Composer Henry Jackman selects PMC for film-scoring projects

Date: 2009-01

“With my new Reference Monitors I can now hear everything that is contributing to the score.”

Having composed music for a number of highly successful motion pictures, Henry Jackman has earned an enviable reputation for writing rich, enveloping scores that place the audience directly into the dramatic action. So when the time came to shop for a new pair of high-resolution reference monitors, his first choice was obvious: PMC - The Professional Monitor Company. “My older systems were rather imprecise,” he recalls. “I was never really sure what was happening in the mix. But with my new PMC IB2S Reference Monitors, I can now hear everything that is contributing to the score. I couldn't be happier with the result.” The pair of IB2S monitors in oak finish is powered by a Bryson 4BSST amplifier.

Currently, Jackman is based at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica, CA. He has composed additional music for a number of Zimmer’s recent projects, including Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Simpsons Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Hancock and The Dark Knight. His latest project, Monsters vs. Aliens, marks the first film for which Jackman is composing the entire score, including orchestral and electronic elements. Scheduled for release later this year, Monsters vs. Aliens from DreamWorks Animation SKG™ features the voices of Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie and Kiefer Sutherland.

“My new PMC IB2S monitors reproduce a wide dynamic range,” the talented composer continues. “I do not have a subwoofer in my Composing Room, but the system’s frequency response extends down to 20 Hz, with a very controlled bottom-end. With my previous monitors, I was never really sure what was happening in the lower frequencies. This was a significant issue for film cues containing deep bass lines and low percussion. Now I am able to isolate these elements of my music’s dynamic range.”

Jackman also stresses the fact that music produced in his composing room has to translate in the larger mix rooms at Remote Control Productions. “My IB2S monitors relate extremely well to the systems in other rooms here at Remote Control, so I know that the elements I prepare will work when put up on the larger systems.”

“My IB2S monitors make you work slightly harder,” he considers. “They are rather like a mirror, in that they reflect what I put into them. There is no hiding place! The stereo imaging is far more apparent than with my previous systems, which often strangled the sound I was creating. And panning between left and right is seamless and never too obvious. I now feel a sense of a full panorama between the left and right loudspeakers; I can also feel the placement of every instrument and sound.”

Henry Jackman studied classical music in the UK at St. Paul's Cathedral Choir School, Eton College and Oxford University. An avid interest in technology and contemporary culture meant that his formal education was mixed with the urban beats of club music and the innovative production of electronica. With a successful and eclectic career in both the record and film industries, Jackman’s musical work has ranged from the chart topping to the esoteric, and from summer blockbusters to art-house projects. He combines a unique range of skills, which include classical composition, orchestral arrangement, beat programming, sound design, production and mixing. His successful transition to movie scoring began in 2006 when he caught the attentions of Oscar®-winning Hans Zimmer. His unique orchestral compositions have been performed and recorded by musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

The PMC IB2S three-way Passive Studio Monitor is equipped with the firm’s three-inch PMC75 soft-dome mid-range driver, which increases definition and clarity to the level of the larger PCM monitors, with no increase in cabinet size. Other features include PMC’s ATL™ (Advanced Transmission Line) with two sections; a twin-chamber fabric soft-dome HF driver with high-performance Ferro fluid cooling; and a 10-inch carbon-fiber/Nomex LF piston driver. Quoted LF response extends down to 25 Hz.