Original Series Theme - My Version

[mverta]

I posted this on another forum and was recommended to post here - a touch obnoxious for a first post, I think, but I think you guys will enjoy it...

On a recent visit to ILM, I saw Star Trek 11 being worked on. With all the original characters being seen as young and fresh out of the academy, I wondered if it was possible to re-imagine the original series' "club lounge," dated-sounding theme for a modern palette - while remaining youthful, energized, and giving a nod to the great Star Trek music legacy.

Here's my take on it:

Star Trek Theme


Anyway, enjoy... cool forum!

Best,

_Mike Verta

 

[indranee]

verrrrra nice, cadet!

welcome to TrekBBS, btw.

 

[Kryton]

Wow! That's going in the iPod! Also sent it to some friends.

Excellent rendition!

 

[Kryton]

BTW, I haven't done one for a while, but if I'm asked to next year, I'm going to use that as the climax to a fireworks synch-tape...the flourishes are perfect.

 

[Outpost4]

Outstanding.

By the way, Mike Verta may be a newbie here, but he is hardly a n00b. Mike is a respected musician, composer and artist. You know his work already, especially as a CGI artist.

mikeverta.com

 

[Redfern]

I am profoundly honored that a professional composer would visit this forum and share a personal interpretation of Alexander Courage's most recognized piece of music.

Thank you very much! This is what I imagined I would have heard in the theater when the first Trek movie was being developed in the late '70s. Epic, sweeping, but still recognizable as "Sandy's" famous score.

Again, thank you.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Opus]

Wow! Just... Wow!

Mike, that is fantastic. Question: Is this ALL done with a synth? I'll tell you, if it is, I'm sad to soon be out of a job!

Great arrangement.

Bill - brass player

 

[RobertScorpio]

This is really good...so please tell us HOW you did it? Loops? Sythesizer? An orchrestra of hamsters?

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Ptrope]

Talk about your renaissance man! Nice portfolio, mverta! And a nice arrangement of the theme .

 

[Outpost4]

Don't let Emh near him!

 

[Tralah]

Wow! I really enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing. I hope we get treated to something similar with Star Trek XI.

 

[mverta]

Thanks, all for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the piece!

To answer a couple of questions: yes this was entirely done with virtual instruments, but don't worry, OphaClyde, it still pales in comparison to what this would sound/feel like with a live group. Synth mock-ups just seem to be necessary evils these days to help directors preview the score, since they don't seem to be able to tell from piano sketches anymore. Maybe I'll tag it on to the end of one of my live sessions; it'd be cool to hear a live performance of it back-to-back with this synth version.

Truth be told, it began on paper, with pencil, in a traditional score format, and after orchestrating, I just play the parts instrument by instrument into the computer. It was really just a personal project (one day for composing/orchestrating, one day for recording) but it was tremendous fun. I can't get enough of that fanfare, for some reason.

Anyway, thanks again, happy to be here!


_Mike

 

[HaplessCrewman]

Love love love it!

Telling all my friends about it!

Great job, so moving!

Bravo!

 

[Psion]

Awesome job, Mr. Verta! And you're not alone when it comes to fondness for the original fanfare. Is there any chance at all you'll be tapped for "Star Trek"? Have you submitted your portfolio or this piece to Abrams?

 

[ShinRa Actual]

Abrams is going with the guy he's been working with for the last decade or so; Micheal Giacchino.

 

[M'Sharak]

That's a nice job, Mike! Thanks for posting it where we could hear.

Don't let Emh near him!

 

[mverta]

Yes, indeed Michael Giacchino will be scoring ST11, and while he is apparently planning on using the original theme as I did, I doubt VERY highly it will have anything like the "earnest" take on it as I did. I'd sooner be expecting a very dark, percussion(dare I say BSG?)-ish take on it. I thought about doing one of those - sort of a dark militaristic, sexy version - but one of my goals here was to make a version that felt like it was part of the legacy of themes from the movies, Voyager, and DS9. It's actually a very tricky melody to work with...


_Mike

 

[Frontier]

Oh my god...

That is beautfil. Truly, truly, awesome!

 

[ShinRa Actual]

Being a fan of Mr. Giacchino's work, I'll have to humbly disagree, mverta. His earlier works on video games (Lost World, Secret Weapons over Normandy) show a greater kinship with John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith than Bear McCreary (Which bears saying; I'm a fan of the BSG scores he's done, but wouldn't want Star Trek done that way).

 

[Skywalker]

That is fantastic. Well done!