Editing Bear McCreary

{{Crew Data
| image=Bearheadshot.jpg
| role=Composer
| series=TRS
| series 2=Caprica
| series 3=BAC
| born_month= 2
| born_day= 17
| born_year= 1979
| death_month= 
| death_day= 
| death_year=
| nationality=US
| imdb=0566970
| site=https://www.bearmccreary.com
| sortkey=McCreary, Bear}}
A classically trained composer and multiple-award recipient, '''Bear McCreary''' is the mastermind behind the music of the [[Re-imagined Series]]. 

McCreary's work is available in the [[Soundtrack (Season 1)|Season 1]], [[Soundtrack (Season 2)|Season 2]], [[Soundtrack (Season 3)|Season 3]] and [[Soundtrack (Season 4)|Season 4]] soundtracks to the hit SF series. Having composed music since he was just 6 years old, and being a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music, McCreary has a knack for creating classical pieces, as well as quirky, off-beat melodies.

McCreary worked on the [[Miniseries]] as an additional composer with soundtrack composer [[Richard Gibbs]], and collaborated with Gibbs on the soundtracks for season 1 episodes 2 & 3, "[[Water]]" & "[[Bastille Day]]", respectively.  Gibbs opted not to commit to the regular series production, citing schedule conflicts and his desire to devote more time to scoring theatrical films.  As a result, McCreary alone scored "[[33]]" (the first episode aired) and stayed on as soundtrack composer from then on.

The piano-playing character [[Dreilide Thrace|Slick]] in the [[Season 4 (2008-09)|Season 4]] episode "[[Someone to Watch Over Me]]" was loosely based on McCreary.<ref>http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/06/sepinwall_on_tv_michael_giacch.html</ref> He also made an uncredited appearance as a patron of [[Joe's bar]] in the episode "[[Deadlock]]."

McCreary has also scored SyFy's ''[[w:Eureka (TV series)|Eureka]]'' and FOX's ''[[w:Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles|Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', based on the Terminator movies. In addition, he scored the prequel series ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' and the following movie ''[[Blood and Chrome]]''. When not working on television, McCreary also composes soundtracks for independent movies.

==Scoring ''Blood & Chrome''==
When McCreary composed the score for ''[[Blood and Chrome]]'', he faced a unique creative challenge at the intersection of familiarity and innovation. The film's emphasis on action, adventure, and military themes meant he needed to honor the established musical universe of the [[Re-imagined Series]] while finding something new to say.<ref name="McCreary2013">{{cite web |last=McCreary |first=Bear |title=Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome |url=https://bearmccreary.com/battlestar-galactica-blood-chrome/ |website=Bear McCreary |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref>

===Electronic Synthesis Innovation===
For the first time in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' musical universe, McCreary introduced electronic synthesizers alongside the signature organic instrumentation. This represented a deliberate departure from his previous work on the Re-imagined Series and ''Caprica'', where he had intentionally avoided synthetic sounds to maintain the dramatic, grounded tone. ''Blood & Chrome'''s more adventurous and fun approach gave him license to experiment with heavy synthesizer bass lines and electronic textures to energize the acoustic foundation.<ref name="McCreary2013" />

===Key Collaborations===
McCreary assembled an expanded team for ''Blood & Chrome'', reuniting his core musicians from previous ''BSG'' projects while adding new collaborators:
* [[Mike Keneally]] - Legendary guitarist and keyboardist who provided heavy metal guitar work, including drop-tuned distortion down to low C
* [[Jonathan Snipes]] - Electronic musician who designed custom synthesizer patches
* [[Chris Bleth]] - Returning woodwind specialist who performed on duduk and bansuri
* [[MB Gordy]] - Taiko and percussion specialist from the original series
* [[Paul Cartwright]] - Electric violin virtuoso 
* [[Steve Bartek]] - Electric guitar and electric sitar performer
* [[Brendan McCreary]] and [[Raya Yarbrough]] - Vocalists who contributed to the end credits song<ref name="McCreary2013" />

===Musical Themes and Innovation===
McCreary developed several new leitmotifs specifically for ''Blood & Chrome'':
* [[Military Theme]] - Used to represent young Adama's developing relationships with fellow soldiers, particularly his bond with Coker, rather than the familial Adama Family Theme
* [[Becca Theme]] - A mysterious melody performed by piano, gamelan, vibraphone and rhodes to create a "shimmering, vibrating quality"
* [[Coker Theme]] - A beautiful six-note melody reserved for the character's emotional moments, played by solo bansuri with duduk accompaniment
* [[Destruction Theme]] - A mournful synthesizer melody inspired by Vangelis' ''Blade Runner'', doubled with duduk to add human expression to the electronic sounds<ref name="McCreary2013" />

===Technical Recording Innovations===
McCreary employed several unprecedented recording techniques for ''Blood & Chrome''. During the orchestral sessions, he created a five-minute ambient string texture by assigning each orchestral section specific tremolo patterns on open strings (Ds and As) and conducting them in real-time while watching the film, shaping the sound dynamically with hand gestures rather than traditional notation. He also worked closely with mixer [[Steve Kaplan]] to blend the duduk performances inside synthesizer leads, creating an "oddly expressive" electronic sound enhanced by the subtle human elements of breath and finger movement.<ref name="McCreary2013" />

===End Credits Collaboration===
The film concludes with "[[Apocalypse: Blood & Chrome]]," an adaptation of music McCreary originally wrote for ''[[The Plan]]''. This marked the first time in the ''BSG'' universe that he used English lyrics, written by [[Raya Yarbrough]] and performed by [[Brendan McCreary]], blended with [[Mike Keneally]]'s distorted guitars and Raya's ethereal vocal layers singing the traditional Gayatri Mantra.<ref name="McCreary2013" />

==Composing the Series Finale==
The nearly 100-minute score for "[[Daybreak, Part I]]" and "[[Daybreak, Part II]]" represents what McCreary described as potentially "The Battlestar Galactica Symphony." With all thematic material firmly established in previous episodes, McCreary took this opportunity to develop themes further than ever before, combining, fracturing, distorting, elongating, inverting and augmenting them in rewarding ways.<ref name="daybreak">{{cite web |url=https://bearmccreary.com/bg4-daybreak-pt-2/ |title=BG4: "Daybreak, Parts I & II" |author=Bear McCreary |date=March 20, 2008 |access-date=July 26, 2025}}</ref>

===Unique Compositional Process===
Unlike his typical approach of scoring the most difficult scenes first, McCreary felt such intense creative pressure for the finale that he knew he had to change his method. He began with the very first cue and proceeded chronologically through the entire episode, completing the monumental task in a "blistering and virtually sleepless sixteen days." The process became so overwhelming that he made himself a checklist of every major theme he wanted to appear in the finale and marked them off as he wrote.<ref name="daybreak"/>

===Unprecedented Collaboration===
When budget constraints threatened to limit the orchestral scope of the finale, McCreary and the producers took an unprecedented step. In a move that "basically never happens" in television production, they personally pooled their financial resources to fund the full orchestral score. Contributors included [[Ronald D. Moore]], [[David Eick]], [[Jane Espenson]], [[Michael Taylor]], [[Bradley Thompson]], [[David Weddle]], Todd Sharp, Paul M. Leonard, and McCreary himself.<ref name="daybreak"/>

===Mathematical Precision in Music===
McCreary worked closely with the series' science advisor [[Kevin Grazier]] to create a mathematically valid method for deriving stellar navigation coordinates from the [[Final Four Theme]]. Using a diatonic scale system where each note corresponds to its scale degree (1 through 7), McCreary developed a system that someone with [[Kara Thrace]]'s musical background would intuitively understand. The process became so complex that McCreary began to empathize with Kara as she struggled to crack the code in the music.<ref name="daybreak"/>

===Editorial Innovation===
In another unprecedented move for television scoring, McCreary requested that editors re-cut the coordinate derivation sequence to match his music rather than the other way around. Working directly with editor Andy Seklir and co-producer Paul Leonard, McCreary sat in the editing room and showed them exactly where he envisioned each musical note hitting, resulting in perfect synchronization between the music and [[Kara Thrace]]'s finger movements on the keypad.<ref name="daybreak"/>

===The Only New Theme===
According to McCreary, the [[Final Four Theme]] (which he initially called the "Flashback Theme" and later re-titled the "Earth Theme") was the only new melodic idea he wrote for "Daybreak." The rest of the massive score was comprised entirely of variations and developments of familiar themes with already established meaning, making it a true culmination of the series' musical journey.<ref name="daybreak"/>

==Leitmotifs in the ''Battlestar Galactica'' [[Soundtrack]]==
McCreary makes use of many recurring character or event [[w:leitmotif|leitmotif]]s in the series' soundtrack. See: [[Music of Battlestar Galactica (RDM)]]

== External Links ==
*[http://www.bearmccreary.com/ Official Bear McCreary website.]

==References==
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