‘Migration’ composer John Powell on creating an evolving theme for a hero’s journey

For migrationComposer John Powell was commissioned to create a theme for a reluctant hero who develops over the course of his journey. Screenplay and direction: Benjamin Renner, migration follow a family of ducks on a new journey. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) is a wild duck content to never leave the safety of his pond until his wife Pam (Elizabeth Banks) convinces him that their children need to see the world. Mack sets his sights on Jamaica and takes his family on a trip south, but things quickly go awry. As they overcome new challenges and meet new friends, the family discovers that they are capable of much more than they thought. While Mack’s attitude toward migration changed throughout the film, Powell’s theme for the character expanded as he grew.

DEADLINE: How does the score change if the Ducks travel through New York to Jamaica?

JOHN POWELL: One of the things I did from the beginning was write the theme for Mack. I wrote a song that deliberately went deep, which you don’t do with a hero theme, and then it didn’t go anywhere. It was a very conscious decision and also a tune for the rest of the family. Especially Pam, the wife, did the exact opposite, so she was always open and inclusive. After applying this thematic material to the character fabric, all I had to do was make sure that this material was used for each scenario. As they traveled and the journey especially broadened Mack’s horizons, his melody got a little bigger and grander and then became a hero melody. It starts out as a tune that doesn’t want to be a hero, but Jamaica has unleashed many of the tunes to their most joyous selves.

DEADLINE: Were there any specific instruments you wanted to use for this film?

POWEL: Conversations with Benjamin reveal that he is actually a big fan of classical music. So I think I may have done my job when I said, “Everything anyone ever needs to know about score is all in Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf.’ One of the interesting things about “Peter and the Wolf” is the duck, a tramp. It’s a beautiful photo of a very scared duck. We are all heavily influenced by this piece, so there are a few small nods, including an overuse of the oboe and especially the neurotic oboe for Mack.

When you arrive in New York, it is not New York as we know it. It’s not jazz, it’s not Broadway, none of that. It’s this gigantic alien metropolis that you encounter in a foggy scene, and it’s chaotic and dangerous. I used all kinds of strange voices. And another very special thing, with the dove heads, most of them are me on a kora, an African harp with a slide. It’s like a metal bar that you can just zoom up and down on, and it made some really weird noises that kind of fit her character.

It’s very hard to say why things work, basically you just play a lot with everything you can. And then when you play you suddenly realize that everything holds together and many things fall by the wayside. As long as you can tie it into any necessary narrative text you’re doing with the band and it doesn’t look too out of place, I’ll use anything. And I did.

DEADLINE: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during this project?

POWEL: The challenges and highlights are the same, namely trying to make characters fly. Of course they don’t have a problem with ducks, but I think the beauty of flying is that for the characters in the film, it’s a joy to travel. One of the things we do in the film is to make sure we captivate you with their excitement and the ecstatic feeling they feel while flying. So that’s always the challenge. The greatest joy for me is somehow representing how we as humans feel about the idea of ​​flight, and there are some beautiful scenes in the film that had to be really good.