Twee mensen waar ik meer dan enorm respect voor hebben, werken meer dan actief mee aan Defiance — en dat is eigenlijk alles wat ik nodig heb om er al met meer dan gewone aandacht naar te kijken. 

Ondanks de verzameling klassieke tropes: post-alien-invasie meets steampunk, hier en daar wat Romeo en Julia (of Hatfields en McCoys), browncoat-achtig hoofdpersonage, goede Star Trek-aliens gemengd met slechte Starship Troopers-aliens, …

Bear McCreary maakt de muziek. En meer dan dat: 

I was initially tasked with all the normal duties required of a composer.  I wrote adaptive music for the video game, and dramatic background score for the series. I had to ensure that each version had its own unique characteristics, suited to its needs, but also that musical threads united the franchise. […]

In addition to typical composer duties, however, I was asked to contribute a wealth of source music (music that is actually heard by characters within the story – for example, a song on the radio). I was asked to help bring the alien cultures to life by developing a distinct musical heritage for each. I fashioned Votan instrumentation and lyrics into a variety of popular songs and ceremonial pieces. I wrote pieces for street musicians that float through open-air marketplaces. I produced alien classical music, jingles, jazz, rock-anthems and torch songs. 

En de talen worden gemaakt door David Peterson, de man die ook al onder meer de talen maakte voor A Game of Thrones.

Zijn AMA op Reddit gisteren vond ik met redelijk veel voorsprong de meest sympathieke sinds zeer zeer lang, en op Dothraki staat geen één artikel dat niet hyperboeiend is. Zoals die keer dat hij het heeft over het Valyrian waar we allemaal op zaten te wachten, in de eerste aflevering van seizoen drie:

What you hear in the premiere is Astapori Valyrian. It’s descended from High Valyrian, with the old Ghiscari language serving as a substrate or basilectal influence. It’s not mutually intelligible with High Valyrian, but it is close to some of the languages of the Free Cities, on account of separate but similar evolutionary changes (which we didn’t talk about here [and by “we” I mean “I”]).

To give you an example, here’s a line from last night’s episode (one of Missandei’s):

J’azanty ivetras ji vali nedhinki sizi zughilis vi murgho.
“The knight says that even the brave men fear death.”

And here’s what that sentence looks like in High Valyrian:

Morghot nēdyssy sesīr zūgusy azantys vestras.

Geek out, yay! En als ze dan tesamen werken… wheee!

A song is defined as much by its lyrics as by its music. And where the Votan songs required distinct instrumentation and styles, they also clearly needed a distinct language. Luckily, linguist David J. Peterson was already onboard “Defiance,” crafting unique Castithan and Votan languages for the actors to speak. Over the course of the first season, you will hear a variety of source music that I composed in collaboration with David, including rock anthems, funeral chants, prayers and rap songs. He is an invaluable resource and adds a layer of authenticity to this franchise that fans will appreciate for years to come. As someone who puts a ton of detail into his work, I can say that David has completely stunned me with his precision and passion for his work.

In addition to devising the function of the languages, David also contributed text and lyrics, including writing the lyrics for “Besash:”

Let’s give up
Just take the gini weed and surrender to oblivion
To resist is to rein in an expanding void
If the world is going to bait us with palliatives
Let’s drop out…
The eye of our storm is the ultimate refuge
Let’s give up… Lest the power fail
Let’s give up… Lest the apocalypse be tonight
Let’s drop out… You can trust me…
To hide… Because it’s boiling over the edge
Fade… Let’s… Let’s give up

(Besásh 
Hei kenyuzé gini s’esásh gyaluz’ 
Shidawenye nudri napaki shisi 
Kwa damon shintha omrus’ 
Behís… Ibusǝ nyekisha nuneppe 
Besásh… Kwǝgyí shaku thurla 
Besásh… Kwǝgyí lunyigy’ gyamme 
Behís… Lema ba shetu titu… 
Shesenu… Gyi tushe ‘zazenyehe 
Laká… Be… Besásh)

Maar in alle geval dus: hoera! Nieuwe Science Fiction op tv! Ik houd mijn oordelen beraad tot nadat ik een aantal afleveringen gezien heb!