"Battlefield 2042" – how much in this name of missed opportunities. Those who follow the game industry know how much the last buttlefield failed: a horse price tag, a release bugs, an ill -designed levela design and game design, as well as a bunch of other small and not very problems. And for this the players deservedly criticized the released product.
But there is one element in the game that is without exaggeration, the magnificent and even say, the reference – this is the soundtrack Hildur Goodnadotir and Sam Slaiter. When I listened to the album for the first time, I was in great shock: “How? Why did this chic sound pass by the public, so they also criticized?". The answer turned out to be very simple – the game itself literally chained everything negative. And this is very sad, because the work of Hildur has left unnoticed.
You just think about it, the orchestra, classic tools sounded in the last games, and here the young woman comes and completely deconstructs the entire Battlefield soundtrack, bringing a completely new other sound, abandoning the choir and orchestra, and instead of ordinary tools, he uses tools made from foil firewoods and sand no longer sounds patho gloomy, rude and sad.
Album Battlefield 2042 I have been listening for many months and still have been in full delight. And I decided, why not tell about this soundtrack much more about this, tell how Hildur approaches the sound, how she conveys emotions not only through classical instruments, but also with the help of various objects and things.
We will start the analysis of the soundtrack not with Battlefield 2042, but with its earlier full -fledged work in the Media masses – Chernobyl and Joker.
Let me mean a few points before we start diving.
This article is the largest and most difficult work at the moment. After all, I step on a very slippery path – music and sound design. Important – I’m not an expert, I don’t write music, I don’t know how to sing, but I listen to it a lot. Music for me is both a great source of inspiration and reassurance in life. And this article was created in order to study how Hildur Goodnadoutir creates music, and what techniques the composer resorted to when working in various projects.
Before moving on to the game itself and her soundtrack, we will analyze the early years of Hildur Goodnadoutir, consider two iconic projects in her career – “Chernobyl” and “Joker”, and then move on to her work in Dice on Battlefield.
This article will provide examples of music from different albums. I extremely recommend listening to everything that I gave as an example, since some theses are disclosed only after listening to the compositions. I also strongly recommend after reading the album of the Battlefield 2042 album is completely to penetrate the atmosphere that the Hildur set.
1. Early years
HILDUR Ingvelardodotir Hudnadottir was born in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik September 4, 1982. Her family has been engaged in music all her life: Dad Hudney Farnisson is a composer and clarinetist, Mom Ingveldur is an opera singer, and his brother Touraridn Gunason plays the guitar and piano in the Rock Group Agent Fresco, known mainly in Iceland.
From childhood, Hildur was fond of music, and at the age of five began to play cello (later, the cello will become the main musical instrument). At ten, she gave her first concert with her mother in the local restaurant Reykjavik.
The girl received her first specialized education in her hometown at the Reykjavik music academy. Then she moved to musical research, the creation of compositions and the new media at the Icelandic Academy of Arts, then moved to Germany and entered Berlin University of Arts.
In Berlin, Hildur began to cooperate with various Icelandic music groups – Mum, Throbing Gristle, Pan Sonic, Hauschka, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, The Knife and others.
Hildur’s first solo album was released in 2006, called "Mount". It is also noteworthy that this year the girl had collaborations with such composers as Ben Frost, Niko Muli, as well as with compatriot Johan Johannson. The latter, by the way, wrote music for films such as “Arrival”, “Captive”, “Killer” and “Universe of Stephen Hawking”.
In fact, Johan Johannson is one of the best friends-college Hildur, and he greatly influenced her creative career. So, for example, Johan was one of the participants in the second solo album Hildur – “Without Sinking”. In addition to Johanns, Father Hildur also worked on the album. Johannson also invited Hildur as a cellist in Denis Vilnev’s films, in which Johan was the main composer. It is important to note that as a cellist, Hildur Goodnadottir took part in the film "Survivor" from Alejandro injarrit.
We met each other in Iceland about 20 years ago, and we worked together on each project, which we both did for about 16 years or so. We were very close employees and almost a family. We had a strong and deep working relationship.
Goodnadotir about Johannson
Among other things, the guys constantly helped each other in creativity. So, for example, Hildur as a cellist participated in the recording of the album of Johan Orphée (Orpheus).
Jhannsson: Good Night, Day, composition from Orphée album
One of the fracture years of Hildur, you can call it, 2011. It was this year that her debut of the film composer in Horror, bleeding, took place (in English. The Bleeding House). Presumably this year marries Sam Slater, who is a composer, a musical producer and sound engineer. It is with him that she will work closely on important projects that the whole world will discuss.
In 2012 and in 2014, its last two, at the moment, the solo album Leyfðu Ljósinu (2012) and Saman (2014)
HEYR HIMNASMIHUR composition from Saman www.jettbet-casino.uk/ solo album
In 2018, together with Johan Johannson, she wrote music for Mary Magdalene, Gart Davis. Cooperation was noted by the Asia-Pacific film award. And unfortunately, this joint work is the last. In 2018, Johan Johannson died of an overdose of cocaine against the background of treatment with prescribed drugs.
In connection with this news, Hildur takes the place of the composer instead of Johan in the film "Killer 2: Against All". Initially, she took the place of the first cello. She also contributed to the posthumous reissue of his debut album Englabörn & Varis.
2. Chernobyl
On May 6, 2019, one of the most successful Chernobyl mini-series is released at the HBO Max Streaming Service. It is from this project that the name Hildur Goodnadoutir is mentioned in the mass media.
The approach to writing this album in the girl is unusual. The first thing that was important for Hildur when creating a soundtrack was no cliche. Therefore, she decided to approach the process creatively. The girl wanted to experience what it is located inside the nuclear power plant, I wanted to understand how the catastrophe sounds, how the tragedy was really felt.
This is such a difficult story for the story. How it sounds? For example, what a catastrophe is similar to and how it sounds … We associate certain sounds of a nuclear disaster with radiators, but there are so many other sounds that were so interesting to observe.
Hildur in one of the podcasts
With such questions, the girl went to the set of the Ignalin nuclear power plant, which is located in the northeast of Lithuania, but not one, but with sound engineer Chris Watson, who, as Hildur says, “can even record an ant”.
The girl and Chris were given protective costumes, and for many hours they listened and recorded the sounds of the power plant. And answering the question, “it turns out the soundtrack to Chernobyl is recorded without any musical instruments?" Yes, absolutely true, almost the entire album is recorded without the use of musical instruments.
I wanted to experience what it feels like to be inside the power plant. An attempt to make music from history – for the most part, this is the ability to listen.
Hildur in one of the podcasts
In addition to the cod of the dosimeter, there is another sound in the soundtrack – for example, they listened for hours and recorded the sounds of the door in the pumping station. And after these recorded sounds, they created the melody The Door.
The composition of The Door
And so with each composition. For example, the soundtrack PUmp Room (aka pumping room), is recorded directly in the pump room.
Pump Room composition
This approach is extremely unusual and reminded me of another composer who wanted to convey fear through various household instruments and things – this is Akira Yamaoka in a series of games Sileynt Hill. And the creation of such a soundtrack was the first experience for Hildur, and not the last.
For work in the mini-series Chernobyl, the girl receives a bunch of awards and recognition-Emmy, a Prize of Online Association of Cinema and Television, World Soundtrack Awards, Grammy and so on. The list is really large, but the main breakthrough in a career occurred in another project, which also published in 2019.
3. Joker
Joker is a cultural phenomenon. The film collects a huge bunch of awards, receives worldwide recognition and multi -inhabitant ovations. Director of the film Todd Phillips and chief actor Joaquin Phoenix now in every media. They say about the film, they argue about the film, and most importantly, they love the film.
Hildur also does not stand aside and receives recognition – the Venice Festival, the Golden Globe, the British Academy.
And then the year 2020 comes, Oscar. And at this event, Joaquin Phoenix and Hildur Goodnadottir receive their first figurines.
Hildur and her first Oscar for the best soundtrack in the Joker movie
It all started six months before the start of filming. Hildur is one of the first to receive a film script. Todd Phillips made such a move so that the composer could catch that tonality and come with several blanks, but what was his surprise when Hildur came with a completely finished title theme of the film. After all, almost immediately after she received the script, she began to work on the soundtrack.
I started writing music immediately after reading the script. I played a little on cello – this is my main tool – and tried different tonality and sensations. I sat for several hours, and then … I began to play something else and came to the fact that then it became the main musical theme of the film. There was a very strong feeling. It was as if something came in its place, because it certainly reflected the feeling that arose after reading the script. It was like (shows a hold hold of breath). My breath caught my breath and I thought: “That’s it, here it is!". And I began to record – this is how the main musical theme was born, from this feeling. "That’s how he feels, this is the same"
Hildur Goodnadottir in the movie "Joker. Behind the scenes "
Hildur wrote music at the recording stage. I sent her the pages of the script, and she wrote the music before we started shooting, and what she did for the film so unique ..
Todd Phillips, film director
And this approach was damn in the process of creating some scenes already on the set of the film. For example, a joker dance in the toilet. Yes, many people know that it was Hoacin’s improvisation, but not everyone knows the details of this improvisation. Initially, in this scene, Arthur (the main character of the film) was to hide a gun, but already in the process of filming it became clear that the scene was not suitable for the hero. And Joaquin, along with Todd, thought about how to beat this scene. And then Phillips decides to turn on the composition of Hildur.
When we came to the set that day, Khoakin and I stood opposite each other and said: “Eh, this is not at all like Arthur. Why did Arthur need to hide his gun?»We really went through a million ways to do something else. About an hour passed and I say: “Hey, I have this musical work from Hildur Goodnadottir, our composer. She sent music throughout the time. I turned on the composition of Joaquin, and he just began to dance under it. In the toilet room there were only me and it alone, 250 people were waiting outside. Khoakin simply begins to perform this dance and we both look at each other and say: “Okay, this is a scene”.
Todd Phillips, film director
The same improvisational dance in the toilet
Work on the Joker was conducted simultaneously with Chernobyl. If the creation of the soundtrack of Chernobyl was extremely avant -garde, then in the joker the approach was more classic, but still experimental. So in the compositions of the film there was a large orchestra that was recorded in New York.
I received a lot of creative freedom from Todd, because he himself was rather brave in many decisions. And such freedom allowed me to "go crazy".
Hildur in an interview
Due to the fact that the work was present from the Joker to Chernobyl and vice versa, the creation process was extremely difficult. At least due to the structure of two works, tonality and worlds. As Hildur herself admitted, Joker is the most classical score that she wrote. And tried to preserve the traditional sound, as the film itself was. It was also a very important factor in avoiding the influence of past versions of Joker or their musical topics that followed them.
It was a more emotional and, above all, an amazing search for a character, the one with whom everyone in my generation grew up, but whose motives are unknown to anyone. And this version was a surprise to everyone.
Hildur about the Joker Todd Phillips
Joker’s bloody smile. The scene still makes his way to goosebumps. Everything is great in it: starting from Joakin’s work and setting, ending with a powerful composition Hildur
Summing up the intermediate result, we can say with confidence that these are two completely different projects. As an approach to the creation of a soundtrack, and in general, filling, but there is a common feature that can unite these projects from an artistic point of view- this is a disaster. In one case, this is the already occurred event (Chernobyl), in another it is the path to the disaster itself (Joker). Arthur at the end of the film transforms into Joker. This event is simultaneously liberating from the shackles and falling into the abyss. And this thin thread emphasizes the way Hildur coped with these works. After all, the next work, a completely different genre is not a movie, this is not a series, but a game. This work is a climatic war of the future. How it should sound? This series already had their own composers and their established soundtrack, which means the complete deconstruction of the past and the creation of something new.
4. Chief Musical Director EA
And here you need to make a slight digression. I understand perfectly that I already want to go to the soundtrack of the game and understand why such a long way has been made, but in this case, you can’t do without this point at all. After all, you think about why Hildur Goodnadoutir was generally in the Dice project. And the answer is simple – Steve Schnar. I can safely say that without him, this article would not be so complete. This person has introduced a lot of zero culture, and introduced a lot in EA.
Steve Schnar is the music director EA. It is he who in the company makes it possible to sound a particular game modern and/or in a new way.
In particular, Hildur tightly collaborated with Steve. Schnar asked the composer one thing – the soundtrack should be new, which was not yet in the series.
Steve Schnar, the head of the EA musical department, said that a sound accompaniment was needed, which has not yet been. The Dice team agreed with him. They really gave us freedom of choice, realizing that security in this case can turn into an lost opportunity, taking into account how strong the game itself will be.
Hildur, Xbox Wire
Details about his career and work in EA was told by Dmitry Burdukov on his channel. I extremely recommend watching a wonderful video about this person.
5. Battlefield 2042
And so we got to the main topic of this article – the game Battlefield 2042. The topic without a special analysis of past works and the franchise itself is not worth.
Battlefield has existed on the market for 20 years. This is a series of computer games in the genre of tactical-strategic shooter in the first person. Thanks to Wikipedia, for brevity, and now I will tell you more deployed, but the eyeliner will be a little from afar.
The series became extremely popular and beloved for many players at the expense of their multiplayer, where players compete with teams among themselves. This series has a lot of cult parts of the games – Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Battlefield 1 (This is not the first part of the game, the figure indicates the setting, namely the First World War).
Like any big franchise, there are ups and falls. There were games that few people will remember with a good word, or they will remember the scandals around a certain part and will not really talk about the game itself. But we are now interested in the other side of this franchise – music. Each part has its own topic of the soundtrack and the approach to it. Here are a few examples of the Battlefield’s cult title theme in the past parts: