This past Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, I attended New York Comic Con, and it was both an extremely amazing and exhausting experience. I met a lot of great people, saw fantastic cosplayers, and I admit that I probably over did it on the purchases at Weta Workshop’s booth. But it was totally worth it.
In addition to all of this, I went to two panels, one of them being “The Lord of the Rings: The Music of Middle-earth” featuring Howard Shore and Doug Adams. I’d been looking forward to this panel for weeks, so when the day finally arrived, I made sure that I would be in the front row. The panel lasted 45 minutes; it was certainly not long enough for my liking! I could have listened to Howard and Doug talk about the music from LOTR and The Hobbit for hours.
The panel started out with a discussion on the LOTR films, and Howard stated that Middle-earth is “arguably the most complex fantasy world ever created.” He also added that LOTR was different from anything he’d ever done before. The music not only had to sound good, but it needed to play the role of a narrative. “If you follow the music exclusively, you still get the whole story.” This was definitely accomplished; I know when I’m listening to the scores, I can still picture the characters and scenes in my head as if I’m watching the movie.
They also discussed the different cultures and origins in Middle-earth and how you are able to distinguish them simply through the music. Howard talked about the challenge of creating themes between two cultures of Men—Rohan and Gondor. They said that Gondor’s themes were more sophisticated and that Rohan had some Norwegian influences among others. Hobbits were mentioned, and they talked about how for Gollum’s theme they wanted to have it connected to the music relating to the race of hobbits. This nice touch gives Gollum a connection to his past, hinting that he once was a regular hobbit who didn’t have a sad life. Throughout all this, Doug would tell us which instruments were used for each theme. It’s honestly amazing how Doug is able to name all the different instruments used in the score. It gave me a sense of pride to be part of this amazing community of fans.
With the LOTR concert at Lincoln Center coming up next year, Howard and Doug reflected back on past concerts that have been put on all around the world. “It had to be very precise.” Howard admitted that they always wanted to do The Return of the King at Radio City Music Hall since the first two movies were shown there, but it sadly never happened. At least now, people will have the chance to see not only ROTK but the entire trilogy in concert in April 2015. Find out more information by clicking here and visit the official site.
The Hobbit trilogy came up, and Howard talked about how it has a different feel to it. “The Hobbit is its own little world.” He added that the stakes are different, and that is indeed true. With LOTR we didn’t have anything to compare it to—it was brand new. With The Hobbit, the expectations are already so high; we already have a sense of what we imagine Middle-earth to sound like. Howard said that going backwards was not easy and that now it feels nice to finish The Hobbit. He confessed that he sometimes wakes up thinking he still needs to write for it.
The discussion again went back to LOTR, and Howard mentioned that the first theme he wrote was for the Shire, and the hardest piece for him was for the destruction of the One Ring scene. “I was always apprehensive about it,” he said. That’s completely understandable since that part in the story is extremely important and emotional. I can only imagine what it would be like to try and develop music that would perfectly convey that moment.
At the end of the panel, Howard discussed his process on creating a score. “I love to do research before a project,” he explained. He reads the book the film is based off of along with the script, followed by watching the footage, and then takes himself away from that to concentrate on working. He separates himself from everything else to see how it made him feel; it allows everything to flow over him. He made a point to say that music should be heartfelt. “If you don’t feel anything you can’t write.” It’s important for him to be emotionally invested in his projects. When he writes, he wants you to feel as if he’s talking to you, for you to have a connection through the music.
After the panel ended, some people stuck around to exchange a few words with Doug and Howard and some got things signed. I unfortunately forgot to bring along any of my LOTR/Hobbit soundtracks. I talked to Doug Adams (he’s such a nice guy) after asking for a photo. He posed with a fan’s copy of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. I was too nervous to approach Howard Shore. I’m still kicking myself for not asking for a photo! Oh well, hopefully one day, I’ll have another opportunity. This panel definitely made NYCC even more awesome for me! I hope Howard and Doug will have the chance to go to more conventions in the future, I know fans all around the world want to know more about the music behind Middle-earth.
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