John Beal has established a career as the world's leading industry provider of original scores for theatrical and television trailers. Beal grew up playing rock and roll and jazz, evolved to dance, theater, television and feature films, and writes in musical styles from Amsterdam to Zimbabwe with equal comfort. He works as confidently in trance, hip hop, rave, house, and electronic music as he does with a symphony orchestra.

Beal's music has been heard by more moviegoers than most feature film composers, and he is trusted by virtually every major director and studio to write original music to help sell their films. Beal's list of credits includes campaigns for such hit films as VOLCANO, THE MASK OF ZORRO, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, FORREST GUMP, and GHOST.

The Theatrical and Television Trailer Music of John Beal

Like the best motion picture scores, this music is powerful. It heightens the tension of what is depicted on screen and supercharges the emotional impact of those visuals in the mind and emotions of the viewer. Like the best film music, this is music that works as music just as it works as a component of celluloid drama, sharpening the dynamic of what's going on up there on the screen. Unlike the best film music, though, it's doing it all in two minutes. This is music for trailers - those two to four minute "Coming Soon" advertisements that display in theaters before the movie starts, and those 15, 30, and 60-second spots that mingle among the commercials on your television set. Their purpose is to sell movies. In a hurry. The music is designed to grab your attention. Quickly. And captivate it.

Because a film's music usually hasn't been recorded in time for the film's advertising campaign, trailers either recycle music from previous films, or have original scores written specifically for them. Composing music for trailers is one of the most challenging tasks in film music. The composer must create multiple sensations of thrills, intensity, adventure, romance, hipness, and relate it quickly in a multitude of musical sound bytes. Since 1984, Beal has been the world's leading industry provider of original scores for theatrical and television trailers. Beal grew up playing rock and roll and jazz, evolved to dance, theater, television and feature films, and writes in musical styles from Amsterdam to Zimbabwe with equal comfort. He works as confidently in trance, hip hop, rave, house, and electronic music as he does with a symphony orchestra.

Beal's music has been heard by more moviegoers than most feature film composers, and he is trusted by virtually every major director and studio to write original music to help sell their films. Beal's list of credits includes campaigns for such hit films as VOLCANO, THE MASK OF ZORRO, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, FORREST GUMP, and GHOST.

The musical needs of trailers are not always the same as those of the film they are advertising. The style of music appropriate for a film's pace may not successfully sell the film during the two or three minutes of a trailer. "A score which is perfect for a film is often not constructed in such a way as to work well in the short burst of a trailer," says Beal.

"Music provides the proper dramatic thrust to carry the piece forward," says Seth Gaven, producer for Intralink Film Graphic Design, maker of such trailers as BLACK BEAUTY and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. "The music really sets the tone and pace of a trailer." A trailer score must flow smoothly, glue its short, rapid-fire scenes into a linear sense of story, underline key story points and help the viewer come away with a true understanding of the film combined with a "Wow! I can't wait to see that!" emotion. "In a trailer you have to hit many beats in rapid succession," says Tom Kennedy, vice president of Audio-Visual Marketing for MGM/UA, responsible for such trailers as DISTURBING BEHAVIOR, TRUE LIES, and IN THE LINE OF FIRE. "Sometimes we've got 30 seconds to change an emotional chord from sad to triumphant, from suspense to hard action, and you've got to be able to do that on the turn of a dime. That's John's forte."

The 69 musical cues featured on these CDs are among the most effective examples of 2-minute film music you're likely to hear. Within the space of those two minutes, Beal manages to capture the given mood of a scene, conveys the energy of the story, and captivates the interest of an audience using a remarkable variety of styles. Combining a veteran composer's skill with the up-to-date-iveness of someone remaining on the cutting edge of musical imagery, John Beal deftly occupies a unique niche in motion picture music. Beal understands the needs of selling a complete storyline in two minutes, and he's got years of experience writing almost exclusively for trailers. "John's done everything for us from simple synthesized licks and rhythm beats for TV spots to fully orchestrated, 2 1/2 minute trailer cuts that sweep and dive," says Seth Gaven. "He's as good as James Horner or Alan Silvestri are in features. His music really does the same kind of stuff for trailers."

"John really gives you feature quality scores, and he has the ability to solve problems quickly," says Steve Panama, CEO of Kaleidoscope Films, maker of such trailers as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, TITANIC, CONTACT and TWISTER. "He's the first composer to provide original scores that really worked for trailers, and he's very much responsible for the huge cottage industry that's grown up around this kind of work." With over 500 theatrical and TV trailer scores to his credit, John Beal's unique world of two-minute film music is a rare art form. This remarkable and unique collection of trailer music offers a glimpse into that world. Be enthralled. Be captivated. Coming Soon!

- Randall D. Larson, Soundtrack Magazine