Editor's note for 6:25: No, I've been told they _are_ in the same key. What do you think happened with Lord Of The Shore and why it sounds so similar? Do you think it's too close?
To be completely honest, I have no clue, on face level, the composers of Hogwarts Legacy could have just taken the music from the HTTYD soundtrack or used a temp track and changed very little, but I have a feeling it mightn't have been that simple. I do completely agree, though, on your point about how some more "rough" music would've worked for that part in the game. Something as you showed, like the start of buckbeak's flight although there would still be the problem of the gameplay being unpredictable.
I think that’s something to anticipate in video game music. I’m not sure how common this is, but for Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 the music starts as soon as you start running or jumping off a building and finds a way to stop once you do. It’s pretty clever, but compositionally it wouldn’t make for consistent music.
Honestly a super popular blockbuster franchise copying off of httyd for music just makes me more proud of httyd, because it speaks to the quality of it.
I remember when I unlocked that mount while playing, I genuinly paused and went: "Is this Test Drive?" because it sounded *really* close to it. And it definitely didn't escape my notice considering how I remember listening to the first movie's sountrack over and over again when I was in middle school a decade ago
It’s definitely catching a lot of attention from players. I think you’re the fourth person to say they noticed it, and I’m guessing it took you out of the game too.
@@FilmScoreandMore It did take me out of the game haha, I found this video literally because of the "issue". Took my mood way down after I kneeled before the mighty beast.
When I watched walkthroughs of _Hogwarts Legacy_ and it got to that bit of the title character riding that giant yak ram thing and they played the music, I was like "Wait a minute. This sounds very much like _How To Train Your Dragon."_ So glad I'm not the only one who picked up on this.
I remember showing the two songs to my bf bc I heard it instantly and he told me that they sound nothing alike and they're different. So I'm glad this video addresses the specific similarities bc I feel like I have to show this to him
@@FilmScoreandMore he watched the video and we had to go through the beginning part several times so he could see exactly how similar they were. he finally agreed they were really similar lol
I heard it and was like damn this sounds like something from HTTYD, then i heard Test Drive again and i was blown away when i found out the graphorn music literally is just Test Drive 😂
It's definitely too close in my mind. I wonder if it was a case of a temp track and a "whoops we forgot a cue" and slapped this together last minute? Especially with the other moments where they reference the original Harry Potter music, like the potions class v Lockhart for instance that I covered in my video on this game's music. I find it very odd that the music is so well done in some areas, but completely bombs in scenes like this, the hogwarts reveal and the music puzzle. With how long they spent on the game, I too am curious of the story behind this cue. I do have thoughts about Toothless' theme v flying ostinato though and plan on putting something together to address that
I’m really interested to see if more information comes out about this cue. It’s getting more attention than most, but for the wrong reasons. I might have to check out your video! And yes, a lot of people believe that ostinato to be Toothless’ Theme because that’s what they thought before Omni Music’s book and the name just kind of stuck. I’m hoping to show more people how it really works.
@@FilmScoreandMore we'll just have to wait and see if something comes of it. we have lawsuits over chord progressions or ostinatos that are kinda similar, so it makes sense one would happen here. As for the other, definitely keep doing what you are doing, I'm not calling you wrong, but I have some additional thoughts that might help explain things a bit better and it applies for film score analysis as a whole
Yes, time will tell. If it’s about the ostinato, I can help a bit there too. There’s another important detail that didn’t make it into my E.T./HTTYD video. There’s a page in the HTTYD 2 art book with quotes from John Powell about the movie, mostly about his song with Jónsi. In part of it he says he really wants to write a theme for Toothless this time around, which says to me there was no Toothless Theme prior. I even asked Tim Rodier from Omni about this and he confirmed my suspicions, that this quote was taken from Powell during an earlier draft of the story, there never was a Toothless’ Theme in either movie. Plus, there’s the deluxe album booklet I cited in my E.T./HTTYD video where Powell states he wanted to avoid character leitmotifs. Actually, he mentions the James Bond theme like I did in this video.
@@FilmScoreandMore Yeah, we, as analysts, jump straight to character themes and motifs (not always a bad thing), and composers dont necessarily use them even though it seems like they do. I just released a video on Silverado, and Bruce Broughton didn't really use themes in that movie either
I think a lot of film music fans naturally want their favorite characters to have their own themes, and a lot of Powell’s themes represent abstract ideas. It’s similar to Obi-Wan’s Theme becoming The Force Theme.
@@FilmScoreandMore I've talked to two of the main composers about this and one didn't know anything about what happened, the other didn't want to share. Surely if it was just an easter egg they would've mentioned it. It's by far not the only track with strong similarities to other music. By the way, about 3:58, all tracks by Rakozy and Murray are virtual instruments and no real orchestra, not just this one.
@@HogwartsLegacy-UnreleasedOST I really appreciate that insight! I've been told by other commenters that they got permission to reference it, but no one has been able to provide a source. Can you tell me which composers you talked to?
@@FilmScoreandMore Rakozy and Murray. It's either chuck myers'' or Peter Murray's composition. Based on the style and instruments I'd assume it's by Murray, but I don't know for certain
@@HogwartsLegacy-UnreleasedOST You seem to know your stuff based on your channel output. How did you get in touch with them? I'd like to revisit this topic at some point, but we still know so little about this. I don't expect to get an answer from either, but the more I know about the situation the better.
The scene made me cry, HTTYD is my childhood, just like the Wizarding World Incredibly beautiful instrumental, even if it doesn't come close to the original
But is it too close to the original? Keep in mind John Powell probably has no idea this exists, and they probably didn’t get permission from anyone. If they did, they didn’t tell anyone.
Bit late but this is what people thought during that mount sequence. I stumbled upon some streamers and immediately many people commented on live how the heck it reminded them of test drive. Glad I'm not alone
As I grab music for DnD I realized this and also that the coastal vivarium track sounds very similar to the beginning of finding nemo when marlin finds nemos egg
Ha! I thought the same thing when I got to that part in the game. Games don't use temp tracks in the same way films do, where they guide the editing. But games can use existing music to establish a tone and style for the designers as they're building a level. So it could have been that situation, where they were designing a level where you're riding a big, dangerous beast for the first time, learning how to control it, and the game director just really wanted the composer to do something very much like that. And maybe this was one of the last compositions finished and didn't have as much time for revision as some of the other tracks.
@@FilmScoreandMore One of the shorts videos on my channel makes this same comparison, but you actually went into detail about it. I didn't know that this one was never recorded with orchestra like the others.
Yes, I’ve seen a lot of people compare the two but as far as I’ve seen no one really discussed why it’s there or how it’s used. That’s what this is for (at least to speculate since I still can’t find any official word about the track. And yes, you can tell it’s not as expressive as either Test Drive or the other tracks in the game, which makes it feel a little worse by comparison either way.
i literally was thinking this omg, in all honesty it genuinely made me so happy. httyd was literally my childhood and that song always gave me goosebumps so when i heard it during the quest it caught me so off guard and i fell so inlove with the game like reAGHHH my childhood is happy :)
Do you think it sounds too similar to HTTYD considering we don’t know if it’s copied? Do you have any more information about it? I still don’t have any official sources indicating one thing or another.
I dont even care like the music is so good and I got goosepumbs while riding the graphorn. Like it also matches pretty good like were riding the graphorn for the first time and hiccup rode toothless.
@@FilmScoreandMore test drive, the reason I dont mind that its so similar is in my text both franchises are awesome and it just matches in hogwarts legacy aswell
I found “Wow by Thomas Newman” from Finding Nemo remarkably similar to the “Coastal Vivarium” on Hogwarts Legacy too. Reminded me of your analysis here. I am not trained in music, probably cant detect any subtleties.
I’ll have to compare the two, thanks! I do remember someone saying there was a Thomas Newman similarity in the score, and I almost included a side note in the video that Newman would have been a great choice to score the later Harry Potter movies.
I love httyd so much, so I am not mad for this theme being used in the scene, it is fitting and gives you that short httyd feeling of learning to ride a dangerous creature and figuring out its mechanics, it is in fact a test drive. And as I am a big httyd fan, I can confidently say that the beginning of the lord of the shore theme IS test drive. It sounded exactly the same, I even paused to check the tones and it is identical. Later in the song they change it up into something entirely else, but I am so surprised that there is not a lawsuit going on about it.
There are changes, like I said. The ostinato is pitched down and it's missing bagpipes and other instrumentation. But it's so close it's hard to ignore.
I just unlocked the Lord of the Shore and had immediately paused as I was brought back to my childhood when that song played because it was so similar to Test Drive!!
To be fair, they probably could. There’s no real need for it to be that similar. Like I said, they could have copied the basic orchestration and that would be enough of a reference if they wanted to make one. But this is copying quite a lot.
I disagree with the statement that Hedwig’s theme occurs throughout the game. As far as I noticed, you only hear it exactly one time: when you first arrive at Hogwarts. And in this moment, I think it’s a direct quote if the original track from the very first movie. But the Hedwig’s Theme melody never, to my knowledge, completes itself any other time. The first few notes of its melodies are used in other themes written specifically for Hogwarts Legacy - they are derived from Hedwig’s theme but definitely different. The composers discussed this in the interview you showed.
Right, that’s why I made sure to include they “I haven’t played it” note, because I realize that might not be entirely accurate. I did hear the composers talk about working backwards from Hedwig’s Theme to find their main theme. I thought that was interesting.
Unless I'm not understanding your comment clearly, I would disagree. Hedwigs theme plays everytime you find a page for the field book and everytime you complete a mission. And I've finished the game.
@@olson_media You're right. I didn't consider those moments because they're more like "sound effects" than actual music, but it is a fair point to note as well. *Although I don't think the "mission complete" sound is actually Hedwig's theme, it's the "legacy"(??? not sure what to call it) theme that is derived from Hedwig's theme but is unique to this game.
To add insult to injury the player character literally does the look-down-place-hand-on-forehead touch while taming the graphorn. So yeah, 100% stolen from how to train your dragon
I just got the graphorn and as a long time httyd fan I could not hear anything else than test drive to the point where I pause it to make sure I wasnt the only one who heard it.
Oh, that is just *blatant*. I think this is a pretty definitive case of, as you said, a) using “Test Drive” as a temp track and b) the director (or whoever) pointing to it and saying, “Just do that.” (This is assuming the composers didn’t _themselves_ copy the _HTTYD_ theme to begin with, but I’d rather give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were told to.) The ostinato alone I could forgive, but every other element combined makes it absurd to deny, IMO. Also, am I the only one who knowingly and deliberately refers to non-lyrical pieces, tracks, cues, etc. as “songs” when speaking to a general audience? I know it’s technically the wrong term, but I can’t figure out how to say “Here’s a piece I’m working on!” or “What do you think of this cue?” to someone not versed in musical terminology without them saying “A piece of what?” or “Cue? What, like a pool cue?”. (Besides, as a linguistic descriptivist, I favor using whatever terms people actually understand to get your meaning across, and the fact that layfolk think “song” means any individual piece of music tells me the word’s definition will probably be broadened to include non-lyrical definitions over time.)
It’s definitely more than I expected it to be. And like I said, it has some original parts to it. But not much in comparison. Yeah, I think it’s fine to use the wrong term casually with most people who wouldn’t know. But in my videos I should obviously use the more accurate term. Plus it helps to prevent confusion, because sometimes a scene has an actual song. But more on that later.
just unlocked my graphorn yesterday, and I noticed that the start felt very nostalgic and then we got into the Ostinato. I was like sunavabitch, I know this track!
Do you think there will be any legal repercussions because of it? Everyone seems to notice it and I still haven't found any official sources addressing it.
@@FilmScoreandMore honestly, if Captain sparklez can get repeatedly copyright striked for his parodies, I can see it happening. the question is would the lawsuit be worth it, or will they be content with a media backlash only staining their reputation but not damaging their coffers so to speak. Edit: compared them again. Not an exact copy past, but it's close enough, like a rip off but without the climax you'd get from "Test drive"
I just mean that it’s probably close enough that this could happen. Like I said in the video, lawsuits have happened in situations like this. This isn’t a TH-camr making a parody, it’s one company/group of composers making a very similar composition to a pre-existing one they don’t own. And John Powell has no say in it either way. And someone else commented that they got permission, but they never gave a source and I’ve searched several times and haven’t seen a word about it.
Hello there! Recently I was thinking about making a video covering the track "Buckbeak's flight" by John Williams, and i see that in 5:44 there's the sheet music for it. Do you have the full orchestral sheet and if yes, where did you get it? Thanks.
Hey, I found it in a video! And I didn’t see this one I put my video together, but this looks even more complete and detailed: th-cam.com/video/nLqsLLTD_QA/w-d-xo.html
I think the reason it's called toothless' theme is because the leitmotif plays in many forms throughout the movie, it's played in the major and minor keys, so it's just an umbrella term for that theme.
It seems like most people figured it was his theme based on its usage, which isn’t a bad guess. But it’s missing the point. I explained a lot of it in this video: th-cam.com/video/hBWhQxznEQA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=DV5un58KRi6S2lvU
@@FilmScoreandMore great video. I'm going to have to watch all of them to get more of your insights but for this particular conversation I mentioned Toothless' theme because it is always heard in some variation during scenes with toothless. During the test flight, you hear the main theme plus the flying ostinato layered on top of each other, but the real explosion comes when they head into a nose dive and hiccup loses his cheat sheet, he realizes that he has no choice but to trust toothless and work with him rather than try to control him, so when hiccup makes that connection, toothless feels the bond and they instantly connect and start to fly, at that moment is when we really hear the flying ostinato which, to me, indicates it's more about toothless. Then you hear the main theme layered underneath indicating the bond between them both. I hope that made sense lol.
@jonbrown5041 I see what you’re saying. I think it’s less about one character here and more about the pattern and progression of the themes as a composition. The Flying Ostinato prefaces the Flying Theme at the start and end of the cue, it preps you for that big moment when they fly as one. And thanks for checking it out! I have a lot of these and they’re organized in playlists.
@@FilmScoreandMore I also believe that there isn't a 100% intention for what the music is supposed to represent, I think it's designed so that the audience takes from it what most impacts them emotionally. The composers intentions are clear but not meant to force the viewer into thinking the way they do, much like how a piece of art influences people differently.
@@jonbrown5041 Of course! I just prefer to present it this way because it's what John Powell and the now-published official sources reveal about the score, and because Powell has said he avoided the typical character leitmotif approach for the most part. Plus, I think what he did is so much more interesting.
Like I pointed out in the video, Forbidden Friendship was based on a temp but still written around its own theme (The Flying Ostinato). I find it bizarre that whichever composer(s) for Hogwarts Legacy would copy so much and add so little.
I got goosebumps when i heard the first notes of the song. I like the movie httyd very much. And I like the game hogwarts legacy very much. In my opinion a cool sidekick.
It's a case of copying it almost 1:1 but making slight changes to not get sued. Usually means they used Test Drive as a temp track and got too attached to it and wouldn't accept anything that's different from it. That or the composer is a Powell fan with a lack of imagination.
It's obviously a parody. An anime did a Take On Me sound-alike music and references the MV. Hogwarts Legacy did a HTTYD sound-alike and reference the bonding scene,
If it sparked outrage among Dreamworks yes. WB ripped off httyd but I think it's more of a tribute because of how similar not just the music but how we tame the Graphorn. Ironically the title of the og soundtrack is called "Test Drive/Flight"
Exactly. This isn’t a flight but it still sounds like it is. I still just don’t see the point in going out of their way to reference HTTYD here instead of… Harry Potter? They have plenty to pull from without risking legal trouble.
I started to hear the similarities the moment it began playing after riding the graphorn and i was like “Nah nah fuck that” then i shut off music on hogwarts and played testdrive on spotify and it was so much better 😂 now i havent heard the entire hogwarts version of test drive and i have no regrets
Ich bin nicht sicher, ob das Urheberrecht der Grund ist. Aus irgendeinem Grund kopierten sie es so genau, dass sie immer noch genug Vertrauen in das Spiel hatten, um es ins Spiel zu bringen. Aber wie ich im Video bereits sagte, wurde es nicht von einem echten Orchester aufgenommen, daher war möglicherweise die Zeit ein Problem. Es gibt immer noch vieles, was wir über diesen Track nicht wissen, daher kann ich es nicht mit Sicherheit sagen. Sie können es jedoch immer noch auf TH-cam finden.
Me too. He hasn’t said anything about the game, which makes me think he definitely wasn’t consulted about it when it was being made or informed about it when it was released.
I originally thought this was a rip off and was kinda mad because Toothless' theme is a brilliant piece of music, as is the entire score of HTTYD, but the more I thought about it, I think it's an Easter egg and probably okayed by Powell because it's you character taming a great and dangerous beast. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a brilliant decision by the composers. I'm sure it was approved prior to release.
It is so close to the Flying Ostinato that you'd think it would be okayed, but I've searched several times and I've still never found an official indication that they got permission. They could have, but I find it strange that there has never been an announcement of that from the game developers, the composers, DreamWorks/Universal, or John Powell.
@@FilmScoreandMore I agree but it's hard to believe that neither of the two composers or anyone else making the game realized it. You would think that someone would have noticed, especially considering the music plays every time you get on the mount.
@@FilmScoreandMore as a musician myself, I can't imagine that they wrote that without knowing, everything about the leitmotif almost identical, it would be a big coincidence if they just happened to write the same thing with the same beat and drums. Idk, I think they knew what they were doing, but whether it was approved by powell (or dreamworks if they own the rights) it's hard to say.
@jonbrown5041 Another commenter said he’s known one of the composers and that he admits he sometimes writes something similar to what already exists without realizing it. He’s also a John Powell fan. I want to make a followup to this video, but there’s still no new or official information anywhere. This is still all we know.
@@FilmScoreandMore the fact that the track plays right after a fight with a dragon-like beast could be evidence of them paying homage or it's an insane coincidence haha
I think the parallel is clear. But part of my point in the video is that it could be a case where they stuck Test Drive in the gameplay as placeholder music and either someone liked it too much to change it or they just didn’t change it enough. It’s possible they ran out of time or money.
they actually asked the httyd creators for using that song in the game and altered it a little - so it's completely intentional and it fits just PERFECTLY
Do you have a source for this information? It would change things quite a bit. And when you say "the HTTYD creators," who do you mean? Do you include John Powell or just the studio and the people who own it?
Around 5:30, maybe they are similar, because it shows us the possibility to tame a dangerous creature and ride/fly it during battles and normal travels. In HTTYD a dragon, and in HL a Graphorn. (The kneeling/attacking option not included, until the MC says that he/she needs its help) And both are the last of their kind, although I'm not sure about the Graphorn during the main quest. You can save a new one in the den, but I don't know if that counts. Perhaps it was just a little easter egg towards the movie. (I have read this idea somewhere at another video, meaning it's not officially mine, so respect to that person) Official idea by @Lshelto The wanderer link: th-cam.com/video/i0eU-Y1F5BM/w-d-xo.html
Some people think it’s a reference, and it definitely could be. But either way it’s strayed a little too close to its inspiration. I was going to include the shot of the Hogwarts student reaching out to the graphorn like in Forbidden Friendship, but I never found a place for it. Thanks for the theory, crediting its original author, and for the link. I’ll watch that video soon when I get the chance.
Ok. So my question is, what the heck is ostinato? What does it mean, as a word, but also in terms of music? If you've explained that elsewhere, sorry, I haven't seen it. Yet.
I’m sorry guys, but I have to say the Graphorn theme is better than the Test Flight, the graphorn theme sounds alot different after the first couple of bars and it sounds alot more hopeful than test flight imo.
Just played the Graphorn mission and immediately googled this as it has to be a direct homage to How to train your dragon. The setup of the quest works very similarly to toothless and hiccup first becoming friends.
I got a shot of the main character reaching out to the graphorn like in Forbidden Friendship, but I didn’t find a place for it in the video. What did you think of it while you were playing? Did it work for you? I think it probably sounds too much like flying.
@@FilmScoreandMore how to train your dragon is one of my favourite soundtracks, so I did enjoy it. But can’t deny it took me out of the game slightly as it was so undeniably recognisable as HTTYD. Nice to think that score is held in such high regard though.
@@FilmScoreandMore I think the rest was pretty well done, very much captured the various movie scores and the John Williams themes, whilst dancing around the main themes. It was just this one music piece that felt like it belonged to another franchise.
That’s what I put together too. It feels like it stands out for all the wrong reasons; it’s a copy from something else and it was clearly never recorded so it’s a lower quality.
I've found ridiculous that someone has totally copied a masterpiece and put on the game. This is not a "study" of John Powell. That was plagiarism. And I hate it.
With both being so similar and both trying to tame their “dragon” I say why don’t you just use the whole “test drive” scores for hogwarts legacy😅 coz it’s kinda annoying if you knew “test drive” from httyd…
That would be even more out of place, and they’d definitely get sued that way. But I don’t see why they didn’t write something original like they did for the rest of the game.
Absolutely think they ripped it off. Just got to that part and immediately thought this is a clear rip especially considering what happened in the story. I understand the similarities they were going with when you get the hippogriff and is meant to remind you of prisoner of azkaban first flight but this one with the graphorn is definitely ripped, im surprised they released this as i would expect a lawsuit attempt. Inspiration is fine but as you said this leans way too close to the inspriation and considering the amount of people who have made videos and who are searching for this i think its clear its not different enough. 100% agree with the whole video
Exactly. And the thing is it would be perfectly fine to take inspiration from the orchestration without making it this similar. I’m still baffled about why this happened. Why did they let it slip? Why didn’t they record it with an orchestra? Why did they copy it so closely? Why did they think any of this was necessary?
Thanks, I appreciate it. I think it’s really strange that this track would be in here. It sticks out, but in a bad way because it’s not a real orchestra and clearly a copy.
@@FilmScoreandMore the weird thing is there is quite a bit of well programmed MIDI on this album/score, over several tracks, but the MIDI programming on this track is just way off. Feels very jarring compared with the rest.
But do you think it should be so similar to something else they have nothing to do with, especially when John Powell probably doesn’t know anything about this? He doesn’t even own the HTTYD music, Dreamworks does.
I love this game and adore its score, but I gotta be honest.. this really took me out of it. It comes across as cheap and derivative. I'm sure it was intended as an homage, but it really just doesn't land
I agree. I discovered it because it got attention on the internet, but this would 100% take me out of it the same as if they slapped some pseudo-Star Wars music on it. It just doesn’t belong there.
Hogwarts Legacy's music is definitely inspired by original score, but apart from few seconds, the original soundtrack is not uses, which is very disappointing. Soundtrack used for the game is by far the worst element of the game. Also, this is definately 'Test Drive' rip off, which tells you plenty of the music quality in this game xD And I wish 'Hedwig's Theme' was used here, but it's not. The game itself is awesome.
I’m seeing that more and more. The game’s score feels like it belongs in the Wizarding World, but it doesn’t use the themes apart from brief references to Hedwig’s Theme whenever you collect something. Another commenter claims to know J. Scott Rakozy, that the composers were all limited from using existing Williams themes. If that’s true it explains a few things, but it’s also very interesting and eyebrow raising.
Good video :) If you want to hear similarities to the original Harry Potter scores (not just John Williams, but also Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat): I made a video comparing a lot of cues from Hogwarts Legacy to the films. (But as I focused on the Harry Potter franchise I excluded the John Powell inspiration) :)
The cue "Buckbeak's Flight" that you mention actually is an inspiration as well, but for the cue called "The Escape" (playing in game while flying the Hippogriff for the first time, too)
leave it to the young generation to rune a great game over a movie sound track , pretty much everyone's trade of thought today , is money money money . It an`t no wonder places and game makers and all can not have a good life anymore , because of the new gen always ruing everything .
I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand. If that's directed at me, I'm not "runing" or "ruing" anything. This music track is such a small part of the game, but it is a strange case worth looking at - something that could potentially get them in legal trouble, as mentioned in the video. This has happened before with similar cases. I also made sure to highlight the skill and passion of the composers and developers involved in the game to show they were committed and made something great. I'm not sure what "money, money, money" has to do with it.
I heard it immediately when I was playing - it would be sketchy already just the music but it’s on the mission where u “tame” a big dragon esque creature
I caught onto it immediately during the Graphorn quest. They definitely did copy Test Drive. Honestly kind of funny that they connected the 2 franchises that way, although Dreamworks most likely did not consent to that.
Most likely not. One commenter said they got permission, but they never provided a source and I haven’t found one anywhere. Even if they did get permission they didn’t tell anyone.
Personally, I think that after all the composers did, they should have done something different for the graphorn theme. I mean, they generally did a great work (for me at least) throughout the game, but here it’s really to similar, if not identical.
My thoughts exactly! They did great work with the rest of the music, and I made a point to show in the video that they worked hard on it. This cue is just baffling for a few reasons. Why did they copy Test Drive? Why not reference a Harry Potter cue (if anything)? Why was it never recorded but still approved?
John Williams is known for writing music inspired by the temp as requested by the director. That’s how temp music often works, as specified in the video.
It does have some originalities, like a new melody and a choir, plus the very end is completely different. But by that point it’s hard to ignore everything else.
@@FilmScoreandMore well, my answer is that at the beginning of the song you can hear 3 notes that are the same, you can hear this throughout the song. the only things that are different are the pitch and some parts of the song. i still dont quite understand why hogwarts legacy hasnt updated this
@Turdo-7 That’s a good point I never thought of. It’s a game, they could patch it and replace it with something else, couldn’t they? Even some other music already in the game that’s less derivative.
I personally know J Scott Rakozy. He told me that sometimes he creates themes subconsciously without realizing how similar it sounds to existing themes. I'm not sure if he did this specific track, but stuff like this just happens a lot.
Could you tell me how you know him or give any other examples of tracks he’s done that accidentally sounded like others? I’ve been hoping to find more information about this incident for months and thus far I’ve found nothing.
@@FilmScoreandMore I took a class from him. He mentioned a couple times that he thought of some super cool themes for Hogwarts Legacy, unconsciously realizing that they were already preexisting John Williams themes, so they were rejected. Apparently even in the game they were avoiding some specific John Williams themes, so I'm not sure how this HTTYD theme slid
@@FilmScoreandMore But this soundtrack was also composed by 2 other guys besides Rakozy so he also could have had nothing to do with this song specifically
That's really interesting. I knew there were other composers involved, so I still don't know who composed this track. Could you send me an email through my channel about page? I'd like to learn more about this class and how the composers used/avoided certain John Williams themes.
@@FilmScoreandMore I unfortunately don't have a lot of details about him and his fellow composers on Hogwarts, besides some BTS of his Logic projects, but his class was so epic. Scott is a really great dude.
It's a little boring to see a lot of videos report this. YES we know, so no need to speak about it more and more (you need almost 8 min only to talk about that?). And i see below, all the comments analyzing and making philosophy debates about it. It's like philosophy of today is about details in a video games, or funko pop unboxing, and many stuffs like that. Maybe it's time to talk about the real important and essential things of life. Ok, the music look alike and probably a tribute...But what else? do we need to talk about it during years? Guys, go outside, you have the birds singing, ants to follow, and the wind on your face. And read real philosophy books, to understand what's really essential in life. the real subjects of life. You would see that a music in a video game is nothing compares to it.
If you’re already tired of hearing about it I’m not sure why you’re here. As you can see from the comments there’s still a great number of people who apparently don’t know about this yet, and many continue to discover it as they play the game (I’ve gotten at least three comments proving that). I’m not sure if you’ve seen other videos on my channel, but HTTYD music and analysis is the main focus, so of course I should talk about this and let other HTTYD music fans know through my video. This video has educational purposes, and people have told me they had never heard of a temp track before watching this. There are also legal and moral issues involved, as I discussed in the video. You argue that the music is similar, so what? But the issue is HOW similar and is that okay? It’s not the most important thing in the world, but it’s still an issue worth highlighting. Yes, it took almost eight minutes, but I’m not stalling or filling for time. I had things to say, and I said things no one else has. I know it’s boring to see the same thing, that’s why my video isn’t the exact same thing. If I wanted, I could have pushed to eight full minutes for extra ad revenue, but that’s not my goal and I believe in cutting out everything that’s unnecessary. These videos can’t be made overnight. This took about three weeks to put together, so if you saw any other videos on the same topic during that time there’s nothing I can do about that. But none of the other videos I saw were thorough analysis, which again is what I do on this channel. I assume these commenters discuss other topics and go outside, as do I. And just because they might discuss greater, more important issues doesn’t mean they can’t offer their perspective on this too. Besides, what is philosophy but analysis of absolutely everything? It really doesn’t take long to watch a video and leave a comment and then go about their lives. But the same could be said about you commenting on this video; why did you decide to click and comment when you could be doing more important things? In fact, your comment is much longer than some. Why did you take the time to write it when you could be studying philosophy or enjoying nature? I can tell you’re the type to enjoy philosophy and analysis, so thank you for the discussion here. What philosophy books have you enjoyed the most?
Editor's note for 6:25: No, I've been told they _are_ in the same key.
What do you think happened with Lord Of The Shore and why it sounds so similar? Do you think it's too close?
To be completely honest, I have no clue, on face level, the composers of Hogwarts Legacy could have just taken the music from the HTTYD soundtrack or used a temp track and changed very little, but I have a feeling it mightn't have been that simple. I do completely agree, though, on your point about how some more "rough" music would've worked for that part in the game. Something as you showed, like the start of buckbeak's flight although there would still be the problem of the gameplay being unpredictable.
I think that’s something to anticipate in video game music. I’m not sure how common this is, but for Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 the music starts as soon as you start running or jumping off a building and finds a way to stop once you do. It’s pretty clever, but compositionally it wouldn’t make for consistent music.
Honestly i think its what you said here in 2:29 . Some guy must've listened to it and used it as a temp track, and we got this.
Probably so. I talked to Will Dodson, a video game composer, right after he saw the video and he thinks that’s exactly the case.
Hmm i see
Honestly a super popular blockbuster franchise copying off of httyd for music just makes me more proud of httyd, because it speaks to the quality of it.
It will probably bring a little extra attention to HTTYD because of the attention this track is getting.
I like how this implies that HTTYD is niche and not a movie franchose that has made over 1,6 billion in 3 films.
@@mrdoggo3569 I know, but like in terms of popularity Harry Potter is way more popular.
@@DaanBruins Yes. HTTYD has its fans and it's getting more attention over time, but it's not even close.
Cheated of the Oscar for music
I remember when I unlocked that mount while playing, I genuinly paused and went: "Is this Test Drive?" because it sounded *really* close to it. And it definitely didn't escape my notice considering how I remember listening to the first movie's sountrack over and over again when I was in middle school a decade ago
It’s definitely catching a lot of attention from players. I think you’re the fourth person to say they noticed it, and I’m guessing it took you out of the game too.
@@FilmScoreandMore It did take me out of the game haha, I found this video literally because of the "issue". Took my mood way down after I kneeled before the mighty beast.
A lot of people are having the same reaction.
You know it's good when a whole other franchise is inspired by it
A franchise that you’d expect to have plenty of its own material to pull from.
When I watched walkthroughs of _Hogwarts Legacy_ and it got to that bit of the title character riding that giant yak ram thing and they played the music, I was like "Wait a minute. This sounds very much like _How To Train Your Dragon."_
So glad I'm not the only one who picked up on this.
I like yak ram, they should have used that.
I remember showing the two songs to my bf bc I heard it instantly and he told me that they sound nothing alike and they're different. So I'm glad this video addresses the specific similarities bc I feel like I have to show this to him
I can see where he’s coming from, but they’re definitely very similar. If you show this to him will give an update about what he thinks?
@@FilmScoreandMore he watched the video and we had to go through the beginning part several times so he could see exactly how similar they were. he finally agreed they were really similar lol
@@FilmScoreandMore tragically he also admitted he just doesnt really like the two songs lol
@@sylfurcide I'm sure it's not as easy for everyone to hear. For some people it's just not their strength.
@@sylfurcide That's fine too. He doesn't have to.
I heard it and was like damn this sounds like something from HTTYD, then i heard Test Drive again and i was blown away when i found out the graphorn music literally is just Test Drive 😂
Yep. Barely changed, but clearly built from Test Drive.
I literally just got to this mission, got on the beast, paused the game and searched this because of how similar it is
I’m hearing more people saying the exact same thing!
Just did that now haha Wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one
You’re definitely not!
I did the exact same!!😂
Add it to the list!
It's definitely too close in my mind. I wonder if it was a case of a temp track and a "whoops we forgot a cue" and slapped this together last minute? Especially with the other moments where they reference the original Harry Potter music, like the potions class v Lockhart for instance that I covered in my video on this game's music. I find it very odd that the music is so well done in some areas, but completely bombs in scenes like this, the hogwarts reveal and the music puzzle. With how long they spent on the game, I too am curious of the story behind this cue.
I do have thoughts about Toothless' theme v flying ostinato though and plan on putting something together to address that
I’m really interested to see if more information comes out about this cue. It’s getting more attention than most, but for the wrong reasons.
I might have to check out your video! And yes, a lot of people believe that ostinato to be Toothless’ Theme because that’s what they thought before Omni Music’s book and the name just kind of stuck. I’m hoping to show more people how it really works.
@@FilmScoreandMore we'll just have to wait and see if something comes of it. we have lawsuits over chord progressions or ostinatos that are kinda similar, so it makes sense one would happen here.
As for the other, definitely keep doing what you are doing, I'm not calling you wrong, but I have some additional thoughts that might help explain things a bit better and it applies for film score analysis as a whole
Yes, time will tell.
If it’s about the ostinato, I can help a bit there too. There’s another important detail that didn’t make it into my E.T./HTTYD video. There’s a page in the HTTYD 2 art book with quotes from John Powell about the movie, mostly about his song with Jónsi. In part of it he says he really wants to write a theme for Toothless this time around, which says to me there was no Toothless Theme prior. I even asked Tim Rodier from Omni about this and he confirmed my suspicions, that this quote was taken from Powell during an earlier draft of the story, there never was a Toothless’ Theme in either movie.
Plus, there’s the deluxe album booklet I cited in my E.T./HTTYD video where Powell states he wanted to avoid character leitmotifs. Actually, he mentions the James Bond theme like I did in this video.
@@FilmScoreandMore Yeah, we, as analysts, jump straight to character themes and motifs (not always a bad thing), and composers dont necessarily use them even though it seems like they do. I just released a video on Silverado, and Bruce Broughton didn't really use themes in that movie either
I think a lot of film music fans naturally want their favorite characters to have their own themes, and a lot of Powell’s themes represent abstract ideas. It’s similar to Obi-Wan’s Theme becoming The Force Theme.
It was an easter egg for HTTYD. They had permission from the original artists to use the music as the base for the Graphorn ride soundtrack.
I’ve heard that before, but I haven’t found a source anywhere. And believe me, I’ve looked.
Do you have one? I’d really appreciate it if you do.
@@FilmScoreandMore I've talked to two of the main composers about this and one didn't know anything about what happened, the other didn't want to share. Surely if it was just an easter egg they would've mentioned it. It's by far not the only track with strong similarities to other music.
By the way, about 3:58, all tracks by Rakozy and Murray are virtual instruments and no real orchestra, not just this one.
@@HogwartsLegacy-UnreleasedOST I really appreciate that insight! I've been told by other commenters that they got permission to reference it, but no one has been able to provide a source.
Can you tell me which composers you talked to?
@@FilmScoreandMore Rakozy and Murray. It's either chuck myers'' or Peter Murray's composition. Based on the style and instruments I'd assume it's by Murray, but I don't know for certain
@@HogwartsLegacy-UnreleasedOST You seem to know your stuff based on your channel output. How did you get in touch with them? I'd like to revisit this topic at some point, but we still know so little about this. I don't expect to get an answer from either, but the more I know about the situation the better.
The scene made me cry, HTTYD is my childhood, just like the Wizarding World
Incredibly beautiful instrumental, even if it doesn't come close to the original
But is it too close to the original? Keep in mind John Powell probably has no idea this exists, and they probably didn’t get permission from anyone. If they did, they didn’t tell anyone.
Ah, thanks for the mention in the description. Good video, and thanks for covering this in depth
You’re welcome, I thought it was an interesting mashup. And thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
Bit late but this is what people thought during that mount sequence. I stumbled upon some streamers and immediately many people commented on live how the heck it reminded them of test drive. Glad I'm not alone
You’re definitely not alone. It seems a lot of people have discovered it. I just still can’t say for sure exactly why it happened.
As I grab music for DnD I realized this and also that the coastal vivarium track sounds very similar to the beginning of finding nemo when marlin finds nemos egg
I’ll have to look into that, thanks. I’m still interested to see what all the influences of this score were and what happened to make them that way.
It certainly does have that same vibe, however I don't hear much other similarity between them...
@Roccondil Did you watch the comparison montage I put together at 0:35?
Ha! I thought the same thing when I got to that part in the game. Games don't use temp tracks in the same way films do, where they guide the editing. But games can use existing music to establish a tone and style for the designers as they're building a level. So it could have been that situation, where they were designing a level where you're riding a big, dangerous beast for the first time, learning how to control it, and the game director just really wanted the composer to do something very much like that. And maybe this was one of the last compositions finished and didn't have as much time for revision as some of the other tracks.
That’s pretty much what I thought. I don’t know why else they would use something so similar and still not record it, unlike the rest of the tracks.
@@FilmScoreandMore One of the shorts videos on my channel makes this same comparison, but you actually went into detail about it. I didn't know that this one was never recorded with orchestra like the others.
Yes, I’ve seen a lot of people compare the two but as far as I’ve seen no one really discussed why it’s there or how it’s used. That’s what this is for (at least to speculate since I still can’t find any official word about the track.
And yes, you can tell it’s not as expressive as either Test Drive or the other tracks in the game, which makes it feel a little worse by comparison either way.
Wow there’s definitely a case here given how similar the tracks are, I wonder if anything will ever come from it - good video man keep it up
I’m interested to see where this goes too. Thanks for the feedback!
i literally was thinking this omg, in all honesty it genuinely made me so happy. httyd was literally my childhood and that song always gave me goosebumps so when i heard it during the quest it caught me so off guard and i fell so inlove with the game like reAGHHH my childhood is happy :)
Do you think it sounds too similar to HTTYD considering we don’t know if it’s copied? Do you have any more information about it? I still don’t have any official sources indicating one thing or another.
Two of my most favourite franchises. I'm loving these video, can't wait for more.
Thanks, I appreciate it! What’s your take on this track? I’m really surprised about it and I just want to know how it happened.
I dont even care like the music is so good and I got goosepumbs while riding the graphorn. Like it also matches pretty good like were riding the graphorn for the first time and hiccup rode toothless.
It doesn't bother you that it's so similar?
Which do you prefer? Test Drive or Lord of the Shore?
@@FilmScoreandMore test drive, the reason I dont mind that its so similar is in my text both franchises are awesome and it just matches in hogwarts legacy aswell
I believe it was officially said that this track was inspired by test drive and I’m not surprised
Do you have a link? I’ve found some articles about it, but everything was just speculation. I still haven’t seen anything official.
I found “Wow by Thomas Newman” from Finding Nemo remarkably similar to the “Coastal Vivarium” on Hogwarts Legacy too. Reminded me of your analysis here. I am not trained in music, probably cant detect any subtleties.
I’ll have to compare the two, thanks! I do remember someone saying there was a Thomas Newman similarity in the score, and I almost included a side note in the video that Newman would have been a great choice to score the later Harry Potter movies.
I noticed this straight away and I immediately wanted to see if people noticed it online
They did. Many are still discovering it.
oh hell no they did not just do that.. to httyd 🗿
It’s strange that they’d use HTTYD music instead of something from any of the 8+ Harry Potter movies.
I love httyd so much, so I am not mad for this theme being used in the scene, it is fitting and gives you that short httyd feeling of learning to ride a dangerous creature and figuring out its mechanics, it is in fact a test drive. And as I am a big httyd fan, I can confidently say that the beginning of the lord of the shore theme IS test drive. It sounded exactly the same, I even paused to check the tones and it is identical. Later in the song they change it up into something entirely else, but I am so surprised that there is not a lawsuit going on about it.
There are changes, like I said. The ostinato is pitched down and it's missing bagpipes and other instrumentation. But it's so close it's hard to ignore.
I just unlocked the Lord of the Shore and had immediately paused as I was brought back to my childhood when that song played because it was so similar to Test Drive!!
I’ve gotten over five other comments saying the same thing. It’s really not going unnoticed.
@@FilmScoreandMore I hope DreamWorks doesn’t sue! I doubt they would though but both of the tracks sound so familiar in the beginning.
To be fair, they probably could. There’s no real need for it to be that similar. Like I said, they could have copied the basic orchestration and that would be enough of a reference if they wanted to make one. But this is copying quite a lot.
I disagree with the statement that Hedwig’s theme occurs throughout the game. As far as I noticed, you only hear it exactly one time: when you first arrive at Hogwarts. And in this moment, I think it’s a direct quote if the original track from the very first movie. But the Hedwig’s Theme melody never, to my knowledge, completes itself any other time. The first few notes of its melodies are used in other themes written specifically for Hogwarts Legacy - they are derived from Hedwig’s theme but definitely different. The composers discussed this in the interview you showed.
Right, that’s why I made sure to include they “I haven’t played it” note, because I realize that might not be entirely accurate.
I did hear the composers talk about working backwards from Hedwig’s Theme to find their main theme. I thought that was interesting.
Unless I'm not understanding your comment clearly, I would disagree. Hedwigs theme plays everytime you find a page for the field book and everytime you complete a mission. And I've finished the game.
I’ll have to get it and see.
@@olson_media You're right. I didn't consider those moments because they're more like "sound effects" than actual music, but it is a fair point to note as well.
*Although I don't think the "mission complete" sound is actually Hedwig's theme, it's the "legacy"(??? not sure what to call it) theme that is derived from Hedwig's theme but is unique to this game.
Amazing editing! Really well done and really funny. Thank you for this.
Thanks for your feedback!
When i heard the griphorn riding theme I thought, "Damn. Am I supposed to be riding a griphorn or a dragon?"
Good question.
No because I was reading the little info guide after I subdued the beast (forgot its name) and was just sitting there like “is this httyd?”
I guess you were pretty surprised? When did this happen?
To add insult to injury the player character literally does the look-down-place-hand-on-forehead touch while taming the graphorn. So yeah, 100% stolen from how to train your dragon
I still don’t get the necessity of it.
I just got the graphorn and as a long time httyd fan I could not hear anything else than test drive to the point where I pause it to make sure I wasnt the only one who heard it.
You’re not the only one. You caught it immediately?
Oh, that is just *blatant*. I think this is a pretty definitive case of, as you said, a) using “Test Drive” as a temp track and b) the director (or whoever) pointing to it and saying, “Just do that.” (This is assuming the composers didn’t _themselves_ copy the _HTTYD_ theme to begin with, but I’d rather give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were told to.) The ostinato alone I could forgive, but every other element combined makes it absurd to deny, IMO.
Also, am I the only one who knowingly and deliberately refers to non-lyrical pieces, tracks, cues, etc. as “songs” when speaking to a general audience? I know it’s technically the wrong term, but I can’t figure out how to say “Here’s a piece I’m working on!” or “What do you think of this cue?” to someone not versed in musical terminology without them saying “A piece of what?” or “Cue? What, like a pool cue?”. (Besides, as a linguistic descriptivist, I favor using whatever terms people actually understand to get your meaning across, and the fact that layfolk think “song” means any individual piece of music tells me the word’s definition will probably be broadened to include non-lyrical definitions over time.)
It’s definitely more than I expected it to be. And like I said, it has some original parts to it. But not much in comparison.
Yeah, I think it’s fine to use the wrong term casually with most people who wouldn’t know. But in my videos I should obviously use the more accurate term. Plus it helps to prevent confusion, because sometimes a scene has an actual song. But more on that later.
@@FilmScoreandMore Oh, for sure, use the correct terms when speaking with people in the know.
Looking forward to your series!
Right. Thanks!
They're incredibly similar. Even the way Toothless and the Graphorn interact with the protagonist, as equals, is remarkably similar
Definitely. Honestly, it still mainly reminds me of the scene for Buckbeak’s Flight.
just unlocked my graphorn yesterday, and I noticed that the start felt very nostalgic and then we got into the Ostinato. I was like sunavabitch, I know this track!
Do you think there will be any legal repercussions because of it? Everyone seems to notice it and I still haven't found any official sources addressing it.
@@FilmScoreandMore honestly, if Captain sparklez can get repeatedly copyright striked for his parodies, I can see it happening.
the question is would the lawsuit be worth it, or will they be content with a media backlash only staining their reputation but not damaging their coffers so to speak.
Edit: compared them again. Not an exact copy past, but it's close enough, like a rip off but without the climax you'd get from "Test drive"
I just mean that it’s probably close enough that this could happen. Like I said in the video, lawsuits have happened in situations like this. This isn’t a TH-camr making a parody, it’s one company/group of composers making a very similar composition to a pre-existing one they don’t own. And John Powell has no say in it either way.
And someone else commented that they got permission, but they never gave a source and I’ve searched several times and haven’t seen a word about it.
Hello there! Recently I was thinking about making a video covering the track "Buckbeak's flight" by John Williams, and i see that in 5:44 there's the sheet music for it. Do you have the full orchestral sheet and if yes, where did you get it? Thanks.
Hey, I found it in a video! And I didn’t see this one I put my video together, but this looks even more complete and detailed: th-cam.com/video/nLqsLLTD_QA/w-d-xo.html
@@FilmScoreandMore thank you so much! This is great, going to be useful
No problem, I just happened to find it. Good choice of a cue, and good luck!
i noticed it stright away
I’m not surprised.
I think the reason it's called toothless' theme is because the leitmotif plays in many forms throughout the movie, it's played in the major and minor keys, so it's just an umbrella term for that theme.
It seems like most people figured it was his theme based on its usage, which isn’t a bad guess. But it’s missing the point. I explained a lot of it in this video:
th-cam.com/video/hBWhQxznEQA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=DV5un58KRi6S2lvU
@@FilmScoreandMore great video. I'm going to have to watch all of them to get more of your insights but for this particular conversation I mentioned Toothless' theme because it is always heard in some variation during scenes with toothless. During the test flight, you hear the main theme plus the flying ostinato layered on top of each other, but the real explosion comes when they head into a nose dive and hiccup loses his cheat sheet, he realizes that he has no choice but to trust toothless and work with him rather than try to control him, so when hiccup makes that connection, toothless feels the bond and they instantly connect and start to fly, at that moment is when we really hear the flying ostinato which, to me, indicates it's more about toothless. Then you hear the main theme layered underneath indicating the bond between them both. I hope that made sense lol.
@jonbrown5041 I see what you’re saying. I think it’s less about one character here and more about the pattern and progression of the themes as a composition. The Flying Ostinato prefaces the Flying Theme at the start and end of the cue, it preps you for that big moment when they fly as one.
And thanks for checking it out! I have a lot of these and they’re organized in playlists.
@@FilmScoreandMore I also believe that there isn't a 100% intention for what the music is supposed to represent, I think it's designed so that the audience takes from it what most impacts them emotionally. The composers intentions are clear but not meant to force the viewer into thinking the way they do, much like how a piece of art influences people differently.
@@jonbrown5041 Of course! I just prefer to present it this way because it's what John Powell and the now-published official sources reveal about the score, and because Powell has said he avoided the typical character leitmotif approach for the most part. Plus, I think what he did is so much more interesting.
I remember unlocking the mount and just standing their for 5 minutes spamming my friend going ‘omg harry potter and httyd somg had a child’
People continue to notice!
By the way, did you watch the video all the way through to the end? I'm trying to gauge how many did.
@@FilmScoreandMore i dont remember but i watched most of it at least
Thanks for letting me know.
So proud httyd. Those music keep me focus during when Im studying.
Good focus music.
This just makes me that more upset at the composers for HWL but that much more proud of JohN Powell for httyd.
Like I pointed out in the video, Forbidden Friendship was based on a temp but still written around its own theme (The Flying Ostinato). I find it bizarre that whichever composer(s) for Hogwarts Legacy would copy so much and add so little.
@@FilmScoreandMore yknow what... fair.. thanks for re-explaining it to me. I'm serious, thanks 💙
No problem. That’s just how I look at it.
I got goosebumps when i heard the first notes of the song. I like the movie httyd very much. And I like the game hogwarts legacy very much. In my opinion a cool sidekick.
So which one is the sidekick?
It's a case of copying it almost 1:1 but making slight changes to not get sued. Usually means they used Test Drive as a temp track and got too attached to it and wouldn't accept anything that's different from it. That or the composer is a Powell fan with a lack of imagination.
Some players think it’s an intentional reference, but I’ve yet to find a single source where the composers or game developers address it.
Cause as soon as I got the lord of the shore and the music played I was skeptical
It’s turning a lot of heads, and probably not for the right reasons.
It's obviously a parody. An anime did a Take On Me sound-alike music and references the MV. Hogwarts Legacy did a HTTYD sound-alike and reference the bonding scene,
Of course parody is meant for comedy. This isn’t poking fun at HTTYD or Test Drive. This would be an homage (if it was intentional).
I remember watching xqc playing hogwarts legacy I legit teared up listening to the music when it started playing!!
Did XQC notice it? I don’t know who that is.
If it sparked outrage among Dreamworks yes. WB ripped off httyd but I think it's more of a tribute because of how similar not just the music but how we tame the Graphorn. Ironically the title of the og soundtrack is called "Test Drive/Flight"
Exactly. This isn’t a flight but it still sounds like it is. I still just don’t see the point in going out of their way to reference HTTYD here instead of… Harry Potter? They have plenty to pull from without risking legal trouble.
I'm pretty sure that's not even just a rip off, it's an actual sample.
No, it’s different enough that it’s not sampled. Plus, it’s not a real recording. It’s just shockingly close to the original.
@@FilmScoreandMore Agree to disagree. To me it sounds the same, just transposed. Regardless, it's pretty crummy
Yes, it has some different notes and new sections. But it’s not new enough.
I started to hear the similarities the moment it began playing after riding the graphorn and i was like
“Nah nah fuck that” then i shut off music on hogwarts and played testdrive on spotify and it was so much better 😂 now i havent heard the entire hogwarts version of test drive and i have no regrets
Needless to say Test Drive is still the better one.
Warum ist der Song nicht in spotify. Ist das wegen den Copyrights weil die doch so nah sind? Das finde ich sehr schade
Ich bin nicht sicher, ob das Urheberrecht der Grund ist. Aus irgendeinem Grund kopierten sie es so genau, dass sie immer noch genug Vertrauen in das Spiel hatten, um es ins Spiel zu bringen. Aber wie ich im Video bereits sagte, wurde es nicht von einem echten Orchester aufgenommen, daher war möglicherweise die Zeit ein Problem. Es gibt immer noch vieles, was wir über diesen Track nicht wissen, daher kann ich es nicht mit Sicherheit sagen. Sie können es jedoch immer noch auf TH-cam finden.
@@FilmScoreandMore danke
Gern geschehen.
Its sounds very similar to test drive but a bit bass boosted
Yes, it does sound a bit bass heavy.
Id like John Powell to hear this and speak his mind
Me too. He hasn’t said anything about the game, which makes me think he definitely wasn’t consulted about it when it was being made or informed about it when it was released.
I originally thought this was a rip off and was kinda mad because Toothless' theme is a brilliant piece of music, as is the entire score of HTTYD, but the more I thought about it, I think it's an Easter egg and probably okayed by Powell because it's you character taming a great and dangerous beast. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a brilliant decision by the composers. I'm sure it was approved prior to release.
It is so close to the Flying Ostinato that you'd think it would be okayed, but I've searched several times and I've still never found an official indication that they got permission. They could have, but I find it strange that there has never been an announcement of that from the game developers, the composers, DreamWorks/Universal, or John Powell.
@@FilmScoreandMore I agree but it's hard to believe that neither of the two composers or anyone else making the game realized it. You would think that someone would have noticed, especially considering the music plays every time you get on the mount.
@jonbrown5041 One way or another, it slipped through.
@@FilmScoreandMore as a musician myself, I can't imagine that they wrote that without knowing, everything about the leitmotif almost identical, it would be a big coincidence if they just happened to write the same thing with the same beat and drums. Idk, I think they knew what they were doing, but whether it was approved by powell (or dreamworks if they own the rights) it's hard to say.
@jonbrown5041 Another commenter said he’s known one of the composers and that he admits he sometimes writes something similar to what already exists without realizing it. He’s also a John Powell fan.
I want to make a followup to this video, but there’s still no new or official information anywhere. This is still all we know.
I think the track is paying homage to How to Train Your Dragon.
Either it definitely is, or it was only used as inspiration and they changed very little.
@@FilmScoreandMore the fact that the track plays right after a fight with a dragon-like beast could be evidence of them paying homage or it's an insane coincidence haha
I think the parallel is clear. But part of my point in the video is that it could be a case where they stuck Test Drive in the gameplay as placeholder music and either someone liked it too much to change it or they just didn’t change it enough. It’s possible they ran out of time or money.
@@FilmScoreandMore oh for sure.
they actually asked the httyd creators for using that song in the game and altered it a little - so it's completely intentional and it fits just PERFECTLY
Do you have a source for this information? It would change things quite a bit. And when you say "the HTTYD creators," who do you mean? Do you include John Powell or just the studio and the people who own it?
Everybody keeps on saying this but i'm still waiting for proof tho
Me too. I did some searches and couldn’t find anything.
the melody after the ostinato in lord of the shore sounds vv similar to chariots of fire!! 3:33
I guess it’s vaguely similar.
Around 5:30, maybe they are similar, because it shows us the possibility to tame a dangerous creature and ride/fly it during battles and normal travels. In HTTYD a dragon, and in HL a Graphorn.
(The kneeling/attacking option not included, until the MC says that he/she needs its help)
And both are the last of their kind, although I'm not sure about the Graphorn during the main quest. You can save a new one in the den, but I don't know if that counts.
Perhaps it was just a little easter egg towards the movie.
(I have read this idea somewhere at another video, meaning it's not officially mine, so respect to that person)
Official idea by @Lshelto The wanderer
link:
th-cam.com/video/i0eU-Y1F5BM/w-d-xo.html
Some people think it’s a reference, and it definitely could be. But either way it’s strayed a little too close to its inspiration.
I was going to include the shot of the Hogwarts student reaching out to the graphorn like in Forbidden Friendship, but I never found a place for it.
Thanks for the theory, crediting its original author, and for the link. I’ll watch that video soon when I get the chance.
Ok. So my question is, what the heck is ostinato?
What does it mean, as a word, but also in terms of music?
If you've explained that elsewhere, sorry, I haven't seen it. Yet.
I think I've explained it in this one below, but it just means a melody that repeats over and over.
th-cam.com/video/hBWhQxznEQA/w-d-xo.html
@@FilmScoreandMore Oohhh. Thank you.
Whoa, do we have a lawsuit on our hands?
I don’t; I don’t own either one, but somebody does. It will be interesting to see if anything happens because of this.
I had the same impression
It seems like many do.
I’m sorry guys, but I have to say the Graphorn theme is better than the Test Flight, the graphorn theme sounds alot different after the first couple of bars and it sounds alot more hopeful than test flight imo.
That's definitely a different opinion. What makes you say it's better?
I literally just played this scene the first thing that came to to my head was httyd lol 😅
Many have now! And that brought you straight here?
@@FilmScoreandMore yep lol the similarities were uncany
You hadn’t heard about it anywhere else fist and it immediately clicked with you?
Just played the Graphorn mission and immediately googled this as it has to be a direct homage to How to train your dragon. The setup of the quest works very similarly to toothless and hiccup first becoming friends.
I got a shot of the main character reaching out to the graphorn like in Forbidden Friendship, but I didn’t find a place for it in the video.
What did you think of it while you were playing? Did it work for you? I think it probably sounds too much like flying.
@@FilmScoreandMore how to train your dragon is one of my favourite soundtracks, so I did enjoy it. But can’t deny it took me out of the game slightly as it was so undeniably recognisable as HTTYD. Nice to think that score is held in such high regard though.
It would absolutely take me out of the game. What did you think of the rest of the music? Did any of it take you out, either for good or bad reasons?
@@FilmScoreandMore I think the rest was pretty well done, very much captured the various movie scores and the John Williams themes, whilst dancing around the main themes. It was just this one music piece that felt like it belonged to another franchise.
That’s what I put together too. It feels like it stands out for all the wrong reasons; it’s a copy from something else and it was clearly never recorded so it’s a lower quality.
I immediately recognised it and had to show my husband
It looks like a lot of people are continuing to discover it. Did he recognize it too?
I've found ridiculous that someone has totally copied a masterpiece and put on the game. This is not a "study" of John Powell. That was plagiarism. And I hate it.
Some call it an Easter egg, but it still has too many similarities to just be a reference. They should have pulled back on it.
Did they just take the og HTTYD song and mixed it?😩
It’s got a few other changes I highlighted, but yes it’s pretty close to being a pitch-lowered remix.
With both being so similar and both trying to tame their “dragon” I say why don’t you just use the whole “test drive” scores for hogwarts legacy😅 coz it’s kinda annoying if you knew “test drive” from httyd…
That would be even more out of place, and they’d definitely get sued that way. But I don’t see why they didn’t write something original like they did for the rest of the game.
Absolutely think they ripped it off. Just got to that part and immediately thought this is a clear rip especially considering what happened in the story.
I understand the similarities they were going with when you get the hippogriff and is meant to remind you of prisoner of azkaban first flight but this one with the graphorn is definitely ripped, im surprised they released this as i would expect a lawsuit attempt.
Inspiration is fine but as you said this leans way too close to the inspriation and considering the amount of people who have made videos and who are searching for this i think its clear its not different enough. 100% agree with the whole video
Exactly. And the thing is it would be perfectly fine to take inspiration from the orchestration without making it this similar. I’m still baffled about why this happened. Why did they let it slip? Why didn’t they record it with an orchestra? Why did they copy it so closely? Why did they think any of this was necessary?
Thats crazy!!! Its way too similar in my opinion. Its really an amazing theme though so I don't blame them 😅
A lot of people are calling it an Easter egg, but as far as I know they don’t have permission to make it this similar.
Thanks for checking it out!
An der besten Film Triologie kann man sich nur Orientieren.
Ja.
Lol I was thinking this the whole time playing Hogwarts Legacy
Did you notice similarities between existing music and other cues in the game?
Didn't know about it. It's crude copy. Btw, love your work
Thanks, I appreciate it. I think it’s really strange that this track would be in here. It sticks out, but in a bad way because it’s not a real orchestra and clearly a copy.
@@FilmScoreandMore the weird thing is there is quite a bit of well programmed MIDI on this album/score, over several tracks, but the MIDI programming on this track is just way off. Feels very jarring compared with the rest.
I know, it sticks out for all the wrong reasons.
I'm literally playing the level rn and it bothered me so much I had to google to see if anyone else noticed. Glad I'm not alone
A lot of people are noticing. Some picked it out back in February. I still think it’s bizarre they went with it.
Honestly I can't even complain. Both capture the feeling of riding a majestic creature for the first time. 😅
But do you think it should be so similar to something else they have nothing to do with, especially when John Powell probably doesn’t know anything about this? He doesn’t even own the HTTYD music, Dreamworks does.
I love this game and adore its score, but I gotta be honest.. this really took me out of it. It comes across as cheap and derivative. I'm sure it was intended as an homage, but it really just doesn't land
I agree. I discovered it because it got attention on the internet, but this would 100% take me out of it the same as if they slapped some pseudo-Star Wars music on it. It just doesn’t belong there.
I thought that
Sorry, what did you think?
@@FilmScoreandMore that they copied
I thought that when I played it
Hogwarts Legacy's music is definitely inspired by original score, but apart from few seconds, the original soundtrack is not uses, which is very disappointing.
Soundtrack used for the game is by far the worst element of the game.
Also, this is definately 'Test Drive' rip off, which tells you plenty of the music quality in this game xD
And I wish 'Hedwig's Theme' was used here, but it's not.
The game itself is awesome.
I’m seeing that more and more. The game’s score feels like it belongs in the Wizarding World, but it doesn’t use the themes apart from brief references to Hedwig’s Theme whenever you collect something.
Another commenter claims to know J. Scott Rakozy, that the composers were all limited from using existing Williams themes. If that’s true it explains a few things, but it’s also very interesting and eyebrow raising.
it seams like very blatant copying, there is no way its a coincidence. it sounds pretty pathetic honestly…
But the question is why did they go through with it? They didn’t even record it live.
I hope they get sued. This is just a rip off.
It will be interesting to see if anything happens.
Good video :)
If you want to hear similarities to the original Harry Potter scores (not just John Williams, but also Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat):
I made a video comparing a lot of cues from Hogwarts Legacy to the films. (But as I focused on the Harry Potter franchise I excluded the John Powell inspiration) :)
The cue "Buckbeak's Flight" that you mention actually is an inspiration as well, but for the cue called "The Escape" (playing in game while flying the Hippogriff for the first time, too)
I'd like to check that out! I really like Doyle's work on Goblet of Fire in addition to all of Williams' work on the earlier movies.
I heard about that cue, but I haven't listened to it. I do still need to get the game and experience it for myself.
Their gonna get their asses sued if John Powell knows!
It will be interesting to see if anything happens.
Technically, the HTTYD score is owned by DreamWorks, not John Powell - but they will hopefully still get their asses sued!
If he finds out he just needs to make a phone call.
leave it to the young generation to rune a great game over a movie sound track , pretty much everyone's trade of thought today , is money money money . It an`t no wonder places and game makers and all can not have a good life anymore , because of the new gen always ruing everything .
I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand. If that's directed at me, I'm not "runing" or "ruing" anything. This music track is such a small part of the game, but it is a strange case worth looking at - something that could potentially get them in legal trouble, as mentioned in the video. This has happened before with similar cases.
I also made sure to highlight the skill and passion of the composers and developers involved in the game to show they were committed and made something great. I'm not sure what "money, money, money" has to do with it.
I heard it immediately when I was playing - it would be sketchy already just the music but it’s on the mission where u “tame” a big dragon esque creature
I still don’t see why they chose to go the HTTYD route as opposed to Fantastic Beasts.
Ohhh the Hogwarts Legacy game developers outta be ashamed LMAOOOO it’s so blatantly a ripoff
It’s really strange, though. I’m surprised this went all the way through development, and there’s still a lot we don’t know.
Not the biggest shame they ought to have on their shoulders but it ain’t cool to do either.
I’m wondering who insisted on it.
I caught onto it immediately during the Graphorn quest. They definitely did copy Test Drive. Honestly kind of funny that they connected the 2 franchises that way, although Dreamworks most likely did not consent to that.
Most likely not. One commenter said they got permission, but they never provided a source and I haven’t found one anywhere. Even if they did get permission they didn’t tell anyone.
Personally, I think that after all the composers did, they should have done something different for the graphorn theme.
I mean, they generally did a great work (for me at least) throughout the game, but here it’s really to similar, if not identical.
My thoughts exactly! They did great work with the rest of the music, and I made a point to show in the video that they worked hard on it. This cue is just baffling for a few reasons. Why did they copy Test Drive? Why not reference a Harry Potter cue (if anything)? Why was it never recorded but still approved?
If you take into account that John Williams is known for stealing music like Star Wars it makes a lot more sense why it sound similar
John Williams is known for writing music inspired by the temp as requested by the director. That’s how temp music often works, as specified in the video.
I thought this'd be a reach but damn... it's a carbon copy lmao
It does have some originalities, like a new melody and a choir, plus the very end is completely different. But by that point it’s hard to ignore everything else.
yes, they very much copied
But why and how?
@@FilmScoreandMore you just explained it
I'm still hoping to find an official answer about it somewhere. I've searched many times since making this video and I've still found nothing.
@@FilmScoreandMore well, my answer is that at the beginning of the song you can hear 3 notes that are the same, you can hear this throughout the song. the only things that are different are the pitch and some parts of the song. i still dont quite understand why hogwarts legacy hasnt updated this
@Turdo-7 That’s a good point I never thought of. It’s a game, they could patch it and replace it with something else, couldn’t they? Even some other music already in the game that’s less derivative.
I personally know J Scott Rakozy. He told me that sometimes he creates themes subconsciously without realizing how similar it sounds to existing themes. I'm not sure if he did this specific track, but stuff like this just happens a lot.
Could you tell me how you know him or give any other examples of tracks he’s done that accidentally sounded like others? I’ve been hoping to find more information about this incident for months and thus far I’ve found nothing.
@@FilmScoreandMore I took a class from him. He mentioned a couple times that he thought of some super cool themes for Hogwarts Legacy, unconsciously realizing that they were already preexisting John Williams themes, so they were rejected. Apparently even in the game they were avoiding some specific John Williams themes, so I'm not sure how this HTTYD theme slid
@@FilmScoreandMore But this soundtrack was also composed by 2 other guys besides Rakozy so he also could have had nothing to do with this song specifically
That's really interesting. I knew there were other composers involved, so I still don't know who composed this track.
Could you send me an email through my channel about page? I'd like to learn more about this class and how the composers used/avoided certain John Williams themes.
@@FilmScoreandMore I unfortunately don't have a lot of details about him and his fellow composers on Hogwarts, besides some BTS of his Logic projects, but his class was so epic. Scott is a really great dude.
It's a little boring to see a lot of videos report this. YES we know, so no need to speak about it more and more (you need almost 8 min only to talk about that?). And i see below, all the comments analyzing and making philosophy debates about it. It's like philosophy of today is about details in a video games, or funko pop unboxing, and many stuffs like that. Maybe it's time to talk about the real important and essential things of life. Ok, the music look alike and probably a tribute...But what else? do we need to talk about it during years? Guys, go outside, you have the birds singing, ants to follow, and the wind on your face. And read real philosophy books, to understand what's really essential in life. the real subjects of life. You would see that a music in a video game is nothing compares to it.
If you’re already tired of hearing about it I’m not sure why you’re here. As you can see from the comments there’s still a great number of people who apparently don’t know about this yet, and many continue to discover it as they play the game (I’ve gotten at least three comments proving that).
I’m not sure if you’ve seen other videos on my channel, but HTTYD music and analysis is the main focus, so of course I should talk about this and let other HTTYD music fans know through my video. This video has educational purposes, and people have told me they had never heard of a temp track before watching this. There are also legal and moral issues involved, as I discussed in the video. You argue that the music is similar, so what? But the issue is HOW similar and is that okay? It’s not the most important thing in the world, but it’s still an issue worth highlighting.
Yes, it took almost eight minutes, but I’m not stalling or filling for time. I had things to say, and I said things no one else has. I know it’s boring to see the same thing, that’s why my video isn’t the exact same thing. If I wanted, I could have pushed to eight full minutes for extra ad revenue, but that’s not my goal and I believe in cutting out everything that’s unnecessary.
These videos can’t be made overnight. This took about three weeks to put together, so if you saw any other videos on the same topic during that time there’s nothing I can do about that. But none of the other videos I saw were thorough analysis, which again is what I do on this channel.
I assume these commenters discuss other topics and go outside, as do I. And just because they might discuss greater, more important issues doesn’t mean they can’t offer their perspective on this too. Besides, what is philosophy but analysis of absolutely everything? It really doesn’t take long to watch a video and leave a comment and then go about their lives. But the same could be said about you commenting on this video; why did you decide to click and comment when you could be doing more important things? In fact, your comment is much longer than some. Why did you take the time to write it when you could be studying philosophy or enjoying nature?
I can tell you’re the type to enjoy philosophy and analysis, so thank you for the discussion here. What philosophy books have you enjoyed the most?
@@FilmScoreandMore This is a crazily charitable response, lol. Bless you for your patience.
I’m still waiting to hear about those philosophy books.