The official Transformers Facebook page has been updated with an interview with Brian Taylor, the composer for Transformers Prime

Transformers Prime Tuesday Q&A: Composer Brian Tyler

Each week, we’ve been taking questions for the cast and crew of the hit animated series “Transformers Prime” from fans of the official Transformers Facebook page. Check out this week’s Fan Q&A with the composer for Transformers Prime, Brian Tyler!


Katie Seiwert asks: Were you influenced by any of the past Transformer score and/or soundtrack music? If yes, which one(s)?

BRIAN TYLER: I listened to the scores of the films and thought they were really cool and fit those films really well. When brainstorming with the producers of Transformers Prime we talked about doing a very epic orchestral score that harkened to movies like Star Wars, which had scores that were very tune-centric but had a lot of movement in the orchestration. It is a different approach but both have their place.


Belinda Nieminen asks: Hello! How did you end up to compose music for Transformers Prime? What made you interested of this project? Who is your favourite character of Transformers (Autobot and Decepticon)? What inspired you when you were making music for Transformers Prime?

BRIAN TYLER: I have been a Transformers fan since I was a wee lad. But more specifically Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci (producers and writers of the first live-action Transformers movies) came to me after I had scored their film "Eagle Eye" and said that they were doing an animated version and if I would be interested in composing the music. The show's producers also gave a unified front in their mission to make this as cinematic as possible. And that is when we thought that we should record live orchestral score for it, something which is rarely done these days for television.

Favorite characters? That is tough. Ratchet, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bulkhead.


Ben Harrison asks: What were the hardest scene to compose for?

BRIAN TYLER: The battle during the finale of "Darkness Rising" was crazy because it cut back and forth between different huge action battles in space and the kids breaking into a secret base on Earth. It was a challenge but I was really happy with the result. The orchestra made me look good. Haha!


Will Clark asks: I have noticed that the music for Transformers Prime has more of a cinematic feel to it as opposed to other TF series. Was that a decision on your part or the part of the producers? What was the influence for the music direction?

BRIAN TYLER: We were in agreement that this score should be completely cinematic. My approach was exactly the same as if I were scoring a feature film. Big themes, live orchestra, and melodic development. The influence for the music direction was classic sci-fi. Star Wars, Alien, Aliens, Close Encounters, Back to the Future, Blade Runner, etc.


Jared Kraft asks: What are some of the notable differences between scoring a film and scoring a television series? In your experience, which of these avenues allows more creative freedom for the composer?

BRIAN TYLER: Well in this case, the only different is timing. Television is fast, but we focus on overall music for the characters and then the music is molded for the episodes. Since this music is live, there are limitations on time which actually allows creative freedom.


Chelsea Dostert asks: I am a big fan of your musical scores, especially the score on Transformers Prime. Do you have a certain process or routine before you write a score or one that inspires you to write a score?

BRIAN TYLER: Thanks! I do have a process when I work on a score. I just pace around thinking of themes, sit down at a piano, and then start writing some kind of melody that hopefully captures the spirit of the project. Then it goes through a giant process of expanding, altering, improving, orchestrating, conducting the orchestra, and mixing. And when it finally comes together I can exhale!


Brian Tyler's bio: Brian Tyler is a composer of over 50 films and was recently nominated for "Film Composer of the Year" by the International Film Music Critics Association, as well as two Emmy Awards, and has won 5 ASCAP Awards and 5 BMI Awards. He composed and conducted the scores for "Eagle Eye" for producer Steven Spielberg, the box office hits "Fast Five" and "Fast and Furious," "The Expendables" and "Rambo" directed by Sylvester Stallone, "Law Abiding Citizen" starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, the Keanu Reeves thriller "Constantine," and the epic science fiction film "Battle: Los Angeles." Tyler also scored the fastest grossing entertainment release in history, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" which grossed $775 million in its first 5 days. He also recently arranged and conducted the new film logo music for Universal Pictures and composed a theme for the 100 year anniversary of the studio. Tyler began scoring features shortly after he received his bachelor's degree from UCLA and his master's degree from Harvard University. Tyler's score for Bill Paxton's "Frailty" won him a World Soundtrack Award in 2002 as well as The World Soundtrack Award as Best New Film Composer of the Year. Shortly after he composed the score for "The Hunted" for Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin. Tyler is a multi-instrumentalist, playing drums, piano, guitar, orchestral
and world percussion, bass, cello, charango and bouzouki, amongst others. Tyler was recently inducted into the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.