Composer Interview: John Powell

A true and special delight, John Powell takes some time to reflect on his career in film music as well as discuss his recent score to How To Train Your Dragon 2. John shares how he fell into the film music path, how he met Hans Zimmer and reflects on his collaborations with Gavin Greenaway, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams. From his thematic process, the source of his signature percussion sound, his views on film music today and how to draw emotion from real-life experiences we cover it all. We also dive into How To Train Your Dragon 2 to explore the process of scoring such a beloved sequel to a film and score that became very special to millions of people. John also talks about his reasons for spending time away from scoring, including a concert piece he's working on as well as possible plans to revisit his old scores for a new album. It was a true honor and pleasure to spend some time with one of the best composers to have ever worked in the medium. A must-listen interview for filmmakers and aficionados.
Interview Conducted By:
Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:
John Powell
Ray Costa
Albert Tello
Asenath Nakayama
Costa Communications
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[@emilemerten6535]

I’m delighted that the interviewer is so enthusiastic about the interview. You really feel the enthusiasm and giddy joy.

[@alexkarpenter2306]

Wow.. John Powell is such a psychologically stable guy, no muscle has moved on his face throughout the whole interview

[@Cheeks730]

damn i wasn't aware that hans had so many ghost writers. Kinda makes me questions his talent

[@qpopuiuzmnmb]

Hans is probably the ONLY film composer that can be considered to not have any ghostwriters at all: he tries to credit every single collaborator he has worked with. Simple as that. Hans loves working with other musicians from the start, nothing wrong with that approach.
Fact is: every film composer today has help. A lot of help. Conductors, compositors, orchestrators, co-writers. And a lot of them are not credited. Hans does credit them, because he's often also the producer of a film's music, and he likes working with friends.

[@alexkarpenter2306]

​@@qpopuiuzmnmb oh come on.. The dude even questioned the different thing. Of course it's cool when you credit everyone you work with, the question is why with such a great reputation do you even need so many different people to "help" you with every little cue you're doing to the point when the only piece you solely credited for is the suite of themes... And I now basically described the trend I can see on pretty much every Zimmer's score in the last 30 years.