Composing

My creative goal between now and January 1st is finish rewriting my feature script and pitch it, Kat Spencer. I did 3 drafts for Stage 32’s November Write Club. What's your creative goal?

The new year is always a good feeling...as if it's a new creative clean slate. I just finished up the music for the last film project for the year. I do have some upcoming projects but what I try to do at the end of the year is go through all of the years project files and add any mixes and edits of tracks to my production library ready to be available for licensing and then generally clean house on the drives and systems to get them cleared up and ready for the new year.

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!

Fun project! What sort of tools do you use?

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.

Great list! I'd love to add a topic or two for next year: How to collaborate effectively for screen scoring and step-by-step guide to protecting your IP for music.

Composing Education for different genres, James Lagrimas, like a webinar on scoring a Comedy movie, a class on scoring a Thriller show, and a lab on scoring an Action movie.

These are great James Lagrimas - aside from education, I'd consider having an AMA hosted by a composer with film experience.

I love the idea of genre specific scoring webinars! I'd like to see those added too.

Something touching on how music scores build tone and atmosphere in the background would slide perfectly into a set of genre webinars.

I bought Terence Blanchard’s video. Good one !

.. from what I went through and seen.

There’s some good detailed information from

Terrence’s video ! I need to get back to this video as well.

I ran across Michael Whittaker’s ScoreCraft program on FB ! He has a once a month hang /

Online class where he shares his secrets from his 30 year career !

He has a few other classes also - his big program is Coming up in February 2026.

He’s made another program where it’s self/ paced and available- and there’s 10 videos to score to.

www.ScoreCraftAcademy.com

Here's mine: Title: Thanks-Viv-Ing Logline: When Vivian, a harried young mother and kindergarten teacher, finds herself juggling the chaos of directing a Thanksgiving-themed play, she must navigate the comedic struggles of creativity, family, and community to create unforgettable memories for her students and children all while navigating her first holiday season after a perilous divorce. Dramady-Musical with lots of upbeat numbers that show the frantic pace of her life. Even when sad, lonely, or in overwhelm, the pace is fast in the beginning. As things resolve, the musical tempo becomes less harried.

Hans Zimmer is an incredible composer in my opinion, Amanda Toney! I talked with him way back about composing a feature film I was making. He was busy though, and I probably wouldn't have had the budget to hire him. He's a nice guy.

I prefer the old-school melodists like Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone…oh and John Barry!

Boy is this a tough question. His success is completely undeniable so I would say he, like many famous composers found his sound or niche, does that make him over rated probably not. I would say, it makes him different that attracted many director / producers to his sound, which I think is a bit more synth based in a lot of cases, not all though. He comes from a synth back ground which he carried in to the film score world. That all being said I agree with Ville Hilden I prefer the amazing melodies of, John Barry, Ennis Marricone, John Williams (the theme master in my option), Dimitri Tiomkin, Eric Korngold...

So I would say, he's not over rated just different, and different in some ways that make him unpopular with a traditionalist composer for sure.

I have always loved his scores...

I can happily say that I have not lost the spark yet. I am only slowing down with writing songs now simply because I have written more than 450 of them. I am now busy uploading them to sites like Fresh Tunes where people can actually discover them. It takes time when there are hundreds of songs to list.

Wyman Brent This is true! Best of luck with all of the uploads!

Two years ago I walked away completely from composing, from playing the guitar, all of it. I was burned out from working so hard and Covid wrecking some good things I had going after school, I had just had it, completely. But that only lasted for about 6 or so months... a friend of mine called me one evening and asked me if I wanted to be in a.good local rock band that the founder was leaving, who was also a friend, so I said I would think about it. I have to admit I was happy where I was, the pressure was gone, the long hours all of it, I could do things I wanted to but didn't have time, which was great. But something was also missing so I said yes, I would join. At first all I wanted to do was play the guitar live and enjoy that, not go back to the composing gig but all it took as a little Rock and Roll guitar to light that fire again and here I am back at it. The wife said it was meant to be.... :-)

The spark wanes quickly if you stop working, simple as that!

There was a time during the years 2013 to 2015 when I didn't write as much. A lot happened during that time, most tragic was my aunt died of leukemia and I just didn't want to write or vlog. It wasn't until 2016 when I started attending open mic nights that I met people who also loved to write and that made me want to get back into writing songs. I think covid really wrecked lots of potentially good things, though. Having everything close or shut down for a few years didn't help. While I was still songwriting with a friend during that time in which we emailed lyrics back and forth, we haven't had time since the pandemic ended to get together and record because my friend is having problems finding people who are serious enough about the music to want to collaborate in writing melodies. Joining online communities in 2021 really helped, but I feel like I lack the creative space in the real world. I feel like the world hasn't been the same since 2020.

I will be watching this!! Ashley Renee Smith thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for sharing the conversation, Ashley Renee Smith. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is my new favorite movie of the year and my favorite Frankenstein movie. What stood out to me most about Alexandre's approach is he explored/dug to suggest ideas for the music and bring a new voice to the film.

Fantastic!!! (I had the honor of working with Alexandre Desplat on 'The Upside of Anger'. Such a professional talent!)