The forthcoming Dwayne Johnson-led Rampage finds the Rock starring alongside a giant albino gorilla named George (Jason Liles), so it's only fitting that the film's score used recordings of real monkeys. However, those particular apes weren't quite up to the task, leading composer Andrew Lockington to Costa Rica.
As Lockington told The Hollywood Reporter, his initial try at recording gorillas making noise didn't leave him with an end result he liked.
"I read an article in National Geographic that discussed how gorillas hum. It was fascinating," he told the site. "Ultimately, the humming wasn't that interesting, but during the recording session one of the zookeepers said, 'Well, they're nothing like the howler monkeys of Costa Rica.' I thought, 'Oh, that's interesting.'
Lockington then flew to Costa Rica to record the howler monkeys, running his recordings through modular synthesizers to achieve different sounds. Lockington also incorporated the synths to alter recordings of the African Children's Choir from Uganda.
"I recorded with them and we got several great textures," Lockington explained. "When you stretch out those textures and run them through modular synths, remodulators, and a unison carrier wave, it creates this incredible sound. I literally took one second of the choir and stretched it for two minutes, and that's how you get that space sound. When I played it for the producers, they didn't even register that it was choir."
Rampage arrives in North American theatres tomorrow (April 13). Hear a track from Lockington's score below [via THR].
As Lockington told The Hollywood Reporter, his initial try at recording gorillas making noise didn't leave him with an end result he liked.
"I read an article in National Geographic that discussed how gorillas hum. It was fascinating," he told the site. "Ultimately, the humming wasn't that interesting, but during the recording session one of the zookeepers said, 'Well, they're nothing like the howler monkeys of Costa Rica.' I thought, 'Oh, that's interesting.'
Lockington then flew to Costa Rica to record the howler monkeys, running his recordings through modular synthesizers to achieve different sounds. Lockington also incorporated the synths to alter recordings of the African Children's Choir from Uganda.
"I recorded with them and we got several great textures," Lockington explained. "When you stretch out those textures and run them through modular synths, remodulators, and a unison carrier wave, it creates this incredible sound. I literally took one second of the choir and stretched it for two minutes, and that's how you get that space sound. When I played it for the producers, they didn't even register that it was choir."
Rampage arrives in North American theatres tomorrow (April 13). Hear a track from Lockington's score below [via THR].
