Composing

Yes, two old sci-fi stories — The Cosmic Blood Connection (age 14) and The Eclipsians (age 18) — have come back now at age 29 with new depth, more details, and far richer layers.

I can say the logic of both worlds has completely flipped upside down.

Quentil Pompey I like the title! Let us know when it's ready for release.

That's wonderful Cédric Chanet! I look forward to hearing it.

Good luck with your goal Meriem Bouziani!

Ville Hilden What is your musical about?

Kat Spencer: Oh, the one I´m concentrating now is set in Cuba just before and after the revolution - basically a love story, since that´s what life is all about!

Stage 32 has Composer Education and Composing Blogs you might be interested in, Mikaeil Shahyar.

Composer Education: www.stage32.com/education/search?term=Composer

Composing Blogs: www.stage32.com/blog/tags/composing-12

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Sure, thank you.

You're welcome, Mikaeil Shahyar.

Hi Mikaeil Shahyar ,

Yes, I listened twice also, since sample is 1 min long.

I agree with Maruice; def. in Romanitc or Action movies / TV, esp. after the big Action scene is over.

My only small suggestion is possibly a small build with Strings from :39 through :50, depending on where the music supervisor or Music Editor may place it.

Very nice and production sound is very good - spot on.

Kerry Kennard

Thank you, Kerry Kennard.

That’s an interesting opinion.

Excellent job on the score, Kerry Kennard! I really like it! "It's the weird sound in the middle, as well as near the end." That's my favorite sound in the score.

Thanks Maurice Vaughan !! appreciate it. It's the IBRIDO from Sonokinitics.

They have a big library of different kind of sounds !! - for different type of genres to write in.

Here's their main page:

https://www.sonokinetic.net

Well, not good enough to win yet, Maurice. I think a few others had more orchestration in some parts. This one does work well for an Indie project - still yes, ... thank you.

The Grand prize was all the Sonokinetic sounds !! plus time with Michael !!

You're welcome, Kerry Kennard. Thanks for the link!

Thanks for sharing the video, Ashley Renee Smith. I didn't know composers made sketches for music. That's interesting, and it makes sense since a composer can look at the sketches and visualize where music will go in the scenes.

I think that he unfairly may get compared to John Williams who has running woodwinds and counter melodies running all through his pieces Amanda Toney. Hans Zimmer is very simplistic but that doesn't make the placement of his music and themes any less beautiful. I took a MasterClass of his which was fantastic. One interesting tidbit about his "Man of Steel" theme - although it was very different than the '78 Superman theme, they were both written in the same key. You can easily superimpose one on the other. The first two notes in each theme are the same, just played differently. That's talent.

Alessandro Sicardi I would credit him with more than that. In the 80s he was all about electronic music but since working with top scorers on the Lion he has really mastered orchestration. Violin-centric that I am, 'Sherlock Holmes' was great and the cello section in Inception was fantastic. I think for overall understanding of the orchestra and using each instrument to it's full capacity - his work on Pirates of the Caribbean

Hannah Woolmer it’s totally normal in Hollywood having orchestrators working after composers, so I honestly wouldn’t bet he orchestrated something… And if so, it’s anyway all so pop and without movement, counterpoint… It really seems written by a producer, rather than an orchestrator.

He made some interesting stuff in Dune.

Alessandro Sicardi Well he claims he does, so I guess it's your word against his

Hannah Woolmer as they're not very sophisticated, no wonder if he does them :)

Ville Hilden For the DAW: LMMS (I know it sounds noobish, but I love this tool...). I developed a simple little VST plugin to add a video track within the tool. For libraries, mainly "Berlin Free Orchestra" from Orchestral Tools (via VeSTige) + a few good SF2 instruments.

Amazing work!!!

Like the light sounds at the beginning.

At 2:02 - until the end I think it needs more intensity. Probably more instruments and minor chords - not so much major chords.

c minor, C Eb G or A min - A C E are examples for minor chords -

What software are you using - DAW and the free sounds ? Did you make any hit points. ?

Hit points are interesting places to have new music or in your case .. those two silent places near the beginning are great !!

Keep this creative energy flowing for sure !

This one guy I’m learning from said to make

Emotional hit points as well- not only logical or where scenes change.

Keep up the good … long work ! Yes - I know it takes a while. My first competition piece was 12 mins long and working, etc … it took me a month - even with Sibelius 7.5.

I use Dorico Pro 5.1 now - or sometimes for these short examples we’re making - we make music right in the DAW. It’s harder to remember keys and the chords - though it’s possible !

I found a way to print a track’s notes from

Logic Pro.

I did Gravity without much looking at tracks -

It’s on my website as well as YouTube.

Seems you have a good knack at moving things / melody along with the characters on screen!

K. Kennard

Thanks a lot Kerry Kennard for taking the time to write such detailed feedback, really appreciate it!

Yes, I totally agree about the section around 2:02. I also felt it needed a darker harmonic direction, and your suggestion about reinforcing it with more minor chords makes perfect sense. I’ll rework that part and try to build more tension there.

As for the tools: I’m currently working in LMMS, mostly with free Orchestral Tools libraries. I even developed a small VST plugin to synchronize the video inside LMMS. It’s definitely not the easiest setup for writing to picture, but I’m slowly shaping my workflow. I did highlight a few hit points, especially those two silent moments (glad you noticed!), and I tried to underline them with more intense percussion, although I know that approach isn’t the most subtle.

I also really like your idea about emotional hit points, not just structural ones. That’s something I really want to explore, especially since there’s a significant shift later in the short film in the cat’s attitude toward its attackers. I’ll have to make good use of that.

Thanks again for the encouragement. It really helps keep motivation up! I’ll check out your Gravity piece as well.

I loved this Cyril Pineau I think you used alot of ingenuity with your instrument library and there is no way I'd guess this was free libraries

Thanks for sharing this, Navid Lancaster. I'm really excited for this movie, and I'm really looking forward to hearing the music!

Awesome to hear, yes thank you Navid Lancaster for the update keep them coming, I also can’t wait to hear the music. It almost sounds like the music could be somewhat similar to the first Jurassic Park score. it was a little more downbeat compared to Star Wars Empire Strikes Back etc.

Navid Lancaster - Awesome! I am going to pass this on to my daughter, too.

I have two - here is one: https://soundcloud.com/sharon-mandel-902843588/04-shoeless-prison-blues

https://soundcloud.com/sharon-mandel-902843588/03-sweet-freedom

Thanks, Ilanna Mandel. I just listened to both songs and followed you on SoundCloud. Your singing and songs are incredible!

Aww thank you. I always felt the folk blues song had potential and I'd love to sell it or something!

You're welcome, Ilanna Mandel. I like both songs, especially Sweet Freedom! I hope you sell them/find people to use them!

Create what emotionally moves you...regardless the style....chances are it will move others as well and those are always needed in scenes. Create the feel that inspires you and as the composer you then create sections or albums of your library of that theme which you can draw from. For example... Emotional Distant Piano. Dark Dramatic Piano, Uplifting Dramatic Piano etc. Oh so many favorite scenes....

It's almost always about the feeling of the song. I will often play with different genres, tempos, moods, styles. If it's a sad scene, do I want ironically happy music? If it's happy, do I want to try a bit of melancholy? Etc...

Doesn’t it depend on the emotional music scene within the movie? Or are you / we discussing making music without the video, Kat Spencer ?

Doesn’t it depend on the scene which is going on?

In my short example with Harry Potter, the two characters are having a battle talk, so I created a back and forth minor chords before the other fight scenes started. The wand round move was discussed in class for a higher pitched sounds arranged to make it fit the scene. For this effect,

Less than 7– 10 seconds- It took about 1 hour - across the 4-6 instruments I used for this nice orchestration. The emotion is def mystic and

Light in this scene, before the different fight particles start throughout the short.

The very end of this piece … the music seemed off. - not connecting emotionally- and to my sense of finality. Then, I looked at some scores, in which the online teacher gave us from the actual movie .

I made a few corrections and it sounds a lot better.

I know I’m talking about my short example, they trying to share the emotions I put into it, as well as similar tips I had to do to make it decent.

Granted, the sounds are a little thin; this is due creating it within Dorico 5.1 Pro. I did best to use plugins to make it work before combing sounds w video in iMovie.

I thought the music made during the water scene made this moment. I tried to keep same sound into when the glass breaks - since close together.

The Gravity video sounds best over all; it’s on same playlist on YouTube and on my Services page on my website.

You asked to drop a video ! (Smiles)

https://youtu.be/sgyfczoStBA?feature=shared

Hi Kat,

Bill from Tucson. I'm a writer/producer, not a musician or composer. Your question got me thinking about my film. (And The Pudgie Goes To). My term for the film is, music enhanced. There are 15 songs, only one an original. Your question made me realize, when I was choosing the songs, I was just like the composer/arranger. Each song was chosen for the mood and tone of the scene, but also with the overall tone of the film in mind. I don't know if it was easier because all the songs have lyrics, but i believe the lyrics put immediate emphasis on the mood.

The story is about a screenwriter struggling in Hollywood. After six years, he's still driving a beer truck in the shadow of the Hollywood sign. To give an example, the opening song is "I Must Let the Show Go On", by Three Dog Night. The lyrics ring out tragedy, mixed with dark humor, but the music has a playful circus atmosphere and with the background scenes showing the sights along Hollywood Boulevard, it does seem as if the whole thing is a circus.

Thanks to your question, I went back over every song in the film to see if I got the mood I was looking for. I believe I did. Great question!