In a new interview with The Sag Harbor Express, Carter Burwell, composer for Twilight, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and Breaking Dawn – Part 2, talks a bit about writing the duet that Robert Pattinson will be playing with Mackenzie Foy in Breaking Dawn – Part 2, as well as his other work and what drives his motivation in composing. Read more below:

At what point in the filming process will you come onboard?

Generally, I don’t actually write anything until a film has actually been shot. But, there are some exceptions.
In the movie I’m working on right now, which is “Breaking Dawn: Part II,” they needed Rob Pattinson and the actress who plays his daughter to play piano onscreen. I had to write this duet before they shot the film so they could actually learn the parts. Rob is a musician, so he prides himself on working out the fingering for these correctly.

So, I understand the creative process, the idea of trying to find a character’s motivation. But, how do you even start to put music to it?

I’ll first watch the movie enough to get a definite idea of what I think it wants: there’s a story element that needs a theme, or there’s a character that needs a theme. I’ll have these thoughts in mind, and then I’ll go and play the piano without the movie there and that’s what I do. I’ll sit at the piano for as long as it takes — and hopefully it doesn’t take too long because they don’t give you that much time!

Have you always played piano?

I took lessons as a kid — I really hated it — and came back to it later when I was in my high school years because a friend showed me how to improvise on piano. Playing written music, which is of course what I was doing when I had lessons as a kid, is not really interesting to me. I don’t even like playing my own music once it’s written down.

Read the full interview at The Sag Harbor Express here.

Thanks Noor!

How excited are you to see Rob and Mackenzie playing piano together as Edward and Renesmee?

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American Songwriter has a great little interview with the Twilight Saga soundtrack supervisor herself, Alexandra Patsavas. Here Alexandra discusses what she thinks makes a song appropriate for a certain movie or TV show and what it’s been like to be a part of The Twilight Saga. Read more below:

What are the qualities that makes a song appropriate for film or TV?

We tend to select a mix of established and respected alternative artists and performers that are less known but always the song that is selected is the best to tell the story. I do believe that is why these OST’s connect so strongly with the audience. They are hearing the songs for the first time, certainly and often are experiencing the bands for the first time as they watch the film. Heady stuff.

Read the full interview at American Songwriter here.

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The lovely Christina Perri made an appearance on ‘The Ellen Show’ last week where she performed her song ‘A Thousand Years’ from the soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. Enjoy this live performance by Christina!

Such a pretty song. Christina looked fantastic performing on Ellen, it was fun to see her singing it live! She did a great job, it sounds just like the recording. What a lucky audience to be in attendance on the show that day! Not only did they get to see Christina perform ‘A Thousand Years’ live, but they also got a copy of her CD and a copy of the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack.

Did you catch Christina when she performed on Ellen? Where does this song rank on your list of Breaking Dawn songs?

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One of the fan favorite from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack has got to be Sleeping At Last’s ‘Turning Page’. In the movie, we get to hear the song twice, an instrumental version in the wedding and the regular version with vocals during the honeymoon. Here you can see Sleeping At Last perform ‘Turning Page’ live at Electrical Audion Studios in Chicago, Illinois. Enjoy the music below!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (I’ve never understood that saying… how would one live under a rock? they’d surely be squished) – you probably already know that the 4th chapter of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is now in theaters all over the globe!!! This is the very first major motion picture that my music has been a part of, and I just couldn’t be more thrilled! “Turning Page” plays twice in the film… SPOILER ALERT: The instrumental version plays while “Bella” walks down the aisle at the infamous Bella/Edward wedding. (Awww) The regular version with vocals plays during the honeymoon love scene. So for those of you Twilight fans (you know who you are) I hope you enjoy the film, and I can’t wait for you to hear/see “Turning Page”! SO grateful to be a part of this! HUGE thanks to Chop Shop Music, Atlantic Records, Summit Entertainment and the director, Bill Condon for allowing this song to be a part of their film!

Go check out more on the band on their website here.

(Thanks to @HeidiJoVT!)

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You’ve probably listened to the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 at least a few dozen times already in addition to having seen the movie multiple times as well. Today, you can finally keep the experience going by purchasing a copy of the epic score. The score is of course the music which underscores the movie, composed by Carter Burwell exclusively for Breaking Dawn. Check out the listing of track names and see if you can pick out where each track lies in the movie by it’s title alone:

1. The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies
2. Cold Feet
3. What You See In the Mirror
4. Wedding Nightmare
5. Wolves On the Beach
6. Goodbyes
7. A Nova Vida
8. The Threshold
9. Pregnant
10. Morte
11. Honeymoon In Eclipse
12. A Wolf Stands Up
13. Two Man Pack
14. Don’t Choose That
15. O Negative
16. Hearing the Baby
17. Playing Wolves
18. Let’s Start With Forever
19. It’s Renesmee
20. The Venom
21. Hearts Failing
22. Biting
23. Jacob Imprints
24. You Kill Her You Kill Me
25. Bella Reborn

You can purchase the score for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on iTunes here.

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By now you’ve probably listened to the soundtrack for the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack at least a couple dozen times… or more. Recently Imperial Mammoth performed a live, acoustic version of their soundtrack song, ‘Requiem on Water’, at the MySpace offices. Enjoy the video from Imperial Mammoth below:

A couple of days ago Laura Jane Scott and Leonard Jackson, AKA Imperial Mammoth, stopped by our offices to perform a (dare we say gorgeous) acoustic set for the staff, including their song ‘Requiem on Water’ which is featured in a key scene in ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.’ The newlyweds (as of like 2 weeks ago, congrats you two!) have a really interesting story about how they became a couple, and then a band, and then how their music got on to one of the most highly anticipated soundtracks in recent memory.

You can also see more on their MySpace page.

(Thanks Noor!)

What did you think of this live acoustic version of ‘Requiem on Water’? Do you like this song?

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It’s finally here! The long-awaited video for the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack song ‘It Will Rain’ by Bruno Mars, has just had it’s world premiere on MTV. Check it out below and then tell us what you think!

After the opening sequence with Bella and Edward getting married in front of their friends and family, the video cuts to a love story between Mars, who recorded the track especially for the Bill Condon-directed flick, and his lovely leading lady.

Bruno and his onscreen love experience the many joys, trials and tribulations of being in a relationship. And as is often the case in real life, things starts out cute; every little moment and snuggle is more romantic than the one before. Bruno goes out of his way to court his female friend, even holding a private screening of “Breaking Dawn” to woo her. They share kisses as footage of Bella and Edward’s honeymoon flashes on the wall. But at some point, the pair begin to fight, though Bruno isn’t going to let her go that easily: He uses his songwriting skills to persuade her to stay with him.

The heartbreak expressed on the track is mirrored in solo shots of Bruno standing around looking sullen. As the video closes out, we see that the song Bruno wrote while his lady was asleep turned out to be romantic enough to win her back.

In the final shot, Bruno stands alone while rain hits the window behind him and sings, “Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby/ There’ll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby/ Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same if you walk away/ Every day, it will rain, rain, rain.”

Read more at MTV here.

What do you think of the video for ‘It Will Rain’? Have you picked up your copy of the soundtrack yet?

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