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NOTES ON THE SCORE FROM COMPOSER KYLE NEWMASTER MY INSPIRATION: 
Ever since I was a kid I have been a big fan of the Star Wars films and have always been
especially fascinated with the music. The recordings of the London Symphony Orchestra performing
the dramatic themes of John Williams left a strong impression on me and to this day I still
get chills when I hear many of them. The Star Wars scores are what really got me excited about
music and are a huge part of the reason that I am now a professional composer working in Hollywood.
I had always dreamed of scoring a star wars film and until recently it hadn't been a possibility.
About a year ago I found out about TFN and the fan films community from a successful Hollywood producer.
I began checking out a variety of the films posted on the Internet and was very impressed with the overall
quality some of the productions had. I was amazed that all of the films were created by inspired fans that
had no intention or chance of gaining a profit (mostly due to copyright rules). I wanted to get involved in
my spare time and my goal was to provide a studio quality Star Wars score for a professional level fan film
production. Basically I wanted this music to sound like it fit right in with the scores to the other
six films.
JOINING THE TEAM: In 2005 I first met with director Randy Bookman and discussed an upcoming production company demo/fan film entitled Forced Alliance that he and co/director Gerry Santos were organizing. Randy explained that he and Gerry were doing everything on a professional level to create the best film possible and that they would be using the film as a calling card for their film company "Spearshield Productions". I was impressed with the script and also their overall plan for the production. The plan included hiring all professional actors as well as shooting the film on a custom built set inside a Hollywood soundstage. This was the type of film I wanted to work on! I was also very happy that Randy and Gerry fully understood how important music would be for their film and that they were open to listening to my big ideas for the score. We all agreed that our goal was to create a score that could fit right in with the quality of the original Williams soundtracks (A very challenging goal). I explained that the only way to get the depth of sound and overall power of the Williams scores would be to write for and hire a very large orchestra. Emulating the music of John Williams was not something to be taken lightly and anything short of the large orchestra sound would just leave people unimpressed. Many films today attempt to get the big budget sound by recording the entire score on the composer's computer with all synthetic orchestral instruments. I have certainly done my fair share of midi/synthesized scores, but for a Star Wars film I wanted nothing but the best. Randy and Gerry were very surprised that hiring a live orchestra would be financially possible. I explained that from my vast experience of working in the trenches on low budget independent films I had the ability to make it happen for an affordable amount. I have always highly valued the use of live musicians on my scores and try my hardest to budget for it whenever possible. Randy and Gerry saw eye-to-eye with me on all of these things and after a couple of meetings they offered me the composer job on their film and we began the planning! COMPOSING THE MUSIC: Scoring Forced Alliance began like any other film. After the film was edited I met with Directors Randy Bookman and Gerry Santos to discuss and spot the film. They gave me a QuickTime copy of the movie so that I could link it up with my composing programs. On a side note, I use Pro-tools and Digital Performer as sequencers and do all of my composing in the notation program "Finale" At our meeting we discussed all of the spots in the film that would require music and the moments that called for silence. I also discussed my Fatic ideas with them. Since the film had all original characters I decided to compose entirely new themes. The only music that originates from the Williams scores is the opening scroll main title track and a hint at the force theme here and there. The two main themes I composed are the Darth Teros theme and the Jedi Battle music found in the track entitled "Confrontation with Darth Teros". Darth Teros played a large role in this film and therefore his theme is developed more extensively. It is a very dark and slow moving theme played mostly by the basses and the bass clarinet. The Darth Teros theme is reminiscent of the theme for the Emperor in Return Of The Jedi. The two Jedi Andril and Orin are not given their own personal themes and are mostly represented by the Jedi Battle Music. It is a heroic theme that accompanies the extensive lightsaber battle in the middle of the film. Similar to many of Williams's action themes this battle motif is passed around to a variety of different instruments in a multitude of ways. However, the brass section is probably the most prevalent in this theme. Randy and Gerry were also very particular about the music for the opening bar scene. They wanted a sort of Moroccan/techno/space bar sounding piece that would compare to the excitement of the original Cantina Music. To help achieve this I hired MB Gordy to help lay down an interesting percussion groove. MB is the Percussionist well known in the Sci-Fi community for his recent extensive percussion work on the popular show Battlestar Gallactica. As I mentioned above my top priority for this score was to compose original music that would completely support the film and at the same time sound like it came right out of the Star Wars Universe. However, I never outright copied John Williams and tried my best to present my own interpretation of his Star Wars Sound. For a visual 11/17 PDF sample of the score for the cue "Confrontation with Teros" click here. There is an mp3 sample of this track available here as well.  
RECORDING AND MIXING THE SCORE:After completing the music and preparing the parts and score in "Finale" it was time to organize the session. By this time I had come to the conclusion that we would get the best possible sound for our budget from a 60-piece orchestra. A group of this size would at least get us in the ballpark of the large sound that the 100-piece London symphony created for the original soundtracks. Our instrumentation would include a medium sized string ensemble (34 to be exact), a full woodwind section, a full brass section, harp, piano and a large percussion section. Thanks to the local 47 musicians union's understanding and support of low budget demo films we were able to hire some of the best studio musicians in Los Angeles to perform the score for very reduced rates. After getting the musicians and the recording date picked out we had to find a studio to record. Because of the large size of the orchestra we needed to look at the bigger studios in town. I checked out the availability and pricings for Fox, Capitol, Paramount and eventually decided that Warner Brothers was best for our session. As you can see from the pictures, it is an amazing studio and it was a privilege to record there. I also employed my favorite recording engineer Damon Tedesco to run the board and give us the pristine recording quality that you hear on the samples. Also, although I often conduct my scores I called upon the Maestro Neil Desby to waive the baton and keep everything efficient and on schedule. I decided that because of the complexity of the music and also the overall scope of everything I would rather listen and call the shots from the booth and let Neil convey my thoughts to the orchestra. Neil is a very experienced conductor who has worked on a variety of Hollywood films and I knew that his experience in running the orchestra would help us out especially with our limited amount of recording time. After finishing the session I spent some time editing the tracks at my home studio and then did the final mix-down at Damon's Tedesco's studio. Working on this project was an amazing experience and I hope that everyone who checks out this soundtrack enjoys listening to the music as much as I enjoyed composing it. Here is a bit of information on each of the tracks 1. "Teros Approaches Purgator" This cue contains the music that immediately follows the Star Wars Theme Music from the opening movie scroll. Just like all the other Star Wars films it begins as the final words fade into space. The goal with this track was to create a mysterious texture as we first see Darth Teros approaching from the distance in his ship and planning his descent into the planet Purgator. Directors Randy Bookman and Gerry Santos had requested a similar mood to the opening scenes from Return Of The Jedi or The Empire Strikes Back. 2. "A Night At Brocks" This is the music that is playing at the bar when we first enter that scene. It has a Moroccan/techno/new age sound to it. It is filled with high-energy percussion instruments and a variety of electronic samples. The percussionist performing on this track is none other than MB Gordy. MB is well known for his exciting performances on the new BattleStar Gallactica Soundtracks. 3. "Andril and Orin Sense An Evil Presence" This is the music that gradually creeps in as the Jedi master Andril and his padawan Orin sense the dark side while sitting in the bar. It also contains the first statement of Darth Taros's theme, the theme that represents the dark side. The music is very subtle and by using the high harmonics in the strings along with some low bass clarinet and overall dissonance a very unnerving sound is presented. 4. "Confrontation With Teros" 
This is the track where the battle between the Jedi and Darth Teros begins. My goal with this track was to create the energy of the Williams fight scenes with my own melodies. There are lots of familiar "Williams Style" orchestration moments in this track and it allowed me to fully present and develop the Jedi battle theme. Lots of intense brass, frantic strings and punchy percussion help to accompany the fast paced lightsaber battle that ensues. 5. "Trouble For The Jedi/ Shay and Daynar Intervene" This is the music that accompanies the end of the lightsaber battle and also an introduction of two new and mysterious characters. This cue takes the listener through an emotional roller coaster. 6. "The Dark Side of Shay" This is a very short track that helps to accompany a dark moment in the film where Shay struggles with her inner thoughts. 7. "There Is Still Hope" This cue allowed me to take a familiar star wars theme and adapt it to fit the specific mood of the film's climax. The theme is presented with a very different harmonic approach that gives it a fresh new sound. 8. "Darth Teros And The Rise Of The Sith" This track was written for the end credits suite of the film. During the credits this track follows the main star wars credits theme and also a restatement of the Lightsaber Battle Music. It is the final musical statement in the film and allowed me to fully develop the Darth Teros Theme into a dramatic orchestral piece. |