's the part, you know, and and

Okay, here's here's a good one. The

thing you're doing is you're making a

recording. You're not doing a live

performance. At the beginning, I used to

get caught out all the time, you know,

sitting behind the glass looking at the

fabulous orchestra and there's passion

in their faces and the bows are doing

everything and the guys are hitting

things and it's looks so exciting

and two days later I'm listening back to

it and it's really boring. We're making

a recording. We're not doing a live

performance. And there's a big

difference between making a recording

and doing a live performance. And it's

there is something not bad about not

actually getting seduced by the the

smiles and the energy and the bright

eyes, you know. So listen listen to the

thing, you know, and and help them to

make the best recording as opposed to to

make the best theater play for you.