r/breakingbad • u/bbcomposer Composer Dave Porter • Apr 12 '13
I am composer Dave Porter, best known for my work on the television series Breaking Bad. Ask Me Anything.
Thank you very much for inviting me... I'm excited to be here! I hear that this is where the most avid and insightful BB fans are lurking, so I'm looking forward to some juicy questions!
One point of common confusion that I want to mention right away... as composer I write the original score each week, which includes the theme and end credits and underscore. I am not involved much in the selection of the music we license from bands and other artists, which is handled by our wonderful music supervisor Thomas Golubic. (an AMA for another day?)
You can learn more about me and listen to some of my music on my website:
and follow me on facebook here (where I posted to verify this is me):
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Porter/150020628425348?ref=hl
You can find my score soundtrack album for Breaking Bad either as mp3s or a physical CD at amazon:
or iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/breaking-bad-original-score/id553068780
That's it.... fire away!
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u/moderatemoderater Apr 12 '13
Whose idea was it to have the heart pounding sound when Walt was in the crawl space'? Also, what did you do to get that particular sound?
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u/bbcomposer Apr 13 '13
The idea was mine. The sound that you refer to is the combination of two sounds... a "thud" from an old synthesizer (ARP 2600) and a sample of someone kicking a guitar amp, which I processed and gated. Eventually a second sound creeps in that moves between two pitches, which is a bit of ground hum (again from a guitar amp) that I sampled and processed.
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u/LuisMoncada Apr 12 '13
WELCOME Dave. Don't have a question, I just wanna say Thank u for giving us (Cousins) the bad ass Original sounds u did...Made us look Cooooool ;)
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u/bbcomposer Apr 13 '13
Hey Luis! Wait a minute.... you speak? or at least type, I guess!
You guys made it easy... scoring that opening scene from season 3 when you guys were crawling through the dirt will always be one of my favorites to have worked on!
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u/iamacannibal Apr 12 '13
What is your favorite episode from Breaking Bad?
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u/bbcomposer Apr 12 '13
That's tough... here are 3 -- "Fly", "End Times", "Grilled"
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u/Kip_Hackman_ Apr 12 '13
I love shows with a good opening theme and Breaking Bad has one of the best. How did you come up with that? I also enjoyed that rift (idk if thats what you'd call it) at the end of crawl space when Walter is finished going insane and the camera pans out.
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u/bbcomposer Apr 12 '13
The theme came about after many discussions with Vince Gilligan about the show. The hardest part about writing a theme for a series is that you have to create it based only on one episode. Only Vince knew where Breaking Bad was headed. There were several competing versions of the theme at one point, but I was pleased that this one was chosen. My hope was that even in the first season, it gave a glimpse into what Walt would become by the end of the series.
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u/LuisMoncada Apr 12 '13
"Fly", "End Times", "Grilled" So these are your Favorite?!!!! Okaaaay, Now i gotta kill you! Can't believe you didn't even pick one Episode of the Cousins! ;)
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u/TikkuSircar Apr 12 '13
1.) When you're working on a show that airs weekly, do directors ever ask you to go back and redo whole cues because they don't like it? If so, how do you find the time to do such revisions with weekly deadlines looming?
2.) What are three plug-ins that you couldn't live with out?
3.) What steps do you take to make sure your work sounds great on both television speakers and home theater systems?
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u/Lynkx0501 Apr 12 '13
What do you feel is the most powerful song you've composed for Breaking Bad and Why?
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u/bbcomposer Apr 12 '13
For me personally, I'd probably choose "Jane's Demise." The score in that moment had to add gravity in a subtle enough manner that wouldn't influence how the audience perceived Bryan Cranston's incredibly complicated and nuanced performance... and yet had to be bold enough to compliment the incredible horror of this character dying before our eyes.
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u/Benasdfghjkl Apr 12 '13
The music that accompanies Jesse, gun in hand, walking up to the two dudes at the end of the penultimate episode in season 3 is one of my all-time favourite musical moments in television/film. So firstly, thank you for providing us with that experience, alongside many others.
What artists do you feel have influenced you in shaping your sound?
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u/Surfingmonkeyshow Apr 13 '13
Hi Dave! Just wanted to stop by to say thanks for all your great work on Breaking Bad. Awesome that you're doing an AMA.
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u/edify Apr 12 '13
Hey Dave, Thanks for your time.
Do you recall what was it like working on the bottle episode 310 "Fly"? It's a favorite of mine.
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u/CherryWibble Apr 12 '13
Did you compose the opening theme prior to having read/seen the pilot? How much input did Vince Gilligan have on it?
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u/DragonBaLLzY Apr 12 '13
Hey Mr. Porter, thanks for doing this. Really awesome of you.
I'd just like to say that Parking Garage Standoff and Crawl Space are just incredible. You are a genius, seriously. Your music really just brings the show alive and adds that intensity and awesomeness.
What is your favorite piece that you've done and also, is there any really good ones that you love in these last 8 episodes?
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u/ElHeisenberg Apr 12 '13
Dave,
In a televison series, the music often reflects the elements of the show. What factors of the show caused you to compose the OST as you did?
Music often plays a key role in determining the mood/emotion for a scene. In your opinion, which scenes of the show have had the most compelling music?
What are some other projects you will be working on in the future after Breaking Bad ends?
Thanks for doing the AMA, and I am looking forward to the rest of Season 5.
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u/hypergenesb Apr 12 '13
It's well documented that Vince Gilligan is obsessive about details in all aspects of the production. I would assume this would apply to the score. Can you share the process for scoring an episode of this show? What's been your working relationship with him? What's it like to work for a showrunner as details-oriented as Vince? How is working for Vince different than other showrunners? (Love your score, btw. Wonderful work.)
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u/cranky12 Apr 12 '13
hello Mr. Porter, I love your work and just wanted to ask you what your favorite instrument is?
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u/sftrabbit Apr 12 '13
Thanks for doing this! "Matches in the Pool" was one of the reasons I enjoyed the pilot so much and continued watching. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions about your composition process.
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What hardware/software do you like to use for Breaking Bad?
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Do you have any interesting audio processing techniques that you think are pretty important for the show's music?
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You clearly don't use the typical theme and variations approach with this show. How is the music for a scene affected by characters, setting, etc?
You're probably just writing the music for some of the final episodes (I think they just finished filming), so I hope it's going well! Can't wait to hear it. Thanks again!
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u/Roflcopter27 Apr 12 '13
How did you get the job composing for Breaking Bad? (BTW your work is AWESOME)
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u/OverwatchElite Apr 12 '13
How awesome was doing music for high speed "chase" involving the one and only Pontiac Aztec?
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u/bbcomposer Apr 13 '13
Thanks so much, everyone, I'm really impressed by all of your questions and really appreciate all of the kind words. I'm running out of time, but if I wasn't able to answer your question or you have follow ups please don't hesitate to ask me on my facebook page. I'm not always speedy about replying, but I usually do!
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and is getting as excited as I am about the final 8 episodes.
Dave