VIP Viewpoint | Why Kevin Costner's cowboy soundtrack came from Scotland's 'wild west' @VIP_Viewpoint | Uploaded July 2024 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
Why Kevin Costner's cowboy soundtrack came from Scotland's 'wild west'
The conclusion of Kevin Costner's most recent movie, Horizon: An American Saga, features an extensive list of credits.
It should come as no surprise, considering that the three hours and one minute picture is only a portion of the four films that the Hollywood filmmaker and actor has been wanting to make for almost forty years.
Among those names is a Scottish orchestra that was featured heavily in the movie, which was just released to theaters this past weekend.
Costner engaged the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) last year to record the movie's music.
John Debney, a composer whose credits include The Passion of the Christ and Elf, collaborated with the RSNO in the past.
I suggested a couple ideas because we didn't have the space to record in Los Angeles, he said.
"We talked about London and Nashville, but Kevin's eyes brightened when I brought up Scotland."
During the course of five days in August of last year, Debney and Costner visited the RSNO Centre to record the soundtrack.
Being in the score session is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the filmmaking process, Costner told BBC Scotland News.
"I work harder on getting the cameras and the screens into the room and let John (Debney) do the heavy lifting but I wanted the musicians to see and that was a new experience for them to see the film and meet the filmmaker and be a part of it and I think they really responded to that.""Music is important but it's important to get the right guy and for Horizon, John Debney was the right guy." "You can be a minimalist and get back or take a bold run and match the landscape," and John's talent means he did just that.
The RSNO is well-known for its recording work, but it hasn't been able to create permanent premises until 2015, when it moved into a purpose-built facility inside the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall complex.
"It was an exciting opportunity to allow them to perform on such a large canvas," Costner remarked. "All we wanted to do was make them feel a part of it because we knew the difference they were making."I want people to be able to locate it, watch it, come back, and be in awe of the performances, the setting, and the music—which is like a magic carpet of feeling that just lifts you up and whisks you away the moment the first stake is driven into the earth.
As the principal trumpet player for the Philharmonia orchestra in London, Alistair Mackie was frequently involved in Abbey Road soundtrack compositions.
He saw an opportunity for the orchestra to capitalize on the need for recording work when he was appointed CEO of the RSNO in 2019.
They established their own studio two years ago to create soundtracks for movies, TV shows, and video games.
Warner Bros., Netflix, Sony, Disney, and Apple TV are just a few of the companies that have signed on as clients since they are the only orchestra in the UK with in-house equipment for recording sound to picture.
However, it may take months or even years before the orchestra acknowledges working on a project.
We're working hard on movies and video games, but we have to sign non-disclosure agreements, which means we have to protect our clients' privacy until the movie is released, at which point we may brag about it," Mackie remarked.
Since their publication, projects have included the computer games Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaw, the television series Life on Our Planet, and the motion pictures The Woman King and Argylle.
And, of course, Horizon: An American Saga, which in May at the Cannes Film Festival drew an 11-minute standing ovation for Costner.
According to Mackie, "Kevin Costner was very active in the film making process."
We found him a sofa and had someone go to John Lewis to get the largest television screen so he could watch the movie while he listened. "He was fabulous to work with and it was great to see him there in the middle of the film-making process," the producer said. "He didn't want to sit in the control room, he wanted to sit with the musicians in the recording studio."
Costner has a deep love for Westerns. Dances With Wolves, which he both performed in and directed in 1990, won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
He had previously collaborated with composer John Debney on the American television series Hatfields and McCoys, with whom he had developed a close friendship through their shared love of the 1962 movie How the West Was Won.
Why Kevin Costner's cowboy soundtrack came from Scotland's 'wild west'
The conclusion of Kevin Costner's most recent movie, Horizon: An American Saga, features an extensive list of credits.
It should come as no surprise, considering that the three hours and one minute picture is only a portion of the four films that the Hollywood filmmaker and actor has been wanting to make for almost forty years.
Among those names is a Scottish orchestra that was featured heavily in the movie, which was just released to theaters this past weekend.
Costner engaged the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) last year to record the movie's music.
John Debney, a composer whose credits include The Passion of the Christ and Elf, collaborated with the RSNO in the past.
I suggested a couple ideas because we didn't have the space to record in Los Angeles, he said.
"We talked about London and Nashville, but Kevin's eyes brightened when I brought up Scotland."
During the course of five days in August of last year, Debney and Costner visited the RSNO Centre to record the soundtrack.
Being in the score session is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the filmmaking process, Costner told BBC Scotland News.
"I work harder on getting the cameras and the screens into the room and let John (Debney) do the heavy lifting but I wanted the musicians to see and that was a new experience for them to see the film and meet the filmmaker and be a part of it and I think they really responded to that.""Music is important but it's important to get the right guy and for Horizon, John Debney was the right guy." "You can be a minimalist and get back or take a bold run and match the landscape," and John's talent means he did just that.
The RSNO is well-known for its recording work, but it hasn't been able to create permanent premises until 2015, when it moved into a purpose-built facility inside the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall complex.
"It was an exciting opportunity to allow them to perform on such a large canvas," Costner remarked. "All we wanted to do was make them feel a part of it because we knew the difference they were making."I want people to be able to locate it, watch it, come back, and be in awe of the performances, the setting, and the music—which is like a magic carpet of feeling that just lifts you up and whisks you away the moment the first stake is driven into the earth.
As the principal trumpet player for the Philharmonia orchestra in London, Alistair Mackie was frequently involved in Abbey Road soundtrack compositions.
He saw an opportunity for the orchestra to capitalize on the need for recording work when he was appointed CEO of the RSNO in 2019.
They established their own studio two years ago to create soundtracks for movies, TV shows, and video games.
Warner Bros., Netflix, Sony, Disney, and Apple TV are just a few of the companies that have signed on as clients since they are the only orchestra in the UK with in-house equipment for recording sound to picture.
However, it may take months or even years before the orchestra acknowledges working on a project.
We're working hard on movies and video games, but we have to sign non-disclosure agreements, which means we have to protect our clients' privacy until the movie is released, at which point we may brag about it," Mackie remarked.
Since their publication, projects have included the computer games Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaw, the television series Life on Our Planet, and the motion pictures The Woman King and Argylle.
And, of course, Horizon: An American Saga, which in May at the Cannes Film Festival drew an 11-minute standing ovation for Costner.
According to Mackie, "Kevin Costner was very active in the film making process."
We found him a sofa and had someone go to John Lewis to get the largest television screen so he could watch the movie while he listened. "He was fabulous to work with and it was great to see him there in the middle of the film-making process," the producer said. "He didn't want to sit in the control room, he wanted to sit with the musicians in the recording studio."
Costner has a deep love for Westerns. Dances With Wolves, which he both performed in and directed in 1990, won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
He had previously collaborated with composer John Debney on the American television series Hatfields and McCoys, with whom he had developed a close friendship through their shared love of the 1962 movie How the West Was Won.
