Fusion NET interviews Jeff Danna, composer of the score to Sony Entertainment�s �Resident Evil: Apocalypse� film. Resident Evil: Apocalypse is the sequel to the 2002 released Resident Evil movie, and is based on the popular franchise of Resident Evil games for the Playstation and PS2 consoles. This interview looks at how Jeff Danna merged orchestral and electronic symphonic music to produce a truly unique sound for the film.
First of all thank you for taking the time to do this interview with Fusion NET.
Q. Many of the previous films you have worked on, including The Gospel of John and Green Dragon, are significantly different in style compared to the score of Resident Evil: Apocalypse. What ambitions did you have when you walked into this project? And what challenges were you confronted with?
A. Obviously for a score like Resident Evil, there�s the demand for music that�s not as thematic or melodic as the other two scores. But the music still has to be interesting and dramatic and exciting. Besides the normal challenges of having to write a lot of music in a fairly truncated amount of time, there was the challenge of satisfying the creative needs of the filmmakers and there was a pretty big creative team on Resident Evil: Apocalypse so there were a lot of people to interact with. A sci-fi / horror film like Resident Evil: Apocalypse creates this alternate reality which in this case is Raccoon City, and so the music plays a large part in creating such a fantasy world.
Q. What was your original concept for the score to the movie? And what ideas did you and film writer, Paul Anderson discuss?
A. When I got on the film, the filmmakers told me they wanted the score to have some of the electronic textures that the first film had and also wanted me to bring a more orchestral element to the score because the scope of the film was more epic. The different ways in which brought those two worlds together: the orchestral world and the electronic world in ways were hopefully original.
Q. Where did you get your inspiration for the score to the film? And what research did you have to do to ensure you achieved the uniquely identifiable sound that has accompanied the film so well?
A. I got inspiration from the film itself. As a film composer, my job is to musically represent the story being played out on the screen. It�s just a matter of coming up with some of the elements for the electronic realm of the score. To that end, I made recordings of many unusual instruments, sounds, and voices. Once I recorded them, I took the audio sources and kind of messed them all up in the digital realm. From there, it was a just a matter of figuring out a way to make those textures and sounds work in combination with the orchestra.
Q. You were into playing guitar and piano at a very young age, but had to stop your professional career in performance due to an injury. Had you not had the injury could you have seen yourself continuing your professional career in performance or do you think you would have eventually turned toward composing films?
A. I probably would have stayed in the performance world for as long as I could have but ultimately I�m happy to be here in film because I think the career span is considerably longer.
Q. It is becoming a common trend in the movie industry to create films based on games. Do you think at some level a line should be drawn between making films out of just any game, especially those which lack an original concept? Alien�s Vs. Predator comes to mind. And did you have any apprehensions about going into this project?
A. I think one of the largest factors in driving the decision to make or not make any film is a film�s commercial prospect. Video game movies seem to generate great business so I think that would be the deciding factor right there from a movie studios point of view.
No, I didn�t have any apprehensions going into this project. It�s always tricky to do a sequel, but right from the get-go they said that they were looking for me to contribute as musically original as possible so I was excited about that.
Q. The score to the original Resident Evil movie was done using the combining talents of Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson. What did you think of the score to that movie? And did you have any apprehensions about continuing on from such a unique score?
A. I liked the score to the original Resident Evil; I thought it was very effective. I didn�t have any apprehensions about continuing from the original; I looked forward to being able to make some type of contribution to the second film.
Q. How long did it take you to develop the score to the movie?
A. I had more time on this film than I usually do because the film was in post-production for such a long time because of all the visual effects. So, I had about 4 months when I normally just have 2.
Q. For those who are not aware, what processes do you have to go through to develop a score to a film?
A. Every film has its unique set of challenges. The music obviously has to be attentive to and reflect the time period, characters, setting, arc of the story, and the specific requirements of the filmmakers. How all of these things are achieved differs greatly from film to film and from filmmaker to filmmaker. One of the main skills that a film composer must have is the ability interpret the ideas and words of the creative team he is working with and turn that into music.
Q. Would you say you enjoyed making this style of music most out of the previous films you have been involved with?
A. Each genre of film has its own rewards from a writer�s point of view. There were many parts of this film that were exciting to write music for and were a lot of fun. It would be hard to pick a favourite. There�s something different that I like about every project that I get involved with.
Q. Although Resident Evil: Apocalypse was enjoyed by consumers, it didn�t do too well in reviews. Did you anticipate this when making the score? Or would you agree that the majority of the press were merely unable to fully comprehend the temperament of the movie?
A. I don�t really concern myself very much about the reviews of any film I�m working on. I already have my hands full with my particular task and that�s what I focus on.
Q. Electronic instruments have obviously advanced over years. Do you think there will ever be a point where electronic instruments will completely replace orchestral music for films?
A. No I don�t think so because as long as you�re telling stories about people, in whatever situation or whatever walk of life, you need to support their humanity with music and the ultimate form of expressive music is the music played by humans. Even in places where there are very close sonic similarities between the electronic world and the acoustic world, there is an emotion in music that�s played by musicians and orchestras that can�t be replicated in an electronic setting.
Q. Have you played any of the Resident Evil games? And what did you think of them?
A. When I was working on this film, somebody brought in the game. It was the first time I had seen it and played it . . . we had a lot of fun with that.
Q. What projects are you currently working on or have planned for the future?
A. I�m working on a children�s animated project just to keep things different.
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