Volume 7 / Chapter 241
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Isleidir
Jun Hyuk spent the holidays in peace before the new year. He occasionally sn.i.g.g.e.red as he watched Alvin Lee on talk shows, but all he thought about was Inferno.
While he worked on revisions, he had a vague idea of why there were no traces of modifications from Mozart in the score. It is not difficult to write the song that fills his head in one go. And even if the song that was written like that is flawed, it was already a completed score. Everything needs to be reconfigured in order to fix one drawback.
This is his first attempt at revisions, and it is incomparably harder than writing a new song. He still had not finished the 1st part after an entire month, and his head was full of complicated thoughts.
When he had thrown his pen multiple times and progress was crawling forward, an unexpected person came looking for Jun.
“Director?”
“Oh, did you not get a call? The edited movie is being sent…”
Louis O’Connell scratched his head when he saw Jun Hyuk’s surprise.
“No, no one told me. I thought it would come by mail.”
“I couldn’t do that. We need to watch it together so I can tell you my thoughts as well.”
Louis O’Connell had a bottle of wine and a blu-ray t.i.tle in his hands and was fittingly drunk for a director in the last stage of work.
The two of them sipped wine and started watching the movie together.
When the opening t.i.tle came on the screen, Louis O’Connell held the remote control in his hand and started explaining the movie by taking turns pressing the pause and play b.u.t.tons.
“This is where the music needs to start coming out. The overall tone is gray, right? It starts out a bit dismally.”
The movie is called a horror thriller, but it is more like a detective story. A fierce battle of wits among the characters with money and personal history entangled to pave a double plot with murder, that brings a fight against the audience through intelligence.
“The music here will be lyrical, the 1st theme song…”
“Director.”
“Yes.”
Jun Hyuk wanted to stop the director’s incessant chattering.
“Don’t talk about the music, and just tell me about the emotion that you wanted to convey in each scene. What do you think about talking about revisions to make after I make all of the music?”
They got through the movie quickly once the director’s thoughts were not included. It ended without ending credits.
“We’re going to add in an 8 minute ending credit. Then the entire running time will be about 126 minutes.”
“So 2 main theme songs can come on for the ending credits?”
“Yes.”
Jun Hyuk took the remote control from the director’s hand.
“I’ll watch it again. This time, I’ll watch it straight through.”
Following Jun Hyuk’s warning not to talk, the two of them rewatched the movie, focusing without saying a word. When the movie was over, Jun Hyuk spoke up,
“It’s all done. I’ll give you the score tomorrow, so prepare the orchestra as 2 parts. Guitar, ba.s.s… Oh, I’ll record the rest, so all you have to do is prepare the orchestra.”
Jun Hyuk drank the rest of the wine in his gla.s.s on the table. He felt much better because he will be able to rest his head from his complicated thoughts on Inferno.
“I’d like to record in New York if possible… If not, I guess I’ll have to go to LA?”
Louis O’Connell gulped and spoke clearly,
“Does that mean you just finished creating all of the music? Is that right?”
“Yes. Excluding the parts where you don’t need music, it will come out to 98 minutes. You can listen to the theme songs for the ending credits and decide if you want to use them as soundtracks for the movie.”
Louis O’Connell’s face went back and forth between surprise and amus.e.m.e.nt. Keeping the quality of the music as a second thought, he has just met the world’s best music director if evaluating him on speed alone.
“It would be better to record in LA. I will go back immediately and prepare the studio.”
“Alright. I’ll send you the score tomorrow. Oh right. Please have the orchestra become well-acquainted with the score. I’ll go to LA in 3 days, prepare so that we can record right away.”
Louis O’Connell came to New York, watched his movie twice, and went back to LA. He had planned to discuss the music with Jun Hyuk as the music director for at least 2 or 3 days, but they had finished it within half a day.
As soon as the film production staff and Louis O’Connell received the heap of scores that Jun Hyuk sent via e-mail, they ran to the LA Pops Orchestra. Louis O’Connell does not know how to read music and the curiosity over Jun Hyuk’s music was driving him mad.
The art director of the LA Pops Orchestra stared at the score for a long time. His only question told Louis O’Connell what the standard of the music was really like.
“Which of these 16 songs is the main theme song?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
The art director spread the scores out and shook his head.
“Look here. These 16 scores are surely theme music. It is written from No. 1 Theme to No. 16. The other 60 are imitative music.”
The official name of normal theme songs is program music. This program music is released as a single alb.u.m with soundtracks. It is configured with the songs with the emotions that the major characters and director think symbolize the subject.
Imitative music is not in the form of completed music, but is used as background music in every scene. Modern commercial movies are made up of 130 to 150 scenes, and music is needed in at least 100 scenes.
Louis O’Connell could not understand the art director’s question.
“Isn’t it definitely No. 1?”
“No. This is just the series number. I’m saying this because there’s no way to distinguish which are superior and inferior.”
“So you’re saying that they’re all good?”
“Yes. Are you really saying that he created this much of such great music in just 1 day?”
Director O’Connell is a living witness to something unbelievable.
“So there was a reason why everyone is so crazed over Maestro Jun. It’s not like this is Mozart… You said he’s coming the day after tomorrow?”
The art director of the LA Pops Orchestra felt slight excitement. He is eager to meet the living Mozart.
“Yes. He requested that the orchestra know the score completely by then.”
“I understand. Of course we’ll be completely prepared.”
Louis O’Connell’s expression however, was not just bright.
“But it does bother me a bit that the music is very good. Won’t it stand out too much…..?”
“I think so as well. The music could overwhelm the film in some aspects… Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not deprecating the movie. It’s just that the songs’ perfection is incredible.”
This kind of opinion means that Director O’Connell’s worries are not severe.
“It’s better than having plain music. Let’s think about it positively.”
***
It felt like California’s warm weather was helping melt Jun Hyuk’s uncomfortable heart a little.Tara had been on vacation when she got a call from Jun Hyuk and quickly flew to LA.
When she met Jun Hyuk in the LA airport, he looked different from the way he had a month ago. His always smiling face was gone and he was now expressionless, only giving her a formal welcome.
This is not very different from the way he looked right after the New York Philharmonic’s concert.
Even inside the car from the airport to the studio, Jun Hyuk looked out the window and barely opened his mouth. The car went through LA in an awkward silence. Director O’Connell, film production executives, and the orchestra members were all waiting for Jun Hyuk in a large recording studio.
After making introductions, they were going to chat over tea, but Jun Hyuk shook his head.
“It is a fairly large workload. It might take a few days, so let’s hurry up and start.”
When the opportunity to cautiously check while comfortably drinking coffee disappeared, Louis O’Connell looked impatient.
“Uh, Maestro. The theme song is too good. Do you…”
Jun Hyuk frowned slightly and cut Director O’Connell off.
“Director. I know what you’re worrying about. But didn’t you agree as well? Film music needs to be good to listen to separately, without being prominent when combined with film and supporting it. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s – that’s right.”
“This music does not stand out at all when combined with the film. Whew – I don’t understand. Why do we have to waste time talking about this? I keep what I promise. Listen to the music once it’s added to the film and if you don’t like it, tell me. I’ll make it again whether it’s 100 or 1000 times.”
He was not yelling in rage, but anyone could tell that he is holding back his irritation. Tara was most surprised by this behavior. Until now, she has never seen Jun Hyuk reveal his uncomfortable thoughts externally.
She had felt that Jun Hyuk had changed a little when she saw him at the airport, but this moment is when she is reaching certainty.
Tara fell out of her thoughts at Jun Hyuk’s following request.
“Then everyone except the orchestra, please leave the recording booth.”
Everyone left the booth as though being chased out, and the performers looked at Jun Hyuk with expressions full of tension.