Man, when composers carry an ostinato for eternity and take it to a joruney of lots of aditive material and themes and colour, it'll never ever ever cease to amaze me. Can't wait to go rabbit hole mode with this score, thanks a lot for showing us this Austin!
I've always appreciated Desplat's style. I knew it was different, but couldn't put it into words. "Ignoring the film" is actually pretty spot on and I will be using this for the future. Beautiful alternate storyboard for this music btw!
Past summer i attended a scoring academy's summer program and between others we also had a discussion about this opening sequence I gotta say i'm addicted with the contrast it offers, even implemented this technique on our final to-score project and it's a pretty unique thing!
Thank you for talking about Desplat. This is indeed my first time listening to this piece despite learning of his name and work since watching A Painted Veil. What I can tell from listening to this piece is that it is so distinctively Desplat where for me it evokes intrigue and mystery, not in the plot but in the character (or characters) involved, the same feeling I get from listening to the soundtrack of Girl with a Pearl Earring he wrote just a year before Birth. On a side note, you just exposed me to the Westworld Scoring competition and the whole debacle with the winner last year. I listened to it and what a daring entry! I have never heard a score like that before especially for an epic chase scene.
Your wish is granted: I've never seen the film, nor heard the music. Thank you! And I fully agree with Christian and yourself on the topic of boldly going where no composer has gone before. But I do have a caveat: So often I have seen how something new is successful, and then people start using that new thing as though it is the only tool in existence. It's 'Out with the old, in with the new!'. And by doing that, an infinity of babies were just thrown out along with the bathwater. New ideas do not make old ones useless. They exist side by side, if you let them. Within the contest of film music: You can have a single score that uses the things Hans Zimmer pioneered, alongside what made John Williams's scores so good, while also using the Bernard Herrmann style, and even going back all the way to the silent movie era of piano music accompanying the film. They are all tools that can be used together. They do not replace each other, nor exist in mutually exclusive universes. 'Out with the old, in with the new' gives you one tool. 'In with the old, AND with the new' gives you ALL of them.
Heard this score when it was first released in '04 and, like you, was taken by how fresh it was and from a completely unknown composer to me (and many others) at the time. Fast forward ten years to December 2014 and all I could listen to surrounding the events of my newborn twins and their time in the NICU was this very score. I must have listened to it twenty times or more in full-- not a single other score felt as appropriate to what I was experiencing then what Desplat had written. And, much like your narrative associated with the music and noting that everyone will picture something in their mind very tied with the feel of Desplat's music, that story of the quite literal Birth of my children is all that is brought to my mind every time I revisit this masterful score.
thank you for introducing me to my newly favorite opening prologues in a film! i can hear this one and the beauty and the beast prologue for hours!! now i need to watch the "Birth"! and probably rewatch Grand Budapest Hotel right after to continue with Desplat's awesome scores!
Man, this was the last video where I expected to hear the oh so dreaded words "Spitfire" and "Westworld". xD Another great one Austin! Never heard of the film, but I've certainly heard of Desplat and his music. I'll be adding that film to my watch list...
I have never really paid much attention to music in films until I started watching Studio Ghibli movies in my Mid Teens (Currently 32). The right music in films is just as important as any other part of a movie to set a mood/tune. Thank you Austin for showing me this clip
Thank you, Austin, for this example of interesting, non-mainstream scoring. Never saw the movie, but now I feel like, I will. Desplat is definetly a one-of and I love his music.
Ah, you got me here. I know fairly well the score for "Birth" but I never actually saw the movie. Now, I want to see it. Well done Austin! I loved hearing your interpretation of the track. I most of the time do that, even if I happen to know the film (or tv serie, or video game, any original soundtrack) : I like to let my imagination conjure pictures, scenes, with no special relation with the original support. That's why I mostly listen to instrumental/orchestral music, without lyrics. It is my opinion that pure music, without words, conveys more emotion, more feelings than songs (which doesn't mean that all songs are bad of course). As for Desplat, I just had kind of another magical musical moment tonight. I went to see the movie "Eiffel" at the cinema (a French film). As you might guess, it is about the construction of the Eiffel tower... intertwined with a beautiful but impossible love story. I went unaware that Desplat was the composer for the film but got a feeling all along that it was him. I was glad to see his name during the end credits, confirming my suspicion. Anyway, there's a really romantic theme, very beautiful. During one scene, it starts as intradiegetic music, and as the movie moves forward, it becomes extradiegetic, gaining a musical breadth which gave me goosebumps. It really was something I didn't see coming, this turning point when it gets so heart-gripping. Now I long for experiencing it again, outside the movie this time, but no edition of the score has been released yet... I hope it will be sorted out soon enough. I'm really curious about "The French Dispatch" too, the new Wes Anderson movie. The collaboration between Anderson and Desplat always goes into unexpected territory, ending up to something quite unique every time. ;)
Great video dear Austin. Usually Desplat broke Hollywood with his GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, that is an incredible elegant score, but I always thought that BIRTH is on some other strange and inexplicable level. To me, BIRTH has some philosophical meaning inside that is constructed on this "Prologue" waltz and on the gorgeus "The engagement" but also on the contrast with the electronic part of the score body: think about the unstoppable train of "The rendez-vous" and the tragedy of the "Elegy". And do we wanna speak about the mistery of "Timpani"? Crazy... I remember when I met him in Ravello (summe of 2014) after a concert and we had time to speak a little of his latest scores of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and GODZILLA. He was so curious about what I thought about GODZILLA, I think because he recognized that that kind of movies were not of his league. Then I let him sign a copy of LES MILLES - LE TRAIN DE LA LIBERTÉ, a small '95 french film with an incredible score. He was shocked that I had that CD and he said "you're a real fan man..." PS: listen to LES MILLES Austin, you won't regret.
Never heard of the film before, so you did indeed introduce me to it! That was fascinating. And a massive thank you because I imagine you can’t get revenue off of this because of copyright, so thank you for sharing all that you do! I and many others value it greatly.
Henson's monolgue was awesome! And great video, as usual made with such passion for the craft! It's been quite amazing to see Desplat's rise as a famous composer abroad, especially knowing he was already an established composed in my home country - I'd go as far as saying he's the spiritual successor to Georges Delerue :D
Interesting piece. I liked how the ostinato flute was used throughout the piece. I've never watched neither film, nor heard this piece before. The score is quite fantasy like. Gotta listen to this score.
Lovely Lovely perspective. Really enjoyed the clip and the music. Will be watching the film for sure! Already watched Christian's video and was deeply inspired :)
I've seen Birth years and years ago, I still remember the plot (losely), but I didn't remember the score was so amazing! And to share what I imagined of it when you played out to explain your imagery, was really something like The Nutcracker - it reminded me A LOT of Tchaikovsky, all the wintery-wonderlands and fairy-tale-like magic. Which is kind of funny, considering what it sets for the movie, right? haha - great video and input!
I bought the CD immediately after viewing the film in the theater. The music is so beautiful and so unsettling. It makes my wife too anxious so it's always a headphone listen. Lucky me.
I don’t have much of an opinion on this movie but I do know the critical reception was pretty negative. I feel like this video really proves the point Troy makes on PWL a lot in that “if it’s garbage, be the best garbage in it.” That movie has a fantastic score, and regardless of whatever issues it may have Desplat’s success really made him stand out. As a side note, that clip about the Westworld controversy led me down a rabbit hole of listening to the competition winner’s score. Talk about bold choices, I can’t imagine having the courage to submit a score that bizarre (in the best way possible) to such a big contest.
Thanks for this, it was indeed my first time seeing it. I wonder if you're familiar with Alex Garland's latest creation called DEVS? In some of the show's opening titles, the music does exactly this, prompting deep listening and focus from the viewer who's invited to make sense of the radical contrast. Would highly recommend the series and would also love to hear your opinion on its use of music!
Desplat's trademark dancing winds almost play like percussive instruments setting the rythm. He did it a lot in his early scored, than sort of lost it.
Nice video as always. Have you ever done a discussion of great scores to bad movies? The one that always comes to mind for me is The Time Machine. The score from Klaus Badelt is so good, in my humble opinion, but the movie is so forgettable. Anyways, thanks for the video.
I think so, even if just to reveal some of the idiosyncrasies of your own work, desirable or not. That helps guide your artistic process and inform you about what parts of your voice you want to nurture and which parts you want to trim away.
@@awintory I can understand that sentiment, I am neither a musician nor composer and I can barely read music but I do love the art, but even though I've listened to and analysed so much media music it doesn't mean I could just do it even if I did know music.
Is that jogger cgi'd in? He's not leaving footprints in the snow 🤔😂 Anyway, this is the first time I've heard this, and it's wonderful. I learned only a bit about Desplat in a theory course, but I'll have to take a deep dive after hearing this! As far as the Westwood competition, I like the idea of merging 8-bit and traditional, although I think it could have been executed more subtly in that context. I think Keiichi Okabe executes this merger really well in Nier Automata (highly recommend to anyone looking for a deep, emotional gaming experience!). Another banger, d3wd 🔞🗣️🎉😣🔞💯💥🍆
What Christian failed to appreciate with the flak Spitfire took for the Westworld competition was that they completely ignored the guidelines they themselves had set down and picked something that violated the rules of the competition (use of a previously-written melody) and would never have been chosen for the scene in a real-life scenario. That's why so many people were angry - they effectively had their time and hard work wasted by a company that tried to dismiss everyone with a flippant "that's life" response. I'm well aware that the industry is unfair and good composers get overlooked all the time, but this wasn't for an industry job - it was a competition and both the judges and the entries are supposed to stick to the rules. At least what Desplat wrote here has SOME relationship with the imagery (using a celeste to represent the snow is nice) even if it's not typical. However, no film producer would ever have put chiptune music over the top of this, just like the Westworld producers wouldn't (and ultimately didn't) put it in their show.
Man, when composers carry an ostinato for eternity and take it to a joruney of lots of aditive material and themes and colour, it'll never ever ever cease to amaze me. Can't wait to go rabbit hole mode with this score, thanks a lot for showing us this Austin!
Thank you for not spoiling the film so I could watch this magic moment, that's next on my watchlist!
I've always appreciated Desplat's style. I knew it was different, but couldn't put it into words. "Ignoring the film" is actually pretty spot on and I will be using this for the future.
Beautiful alternate storyboard for this music btw!
Thanks! (I doodled the boards)
Met Desplat once, a very humble and kind person. Had a great conversation with him about his work (mostly Girl with a Pearl Earring) and inspirations.
This was indeed my first time experiencing this piece of music. I hope to someday create something more out of my own work.
Past summer i attended a scoring academy's summer program and between others we also had a discussion about this opening sequence
I gotta say i'm addicted with the contrast it offers, even implemented this technique on our final to-score project and it's a pretty unique thing!
Thank you for talking about Desplat. This is indeed my first time listening to this piece despite learning of his name and work since watching A Painted Veil. What I can tell from listening to this piece is that it is so distinctively Desplat where for me it evokes intrigue and mystery, not in the plot but in the character (or characters) involved, the same feeling I get from listening to the soundtrack of Girl with a Pearl Earring he wrote just a year before Birth.
On a side note, you just exposed me to the Westworld Scoring competition and the whole debacle with the winner last year. I listened to it and what a daring entry! I have never heard a score like that before especially for an epic chase scene.
I was thrilled David won when I saw that, and absolutely loved the courage of the organizers to reward someone with the madness to try that
Your wish is granted: I've never seen the film, nor heard the music. Thank you!
And I fully agree with Christian and yourself on the topic of boldly going where no composer has gone before.
But I do have a caveat:
So often I have seen how something new is successful, and then people start using that new thing as though it is the only tool in existence. It's 'Out with the old, in with the new!'. And by doing that, an infinity of babies were just thrown out along with the bathwater. New ideas do not make old ones useless. They exist side by side, if you let them. Within the contest of film music: You can have a single score that uses the things Hans Zimmer pioneered, alongside what made John Williams's scores so good, while also using the Bernard Herrmann style, and even going back all the way to the silent movie era of piano music accompanying the film. They are all tools that can be used together. They do not replace each other, nor exist in mutually exclusive universes. 'Out with the old, in with the new' gives you one tool. 'In with the old, AND with the new' gives you ALL of them.
Brilliant. Thank you Mr. Wintory for this video. Let’s go rogue.
Haha love these colleagues cameos, keep it up!!
Desplat doesn't just challenge my musical thinking he does that while making my heart soar. No simple trick. Thank you for this, Austin.
Heard this score when it was first released in '04 and, like you, was taken by how fresh it was and from a completely unknown composer to me (and many others) at the time.
Fast forward ten years to December 2014 and all I could listen to surrounding the events of my newborn twins and their time in the NICU was this very score. I must have listened to it twenty times or more in full-- not a single other score felt as appropriate to what I was experiencing then what Desplat had written. And, much like your narrative associated with the music and noting that everyone will picture something in their mind very tied with the feel of Desplat's music, that story of the quite literal Birth of my children is all that is brought to my mind every time I revisit this masterful score.
thank you for introducing me to my newly favorite opening prologues in a film! i can hear this one and the beauty and the beast prologue for hours!! now i need to watch the "Birth"! and probably rewatch Grand Budapest Hotel right after to continue with Desplat's awesome scores!
Man, this was the last video where I expected to hear the oh so dreaded words "Spitfire" and "Westworld". xD Another great one Austin! Never heard of the film, but I've certainly heard of Desplat and his music. I'll be adding that film to my watch list...
What a lovely way to put it! Dallas did a great job as well!
Thank you!!
I have never really paid much attention to music in films until I started watching Studio Ghibli movies in my Mid Teens (Currently 32). The right music in films is just as important as any other part of a movie to set a mood/tune. Thank you Austin for showing me this clip
Thank you, Austin, for this example of interesting, non-mainstream scoring. Never saw the movie, but now I feel like, I will. Desplat is definetly a one-of and I love his music.
Very interesting dear Austin!
This went to the watch list!
never heard of this movie, genuinely enjoyed this video. thank you Austin
Ah, you got me here. I know fairly well the score for "Birth" but I never actually saw the movie. Now, I want to see it. Well done Austin! I loved hearing your interpretation of the track. I most of the time do that, even if I happen to know the film (or tv serie, or video game, any original soundtrack) : I like to let my imagination conjure pictures, scenes, with no special relation with the original support. That's why I mostly listen to instrumental/orchestral music, without lyrics. It is my opinion that pure music, without words, conveys more emotion, more feelings than songs (which doesn't mean that all songs are bad of course).
As for Desplat, I just had kind of another magical musical moment tonight. I went to see the movie "Eiffel" at the cinema (a French film). As you might guess, it is about the construction of the Eiffel tower... intertwined with a beautiful but impossible love story. I went unaware that Desplat was the composer for the film but got a feeling all along that it was him. I was glad to see his name during the end credits, confirming my suspicion. Anyway, there's a really romantic theme, very beautiful. During one scene, it starts as intradiegetic music, and as the movie moves forward, it becomes extradiegetic, gaining a musical breadth which gave me goosebumps. It really was something I didn't see coming, this turning point when it gets so heart-gripping. Now I long for experiencing it again, outside the movie this time, but no edition of the score has been released yet... I hope it will be sorted out soon enough.
I'm really curious about "The French Dispatch" too, the new Wes Anderson movie. The collaboration between Anderson and Desplat always goes into unexpected territory, ending up to something quite unique every time. ;)
Great video dear Austin.
Usually Desplat broke Hollywood with his GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, that is an incredible elegant score, but I always thought that BIRTH is on some other strange and inexplicable level.
To me, BIRTH has some philosophical meaning inside that is constructed on this "Prologue" waltz and on the gorgeus "The engagement" but also on the contrast with the electronic part of the score body: think about the unstoppable train of "The rendez-vous" and the tragedy of the "Elegy".
And do we wanna speak about the mistery of "Timpani"?
Crazy...
I remember when I met him in Ravello (summe of 2014) after a concert and we had time to speak a little of his latest scores of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and GODZILLA.
He was so curious about what I thought about GODZILLA, I think because he recognized that that kind of movies were not of his league.
Then I let him sign a copy of LES MILLES - LE TRAIN DE LA LIBERTÉ, a small '95 french film with an incredible score.
He was shocked that I had that CD and he said "you're a real fan man..."
PS: listen to LES MILLES Austin, you won't regret.
On your recommendation I listened to LES MILLES, which I'd not heard, and it's lovely! And very Desplat! Thank you so much for the referral!
Never heard of the film before, so you did indeed introduce me to it! That was fascinating. And a massive thank you because I imagine you can’t get revenue off of this because of copyright, so thank you for sharing all that you do! I and many others value it greatly.
Desplat is a wonderful composer. Thank you for sharing.
Henson's monolgue was awesome! And great video, as usual made with such passion for the craft! It's been quite amazing to see Desplat's rise as a famous composer abroad, especially knowing he was already an established composed in my home country - I'd go as far as saying he's the spiritual successor to Georges Delerue :D
Interesting piece. I liked how the ostinato flute was used throughout the piece. I've never watched neither film, nor heard this piece before. The score is quite fantasy like. Gotta listen to this score.
I love this so much. Thank you Austin!
Lovely Lovely perspective. Really enjoyed the clip and the music. Will be watching the film for sure! Already watched Christian's video and was deeply inspired :)
Great Video.
This is a very cool take on film score. I'll keep it in mind if I ever get better instrumental sounds.
I've seen Birth years and years ago, I still remember the plot (losely), but I didn't remember the score was so amazing! And to share what I imagined of it when you played out to explain your imagery, was really something like The Nutcracker - it reminded me A LOT of Tchaikovsky, all the wintery-wonderlands and fairy-tale-like magic. Which is kind of funny, considering what it sets for the movie, right? haha - great video and input!
Thank you! Will check out the movie shortly🙂
Shout out to those with Aphantasia (like me) who were completely lost during the first 3 minutes. Great insight though. Love your vids Austin.
I bought the CD immediately after viewing the film in the theater. The music is so beautiful and so unsettling. It makes my wife too anxious so it's always a headphone listen. Lucky me.
What are your thoughts on his new soundtrack from the French Dispatch? I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since it came out lol.
Still not heard it yet!
Birth was on my to-watch list but I can't remember why x)
Agreed 100% minus the Westworld contest. The music was so wrong thematically.
Haha so not really 100% then :)
I don’t have much of an opinion on this movie but I do know the critical reception was pretty negative. I feel like this video really proves the point Troy makes on PWL a lot in that “if it’s garbage, be the best garbage in it.” That movie has a fantastic score, and regardless of whatever issues it may have Desplat’s success really made him stand out.
As a side note, that clip about the Westworld controversy led me down a rabbit hole of listening to the competition winner’s score. Talk about bold choices, I can’t imagine having the courage to submit a score that bizarre (in the best way possible) to such a big contest.
Thanks for this, it was indeed my first time seeing it. I wonder if you're familiar with Alex Garland's latest creation called DEVS? In some of the show's opening titles, the music does exactly this, prompting deep listening and focus from the viewer who's invited to make sense of the radical contrast. Would highly recommend the series and would also love to hear your opinion on its use of music!
The would-be lovers look an awful lot like Link and Zelda.
;)
Desplat's trademark dancing winds almost play like percussive instruments setting the rythm. He did it a lot in his early scored, than sort of lost it.
Nice video as always. Have you ever done a discussion of great scores to bad movies? The one that always comes to mind for me is The Time Machine. The score from Klaus Badelt is so good, in my humble opinion, but the movie is so forgettable. Anyways, thanks for the video.
Maybe! I have ideas along those lines for my YGHT series with Troy ...
Even though it doesn't have an original score, this scene from the film is also pure gold -
ruclips.net/video/m8lrDiZQJQg/видео.html
Truly is, and incredible tour de force acting from Nicole Kidman. That scene leaves me in awe
Do you think analysing how other composers work makes you a better composer?
Maybe! Not sure. For me it comes from a place of simply loving their work and wanting to share why
I think so, even if just to reveal some of the idiosyncrasies of your own work, desirable or not. That helps guide your artistic process and inform you about what parts of your voice you want to nurture and which parts you want to trim away.
@@awintory I can understand that sentiment, I am neither a musician nor composer and I can barely read music but I do love the art, but even though I've listened to and analysed so much media music it doesn't mean I could just do it even if I did know music.
Is that jogger cgi'd in? He's not leaving footprints in the snow 🤔😂
Anyway, this is the first time I've heard this, and it's wonderful. I learned only a bit about Desplat in a theory course, but I'll have to take a deep dive after hearing this!
As far as the Westwood competition, I like the idea of merging 8-bit and traditional, although I think it could have been executed more subtly in that context. I think Keiichi Okabe executes this merger really well in Nier Automata (highly recommend to anyone looking for a deep, emotional gaming experience!).
Another banger, d3wd 🔞🗣️🎉😣🔞💯💥🍆
First Comment.
Did you even watch that spitfire winner? It was absolute garbage.
I loved it. In fact so much I sought out the composer and now we're friends :)
What Christian failed to appreciate with the flak Spitfire took for the Westworld competition was that they completely ignored the guidelines they themselves had set down and picked something that violated the rules of the competition (use of a previously-written melody) and would never have been chosen for the scene in a real-life scenario. That's why so many people were angry - they effectively had their time and hard work wasted by a company that tried to dismiss everyone with a flippant "that's life" response. I'm well aware that the industry is unfair and good composers get overlooked all the time, but this wasn't for an industry job - it was a competition and both the judges and the entries are supposed to stick to the rules.
At least what Desplat wrote here has SOME relationship with the imagery (using a celeste to represent the snow is nice) even if it's not typical. However, no film producer would ever have put chiptune music over the top of this, just like the Westworld producers wouldn't (and ultimately didn't) put it in their show.
Alas I think the point is being missed ...