Natural Selection
Original score · Mirage3D · 2009
Natural Selection is a fulldome film that follows the life and discoveries of Charles Darwin — from his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos Islands through to the development of his theory of natural selection. Produced by Mirage3D and narrated by Tony Maples, the film was made to mark the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth. The score was recorded with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.
From the film
Stills from the fulldome film.
Watch
Behind the scenes at the recording sessions.
Listen
Selected cues from the score.
Recording in Budapest
The score was composed in Studio City, California, with Edgar Sandoval and Kasia Middleton preparing the orchestral parts, sent digitally to Budapest — where session fixer Lökös Csaba booked the studio, arranged the players, and printed the music.
Getting there proved an adventure in itself. On the morning of our flight from London Gatwick, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted, and as we were about to board, flights across Europe were cancelled. Like contestants on The Amazing Race, we grabbed one of the last Eurostar tickets to Paris, found a hotel late at night, then queued next morning for train passage to Budapest — several connections, a French train strike, and (this being 2010) a constant hunt for wifi to reach an increasingly worried Csaba. Because we’d planned to arrive early, the time the trains ate up meant we made it just in time; Csaba stayed up to meet us at Keleti station.
The sessions took place at the Hungarian Radio Studio with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, conductor Péter Ilényi driving the players hard from the control room. The Children’s Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House added the treble voices in the opening cue and throughout the score.
The surround mix
The 5.1 surround scoring mix was completed at Kore Studios, London, by engineer Gerry O’Riordan, with director Robin Sip present — the orchestra placed spatially around the audience to match the 360° dome. O’Riordan’s credits range from Legend of the Guardians to 73 episodes of Doctor Who.
Credits
Music composed and conducted by Mark Slater.
Budapest Symphony Orchestra · Hungarian Radio Studio, Budapest.
Children’s Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House.
Surround mix by Gerry O’Riordan, Kore Studios, London.
Produced by Mirage3D · Written & directed by Robin Sip · Narrated by Tony Maples.
Awards
Jena Fulldome Festival 2010 — Award of Excellence and highest audience score
Imiloa Fulldome Film Festival — Award for Best Audio Track
Espinho IFF’09 — Finalist “HMS Beagle”