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IMAscore...overhyped?

It's worth pointing out too, as you mentioned the number of tracks, that at least one from the ride itself is not included on the CD (Annoyingly my favourite part too!), which plays on the turnaround before the final drop. It's only a very short piece, which may explain why it's not on the disc, but even so :p


On the whole hype front, I do have to agree that I think IMA's name gets thrown around and worshiped far too much. Yes, they have produced some brilliant pieces of music, and fair play to them for getting to where they have in a relatively short space of time, but I don't think that they are necessarily the be all and end all. Just because a ride has IMAScore audio doesn't instantly make me want to fall in love with the park or product.

Each product is different, and I think that it very much boils down to what the client asks for. Attractions such as Europa, Disney, and co. all have exceptionally high standards, and therefore will settle for nothing but the best. Other parks however, may be more forgiving and laid back in what they require. If the client doesn't push for quality then they aren't going to necessarily get it.

As I say, they have produced some fantastic work, and I would never deny I enjoy it, but I don't agree with the opinion a few seem to take that any project they undertake will be amazing, and the best in it's class.

I'd like to leave this abomination here, as I leave ;) (Check out the English version if you thought that was bad!)

http://www.imascore.com/videos/hollywoodonparade.mp4

Oh, and if anyone was wondering, my favourite soundtracks are Danny Elfman's Mystic Manor, and Steve Bramson's De la Terre a la Lune score ;)
 
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I thought the Helix track was 100 minutes long?

I love The Smiler's soundtrack as well...
 
I think the original point Danny was making was that it's quite unusual for a flat ride to get its own custom soundtrack. The first flats with their dedicated music that spring to my mind are Thorpe's, but for all I know the ones that aren't reused from other rides could be royalty-free. Getting something written specifically for a flat is not something many parks would go to the expense of.

Like most projects, theme park attractions must be a compromise between budget and desired end result. Yes, you could hire a composer with a portfolio chock full of films for your new ride, but even if they have time to do it I suspect they'll probably charge an arm and a leg. I'm sure Alastair is absolutely correct in saying that IMAScore's work is no better than what plenty of composers could come up, but Heide Park and Liseberg must be sufficiently happy with both the music produced for them and the prices they paid for it to be giving them repeat business. They just seem to have been in the right place at the right time; they've worked on a string of high-profile rides with well known parks, and I generally quite like their work.

I think a lot of the praise for IMAScore from enthusiasts also stems from them arranging with parks to release soundtracks, or at least put clips on YouTube. It makes a nice change for it to be available through official sources, even when parks don't permit the release of entire suites (as discussed above, Chiapas definitely has more than is on the CD; sadly there are tracks on the turn before the final drop and one more on the plaza that are missing, though you wouldn't notice unless you're very familiar with the released tracks).
 
I think the hype bubbles around IMAScores pricing.

They obviously charge a good price, for Merlin to be using them quite obsessively recently. If chessie can afford them to do a 2 week halloween track..

Plus, their music is far better than what we've experienced beforehand in the UK.. what we're used to. I far prefer listening to IMA's music than the 2 minute long Air track, or Thirteens awful composition. We've actually started to get somewhere decent. Although it may not be the best and all you music boffins are irritated, it's far better than we had beforehand, and it's improving experiences.

Plus, with Chiapas, it's obvious they're improving and capable of doing some magnificent pieces. Chiapas area is by far my favourite at Phantasialand, and has become so memorable and enjoyable because of the music.
 
See i like the Smilers music, when you actually sit and listen to it there is a lot of variety. People just tend to listen to the 3 minute sample that is online.

Theme park music's purpose is to set a scene, that is why nearly all park music works on the back of a single melody. It's aim is not to draw you attention (unless it's for a short segment on a ride) but add atmosphere to the proceedings. All of IMA's work does that, Smiler is creepy and twisted, it's got the repetitive laughing as it was commissioned to be jarring and disturbing. Chiapas is more multilayered as you are on a journey progressing through different stages.

And as with any company i imagine you will get what you pay for, but a park will have to pay more for a full orchestra then they would for a computer composed piece. As for why IMA are popular with geeks, it's because they engage well with social media.

Of course there will be others of equal or higher skill out there. But if they don't engage people wont take any notice.
 
thefatone said:
I think the hype bubbles around IMAScores pricing.

They obviously charge a good price, for Merlin to be using them quite obsessively recently. If chessie can afford them to do a 2 week halloween track..
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IMAScore is anything but cheap; they definitely charge a premium for their music.
 
Can I clarify I am not suggesting the music is bad, that they are not talented or creative, that they do not deserve their success or any other such nonsense as a "music boffin".

All I am saying is, gushing over one set of producers like this shows a lack of understanding of the immense talent that is around that could potentially produce, YES, BETTER pieces of music with more subtlety, transition, depth of composition etc.

I am not a classically trained musician like a fair few are on here, but I am intimately familiar with undiscovered or newly discovered brilliant composers/producers.

Personally, I don't overly welcome a situation where one company gets a ton of hype thus encouraging a situation where other talent is simply over looked - they will become the "pop stars" of the theme park world if this happens.

They're doing well, and it's great to see independent new up and coming producers/composers finding a way into this niche, all I am suggesting is they're not the be all and end all of creative producers.
 
TheMan said:
All I am saying is, gushing over one set of producers like this shows a lack of understanding of the immense talent that is around that could potentially produce, YES, BETTER pieces of music with more subtlety, transition, depth of composition etc.
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The other composers don't engage in social media interaction with people who are listening to theme park music. IMA score have simply tapped into the fact there is a community of people who will engage with them with their music.

If other composers want that, they simply have to log on to social media.
 
I don't think the fact that they engage with social media should have, or indeed does have any effect on people's perception of their music. Composer's reputations should speak for themselves. You don't see John Williams whoring himself out on Facebook, yet nearly everyone in the Western world will know and recognise his music.
 
Dave said:
The other composers don't engage in social media interaction with people who are listening to theme park music. IMA score have simply tapped into the fact there is a community of people who will engage with them with their music.

If other composers want that, they simply have to log on to social media.
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Not true. You need luck. Everyone in the industry knows that.

Not denying them that luck, but why then by that regard am I not a super-producer given the work I have done, and social media exposure I have had, competitions I have been featured heavily in etc?

No, you still need the right person at the right time to spot you.

I applaud success, I am not one who would deny others, in fact I try to take inspiration from it when it's done in a fair fashion (another topic), but to suggest it's all about logging onto social media is crazy and just factually wrong.
 
Islander said:
IMAScore is anything but cheap; they definitely charge a premium for their music.
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Obviously they charge for their music. But they obviously charge the right price for places which hate spending money to spend... (Where does merlin spend on it's music? Legoland certainly not Islander ;))
 
thefatone said:
Obviously they charge for their music. But they obviously charge the right price for places which hate spending money to spend... (Where does merlin spend on it's music? Legoland certainly not Islander ;))
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Heh I wish ;). But no, all I'm saying is that IMAScore aren't in any way cheap, relative to others in the market. Chessington spent a lot on that track, more than they would have with others - it's definitely unusual, out of character, but in a good way.
 
I do not think IMAscore are overhyped. They simply produce top quality theme park music that should be enjoyed. The Magic Valley soundtrack that they have produced for Toverland is exceptional and fits the area of the park perfetly. The same can be said for the Chiapas soundtrack.

It does also help that they are very interactive on social media and release/sell a lot of their music. It helps people warm to them.

If a new attraction is not getting an IMAscore soundtrack then people are not disappointed and wishing that it was. But if a new attraction is people are happy as they know IMAscore have a good track record.

:)
 
Alastair said:
I don't think the fact that they engage with social media should have, or indeed does have any effect on people's perception of their music. Composer's reputations should speak for themselves. You don't see John Williams whoring himself out on Facebook, yet nearly everyone in the Western world will know and recognise his music.
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Film scores have a wider more main stream audience, it's not really compareable to a niche market. Your coming at this from a music experts point of view, yet asking why theme park fans engage with IMA.

Park music Is one small aspect of the fan focus, geeks are just attaching to that which is most accessible. Their more nuanced opinions would be more likely to occur in the bigger elements of theme park fandom, which is ride hardware and theming. That doesn't speak for everyone as you yourself prove, but the question was why do IMA get geek focus and I would hazard a guess it's their accessibility along with the fact they have worked on a few recent European projects.

As for why parks pick them, I imagine they got a bit of luck with their first park commission, marketed well and kept on the ball with the fact they are selling music to people who are not music experts but people looking for a product, not art.
 
Overhyped??? Most definitely not! Flying to the Hills is quite honestly the best piece of music I have ever heard.

EDIT: Read Flying as Fly.
 
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