Exclusive: Composer Nick Samuel Talks Knights of the Damned
David Gelmini
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The medieval epic Knights of the Damned is available now, and if you’re a fan of dark fantasy in the style of “Game of Thrones”, it looks like you’re certainly in for a good time. The film is now available on Amazon in both physical and digital formats.
Knights of the Damned follows a group of elite knights on a quest to slay a fearsome dragon. It was directed by Carnivore: Werewolf of London’s Simon Wells, with Ben Loyd-Holmes, who appeared in Skyfall and Predator Dark Ages, starring and producing.
The film also stars Ross O’Hennessy, Silvio Simac, Zara Phythian, Adrian Bouchet, and Kate Davies-Speak. Chris Newman, who worked on “Game of Thrones”, Sleepy Hollow, the Star Wars saga, and a ton of other huge moves, served as executive producer.
To celebrate the release of Knights of the Damned, I decided to talk to composer Nick Samuel about his experience of working on the film. Samuel, who also created the soundtrack for the successful fan film Max Payne: Retribution, provided me with the following statement:
The overall brief I was given was “300, The Matrix, Fantasy… Orchestral and more.”
In the initial meetings with producer Ben Loyd Holmes, it was clear that the music needed to go beyond the realm of just traditional orchestration. It needed to evoke a sense of something much bigger and unseen, perhaps even visceral in nature. My approach to scoring Knights Of The Damned was very much in the traditional sense of modern classical film styles, but the real challenge was in incorporating non-traditional sounds without taking the film into the realm of sci-fi and technology – keeping it within its medieval setting.
The synths, and other ‘sculpted’ sounds, became part of the story and characters, more so than part of the orchestra. They acted as a kind of accent; to draw attention to certain aspects of the story, to unnerve the characters or audience and to create a sense of unease and flux within such a familiar setting.
Melodically, I based the score around a short motif – discordant and middle-eastern in flavour – and I kept the harmonies ambiguous and ‘suggested’. Again, I wanted to keep the sense of place ambiguous, and the audience’s perception of the main characters’ on edge and not quite grounded.
So… Orchestral and more!
Knights of the Damned Official Synopsis:
‘Game of Thrones vs The Walking Dead’ Flixal
Prepare to be thrilled as knights lock horns with the undead in brand new epic fantasy adventure Knights of the Damned.
This action-packed visually stunning feature from the VFX artists behind Harry Potter and Inception is executive produced by award-winning Chris Newman (Game of Thones, Star Wars) and stars an impressive cast including Ross O’Hennessy (Game of Thrones), Ben Loyd-Holmes (Skyfall), Zara Phythian (Doctor Strange), Silvio Simac (Transporter 3), Adrian Bouchet (Clash of the Titans) and Andrea Vasiliou (Wonder Woman). It arrives on DVD on 25 September 2017 from High Fliers.
After relentless attacks on his castle the King enlists his finest knights to slay the dragon besieging the land. The elite army embark on their quest to defeat the fire breathing beast, but nothing can prepare them for the treacherous journey ahead.
Along their momentous crusade they encounter malicious water sirens, a race of warrior women hell bent on revenge and an unstoppable army of the damned.
Who will prevail in this epic battle against the forces of evil?
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