Hans Zimmer
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Hans Zimmer

The man behind today's modern film sound.

184
Hans Zimmer
Wordpress.com

Hans Zimmer is a German-born film composer and keyboard player whose music is recognized world-wide. Zimmer is often known for his success in scoring recent blockbuster films such as "Interstellar," "The Lion King," "The Dark Knight," and "Inception," but it is his other musical accomplishments that I find most interesting.

Zimmer has no formal training, but, rather, as a young adult developed an interest with synthesizers and similar equipment and considers himself to be self-taught. Despite his lack of formal training, Zimmer found a spot playing for multiple new wave style rock groups such as The Buggles, who produced the 1979 song “Video Killed the Radio Star," and Helden, who he toured with briefly in the late '70s. After his brief stint as a rock musician, Zimmer partnered with Stanly Myers, a film composer, to form Lillie Yard Recording Studio in London. During his time working with Myers, Zimmer produced a number of scores for small independent films, until the opportunity to produce his first solo score was presented to him by Nico Mastorakis in 1987.

Later that same year, Zimmer’s score for Bernardo Bertolucci’s film, "The Last Emperor," won him an academy award for Best Original Score. The big turning point in Zimmer’s career came in 1988 when he produced the score for Barry Levinson’s "Rain Man." For "Rain Man," Zimmer broke out of the box by creating a completely different sound for what was considered a “road movie” by replacing the commonly used strings and guitars with steel drums. He repeated this process again just a year later, when he composed Bruce Beresford’s film "Driving Miss Daisy," using nothing but synthesizers and samplers.

During the '90s, Zimmer continued to use his “out of the box” style to score multiple award-winning films, such as "Thelma and Louise," "K2," and "Drop Zone." In 1994, Zimmer was approached by Walt Disney Animation Studios to compose the score for "The Lion King." This was the first animated film Zimmer had done in his career, but it won him a total of five awards, including another Academy Award for Best Original Score and two Grammys. In the 2000s, Zimmer’s career blossomed as he did scores for multiple blockbuster movies, including "Black Hawk Down," "The Da Vinci Code," and "Gladiator." Between 2010 and today, Zimmer has composed a multitude of movies and events, ranging from "Inception" to the music for the 84th Academy Awards. Zimmer’s success has continued to grow through the later 2000s as he has scored films like "12 Years a Slave," Tomorrowland," and "Interstellar," and, in 2010, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hans Zimmer’s particular style is very different and unique from many of the other composers of the current time because of his lack of formal training. Zimmer is well known for his unique sounds and very distinct musical scores, especially in his most recent films. Zimmer’s style seems to consistently break the mold for what is expected of a film score. He often uses a very avant-garde sound styles, such as his use of an out of tune piano for the "Sherlock Holmes" film or the use of the traditional African choir and instruments in his "The Lion King" score.

Zimmer’s style does, however, drastically change from film to film, and often correlates directly with the content of the film. This is especially apparent in the differences between his "The Lion King" and "Inception" scores. In "The Lion King," Zimmer relies heavily on the cultural instruments and sounds of the native African choirs to add depth to the story line and tie the visual setting in with the musical setting. The score’s instrumentation relies heavily on the uses of voice and choirs rather than stringed or other European instruments. The score also features many traditional African woodwind instruments and percussion elements, such as bongos and djembe. By replacing the more traditional European style instruments, Zimmer was able to heavily feature the cultures of African peoples, even though the film never shows actual people. The flip side to this is that this score was designed for children, and, therefore, most of the music is structured to be sung along with. Many of the songs feature an unchanging rhythm and repeat the same or very similar words over and over.

Zimmer's Inception score reflects heavily on his own personal music experience in that it heavily features synthesizers and other computer generated sounds and instruments. The instrumentation for this score is incredibly hard to pick apart, because most of it is computer generated and has been altered to best fit the story line. Throughout the score, the music evolves multiple times within each individual track. Zimmer does this to compliment the unfolding of events within the film, and, in many cases, the film develops at same points that the score does. Zimmer shoes his experience and expertise throughout the film by heavily featuring the synthesizer and using it to show the development of on-screen events, which contributes in many key ways to the film score’s development.

It is no surprise that Zimmer’s latest piece is in the upcoming film "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice," where his sound is paired with the progressive style of Junkie XL. This film has not yet hit theaters, but based on Zimmer’s previous works, this film will likely have a very unique sound when compared to other recent films.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

51715
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

33207
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

956146
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

181059
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments