Michael Giacchino scores War for the Planet of the Apes

Earlier this spring, Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino recorded his score to War for the Planet of the Apes, the third film in the rebooted sci-fi trilogy. Directed by Matt Reeves, Giacchino’s score was recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox, and we are excited to bring our readers exclusive photos from the sessions!

Giacchino’s score to War for the Planet of the Apes was conducted by orchestrator Tim Simonec, as well as Marshall Bowen, and performed by a 90-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony.

As is befitting an Apes film, there was a large percussion section, including famed percussionist Emil Richards, who has performed on every Apes film, starting with the original Goldsmith one in 1968!

Additionally, a 60-person choir was used to create some otherworldly vocal effects, as well as add another emotional layer to the thematic score.

At a pick-up date, the orchestra recorded original music for the final trailer for the film, but it was sadly unused in the end.

In the booth, composer Michael Giacchino was joined by orchestrator Jeff Kryka, director Matt Reeves, scoring mixer Joel Iwataki, music editor Paul Apelgren, assistant music editor Warren Brown, and ProTools recordist Vinni Cirilli.

War for the Planet of the Apes is now playing in theaters, and a score album is available from Sony Masterworks