Alan J Moore's Film Music Chat

Tim Burton’s classic Christmas/Halloween movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas has quickly become one of the most renowned animated holiday films in movie history and now it has been remade in 3D animation making it even better. Though parts of this holiday movie classic seems a bit too graphic for some of the younger children, this film is a wonderful musical (music and lyrics by Danny Elfman) with a very good message for all of us. The entirety of The Nightmare Before Christmas was created with stop-motion animation, and in view of the fact that it’s centered around the spooky Halloween holiday, it was given an overall dark tone. Jack Skellington (the Pumpkin King), the film’s brooding protagonist, is a living skeleton who walks, talks, and sings beautifully (Danny Elfman sings for Jack). Each and every Halloween, it’s Jack’s duty to organize the holiday of Halloween for the world, but this Halloween, Jack feels like there something missing in his life so instead of preparing for Halloween, Jack searches for a way to fill the emptiness in his life.

During his search of self discovery, Jack finds a strange doorway in a tree which leads him to a wondrous place called Christmas town. It does not take very long for Jack to fall under the spell of goodwill shown by the cheery inhabitants of Christmas town. He soon becomes completely captivated with Christmas town and Christmas. After Jack learns about the legend of Santa Claus, he decides to tell all of his friends in Halloween town about the wonders he has just witnessed. Although the townspeople in Halloween town are hoping to make the next Halloween even more frightening than the last, Jack convinces them to celebrate Christmas instead. With the aid of Lock, Shock and Barrel, three trick-or-treaters who are more tricksters than treaters, Jack kidnaps Santa Claus. From there, everything begins to go completely wrong.

The Nightmare Before Christmas transforms into a fascinating story about being happy with one’s self, and while the chief message is good, there are elements to Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas that might be a bit too scary for the younger kids. Some of the movie’s characters, like Sally and her “master” for instance, have a very dark, almost macabre look to them and can be very frightening to some younger children. In addition to her gruesome appearance, Sally, who is the main female character of The Nightmare Before Christmas is sometimes abused by her “master “, which can be a bit upsetting to some children. There is one scene in particular that can upset some children. It’s the scene where the Oogie Boogie Man kidnaps and attempts to do away with Santa Claus. I’m a firm believer in watching questionable movies with smaller children so you can help them tell the difference between good and bad, fantasy and reality.

With that said, there is nothing in The Nightmare Before Christmas that is too far over the top. I found The Nightmare Before Christmas to be a fantastic film that is loaded with holiday spirit, beautiful music and eye-catching graphics. The best is yet to come now that it has been released on BlueRay DVD in 3D animation. I found a place for it on my shelf alongside my other great classic Christmas movies. Want to know where you can download the original version of The Nightmare Before Christmas for free? Read their reviews for the best sites to get unlimited free movie downloads.

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Now that the leaves on the trees are starting to change color and that familiar chill in the air can be felt, it’s time to start thinking about that scariest of holidays; Halloween. Ghosts and goblins, ghouls and witches and all that candy! I don’t think there is any time of year more exciting for kids than Halloween.

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st and “trick or treating” has become a tradition, but it’s not the only one. Costume parties, haunted houses, hayrides and creepy movie festivals are all part of the weeks leading up to the big day. Here are some sof my Halloween ideas, perhaps you’ll use some of them this year.

Halloween decorating does not need to be expensive, but if you want you can spend a fortune. People do everything from the most simple decoration (a pumpkin) to extravagant light shows and my favourite personal haunted houses and yards. You need to find something which matches your budget and commitment. Dollar stores have a lot of inexpensive Halloween decorations, my favourite from the dollar stores are the glow in the dark spiders and skeletons. I hang the skeletons on tree branches and they light up at night giving a spooky chill to the yard.

I like to do a couple of pumpkins on Halloween, one for each of the kids, a family effort and of course my personal masterpiece (which I usually do on the 30th after the kids have gone to bed). You can find nice pumpkin templates all around the Internet, but be sure to use a sharp knife and if the kids are young, you do the carving, but let them tell you what to cut.

Fog is another Halloween essential for me. I use two fog machines, one in the house (I hope that stuff isn’t dangerous) with some windows open for ventilation and one outside to highlight whatever creepy item I feel needs it. Usually the creepy item is a 6 foot tall ghost we like to call “scary big man”. I purchased him at a garden centre and probably paid too much, but he’s going on his 3rd year now and I stand by my purchase. He’s totally cool!

Hay bales and corn stalks are great yard accent pieces and nothing brings out fall’s creepiness better than those two items. If you live on a farm, you could even build a maze out of the bales and make the kids go through it to get to the front door.

Last but definitely not least is Halloween music. I’ve been building my collection for years, but for starters you can get a simple halloween sounds CD and put it on repeat. Chains, howling, screams make the young ones shake in their boots. The old ones (including parents) find it amusing but neat. I like to throw in a mix of halloween songs like monster mash and of course what Halloween would be complete without a little Danny Elfman. If you’re not familiar with Mr Elfman’s work, he has done soundtracks for some of the scariest movies out there. Google him and see what comes back.

So, get started early. Get the decorations up and maybe have a Halloween party too. Christmas shopping is just around the corner, so enjoy Halloween while you can. It’s the chance for every grown up to act like a kid again.

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Film Makers: Score Your Film on a Budget

When you factor out the likes of Alan Silvestri and Danny Elfman, there are basically 3 levels of Film Music that are accessible to all film makers. The right solution will depend on your budget and your project needs. Of course, every film is different.

1. ) No budget: Charity Work

For pro-bono music, your surest bet is to get linked up with a student composer or place classified ad request for composers online. Versus Media is a service that will send your music request to their registered list of composers. Beware of this route, as the quality of production can be seriously lacking. If quality is key for you, it may benefit you to look at Royalty Free Music Licensing.

2. ) Small and mid-range budget: Royalty Free and Production Library Music

This is your most convenient and cost-efficient way for shopping for the right music for your movie. If you can find a website that isn’t littered with poorly produced music, you’ll be like a kid in a candy store. The most diverse and readily available music can be found on the internet with a relatively low startup cost. At the pinnacle of online options, you’ll find

Boxed Score Music. They offer a wide selection of ready made soundtracks for a wide range style of films. So for example, if you’re producing a dark comedy, they probably have a ready made solution of 9-10 tracks that will most likely fit your film’s mood. The best thing is being able preview the music online so you don’t have lengthy back and forth revisions that you would have in hiring a composer. I recommend that you check this company out.

3.) High/Unlimited Budget: Hired Composers

If you are in this bracket, you probably aren’t even reading this article. You probably know the ins and outs of the music business or even have your own music supervisor on staff. Even so, this remains an option for the most financially gifted producers out there. Finding the right composer can cost you anywhere from the 10-100 thousand dollar range, depending on the complexity of your music needs. Make sure you’ve prepared your financial backers for the worst case scenario.

My Recommendation

Even the highest dollar producer, editor or director can aim to save money by looking at more cost efficient options. Although music is important to the success of a film, you can always be wiser with your budget. Check out Boxed Score Music and see if they have a solution for you, no matter what your budget.

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