My Big Score

Emmy-winning composer Jeff Toyne (Palm Royale) joins the show to discuss the epic 1980 musical comedy The Blue Brothers. Topics include the challenges of scoring comedy, the various musical acts of The Blue Brothers, (and what it's like to 'score' a previously-composed song), sneaking in esoteric musical references, and much more. Join us, won't you, as we discuss The Blue Brothers and Palm Royale...

Composer Tom Third (Modern Whore, The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg) joins us today to discuss Jerry Goldsmith's groundbreaking, atonal score for 1968's Planet of the Apes. We cover everything from the film's innovations and musical shock value, Third's history with it, how editing helps film composing, and more. Join us, won't you, as we discuss Planet of the Apes and the Canadian Screen Award-Nominate...

Composer Stephen Gallagher and Score Mixer Mark Willsher join us to discuss the new animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (now streaming on HBO Max)! We discuss building new music and themes in such an august franchise, how to keep momentum going when a 'journey' comes to a halt, how to create the feeling of cold, and much more. Join us, won't you, as we discuss The Lord of...

Look! Up in the Sky! We are joined today by Meghan Fitzmartin (the new audiobook adaptation of All-Star Superman) to discuss the musical history of the Man of Steel, the intriguing commonalities between his themes over the years, which Lois is best, what Superman means to us, and more. Join us, won't you, as we go flying with Superman. All-Star Superman's new audio adaptation can be found here: ht...

In this special episode, we're joined by two of the creatives behind the wonderful new fiction podcast Hit Singles , creator Gabriel Urbina and composer Jeremy Warmsley. We discuss the show's development, the importance of writing music that can be used for multiple moments versus themes, the difference in composing for podcasts vs. films and television, how to DJ a Christian Rave, and much, much...

Andre Silva, sound designer and cofounder of La Tina Sonido joins us to discuss the company's work on Netflix's adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Join us as we learn how to design magical realism, birds, warfare, and more. Find more of La Tina's work here: https://la-tina.co/ My Big Score was created and hosted by Christopher Dole. Our producer, editor, and social media consultant is El...

Composer Darren Fung joins us to discuss Michael Kamen's amazing swashbuckling score for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The underrated career of Kamen, what makes a stirring adventure score, and the impact having a Big Iconic Song can have are discussed, along with Darren's work with the Screen Composers Guild of Canada and the Canada's National Arts Centre's National Creation Fund. Join us, won't...

Composers Will and Brooke Blair (REBEL RIDGE) join us to discuss Angelo Badalamenti's monumental score for Twin Peaks. Laura's Theme, their long-standing collaboration with director Jeremy Saulnier, the contributions of Julee Cruise, and the impact of the late, lamented David Lynch are all discussed, along with much, much more. Join us, won't you?   My Big Score was created and hosted by Christoph...

It's time to go back to Titanic. My Big Score producer and Titanic super-fan Ellie Warren joins us to break down The Score for The Movie of the 1990s. Join us, won't you, as we discuss Leo-Mania, the sound design, the film's crescendo in the third act, "My Heart Will Go On", and much, MUCH more in this super-sized episode on James Horner's score for Titanic. My Big Score was created and hosted by...

Returning guest Emma Sherr-Ziarko joins us to go deep in depth on Howard Shore's monumental score for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring! We discuss Emma's history with 'the sacred texts', Shore's use of orchestration, the importance of Boromir, and much, MUCH more. PLUS: Chris breaks down the film's extraordinary prologue piece-by-piece to demonstrate how Shore's score grounds us in the wo...

Composer Evan Frankfort (Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild, The Spiritual Machine) joins us to discuss Vangelis' monumental synth score for 1982's Blade Runner. Join us as we delve deep into process and the nuts and bolts of making a score in a very different way than we usually do. It's one of our most in-depth discussions yet! Find Evan's website here: https://www.evanfrankfort.com/ Listen to Th...

We journey back to Middle-Earth with composer Nicolás Repetto (Empire Queen: The Golden Age of Magic) to discuss Howard Shore's first swing at the Lord of the Rings with The Fellowship of the Ring. We discuss thematic construction, fantasy movie music tropes, Nicolás' origin as a composer, and what it takes to score a watch. Not a watch commercial, a watch . Join us, won't you, as we head to the S...

In today's episode, composer Kenny Wood (The Naughty Nine) joins us to discuss John Williams' seminal holiday score Home Alone. Subjects include developing a strong working partnership with your director, heist film scores, how to score a kids' holiday film in the shadow of Home Alone. And much more. Join us, won't you? Find more of Kenny's work here: https://kennywoodmusic.com/ My Big Score was c...

Today, on My Big Score, we celebrate a very, very special new movie. We are immensely lucky to be joined by composer Chris Ryan and sound designer Bobb Barito to discuss the making of the extraordinary new independent dialogue-free action comedy HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS, the epic story of former applejack mogul-turned-trapper Jean Kayak, his travails in the Wisconsin woods, and the beavers who bedevil...

Today we go to Europe to STEAL SOME STUFF along with Jeff Van Dreason (Greater Boston) and the super-cool score for Ocean's 12. We discuss the super-cool career of David Holmes, the film's infamous twist and excellent soundtrack choices, and much more. Join us, won't you? My Big Score was created and hosted Christopher Dole. Our producer, editor, and social media consultant is Ellie Warren. All pi...

Happy 2024 and Happy Valentine's Day, listeners! My Big Score returns with composer Matt Bowen to talk about Jon Brion's masterful score for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. We discuss the score's unusual sense of temporal freedom and melancholy optimism, Matt's experiences on The Bachelor and The Boys franchises, get a live dulcimer demonstration, and much more! Join us, won't you, as we di...

Composer Alex Geringas (Batwheels, the Trolls franchise) joins us to discuss John Williams' totemic score for ET. We discuss Alex's childhood as an immigrant in Germany, how to score modern children's television, composing a grammy-winning song for Kelly Clarkson, and much more. Join us, won't you, as we get on our BMX bikes to phone home. My Big Score was created, hosted, and edited by Christophe...

Let's go back through the black hole Gargantua and do this one more time. Eli Barraza (The Far Meridian) joins us for a different perspective on Hans Zimmer's 2014 magnum opus score for Interstellar. We discuss Eli's experiences working at the Griffith Observatory, the career of Matt Damon, the science of sound, why "Mountains" is such good jogging music, and much more. Join us, won't you, for ano...

Multi-media composer, scoring coordinator, and music editor Vinicius Barbosa Pippa (SW: Galaxy of Adventures, Blade Runner: Revelations) joins us today to discuss Hans Zimmer's towering score for the 2014 sci-fi film Interstellar .  In addition to discussing Pippa's own work, we discuss the unusual prompt Nolan gave Zimmer prior to creating the score, Zimmer's distinctive instrumentation choices (...

Kev Koeser (Talking Trek to You, Total Massacre) joins us for a special Halloween episode to discuss our very first TV series on My Big Score: Over The Garden Wall. We discuss the history of animation, the scope of this magnificent series and the delights one can find on its expanded soundtrack, the remarkable invention of Patrick McHale and so much, much more. Join us, won't you, as today on My B...

Julian Mundy (StarTripper!!) returns to the show to discuss Howard Shore's hauntingly beautiful score for the classic 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs. Various approaches to Hannibal Lecter, Shore's immensely broad career, and director Jonathan Demme's powerful sense of empathy and much more all come up in today's episode. Join us, won't you, as we let Hannibal Lecter inside our heads with The S...

There's no strings on us this week as acclaimed composer Christopher Willis ( The Death of Stalin , Mickey Mouse , Black Mirror ) joins us to talk about the score to Walt Disney's 1940s masterpiece Pinocchio and much, much more .  The lessons Disney learned from the animated shorts through Snow White to this film, how to score a theme park ride and Willis' work on Lamya's Poem , The Death of Stali...

Multimedia artist Cat Blackard (The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program, Mother She Wrote) joins us to talk about John Du Prez's score for the 1990 cinematic debut of the Heroes in a Half-Shell, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! The unexpected malleability of the Turtles as a franchise, what Cat learned from interviewing director Steve Barron, the rushed process of scoring this film, and the influence of...

Composer Sherri Chung (Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai & Based on a True Story) joins us to talk about Dario Marianelli's masterful score for Joe Wright's 2005 Austen adaptation Pride & Prejudice. We discuss Wright's playfulness towards balancing diegetic/nondiegetic music, the horrors of the mixing stage, Chung's own work as a composer as a composer, and much more. Join us, won't you? My Big Scor...

Briggon Snow returns to My Big Score to accept a new mission: discussing Danny Elfman's 1996 score for the debut film of arguably our most consistent modern franchise - Mission: Impossible. The origins of Lalo Schifrin's iconic theme, the tortured composition history of this film, its audacious use of silence, and much more will be discussed. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to lis...