The Avatar films push the boundaries of visual technology; the same is true for the music. Composer Simon Franglen says that working on the third film in the series, Avatar: Fire and Ash, took a full seven years, during which time he wrote 1,907 pages of orchestral scores and invented new instruments for the inhabitants of Pandora.
Because director James Cameron fine-tuned the editing until the last minute, Franglen completed the final piece of music only five days before the film was delivered. The film, which features music for almost the entire 195-minute runtime, contains approximately four times the amount of music found in a standard Hollywood production.
Released on December 19th, the film centers on the struggle of the Na’vi people and the deep grief experienced by Jake Sully and Neytiri over the loss of their son, Neteyam. Franglen notes that to reflect this emotion, he consciously distanced the musical lines, creating a cold and detached feeling: “The important thing is often the silence.”
On the other hand, the composer lets his imagination run wild in the scenes of the nomadic traders called Wind Traders traveling through the sky.
Inspired by adventure films of the 1930s and 40s, these themes are played on Pandora’s unique, physically produced instruments. Cameron’s rule is clear: everything that appears on screen must be real. Franglen’s career began with a letter he wrote to the BBC at age 13; in the 1980s he studied electronics in Manchester, worked with Trevor Horn, and participated in hit projects ranging from Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston. His transition to film music accelerated with his work with John Barry and James Horner; The sound design in Titanic, produced with a limited budget, was the complete opposite of the extensive orchestral approach in Avatar.Cameron’s insistence on not using artificial intelligence in this film is also noteworthy. According to Franglen, the director does not make artistic compromises even if there is a cost advantage.
As the film prepares for release, Franglen celebrates Miley Cyrus’s theme song “Dream As One” and her Golden Globe nomination. Cameron’s scripts for Avatar 4 and 5, planned for 2029 and 2031, are ready; The fate of the sequels depends on the box office performance of Fire and Ash. “If the audience wants it, I’m ready,” says Franglen.
