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Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American musician and composer of film, television, and video game scores based in Los Angeles, California. His work includes the scores of the television series Battlestar Galactica (2004), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Outlander, The Walking Dead and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Serpent Queen, the video games Call of Duty: Vanguard, God of War and Ragnarök, and the film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
McCreary has been nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for his work on season one of Outlander[1] and won one Emmy for the main title of Da Vinci's Demons.[2] He has also won a BAFTA for his work on God of War.[3]
Early life and education[]
McCreary spent most of his formative years in Bellingham, Washington. He is the son of author Laura Kalpakian and professor Jay McCreary of University of Hawaii at Manoa. His brother, Brendan McCreary, is also a musician. Bear has directed and produced several music videos for Brendan's band, "Young Beautiful in a Hurry".[4] He graduated from Bellingham High School in 1997.[5]
He is a classically trained pianist and self-taught accordionist.[5][6] He studied under the renowned film score composer Elmer Bernstein during which time he reconstructed and reorchestrated Bernstein's 1963 score for Kings of the Sun. Their collaboration allowed for the complete score to be available as a soundtrack album for the first time in 40 years.[7]
McCreary went to USC Thornton School of Music at the encouragement of Elmer Bernstein becoming his protégé and graduating in 2002 from Screen Scoring.
Career[]
Television[]
Battlestar Galactica and Caprica[]
In 2003, McCreary worked under primary composer Richard Gibbs on the three-hour miniseries which served as a pilot for the reimagined series of Battlestar Galactica. When the show was picked up, Gibbs opted not to devote full-time to the regular series' production, and McCreary became the sole composer. He worked on the series until it reached its conclusion in 2009, scoring over 70 episodes. To date, six Battlestar Galactica soundtrack albums have been released, and have garnered a great deal of critical acclaim[8][9] and commercial success. The soundtracks for seasons two and three ranked amongst Amazon.com's Top 30 Music Sales on their first days of release.[7]
McCreary composed for the Battlestar Galactica prequel series Caprica and Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.
Human Target[]
McCreary provided the score for the series Human Target (based on the comic book of the same name). The pilot episode and main theme score had been recorded with a full orchestra.[10] The series has the distinction of having one of the largest orchestras on television.
The score to the finale of season one, "Christopher Chance", used the largest orchestra ever assembled for episodic television, and he took the opportunity to rerecord the main title theme with a new orchestration with this larger ensemble.
In July 2010, he received his first Emmy nomination for the Human Target main title.[11]
In a post on his blog on July 25, 2010, McCreary announced the new creative leadership brought in for season two had not asked him to return for it, and he would be leaving the series.[12]
Black Sails[]
The opening title sequence for Black Sails was composed by McCreary with a backing sea shanty inspired theme. It accurately features an instrument of the period in the form of the hurdy-gurdy.[Citation needed]
Outlander[]
McCreary has composed the soundtrack for each of the first five seasons of Outlander, with the main title being sung by his long time collaborator and partner, Raya Yarbrough.[Citation needed]
In 2015, McCreary was nominated for an Emmy for the pilot Outlander episode "Sassenach" (S01E01; 2014-08-09).[Citation needed]
Other series[]
During Comic-Con 2010, Bear McCreary attended panels for AMC's The Walking Dead and NBC's The Cape to announce he would be composing the score for both television series.[13][14]
On July 15, 2013, McCreary announced that he would compose the score for ABC's series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[15] On September 4, 2015, McCreary released the official Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. soundtrack publicly.[16]
McCreary served as orchestral producer for the rock opera Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem airing on Adult Swim on October 27, 2013. This is a continuation of the Metalocalypse universe following the band Dethklok. The music features a 50-piece orchestra. The soundtrack was released on October 29, 2013.[17]
McCreary also composed the score for the television series Snowpiercer which premiered on TNT May 17, 2020. Snowpiercer was also distributed online via Netflix.[18]
The score for the Masters of the Universe: Revelation series on Netflix was composed by McCreary[19]
McCreary composed the theme and music for the television series Foundation, an Apple TV+ series adapted from Isaac Asimov’s novels. The Season 1 soundtrack was released on September 24, 2021.[20]
Films[]
McCreary worked on several films providing additional music and conducting for My Baby's Daddy and Johnson Family Vacation before striking it off on his own and scoring Rest Stop and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, both direct to video.
After working with Shawn Papazian on Rest Stop: Don't Look Back, the sequel to Rest Stop. McCreary made his theatrical film debut with Step Up 3D[21]
Following Step Up 3D, he scored three films directed by Joe Lynch, Chillerama, Knights of Badassdom and Everly. Everly's soundtrack included a duet McCreary sang with his wife, Raya Yarbrough.
McCreary has only worked with a few directors multiple times. Christopher Landon on three films, Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2U and Freaky, and director McG twice on Rim of the World and The Babysitter: Killer Queen.
Other notable film scores include Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Cloverfield Paradox, Child's Play (2019 film), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
McCreary's latest feature scores include Ava, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Freaky and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.
Video games[]
McCreary made an eight-bit rendition of the Dark Void theme, which was, originally, an April fools joke. However, the theme was used for the prequel, Dark Void Zero.[22] He composed all the songs in an eight-bit fashion by connecting the wires on an actual NES console and cartridge to create authenticity.
He arranged James Rolfe's The Angry Video Game Nerd "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" parody "You're a Mean One, Mr. Nerd" for the 2010 Christmas special, with orchestra and eight-bit audio elements.[23]
McCreary also performed with his orchestra band live at Sony's E3 2016 press conference throughout the show and composed the score of the 2018 God of War game.[24]
In 2021, McCreary composed the score for Call of Duty: Vanguard.[25]
Personal life[]
McCreary married singer and songwriter Raya Yarbrough in 2010. They have collaborated on the music of Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, Defiance, Da Vinci's Demons, among other projects.[26][27] Their daughter Sonatine, named after the musical term sonatina, was born on June 2, 2014.[28]
Influences[]
McCreary credits composers Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, and Shirley Walker as being key to his growing up adoring film music. They were his heroes while he was growing up.[29] Contemporary composers including Hans Zimmer continue to inspire McCreary's growth.
Works[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Rest Stop | John Shiban | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment | Direct-to-video. |
| 2007 | Wrong Turn 2: Dead End | Joe Lynch | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Direct-to-video; first collaboration with Lynch. |
| 2008 | Rest Stop: Don't Look Back | Shawn Papazian | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment | Direct-to-video. |
| 2010 | Step Up 3D | Jon M. Chu | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Theatrical film debut. |
| 2011 | Chillerama | Adam Rifkin, Tim Sullivan, Adam Green and Joe Lynch | Image Entertainment | Second collaboration with Lynch. |
| 2013 | Europa Report | Sebastián Cordero | Magnolia Pictures | |
| Knights of Badassdom | Joe Lynch | Entertainment One | Third collaboration with Lynch. | |
| 2014 | Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie | Kevin Finn and James Rolfe | Indie Rights | |
| Everly | Joe Lynch | The Weinstein Company | Fourth collaboration with Lynch. | |
| 2016 | The Forest | Jason Zada | Gramercy Pictures | |
| The Boy | William Brent Bell | STX Entertainment | ||
| 10 Cloverfield Lane | Dan Trachtenberg | Paramount Pictures | ||
| Colossal | Nacho Vigalondo | Neon | ||
| 2017 | Unrest | Jennifer Brea | Shella Films | Documentary film. |
| Revolt | Joe Miale | Vertical Entertainment | ||
| Rebel in the Rye | Danny Strong | IFC Films | ||
| Animal Crackers | Scott Christian Sava and Tony Bancroft | Netflix | ||
| Happy Death Day | Christopher Landon | Universal Pictures | First collaboration with Landon. | |
| 2018 | The Cloverfield Paradox | Julius Onah | Netflix | |
| Tau | Federico D'Alessandro | |||
| Hell Fest | Gregory Plotkin | Lionsgate Films | ||
| I Still See You | Scott Speer | |||
| Welcome Home | George Ratliff | Vertical Entertainment | ||
| 2019 | Happy Death Day 2U | Christopher Landon | Universal Pictures | Second collaboration with Landon. |
| The Professor and the Madman | P. B. Shemran | Vertical Entertainment | ||
| Rim of the World | McG | Netflix | First collaboration with McG. | |
| Godzilla: King of the Monsters | Michael Dougherty | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| Child's Play | Lars Klevberg | United Artists Releasing | ||
| Eli | Ciarán Foy | Netflix | ||
| 2020 | Crip Camp | Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht | Documentary film. | |
| Fantasy Island | Jeff Wadlow | Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
| Ava | Tate Taylor | Vertical Entertainment | ||
| The Babysitter: Killer Queen | McG | Netflix | Second collaboration with McG. | |
| Freaky | Christopher Landon | Universal Pictures | Third collaboration with Landon. | |
| 2022 | Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank | Rob Minkoff and Mark Koetsier | Paramount Pictures |
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | My Baby's Daddy | Cheryl Dunye | Miramax Films | Film score conducted by Richard Gibbs. |
| Johnson Family Vacation | Christopher Erskin | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2009 | Battlestar Galactica | 71 episodes |
| 2007–2012 | Eureka | 32 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 31 episodes Terminator themes by Brad Fiedel |
| 2009–2010 | Trauma | 20 episodes |
| Caprica | 19 episodes | |
| 2010 | Human Target | 12 episodes |
| 2010–present | The Walking Dead | 169 episodes Composed with Sam Ewing (season 10 onward) |
| 2011 | The Cape | 10 episodes |
| 2012 | Day Break | 5 episodes |
| Holliston | 17 episodes | |
| Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome | 10 episodes | |
| 2013 | Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem | Composed with Brendon Small |
| 2013–2015 | Defiance | 38 episodes |
| Da Vinci's Demons | 28 episodes | |
| 2013–2020 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 136 episodes Composed with Jason Akers (Season 7) |
| 2014 | Intruders | 8 episodes |
| Constantine | 13 episodes | |
| 2014–2017 | Black Sails | 38 episodes |
| 2014–present | Outlander | 68 episodes |
| 2016 | Damien | 10 episodes The Omen themes by Jerry Goldsmith |
| Black Mirror | Episode: "Playtest" | |
| 2016–2017 | Chance | 20 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Electric Dreams | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Into the Dark | Episode: "Pooka" |
| 2019–2022 | See | 11 episodes |
| 2020–present | Snowpiercer | 30 episodes |
| 2021 | Masters of the Universe: Revelation | 10 episodes |
| 2021–present | Foundation | 10 episodes |
| 2022–present | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | See The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (soundtrack) |
| 2022 | The Witcher: Blood Origin | 4 episodes |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dark Void Zero | |
| Dark Void | ||
| 2011 | SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs | |
| 2012 | Moon Breakers | |
| 2013 | Defiance | |
| 2015 | Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Jack the Ripper | |
| 2018 | God of War | |
| League of Legends | Ryze: Call of Power | |
| 2020 | Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy's Edge | With Joseph Trapanese & Danny Piccione |
| 2021 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | |
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök | |
| 2023 | Forspoken | With Garry Schyman |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Top Television Series | Eureka | Won |
| International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television | Caprica | Nominated | |
| International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television | Battlestar Galactica | Won | |
| 2010 | International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television | Human Target | Won |
| International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media | Dark Void | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Human Target | Nominated | |
| 2011 | International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media | SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs | Nominated |
| 2013 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Top Television Series | The Walking Dead | Won |
| International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television | Da Vinci's Demons | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Da Vinci's Demons | Won | |
| 2014 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Black Sails | Nominated |
| 2015 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series | Outlander: Sassenach | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Game Awards 2018 | God of War | Nominated |
| 2019 | British Academy Games Award for Music[3] | God of War | Won |
| Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Choral Composition | God of War | Won | |
| Game Audio Network Guild Best Music in a Casual/Social Game | God of War | Won | |
| Game Audio Network Guild Music of the Year | God of War | Won | |
| Game Audio Network Guild Best Cinematic/Cutscene Audio | God of War | Won | |
| Game Audio Network Guild Best Original Instrumental | God of War | Nominated |
References[]
- ↑ "67th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Television Academy. http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2015/outstanding-music-composition-for-a-series-original-dramatic-score.
- ↑ Weisman, Jon. "LIVE From the Creative Arts Emmys". Variety. https://variety.com/2013/tv/news/emmys-creative-arts-emmys-live-blog-1200612516/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "BAFTA Games Awards winners 2019" (in en). 2019-03-11. https://www.bafta.org/games/awards/bafta-games-awards-nominations-winners-2019.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (October 13, 2011). "'I Don't Want to Die a Virgin' Music Video!". BearMcCreary.com. http://www.bearmccreary.com/#blog/films/i-dont-want-to-die-a-virgin-music-video/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Relyea, Kie (January 12, 2005). "Score for the Stars: Bellingham High grad now composes for 'Battlestar Galatica'". The Bellingham Herald. http://www.bearmccreary.com/#articles/bellingham-herald-january-12-2005/.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (June 7, 2006). "ScoreKeeper interviews Battlestar Galactica's Bear McCreary!!!". AintItCool.com. http://www.aintitcool.com/node/23532.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Biography". BearMcCreary.com. http://www.bearmccreary.com.
- ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (June 22, 2008). "Sepinwall on TV: Michael Giacchino and Bear McCreary, score keepers". The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/06/sepinwall_on_tv_michael_giacch.html.
- ↑ Ryan, Maureen (June 16, 2008). "'Battlestar Galactica' provides some Earth-shattering 'Revelations'". Chicago Tribune. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/06/battlestar-ga-1.html.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (July 25, 2009). "Human Target Screens Today". BearMcCreary.com. http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=2532#comment-4702.
- ↑ Burlingame, Jon (July 8, 2010). "Emmy Music Nominations Announced". FilmMusicSociety.org. http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/2010/070810.html.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (July 25, 2010). "I Am Leaving 'Human Target'". BearMcCreary.com. http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=4354.
- ↑ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (July 23, 2010). "Comic Con 2010: The Cape Casts a Mighty Shadow". UGO Entertainment. http://www.ugo.com/tv/comic-con-2010-the-cape.
- ↑ Nguyen, Hanh (July 23, 2010). "'Walking Dead' reveals trailer, taps Bear McCreary as composer". Zap2it.com. http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/07/walking-dead-reveals-trailer-taps-bear-mccreary-as-composer.html.
- ↑ Boucher, Geoff. "'Agents of SHIELD': Clark Gregg's 'commanding presence' calls the tune for composer Bear McCreary". Entertainment Weekly. http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/07/15/agents-of-shield-bear-mccreary-music/.
- ↑ "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Original Soundtrack Album)". September 4, 2015. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014HG067O?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0.
- ↑ Hartmann, Graham (October 17, 2013). "Dethklok, 'Blazing Star' – Exclusive Song Premiere". Townsquare Media. http://loudwire.com/dethklok-blazing-star-exclusive-song-premiere/.
- ↑ "Bear McCreary Scoring TNT’s ‘Snowpiercer’ TV Series". Film Music Reporter. https://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/04/15/bear-mccreary-scoring-tnts-snowpiercer-tv-series/.
- ↑ "Kevin Smith Reacts to Masters of the Universe: Revelations Score". https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sRFIKv9ygoo&feature=youtu.be.
- ↑ "Foundation: Season 1, Lakeshore Records". https://www.soundtrack.net/album/foundation-season-1/.
- ↑ Yamato, Jen (July 2, 2010). "Exclusive: 'Step Up 3D' Billboard Art Premiere!". Cinematical.com. http://www.cinematical.com/2010/07/02/exclusive-step-up-3d-billboard-art-premiere/.
- ↑ Diener, Matt (April 2011). "Interview with Bear McCreary (April 2011)". Squareenixmusic.com. http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/bearmccreary.shtml.
- ↑ Napolitano, Jayson (December 16, 2010). "Bear McCreary Vs. The Angry Video Game Nerd: A Christmas Special". Original Sound Version. http://www.originalsoundversion.com/bear-mccreary-vs-the-angry-video-game-nerd-a-christmas-special/.
- ↑ Davis, Justin (June 13, 2016). "E3 2016: New God of War Announced". IGN.com. http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/14/e3-2016-new-god-of-war-announced/.
- ↑ Tucker, Jake (August 19, 2021). "‘Call Of Duty: Vanguard’ composer Bear McCreary discusses "raw and exposed" soundtrack". NME. https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/call-of-duty-vanguard-composer-bear-mccreary-discusses-raw-and-exposed-soundtrack-3021544.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (February 24, 2009). "I'm Getting Married!!". BearMcCreary.com. http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=1536.
- ↑ "Malibu Wedding Photographer". http://larryreeves.info/malibu-wedding-photographer.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear. "Sonatine Yarbrough McCreary". BearMcCreary.com. http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/blog/other/sonatine-yarbrough-mccreary/.
- ↑ Barnett, Barbara (July 29, 2016). "A Conversation with Outlander Composer Bear McCreary". Original Sound Version. https://www.barbarabarnett.com/2016/07/a-conversation-with-outlander-composer-bear-mccreary/.
External links[]
- Bear McCreary at IMDbScript error: No such module "EditAtWikidata".
- Official website
- MAFgest 2016 interview
- Audio Interview on GeeksOn!
- "Of Duduks and Dylan: Negotiating Music and the Aural Space in Battlestar Galactica'', by Eftychia Papanikolaou; chapter in Cylons in America: Critical Studies of Battlestar Galactica, edited by Tiffany Potter and C. W. Marshall, 224–236. New York and London: Continuum, 2007.
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