SEMPER FI

The soundtrack to the DreamWorks/NBC television movie Semper Fi was recorded in Los Angeles on the 25th and 26th of January 2001.   A 62 piece orchestra was used to record the 35 minute score at Paramount Scoring Stage M.

Notes by Michael Giacchino:

I first heard of the project in Febuary of 2000.   I was working on both Redemption Of The Ghost and six songs for The Muppets.   I had been asked to submit a sample of music which could be considered as the main theme for the show.   After a couple of long weeks, I got a call from the show's director, Michael Watkins, and he offered me the job.   I didn't realize then that it would be a year before I began writing another note for the show.

The orchestra was made up of top notch studio musicians from Los Angeles, who were contracted by my Tuba player John Van Houten.   We had a great time.   The atmosphere was very relaxed and everything went very smoothly.   My good friend Tim Simonec was on the stand for conducting duties and engineer Dan Wallin was helming the mixing console.   Since we didn't have time for a mix on this project, all of the mixes were to be taken live, directly into a Pro Tools setup manned by my music editor Josh Winget.   Next to me at the console was the show's associate producer, Terri Potts, who was great to work with and made the whole experience really enjoyable.

More random notes:

At one point during the sessions, Dennis McCarthy stopped in for a few moments for a visit.   He was very nice and it was really great to meet him.

One of the players brought in a few boxes of Krispie Kream (sp?), so that was extremely appreciated.

My 3 year old son Mick came to the sessions and at one point, during a fairly slow trumpet passage, he turned to me and said, "Daddy, I think the Trumpets need new batteries...".   I guess he was used to the much faster paced "Medal Of Honor" music.

Music Credits:

Score Composed by Michael Giacchino
Orchestrations by Tim Simonec and Michael Giacchino
Recording Engineering and Mixing by Dan Wallin
Score Preparation by Gregg Nestor
Orchestra Contracting by John Van Houten
Music Editing by Josh Winget
Soundtrack Mastering by EPM

Audio samples are low quality and are presented for educational purposes only.   All original content © Music By Michael Giacchino.   Reproduction whether in part or full is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.