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Composing

Discuss, share content, offer tips and advice on hardware, software, style, strategies, process, work-flow and the business of scoring a film, video or theater production

December Community Open House Webcast
Libby Wright
What's YOUR Lens?

Hi friends. I'm wondering how you view writing/composing? Is it a calling? Is it a fun way to unwind? A passion? A hobby? All of the above?

Reda Mourah

Film scoring is a profession that requires a lot of knowledge. The more experience you have in that field, the better your skills in storytelling become.

Dhamodaran Ddren

that's totally subjective. But it definitely gives us all of the above feelings. About me, I view it as a way to express my self and to explore more about myself introspectively.

Bruce Bray

I wouldn't say it's a calling. but creating on a whole is something I was born to do, including film music composition. in the beginning I thought it would be my total profession. But after 30 plus films, I've learned that it's just an extension of my music creation

Libby Wright

These are great thoughts. I'd love to hear how you all broke into the industry scoring films.

Libby Wright
Anyone coming with me?

Ok, I am seriously SOOOOOO excited about this event. Is anyone from this lounge joining? It will be eduational and maybe you can even network with people from this webcast! Seems like I always find a new friend or two that's on the same wavelength when I attend!

I think as composers it is really usef...

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Ashley Renee Smith

Me me me!! =) I can’t wait!

Randall Scott White
Composers - Tune in This Wednesday, September 10th, at 11:00 AM PT

FREE Stage 32 Webcast: Stage 32 + SAGindie: Breaking Down the SAG-AFTRA Signatory Process for Indie Filmmakers

This is a must-watch for indie filmmakers and producers who want to work with professional actors u...

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Ashley Renee Smith
The Score Behind the Spotlight: Cristobal Tapia de Veer Wins Emmy for The White Lotus Season 3 Amid Creative Fallout

Cristobal Tapia de Veer, the visionary composer behind The White Lotus’ distinctive sound, has won the Emmy for Season 3’s Main Title Theme, despite stepping away from the series following creative differences with showrunner Mike White.

In his public reaction, de Veer didn’t hold back. He emphasized...

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Wyman Brent
Thoughts of an Unknown Man

Songwriting has a way of surprising me. Today, two very different songs arrived — almost like opposite sides of the same coin.

The first was Things Grow, a quiet reflection on loss, renewal, and how life keeps moving forward even when grief tries to hold you still. It’s personal, tender, and rooted...

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Wyman Brent

Ario Vahram Thank you — I really appreciate that. I feel this every single day with my songwriting. Some songs surprise me with their tenderness, others with their humor, and some just leave me wonder...

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Kat Spencer

Wyman Brent Oh, I definitely swing. I never know where inspiration will come from, or what it will spark.

Wyman Brent

Kat Spencer, you and me both. A photograph, two or three words read online, a walk around town, 75 year old comic books, even 100 year old patent applications....

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Libby Wright

It's all about my mood and what's happening around me.

Wyman Brent

Libby Wright, I understand very well.

Wyman Brent
Artist Insight: The Making of Goodbye

Some songs sneak up on you when you least expect it. Goodbye arrived while I was walking back to my place — just a few minutes’ stroll, but enough for the lyrics to start forming in my head. I knew immediately it was going to be a total cheese fest, and instead of fighting it, I leaned all the way i...

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Kat Spencer

Wyman Brent Agreed! The Universe is incredibly smart at giving us what we need.

Wyman Brent

Kat Spencer, so very true. My song Goodbye has so much cheese that it could cover a very large pizza.

https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/goodbye...

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Libby Wright
How often do you compose?

Hi there, I'm pretty new here and I'm curious... how do you compose?I tend to go in spurts and then step away for a while. Is this a discipline you do regularly or as the mood strike or both?

Alexander Diaconu

Everyday. But for different projects. One day is for musical theatre, another for film, animation or theatre. And each is very different from the other which is great bbecause it keeps me tinking out of the box and definitely pushing my limits.

Adriano Martorana

I'm a composer specializing in film scores. I create original music ranging from romantic and epic to emotional minimalism, always with a particular focus on the film's narrative and visual identity....

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Libby Wright

Wow- thanks everyone for the great responses!

Libby Wright

Adriano Martorana I love it "Whisper of the soul"

Adriano Martorana

Many thanks

Wyman Brent
Why I Write Songs

Today reminded me why I write songs.

I was on the bus heading out to the farm when a mother and her young son sat across from me. We started talking, and when I mentioned I was a songwriter, she said her son loves music. I decided to play Let’s Drink Up for them — my whimsical little tune about ducks...

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Alessandro Sicardi
"In the Mood for Trailer"

I wrote this track, called "Evolving", a couple of weeks ago, and I thought its romantic melody could fit a movie like one of my favorites, "In the Mood for Love". I edited my track using a clip from that masterpiece, and this is the result. What do you think?

Libby Wright

Very dramatic and cinematic. Love the sweeping strings!

Alessandro Sicardi

Lee Barbour I understand you!

By my side, I try to be as accurate as I can with dynamics and tempo (accel., rall., rit.) when I write them, so that when I export the MIDI file, I have to adjust it with...

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Alessandro Sicardi

Libby Wright I'm very happy you like it...!

Emmanuel Obiejemba

Very nice. Fits the scenes on the short clips perfectly well.

Alessandro Sicardi

Emmanuel Obiejemba many thanks!

Wyman Brent
Rules vs. Flow in Songwriting

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos where songwriters talk about the writing process like it’s rocket science — chord progressions, rhyming schemes, and all the rules you “should” follow. That works for them, and I respect it.

But I’ll be honest — I have zero desire to learn the “proper” songwriting...

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Libby Wright

Remember, @Wyman-- there's no "wrong way" to make music. It's been around long before any rules, and it will last past them. At least to me, it's the most pure form of expression.

Wyman Brent

Libby Wright, you are right. Still, I wonder if some will think my song Didgeridoo Dementia is the wrong way to make music.

Wyman Brent
Writing Names

I’ve noticed something interesting in my own songwriting — how much the choice to use names (or not use them) changes the entire feel of a song.

Take “Southern Gothic” for example. I grounded it in specific characters: Mister Jones, Bobby Hollander, Sheriff Thompson, Judge Ellerbee. That concreteness...

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Libby Wright

One of the most interesting habits of modern singer/songwriters picking random titles is Dave Matthews. Like Samuri Cop- it's a song about birth and early childhood. The name could either throw you off or make the song memorable.

Wyman Brent

Libby Wright, I will have to look for that song. Actually, in my songs, I give no thought as I write them. Southern Gothic came out with specific characters because that is where the words wanted to g...

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Wyman Brent
When the Floodgates Open

Yesterday was one of those rare days where the songs just kept flowing. By the end of the day, I had written 12 new songs.

What stuns me is not just the number, but the range and quality. Five of them formed a cohesive Southern rock suite that feels like it could have been pressed onto vinyl in the...

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Randall Scott White

I used to grab my guitar and keyboards a lot more in the past - good to see you still have your muse at the ready

Wyman Brent

Randall Scott White, you are an actual musician which is really cool. I have written around 300 songs, but the vocals and music are a.i. generated. I actually only started on this journey in April of...

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