The musical journey behind ‘Transformers One’: A deep dive into the score
Crafting the perfect end credits song
When Josh Cooley, the director of the new animated feature Transformers One, sought an end credits song that would encapsulate the film’s essence, he turned to composer Brian Tyler. Tyler, already tasked with composing the film’s score, was simultaneously working on his immersive audio-visual project, Are We Dreaming. As Cooley watched clips from this project, inspiration struck. He suggested transforming the theme into a song for the movie.
Tyler, ever the versatile artist, immediately began reworking material from Are We Dreaming. The initial composition was an instrumental piece, blending elements of trap, hip hop, and the driving force of a rock song. Once the instrumental foundation was laid, Tyler penned a few verses and even lent his voice to the chorus. The producers then reached out to Quavo, who enthusiastically agreed to contribute. “He said, ‘I’m down. Let me go into the studio,'” Tyler recalls. They discussed the lyrics, ensuring they resonated with the film’s themes.
Tyler also reconnected with Ty Dolla Sign, with whom he had previously collaborated on the 2014 track “Shell Shocked.” Tyler notes, “I talked to him and he really related to the idea of friends who become enemies.”
The result was the film’s end credit song, “If I Fall”, featuring a powerful, soaring chorus. “It’s totally heartfelt,” says Tyler, who also sings on the track and serves as its producer. “It’s an anthem to stand up, and despite whoever’s knocked you down, to get up and go and live your life.”
The narrative of resilience
The theme of resilience is central to Transformers One, mirroring the journey of Orion Pax/Optimus Prime and D-16/Megatron. The film delves into their origin story, exploring how these two characters transitioned from brothers to sworn enemies, and how pivotal events shaped their destinies and the world of Cybertron.
Tyler, no stranger to the Transformers universe, having scored the 2012 Netflix animated series Transformers Prime, approached the music for D-16 with a nuanced perspective. When audiences first meet D-16, he is a miner working alongside Orion Pax. Tyler knew he couldn’t immediately introduce a villainous theme for D-16 without providing context for his character’s evolution. “I thought it’d be much more interesting and more truthful to the character, the arc, and reality to have his theme early on feel a little more innocent, and tragic,” Tyler explains.
Musical innovation and character depth
Tyler aimed to create an original sound for D-16 while emphasizing his biomechanical nature. “I’d have brass and cellos for the chord progression which are underneath the melody. Along with that, I’d have the same range with a brassy synth,” he elaborates. As D-16’s path to becoming Megatron unfolds, Tyler maintains the melody but alters the chord progression. “I wanted to give [the music] this relative feeling of familiarity, but all of a sudden, his music feels both villainous but also tragic. You understand why this happened. The music had to capture that nuance.”
To achieve this, Tyler blended orchestral elements with gnarly electronic components, incorporating distortion, sub-harmonics, and microtonal notes. He even utilized a Jupiter 8 synthesizer from 1982, which added a unique analog warmth to D-16’s cues. “It was analog, and the motherboard would heat up and go out of tune after about 45 minutes. So I’d watch for it to get hot, and I’d play the chords with live brass, and it creates an interesting, complex dissonance that’s almost beautiful in a way,” Tyler shares. “It’s dark. It’s like the siren song, and is the evil that you can’t help but admire and stare at. It sounds attractive. That was one of my ways of really trying to do something very original for that character.”
A symphony of mechanical souls
In scoring the film, Tyler sought to avoid a purely electronic sound. He incorporated a full orchestra and a choir to reflect the dual nature of the Transformers. “With the Transformers, they’re mechanical from our perspective, but they have souls, and they’re just like human beings,” Tyler explains. Drawing inspiration from Vangelis, he used the Yamaha CS 80 to evoke deep emotional responses. “They can be some of the most painfully emotional instruments,” he adds. “Combining those elements defines exactly what a Transformer is.”
For those eager to experience the musical journey of Transformers One, you can listen to the score below.
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