‘Hannibal’ Composer Brian Reitzell talks about his recording process for the show, including breaking teacups!
Composer Brian Reitzell talked with Wired about his musical process for NBC‘s Hannibal. His eerie, ever-present soundtrack is as much a part of the show’s success as Mads Mikkelsen’s disquieting performance as Hannibal Lecter. Most series have occasional light scoring accompanied by recognizable songs; Hannibal is nearly wall-to-wall ambient compositions.
Reitzell has also worked on numerous films and even the videogame Watch Dogs, and needs to create about 40 minutes of music for each episode; that means working 12-hour days, six days a week, for two weeks—for each of the 13 episodes.
For a recording session, he explained how he used broken teacups and swirled them around in a bowl to create the same effect in the scene.
“I needed to break two sake bottles to add texture,” he says, “and then I swirled around chunks of broken glass in a bucket.” For someone who frequently maxes out Pro Tools with 256 distinct tracks of sound, it’s just another day at the office.
To read the rest of the interview, click HERE.
