Category: The Cape

The Cape Soundtrack CD

On September 27th, La La Land Records will release a 2-CD limited edition soundtrack of my fully orchestral score for The Cape.  The first 150 orders through the label’s website will be signed!  The sale begins next Tuesday at 1pm Pacific Standard Time.  The autographed copies will go fast, so check early in the day.

A digital release is scheduled for later in the year.

This album represents my most grandiose and lyrical orchestral writing yet.  The story presented me with a rare opportunity to explore sweeping superhero music, in the style of my favorite scores when I was growing up.  There are whispers of Elfman’s Batman and Williams’ Superman in here, yes, but my biggest influence by far was Shirley Walker’s scores for Batman: The Animated Series. In fact, this CD is dedicated to her memory. (more…)

The Cape: Looking Back

In tonight’s blog entry, I look back on the remarkable experiences I had recording my score for “The Cape” each week with world-class musicians.  At our largest orchestra session, for last week’s The Lich Part 2, these musicians surprised me by presenting me with a beautiful award for “outstanding contributions to the art of film scoring” and for “continued commitment to bringing live music to television.” I was very touched by this honor, and can share the moment with you all in this week’s video blog:

I’ve culled together a few of my favorite session photos, taken by Andrew Craig, and posted them here, starting with this amazing 360° panoramic taken from the center of the orchestra:

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(Scroll mouse across image to pan 360°. CLICK HERE to view fullscreen! Requires ADOBE Flash Player.)

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The Cape: The Lich, Part 2

This week’s episode ofThe Cape,” The Lich Part 2, picks up right where last week’s left off.  However, this story feels grander, darker and more epic than last week’s setup episode.  So, I went from the smallest orchestra I’ve ever used on “The Cape” to the largest, as you will see in this week’s video blog:

The average orchestra on this series is about 65 players.  The leap up to 90 players was not a huge difference.  However, what made this session so remarkable for me was recording the entire orchestra together.  Normally, I divide up the strings from the winds and brass, recording them separately to retain control in the mix.  I discovered that the experience of making music in the studio like this was even more immediate, visceral and thrilling.

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The Cape: The Lich, Part 1

A perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the score to this week’s episode, The Lich Part 1, is the darkest and most horrific I’ve written yet for the series.  Surprisingly, the brooding clusters and searing atmospheres were achieved with the smallest orchestra I’ve ever used on “The Cape:”

Instead of our typical 60-piece ensemble, The Lich Part 1 was recorded with an intimate group of 6 strings and 7 woodwinds, with a separate session covering percussion and solo French horn.

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The Cape: Goggles and Hicks

This week’s adventure pits The Cape against two oddball assassins named Goggles and Hicks.  The story poses the age-old question: why do assassins always try to kill you on your day off?  I wrote a theme for them featuring the tuba, as you’ll see in this week’s video blog:

SPOILERS BEYOND: The majority of this week’s score is built around variations of The Goggles Theme:

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