# Hans Zimmer BBC documentary



## Pier (Oct 4, 2022)

New BBC documentary celebrates the life and work of “Hollywood Rebel” Hans Zimmer


“It was a dream job to sit and film him at the keyboard in his studio,” says director Francis Hanly




www.musicradar.com


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## DoubleTap (Oct 7, 2022)

Just heard Hans entertaining BBC radio listeners. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cq7t Probably unlistenable outside the UK alas, but for those who can it starts at about 39 minutes. 

Talked about how the Bond producers didn't originally want the Billie Eilish song for No Time To Die, how people insist on telling him there's 20 second gap in the Dark Knight soundtrack when they're watching it on their phones, and hints of just how annoyed he was to find out that Dune was streamed at the same time as the cinema release when he hadn't mixed it for the small screen. Not a bad five minute romp although the interviewer missed the obvious question: when are his Zebra 3 presets coming out?


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## Pier (Oct 14, 2022)

Hans Zimmer reveals his favourite soft synth plugin and explains why MIDI “saved his life”


Also says that there was a time when he, Harold Faltermeyer and Giorgio Moroder were all living in the same house




www.musicradar.com





(Of course it's Zebra!)


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## LatinXCombo (Oct 15, 2022)

DoubleTap said:


> just how annoyed he was to find out that Dune was streamed at the same time as the cinema release when he hadn't mixed it for the small screen.


It's very reassuring to see that Hans Zimmer has translation issues, too. 

I mean mine are far far worse, but still. Same ballpark.


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## Technostica (Oct 15, 2022)

It will be first broadcast on Sunday the 16th October.


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## DoubleTap (Oct 15, 2022)

Really keen to know which Zebra oscillator is dodgy.


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## aeliron (Oct 16, 2022)

DoubleTap said:


> Just heard Hans entertaining BBC radio listeners. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cq7t Probably unlistenable outside the UK alas, but for those who can it starts at about 39 minutes.
> 
> Talked about how the Bond producers didn't originally want the Billie Eilish song for No Time To Die, how people insist on telling him there's 20 second gap in the Dark Knight soundtrack when they're watching it on their phones, and hints of just how annoyed he was to find out that Dune was streamed at the same time as the cinema release when he hadn't mixed it for the small screen. Not a bad five minute romp although the interviewer missed the obvious question: when are his Zebra 3 presets coming out?


Wait. There was a song for No Time to Die?


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## tc9000 (Oct 16, 2022)

Ah - this is tonight. In 1 hour!


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## DoubleTap (Oct 16, 2022)

Some of the better HZ quotes: 

“The problem is that wind across a tundra is very similar to bacon frying.”


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## DoubleTap (Oct 16, 2022)

Mother comes out of his new English school crying. “I can’t believe it,” she says. “He LIKES you.”

…

He writes for Doris in Bradford, a couple of unruly sons, escapes at the weekend by going to the movies. “What would Doris think?”

…

Hollywood was “in the stone ages” when he arrived in Hollywood to work on Rain Man. “Where do I plug in [my synth]?” “What do you mean? We write on paper.”

…

Now we’re onto how he basically invented the mock-up.

…

Wow. His studio. Just wow.
Skulls, velvet and modular synths.

…

He doesn’t take notes. “Nothing stops playfulness like taking notes.”

…

Now we’re onto one note theory and the Dark Knight. “Okay he said maybe we need two notes.” (Didn’t catch who said that).

…

He did the iguana and the snakes! I didn’t realise.

Of course he did.

…

Dune.

“I don’t think anyone has won an Oscar for a score which is bagpipes, heavy metal and a woman screaming.”

…

“Playfulness is what gets you somewhere. Making a racket and having a bit of a laugh.”

And that is that. Very entertaining


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## Pier (Oct 16, 2022)

Hopefully it will be available somewhere to stream!

Would love to watch it.


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## Pier (Oct 16, 2022)

Is this part of the documentary?


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## Technostica (Oct 16, 2022)

Pier said:


> Is this part of the documentary?


BBC Newsnight is a regular late evening show, so this is more of a promotional interview for the documentary I suspect.


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## tc9000 (Oct 16, 2022)

Pier said:


> Is this part of the documentary?


No - there is a little overlap, but this is a separate interview. As @Technostica says - it's more like a complementary (and coincident) promo piece.


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## sourcefor (Oct 16, 2022)

Yeah if you’re not in the uk you cannot watch!


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## DoubleTap (Oct 17, 2022)

sourcefor said:


> Yeah if you’re not in the uk you cannot watch!


There’s a streaming platform called Britbox that the BBC is part of which I think is available in some countries. I don’t know if/when it might have this doc though. There might be a free trial?


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## ZeroZero (Oct 17, 2022)

Been watching this. Really interesting. What surprise me was that the keyboard he is using in his own studio is wobbling up and down as a yo yo! WTF!


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## DoubleTap (Oct 17, 2022)

ZeroZero said:


> Been watching this. Really interesting. What surprise me was that the keyboard he is using in his own studio is wobbling up and down as a yo yo! WTF!


I know! That made me quite uncomfortable...


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## Cyberic (Oct 19, 2022)

Really good documentary with great insights to Hans methodology, the environment that he works in and his (much admired by participants in the programme) people skills.


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## Nicholas (Oct 20, 2022)

the fact that it’s only watchable in the UK is aggravating


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## Technostica (Oct 20, 2022)

Nicholas said:


> the fact that it’s only watchable in the UK is aggravating


The BBC are funded mainly by the TV license and have no advertising.
So they would be losing money on every stream if they streamed it freely outside the UK.


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## Nicholas (Oct 20, 2022)

Technostica said:


> The BBC are funded mainly by the TV license and have no advertising.
> So they would be losing money on every stream if they streamed it freely outside the UK.


I‘d buy it.


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## ZeroZero (Oct 20, 2022)




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## TheMusicSync (Oct 20, 2022)

Pier said:


> New BBC documentary celebrates the life and work of “Hollywood Rebel” Hans Zimmer
> 
> 
> “It was a dream job to sit and film him at the keyboard in his studio,” says director Francis Hanly
> ...


SOunds good! Inspiring as well! Where can we watch that documentry on the net?


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## cedricm (Oct 20, 2022)

Technostica said:


> The BBC are funded mainly by the TV license and have no advertising.
> So they would be losing money on every stream if they streamed it freely outside the UK.


Self-imposed. 
It's such a pain to get UK TV outside England, even if you're willing to pay for a (legal) subscription. 
TV corps are still living in the 20th century. 
IMO, they will get destroyed by VOD and YouTube if they refuse to evolve and are still geofencing and negociating tv rights country by country, language by language.


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 20, 2022)

*View outside the UK.*

I believe I've found a way to watch it outside of the UK. In case it isn't legal, I won't post it here; but DM me and I'll point you in the right direction.

It's curious, in the old days of video, we'd record things off of the television and share the tapes. There was no secondary market so, while technically we might not have had the right to do it, it was common and accepted practice.

Now, anyone can record it on their computer; but the global market means that sharing a BBC programme on the internet might affect the BBC's chances of licensing it to other channels in the rest of the world (typically, BBC America in the States; which is run commercially but any profits are put back into BBC domestic production). Hence, the reason for not posting a link to where you can watch it in case that should be an illegal source.

As many of you will know, plenty of BBC programmes are posted on YouTube in their entirety and the BBC does little to remove them as far as I can tell. I've sometimes thoughtlessly found myself watching a programme on YouTube that I could, and should, be watching on BBC iPlayer.


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## Pier (Oct 20, 2022)

Amazing documentary. Absolutely loved it.


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## Pier (Oct 23, 2022)

ZeroZero said:


> Been watching this. Really interesting. What surprise me was that the keyboard he is using in his own studio is wobbling up and down as a yo yo! WTF!


Yeah that surprised me too 😂

And isn't that a Native Instruments keyboard? I thought he was using a Doepfer keyboard.


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## Pier (Oct 23, 2022)

DoubleTap said:


> Really keen to know which Zebra oscillator is dodgy.


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## KEM (Oct 24, 2022)

Incredible documentary, loved that they actually showed Hans making sounds in Zebra and playing the classic TDK themes on his computer, exactly the stuff I wanted to see!!


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## tc9000 (Oct 24, 2022)

KEM said:


> Incredible documentary, loved that they actually showed Hans making sounds in Zebra and playing the classic TDK themes on his computer, exactly the stuff I wanted to see!!


Me too - I loved that part! I would have loved more of that - Hans talking synthesis, or Hans talking about music theory - his thoughts on composition, harmony, etc, etc. Such a shame documentary makers have to glance over the technical stuff, don't want to alienate the normies I suppose... Still - it was great to get what we got!


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## KEM (Oct 24, 2022)

tc9000 said:


> Me too - I loved that part! I would have loved more of that - Hans talking synthesis, or Hans talking about music theory - his thoughts on composition, harmony, etc, etc. Such a shame documentary makers have to glance over the technical stuff, don't want to alienate the normies I suppose... Still - it was great to get what we got!



Same! That’s exactly the kind of stuff I wanna see, although I did love that this was basically the most definitive Zimmer backstory we’ve gotten, I really just want a “Zimmer in the lab” sort of documentary that’s just him actually in the trenches making music


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## Pier (Oct 24, 2022)

KEM said:


> I really just want a “Zimmer in the lab” sort of documentary that’s just him actually in the trenches making music


Have you seen the HZ masterclass?

I haven't myself but I think that's the sort of content you'd get.









Story


Discover how Hans approaches writing to story and his number one rule for film composers.




www.masterclass.com


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## AudioXpression (Oct 24, 2022)

Masterclass!!


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## apollinaire (Oct 24, 2022)

Really good doc! I loved seeing him with all his different, old (now) archaic computers/equipment.

I also noticed the very wobbly NI keyboard on a stand lol. It looks like that might be a different setup at RC? Doesn't look like his usual big desk setup. Not sure.


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## jneebz (Oct 24, 2022)

Pier said:


> Have you seen the HZ masterclass?
> 
> I haven't myself but I think that's the sort of content you'd get.
> 
> ...


Nope. It’s a glorified interview with some insights into his process but it’s very light on actual techniques/hands-on stuff.


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## KEM (Oct 24, 2022)

Pier said:


> Have you seen the HZ masterclass?
> 
> I haven't myself but I think that's the sort of content you'd get.
> 
> ...



What @jneebz said, it’s all about how to work with directors and nothing about him actually writing, there’s still stuff to get out of it of course, but not what I’m looking for, JXL’s YouTube is still the only place to get that sort of content


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