Kraken Fans 'Score' Big-Time

It began with a casual remark: "I have a friend who I could ask for a favor, they could compose something for the Kraken," said Jerry Bruckheimer as we chatted about the new game-opening video planned for season two inside Climate Pledge Arena. Little did I know who this friend would turn out to be.
Bruckheimer, a famed movie producer responsible for the "Top Gun" franchise among many career highlights, is one of the Kraken's owners in an illustrious group that includes majority owner David Bonderman, Vice-Chair David Wright and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy among others.

The ownership group offers guidance, vision and approval. Jerry is kind enough to often jump on a video call to review storyboards. He combines his hockey fandom with signature movie skills to think about how we tell the stories of the players and team.
His casual offer was delivered in early June as we brainstormed our in-arena show opening to tell the story of our incredible fans, who are on this wild and one-of-a-kind journey with us. We see our fans and Pacific Northwest heritage now solidly united with our players to embody the spirit of the Kraken.

We envisioned a vignette to highlight a different player each game night. Jerry was supportive and enthusiastic. Not surprisingly, for someone responsible for all-time, best-selling soundtracks such as "Top Gun," "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Flashdance," Jerry had thoughts on the importance of the music to elevate our soundtrack to a crescendo moment just as the players hit the ice.
Jerry asked me to prepare a link with last year's videos and in-arena show opening, promising to send to his "friend Hans" for when he saw him soon in London.
Well, I only know one music composer by name and it's Hans Zimmer. There was a fair bit of chat in the office about if I was certain it was THE Hans Zimmer, the two-time Oscar winning composer ("The Lion King" and "Dune") who has spanned generations to earn 12 Academy Awards nominations and four Grammys for movie scores that include "Gladiator," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Interstellar," "Dark Knight," "Rain Man" and many more. Fans of the "The Crown" Netflix series hear his work whenever the hit show's theme song plays. My answer to colleagues? I was unable to say yes, definitively, but it seemed likely ... or possible at least?
A couple of days later, Jerry wrote back, "I met with Hans Zimmer when I was in London last week. He said he would compose something for the Kraken."
And so Hans began working on something in between performances in South Korea and other work commitments.

Towards the end of the process, I spoke with Hans and Jerry - friends and long-time collaborators working together in LA. "When Jerry says do something for the team, I have to go and make a movie in my head," said Hans as he described imagining the lead-up to a game and the players thinking about the task ahead.
While the music composition was clearly progressing, we hadn't heard it yet. Not that we were worried or going to push the process. We kept working on the video and projection independently but with a quiet confidence that we would receive something epic.
Sometimes "epic" shows up during ordinary times in life. During the second week in September, maybe three months after Jerry first offered Hans' genius hand and ear, when I was watching my eight-year-old daughter's soccer practice, an email popped into my inbox with the complete track. "Wow" was my first thought.
When we arrived home I hooked up speakers to my laptop to ensure the best sound. I stood, jaw dropping, listening to the eight-minute suite of music. As it finished, my husband looked at me and said "I have goosebumps." Me too.
To conclude the process, we met as a production team with Jerry and Hans' musical engineer for a listening session to ensure we were prepared for delivery of the final piece. Then we got to work editing with the composition and using different segments in different places.
Now when you come to a Kraken game, when you hear a television commercial, or when you ride the Monorail to the game you will be hearing the latest work from Hans Zimmer.
The Kraken is committed to innovating and creating a fantastic game-day experience for our fans. We want to create mystery and intrigue along with the unity of fans and players. From the moment fans walk through the doors of the arena, they should feel like they are in the deep, where the Kraken is always lurking.
Hans' score provides a cinematic resonance that gets our crowd both pumped up and connected to the players as the team takes the ice. It's an unprecedented soundtrack from one of Hollywood's musical icons. Goosebumps all around.
Katie Townsend is chief marketing officer for the Seattle Kraken.