Danny Elfman scores Alice in Wonderland
By Dan Goldwasser
ScoreSessions.com, 2010.03.05 (from 2010.12 sessions)
Source: http://scoringsessions.com/news/215/
This last December and January, composer Danny Elfman was at the Sony Scoring
Stage in Culver City, CA, to record the score to his twelfth feature collaboration
with director Tim Burton, Disney's Alice in Wonderland. The 3D film stars Johnny
Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Michael Sheen, Stephen Fry, Alan
Rickman and Mia Wasikowska in the title role.
Pete Anthony conducts Alice in Wonderland
Pete Anthony conducted a 95-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
through the score, which features numerous themes and a magical tone befitting
the unique characters that inhabit Wonderland. Adding to the musical palette,
Elfman used a choir (recorded in London by Peter Cobbin), as well as some unique
brass instruments to create a distinctive sound for the White Rabbit's fanfare.
The Hollywood Studio Symphony performs on Danny Elfman's score to Alice in Wonderland
The strings
The cello section
Trumpet players Rick Baptist, Malcolm McNab and Jon Lewis play some unique horn
instruments for the White Rabbit's fanfare
In the booth, scoring mixer Dennis Sands worked closely with Elfman, as well
as orchestrators Steve Bartek, Edgardo Simone and Marc Mann. With the film in
the heat of post-production, director Tim Burton shared his time on the scoring
stage as well as the dubbing stages overseeing the final touches on the film.
Additional arrangements for the score were done by T.J. Lindgren and Deborah
Lurie. Music editor Bill Abbott and assistant music editor Denise Okimoto, as
well as Digital Recordist Adam Olmsted, rounded out the scoring team in the
booth.
Music editor Bill Abbott, assistant music editor Denise Okimoto and scoring
mixer Dennis Sands
Orchestrator Steve Bartek
Scoring mixer Dennis Sands, orchestrator Edgardo Simone, music copyist Ron Vermillion,
orchestrator Marc Mann and digital recordist Adam Olmstead
Tim Burton takes us back down the rabbit hole when Alice in
Wonderland is released in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX on March 5, 2010. A
soundtrack album featuring Elfman's score will be released by Walt Disney Records
on March 2, 2010.