http://209.125.128.2/soundtracks/comingsoon/

About the composer: John Beal
John Beal has established a career as the world's leading industry
provider of original scores for theatrical and television trailers. Beal
grew up playing rock and roll and jazz, evolved to dance, theater,
television and feature films, and writes in musical styles from
Amsterdam to Zimbabwe with equal comfort. He works as confidently in
trance, hip hop, rave, house, and electronic music as he does with a
symphony orchestra.

Beal's music has been heard by more moviegoers than most feature film
composers, and he is trusted by virtually every major director and
studio to write original music to help sell their films. Beal's list of
credits includes campaigns for such hit films as VOLCANO, THE MASK OF
ZORRO, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, FORREST GUMP, and GHOST.



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The Theatrical and Television Trailer Music of John Beal

Like the best motion picture scores, this music is powerful. It
heightens the tension of what is depicted on screen and supercharges the
emotional impact of those visuals in the mind and emotions of the
viewer. Like the best film music, this is music that works as music just
as it works as a component of celluloid drama, sharpening the dynamic of
what's going on up there on the screen. Unlike the best film music,
though, it's doing it all in two minutes. This is music for trailers -
those two to four minute "Coming Soon" advertisements that display in
theaters before the movie starts, and those 15, 30, and 60-second spots
that mingle among the commercials on your television set. Their purpose
is to sell movies. In a hurry. The music is designed to grab your att
ention. Quickly. And captivate it.

Because a film's music usually hasn't been recorded in time for the
film's advertising campaign, trailers either recycle music from previous
films, or have original scores written specifically for them. Composing
music for trailers is one of the most challenging tasks in film music.
The composer must create multiple sensations of thrills, intensity,
adventure, romance, hipness, and relate it quickly in a multitude of
musical sound bytes. Since 1984, Beal has been the world's leading
industry provider of original scores for theatrical and television
trailers. Beal grew up playing rock and roll and jazz, evolved to dance,
theater, television and feature films, and writes in musical styles from
Amsterdam to Zimbabwe with equal comfort. He works as confidently in t
rance, hip hop, rave, house, and electronic music as he does with a
symphony orchestra.

Beal's music has been heard by more moviegoers than most feature film
composers, and he is trusted by virtually every major director and
studio to write original music to help sell their films. Beal's list of
credits includes campaigns for such hit films as VOLCANO, THE MASK OF
ZORRO, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, FORREST GUMP, and GHOST.

The musical needs of trailers are not always the same as those of the
film they are advertising. The style of music appropriate for a film's
pace may not successfully sell the film during the two or three minutes
of a trailer. "A score which is perfect for a film is often not
constructed in such a way as to work well in the short burst of a
trailer," says Beal.

"Music provides the proper dramatic thrust to carry the piece forward,"
says Seth Gaven, producer for Intralink Film Graphic Design, maker of
such trailers as BLACK BEAUTY and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. "The
music really sets the tone and pace of a trailer." A trailer score must
flow smoothly, glue its short, rapid-fire scenes into a linear sense of
story, underline key story points and help the viewer come away with a
true understanding of the film combined with a "Wow! I can't wait to see
that!" emotion. "In a trailer you have to hit many beats in rapid
succession," says Tom Kennedy, vice president of Audio-Visual Marketing
for MGM/UA, responsible for such trailers as DISTURBING BEHAVIOR, TRUE
LIES, and IN THE LINE OF FIRE. "Sometimes we've got 30 seconds to change
an emotional chord from sad to triumphant, from suspense to hard action,
and you've got to be able to do that on the turn of a dime. That's
John's forte."

The 69 musical cues featured on these CDs are among the most effective
examples of 2-minute film music you're likely to hear. Within the space
of those two minutes, Beal manages to capture the given mood of a scene,
conveys the energy of the story, and captivates the interest of an
audience using a remarkable variety of styles. Combining a veteran
composer's skill with the up-to-date-iveness of someone remaining on the
cutting edge of musical imagery, John Beal deftly occupies a unique
niche in motion picture music. Beal understands the needs of selling a
complete storyline in two minutes, and he's got years of experience
writing almost exclusively for trailers. "John's done everything for us
from simple synthesized licks and rhythm beats for TV spots to fully
orchestrated, 2 1/2 minute trailer cuts that sweep and dive," says Seth
Gaven. "He's as good as James Horner or Alan Silvestri are in features.
His music really does the same kind of stuff for trailers."

"John really gives you feature quality scores, and he has the ability to
solve problems quickly," says Steve Panama, CEO of Kaleidoscope Films,
maker of such trailers as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, TITANIC, CONTACT and
TWISTER. "He's the first composer to provide original scores that really
worked for trailers, and he's very much responsible for the huge cottage
industry that's grown up around this kind of work." With over 500
theatrical and TV trailer scores to his credit, John Beal's unique world
of two-minute film music is a rare art form. This remarkable and unique
collection of trailer music offers a glimpse into that world. Be
enthralled. Be captivated. Coming Soon!

- Randall D. Larson, Soundtrack Magazine

Album Produced by John Beal
Executive Producer for SONIC IMAGES RECORDS: Brad Pressman
Produced for SONIC IMAGES RECORDS by Ford A. Thaxton
Mastered by Bob Fisher at Digitial Domain.
Design by Wolfgang Fenchel