Zimmer Walks the Plank With 'Pirates'

Sep 1, 2003 12:00 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly

Academy Award^™-winning composer Hans Zimmer recently mastered the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack at Santa Monica, Calif., Cups ‘N Strings.

“It's a very delicate process,” explained Bruce Maddocks, studio owner and chief engineer. “Hans selects the individual music cues from the film, which are sequenced with crossfades to build a very long, very lush musical presentation. You have one very large piece of music and the challenge is to create an album in the mastering stage with all of the individual elements blending seamlessly. The trick is to find a balance so that everything fits together to make a smooth-sounding package.”