# John Powell Interview



## antoniopandrade (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I mentioned in the "how to train your fff dragon" thread that I would be attending a skype interview with John Powell and would be able to ask him a couple of questions. I asked if anyone wanted to have any questions answered and a couple turned up. Some questions got answered and some didn't, due to John's tight schedule, he only really had less than an hour with a room full of eager and inquisitive students.

some of the points he touched upon were:

1. His musical upbringing and classical influences
2. Why he doesn't like to give interviews or talk about the scoring process(!)
3. His rig 
4. His time learning the ropes in a studio before coming to the US
5. Some interesting MIDI orchestration techniques.
6. His team
7. Collaborating with Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams
8. Dealing with writer's block
9. Why you shouldn't be an idiot (yep!)

amongst other things such as what samples he uses and even a couple of personal remarks of his favorite and not so favorite libraries.

I'm not sure if I should post this online, but I will upload it to a private server, and if any of you guys want, you can PM me for that info. I can also answer some of these on the thread itself if you prefer!

He's a funny guy, but also a bit shy, I could tell, and obviously very passionate about what he does. Maò ‘   iN9 ‘   iN› ‘   jO ‘   jO½ ‘   k}  ‘   k}¥ ‘   kš3 ‘   kšŒ ‘   lÇc ‘   lÇó ‘   m3¡ ‘   m3Á ‘   n‘š ‘   n‘ñ ‘   n’ ‘   n’ö ‘   oR« ‘   oRð ‘   q?î ‘   q?þ ‘   rê“ ‘   rê´ ‘   sSp ‘   sS¦ ‘   sZ ‘   sZÒ ‘   seä ‘   sf, ‘   sp³ ‘   sqO ‘   sµœ ‘   sµÃ ‘   só” ‘   sôF ‘


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## Hal (Apr 29, 2011)

is there a way to watch this ?


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## noiseboyuk (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks a million Antonio, PM sent!


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## antoniopandrade (Apr 29, 2011)

I think I answered all the PMs sent to me. Hope you guys are enjoying the interview.

Still periodically checking inbox to answer all PMs!


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## Patch666 (Apr 30, 2011)

antoniopandrade @ Sat Apr 30 said:


> I think I answered all the PMs sent to me. Hope you guys are enjoying the interview.
> 
> Still periodically checking inbox to answer all PMs!



Thank You!! PM Sent ... Look forward to it! :D


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## Patch666 (Apr 30, 2011)

antoniopandrade @ Sat Apr 30 said:


> I think I answered all the PMs sent to me. Hope you guys are enjoying the interview.
> 
> Still periodically checking inbox to answer all PMs!



Thank You!! PM Sent ... Look forward to it! :D


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## OB.one (Apr 30, 2011)

PM sent here too ! :wink: 

Thanx in advance

Best Regards from Paris

Olivier

http://www.myspace.com/obonemusic
http://soundcloud.com/lentresol-sound-studio


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## antoniopandrade (Apr 30, 2011)

Phew, all those PMs when I woke up! I'm kinda regretting what I got into here >.< 


(just kidding) 


I'll continue to answer PMs through the day.

Please remember, this is a very casual interview, and John had very little time to spare, so it's not INCREDIBLY in-depth. It might not fulfill all your JP needs, but I guess it's a quick fix :D


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## Marko Zirkovich (Apr 30, 2011)

Just a quick "Thank you, Antonio" - don't have time for more. There's a John Powell interview waiting for me. o=?


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## PasiP (Apr 30, 2011)

The interview was great and funny too. Thanks again for this!


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## noiseboyuk (Apr 30, 2011)

Half way through, loving it! (to help intelligibility I whacked it all through a brutal high pass filter and put in 15db of brickwall limiting - worked wonders!)

So far his thoughts on music over dialogue, use of sample libraries and especially use of controllers is the most illuminating. He says if the controller data doesn't look like the Alps, you're doing it wrong, and if any sound is static your brain gets bored. So true. It's why I've been so critical of Symphobia 2's legatos... I need it to move, but with one velocity it can't. Another good tip was reversing the shapes on CC1 and CC11 to keep the same sort of volume but varying intensity. Really need to think about my setup and the best way to easily get CC11 in there, it's a pain at the moment.

As I say, only half way and it's just invaluable, inspirational and yes funny in places too. Thanks again Antonio.


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## antoniopandrade (Apr 30, 2011)

noiseboyuk @ Sat Apr 30 said:


> Half way through, loving it! (to help intelligibility I whacked it all through a brutal high pass filter and put in 15db of brickwall limiting - worked wonders!)
> 
> So far his thoughts on music over dialogue, use of sample libraries and especially use of controllers is the most illuminating. He says if the controller data doesn't look like the Alps, you're doing it wrong, and if any sound is static your brain gets bored. So true. It's why I've been so critical of Symphobia 2's legatos... I need it to move, but with one velocity it can't. Another good tip was reversing the shapes on CC1 and CC11 to keep the same sort of volume but varying intensity. Really need to think about my setup and the best way to easily get CC11 in there, it's a pain at the moment.
> 
> As I say, only half way and it's just invaluable, inspirational and yes funny in places too. Thanks again Antonio.



That's a great idea Guy! Audio recorded in a semi-noisy room from a skype conversation would obviously lose a lot in intelligibility, and your method will really help others who weren't there (I know what he's talking about when I re-listen, as I was there in the first place!)

I'm glad you guys are enjoying it, and yes I agree that his insight on CCs is very enlightening!


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## Patch666 (Apr 30, 2011)

"They're the ugliest Fuckers you've ever seen in your life.' What a genius. :lol:


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## noiseboyuk (May 3, 2011)

Finished it yesterday, thanks again. My favourite but of advice from the last half was to the person who asked for advice when moving to LA and moving ahead in the field of composing - "go to drama school".

He then did go on to add that you also need to hone your craft relentlessly, mind!


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## noiseboyuk (May 4, 2011)

stevenson-again @ Wed May 04 said:


> how do we get a hold of the interview? i would love to see it myself.



Yup, just PM Antonio - it's just audio recorded in the audience. Well worth it though.


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## bwherry (May 4, 2011)

Another thanks to Antonio for providing this! Really great interview.

Brian


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