May 6, 1999 - When one thinks of Star Wars, one thinks of the music as well as the storyline, the acting, and any other elements. Some would argue that the music contributes as much as the visual special effects do, and very effectively carries the emotion of the story.
That musical experience is the work of John Williams, whose credits include the film scores of the Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones movies, Jaws, Superman, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Three days ago, an Episode I Music Video made its debut at the Star Wars Celebration in Denver, and then almost immediately was made available on-line. Its main feature is The Duel of the Fates, one of Williams' principal thematic pieces for the movie.
Williams participated in a roughly half-hour chat at Talk City, on Thursday, May 6, 1999, starting at around 6pm PST. Fans asked him questions about composing for The Phantom Menace, working as a composer, preparing to be one, etc.
Talk City used a chat engine which was Java-powered on the browser side. A very crude unscientific estimate puts the number of participants in the audience at around 100. (We are waiting for word from more accurate sources.)
Some tidbits from the conversation...
Audience: In "Duel of the Fates," what language is that?
Williams: That is Sanscrit. Simply, because I liked the way it sounded, in part, and in part, because it's an ancient language less well-known than Latin or Greek. It also has good vowel sounds, which produce good tone and tamber from the chorus, similar to modern Italian.
Audience: How many times do you feel it is necesary to view the film (or any film) before you can score it?
Williams: I should see it as many times as I can, I think.
What usually happens in the post-production process of a film like
"Phantom Menace" is the producer gives me a rough duplicate copy
of the film and I can view it every day, the scenes I am working
on, watching them dozens of times. I have seen "Phantom Menace"
maybe 50 times then, and know it extremely well, and in this way,
can feel I have got it reasonably right.