Slight OT: Forbidden Planet

[David Kean]

Hello,

Audities interviewed Bebe Barron two years ago. She and husband Louis used
electronic circuits of their own design along with musique concrete
techniques...they predated Pierre Schaeffer by a couple of years in this.

The high spots for me were:

A. They used NO manufactured equipment with the exception of a HP oscillator
in the later days. There is *zero* Theremin used.

B. They were never able to complete duplicate their circuits, which along
with...

C. ....they got the best sounds from their circuits "just as they were about
to blow up"...makes for a pretty provocative working method.

D. The union forbade them from using the word "music" in the credits.
Instead "electronic realizations" was used.

E. Shortly after the film's release, the union had them black-balled and
"Forbidden Planet" was the last Hollywood film that they worked on.

Bebe is a warm, bubbly person with great memories of doing "the work" with
her husband. She currently lives in Hollywood and recently watched a
screening of "Phantom Menace" with Don Buchla. She loved it, Don hated it.
:-)

dave.




-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Helt <mhelt at truelink.com>
To: Synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl <Synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl>
Date: Thursday, October 28, 1999 1:05 PM
Subject: Slight OT: Forbidden Planet


>Hello again,
>
>  Does anyone know much about the instruments used to compose the
>soundtrack for Forbidden Planet? I have looked around and wasnt able to
>find much info other than something about using a Theremin... Asides
>that, what else what used? I've been told some "telsa technology" was
>used, something about a large device that's played by striking a metal
>conducter against a series of coils...
>
>  thanks,
>
>-matt
>