GEORGE SHAW: The Loch Ness Monster and Other Short Films

George Shaw

The Loch Ness Monster and Other Short Films

© 2006 George Shaw (634479386466)

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4 Orchestral Scores from Short Films. FANTASY/THRILLER/HORROR/COMEDY

tracks

1 The Loch Ness Monster
2 Loch Ness
3 The North Shore
4 Father's Death
5 Running from Bullies
6 Nessie Appears
7 Photographic Evidence
8 We Got Her
9 Main Titles
10 Arriving at the Lake
11 Underwater Cave Discovery
12 Swimming Flashback
13 Searching the Lake
14 Flashback
15 Searching for Answers
16 End Credits
17 Spirits Arrive
18 Flickering Candles
19 Cat Carcass
20 Stop Counting
21 Dancing Shadows
22 They're Coming
23 Arrival
24 Kindertoten
25 Reunion
26 Arriving at Camp
27 Debate Institute
28 Research
29 Winding Down
30 Tournament Preparation
31 Pairings
32 Waiting for Judgement
33 Saying Goodbye
34 Epilogue

notes

Music from 4 short films. Features the Scottish flavored fantasy music from THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, the eerie thriller score for UNDER PRESSURE, the haunting themes from THE TAKING, and the quirky melodies from SPEW.

COMPOSER BIO
George Shaw is a rapidly rising composer who has worked on Hollywood and independent films. He is a versatile composer with the skill for crafting rich orchestral tapestries as well as crafting cutting edge sounds to match the visual images in movies.

In addition to composing, Shaw has orchestrated on a number of films, including GHOST RIDER (starring Nicolas Cage), THE DARWIN AWARDS (starring Winona Ryder, Joseph Fiennes), KISS, KISS, BANG, BANG (starring Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr.), and ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES. Shaw’s string arrangements and orchestrations can also be heard on Nural’s debut album “The Weight of the World” from Hopeless Records, and singer/songwriter Kari Kimmel’s first solo album “A Life in the Day.”

Shaw studied composition and film scoring at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, taking part in its world-class Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. He also participated in the 2004 ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop and the 9th Annual BMI Conducting Workshop. Shaw was also a 2007 fellow in Film Independent’s Project: Involve, a filmmaker mentorship program that paired him with Emmy-nominated composer Christopher Lennertz (MEET THE SPARTANS, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS, MEDAL OF HONOR: EUROPEAN ASSAULT, SUPERNATURAL).

Shaw plays clarinet, piano, guitar, and a variety of exotic woodwind instruments from around the world, and is currently training to become a virtuoso Rockband videogame drummer. George resides in Los Angeles, where he can surf and snowboard in the same day.

reviews

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  • the loch ness monster
    author: CARLOS TELLERÍA BARTOLOMÉ

    Yo no conocía a este compositor y me ha gustado mucho su musíca. Sencilla pero muy agradable de escuchar. Ha sido un estupendo descubrimiento.

  • "Music is presented at such an incredibly high level, it is simply great..."
    author: Łukasz Waligórski

    Short films are one of the essential branches of modern filmmaking. This discipline is not very appreciated in our country, despite the fact that there are many festivals presenting short films. Music in such films is an exceptionally interesting issue, because composing soundtracks to short films is the way many professional composers began their career. Such short forms are an ideal field for experimenting and training and, on the other hand, are a springboard for larger productions. Unfortunately it is common that soundtracks from short films are rarely published on discs. The only way to listen to them is by watching the film itself. The problem is present in our country as well, where many good short films with wonderful music are made, yet I have never came across a disc containing music from a short film. Recently I had a chance to find out what the music from short films are really like. This opportunity was given to me by George Shaw, who gave me his disc entitled "The LochNess Monster & Other Short Films". This publication contains music of this composer, composed for four short films, that he was working on: "The LochNess Monster", "The Taking", "Spew" and "Under Pressure". Each of them is in a different genre, so we have here fantasy, thriller, horror and comedy. George Shaw was recently awarded with a gold medal at the Park City Film Music Festival, for the music to the first three mentioned films. After listening to the record, I was surprised by their quality. Of course I knew that soundtracks from short films are not very different from those originating from "large" films. I did not expect it to be composed with such engagement and momentum. In other words, George's music is presented at such an incredibly high level, it is simply great. The majority of the tracks are short compositions, but the juxtaposition of musical themes from four different film genres shows the true skills of their composer. Cues from the film "The LochNess Monster" appear on the disc first. As the title may suggest, it is a fantasy film about the famous Loch Ness monster. George Shaw composed a very nice theme performed on a pennywhistle, which gives it some local character to match the film's Scottish location on the shores of the LochNess lake. The few compositions from the film that appear here are generally based on the same main theme. Clear and balanced orchestrations give the music a fantastic atmosphere. More exposed wind sections with English Horn solos give it warmth and calmness. There is also no lack of more dynamic and whimsical versions of the main theme, as in "Running From Bullies". It is difficult to imagine more pertinent music for this type of film. We have a strong but simple theme, good orchestrations and an omnipresent romantic and magical atmosphere, which we would gladly listen to longer. The ninth track on the disc sets a completely different atmosphere. I immediately associated it with the main theme from "Basic Instinct" composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Slow and gloomy string parts create a background for the lone oboe theme. Association with Goldsmith's music is instant, however it doesn't mean that it is wrong. This and some of the following compositions come from the film "Under Pressure". It's a thriller, so utilizing music similar to "Basic Instinct" is not surprising. Also the remaining compositions refer to that theme, creating a gloomy atmosphere full of anxiety. Once again we are impressed by George's orchestration talent, which means there is nothing useless in his music. Every tune and each sound has its meaning. Music from another film that George Shaw composed music to, begins with the track "Spirits Arrive". It is the soundtrack for a horror film entitled "The Taking". The atmosphere here is similar to this in "Under Pressure", however it is more dynamic and more musical chaos appears. As a result we encounter here orchestral explosions and some atonal music, so typical for horror scores. Strings playing in high registers are also present, giving one the creeps. Among all of this emerges one very strong lullaby theme, which stands in contrast with the rest. It is performed by a female vocal while some anxious harmonies and other sounds run in the background. This female voice reappears at the end, introducing a sense of magic and ease. Compositions from the film "Spew" appear on the disc last. It is a quirky documentary, which is evident from tracks like "Arriving at the Camp" or "Debate Institute". "Debate Institute" especially is a bit rakish, pompous but also very melodic and contributes a very positive vibe. It is a very pleasant change after the gloomy and dark compositions from the two previous films. George often uses marimba, flutes, strings, guitar and various percussion. In terms of its tone it is the most contemporary score on the disc. In "Waiting for Judgment" we hear a slower and dramatic melody, and the atmosphere transitions to a touching composition "Saying Goodbye". Publishing film soundtracks is an enterprise that only a few composers in our country can undertake. Publishing music from short movies is virtually impossible. Discs like "The LochNess Monster & Other Short Films" by George Shaw show us how much we lose. It is truly very interesting and presents how universal a composer George is. All his compositions, from horror, through fantasy to comedy maintain a high level of quality and listening to them is such a pleasure. As it was after listening to "Purity" I am sure that George Shaw is a composer who is going to be heard from more, providing he will continue to create with such engagement and grace. Simply – I recommend it.

  • This is the classical music of the 21st century. AWESOME!
    author: pat gleason

    the music on this cd is beautiful, exciting, profound , don't miss it! some of it is so beautiful it brought me to tears. this is an extremely talented artist, one of the profound artists of our time. the music is the classical music of the 21st century. ahead of it's time. just beautiful.

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