# If Westworld was scored in the 80s?



## Amusics (Jun 1, 2020)

I know there have already been so many entries into this, but as a composer, it’s rare we get to write whatever we want! After viewing quite a few entires I noticed something was missing. I went full unabashed 80s adventure score. How y’all enjoy! I know I did. THE TEMPO OF BOOM


----------



## RonOrchComp (Jun 1, 2020)

OMG - this is awesome!!!!!


----------



## fedelecuo (Jun 1, 2020)

Nice!! John Williams vibes


----------



## Brian99 (Jun 1, 2020)

Great Scott!! Definitely has that Alan Silvestri/Back to the Future vibe!


----------



## Stringtree (Jun 1, 2020)

You just won... Ma heart. Whole tone? Way to go. Is babysitting involved?

A trip to the mall just became dangerous, but not so much that it trips an R-rating.

This is hilarious, and quite good. I'm going to watch this several times.

Wow. This is a course in film composing. So grateful.

Greg


----------



## goalie composer (Jun 1, 2020)

Loved it! Any possibility of a mix walkthrough?


----------



## Land of Missing Parts (Jun 1, 2020)

But what if it was shot in the 70s?


----------



## Dr.Quest (Jun 1, 2020)

Awesome! Even some original Mission Impossible in there!


----------



## Amusics (Jun 2, 2020)

goalie composer said:


> Loved it! Any possibility of a mix walkthrough?


Yes definitely. Any specific aspect you’re curious about?


----------



## Amusics (Jun 2, 2020)

Land of Missing Parts said:


> But what if it was shot in the 70s?
> 
> wow that’s creepy! Ha.


----------



## Amusics (Jun 2, 2020)

Stringtree said:


> You just won... Ma heart. Whole tone? Way to go. Is babysitting involved?
> 
> A trip to the mall just became dangerous, but not so much that it trips an R-rating.
> 
> ...


Wow Greg, thanks for the praise man. Now if only they drove through the mall? Maybe we can do a VFX treatment where they drive through 80s movie sets. 😂


----------



## BenG (Jun 2, 2020)

This is total Silvestri and I love it!  haha


----------



## Alex Fraser (Jun 2, 2020)

Love it. And actually, it gives the footage much more energy and movement than most of the entires I'd seen. 😂


----------



## wst3 (Jun 2, 2020)

WOW!

That not only sounds great, but it fits the scene, and it is clever, really clever. It brings back memories of some of my favorite films from "way back when" - and not just action flicks.

Brilliant take on the video!!

Since unabashed praise does little good I watched it a couple times, and the only thing I'd change, maybe, is the level of the brass around 2:20, that's the only place where I felt the music overwhelmed the sounds, and yet I'm pretty sure that happened in the 1980s soundtracks, so I may be wrong.

Really well done! (kinda wish I'd thought of that<G>!)


----------



## Brian99 (Jun 2, 2020)

Land of Missing Parts said:


> But what if it was shot in the 70s?



Not a lot of people realize that it was a movie before a show. Movie was ok, nothing special.


----------



## goalie composer (Jun 2, 2020)

Amusics said:


> Yes definitely. Any specific aspect you’re curious about?


Would love to learn how you created a realistic balance between the instruments and any techniques you used to create proper depth


----------



## Stringtree (Jun 2, 2020)

Any kind of thoughts on this in a walkthrough would be killer.


----------



## Tanuj Tiku (Jun 2, 2020)

Brilliant! 

Actually, as the character is switching genres, this would technically be possible in the show as well! May be processed and altered in some ways.

Anyway, good one!


----------



## Amusics (Jun 2, 2020)

wst3 said:


> WOW!
> 
> That not only sounds great, but it fits the scene, and it is clever, really clever. It brings back memories of some of my favorite films from "way back when" - and not just action flicks.
> 
> ...



Yes! Feedback helps. Always looking to improve. I really wasn't sure how far to push the music forward. Being a bit too forward since it's a scoring competition v trying to make it sound like the FINAL product that might actually be in a theater. Tried to find a good balance, but yeah in the 80s music was so often preeeetty loud ha.


----------



## toomanynotes (Jun 2, 2020)

fedelecuo said:


> Nice!! John Williams vibes


Nah, This is indistinguishable from an Alan silvestri score! I like it 👍👍


----------



## coppi (Jun 3, 2020)

you would win this damned competition if i were in the jury


----------



## ptram (Jun 3, 2020)

It's an absolutely great lesson of composition and style!

Paolo


----------



## GNP (Jun 3, 2020)

Wow, you really are quite the Silvestri fan! This is EXCELLENT


----------



## el-bo (Jun 3, 2020)

Alex Fraser said:


> Love it. And actually, it gives the footage much more energy and movement than most of the entires I'd seen. 😂



Kept me engaged the whole way through, and is the only one I've seen (Not seen too many, as of yet) that managed to heighten the energy/tension rather than restraining it. 

Fantastic work!


----------



## LamaRose (Jun 3, 2020)

Awesome!


----------



## Pando (Jun 3, 2020)

Great Scott!

Well this wins my vote. Very well done.

For a moment there I thought it will continue with Luke's theme with the very last 3 notes lol.


----------



## nolotrippen (Jun 3, 2020)

The J Williams is strong with this one. Good job.


----------



## nolotrippen (Jun 3, 2020)

bzyboy said:


> Not a lot of people realize that it was a movie before a show. Movie was ok, nothing special.


I like the movie the more I see it. And awesomely creative Fred Karlin score.


----------



## nolotrippen (Jun 3, 2020)

What libraries please?


----------



## Iswhatitis (Jun 3, 2020)

Amusics said:


> I know there have already been so many entries into this, but as a composer, it’s rare we get to write whatever we want! After viewing quite a few entires I noticed something was missing. I went full unabashed 80s adventure score. How y’all enjoy! I know I did. THE TEMPO OF BOOM



I think this music is excellent and you definitely scored it to this picture very well. However, as much as I like your music I don’t think it fits for Westworld at all. For Star Wars, absolutely! For Westworld, I just don’t like it and felt bored and disconnected when watching to picture, but you are talented. I had a very hard time watching all the way thru since your music is wonderful but not the right vibe for this scene.


----------



## Richard Wilkinson (Jun 3, 2020)

nolotrippen said:


> J Williams


 Silvestri! Octatonic stuff, the signature 'umpah' tritones etc - celeste/harp/piano/high woodwinds etc


----------



## Pando (Jun 3, 2020)

I think it has a lot more in common with Silvestri's Back to the Future score than JW/Star Wars.


----------



## Amusics (Jun 3, 2020)

Thanks for the responses! Really appreciate it. For anyone interested.
Here is a link to the walkthrough I just made. Not really great at just off the cuff talking, but I tried my best. If you have more questions, I'm happy to try and answer.


----------



## Amusics (Jun 3, 2020)

Iswhatitis said:


> I think this music is excellent and you definitely scored it to this picture very well. However, as much as I like your music I don’t think it fits for Westworld at all. For Star Wars, absolutely! For Westworld, I just don’t like it and felt bored and disconnected when watching to picture, but you are talented. I had a very hard time watching all the way thru since your music is wonderful but not the right vibe for this scene.


I totally get it, yeah. It's not what I would probably have done if I were the composer on the show. Although, I was told that the 'Ride of the Valkyries' version that was included with the downloadable materials was the final version. He's switching movie genres, so MAYBE it'd play to that part, BUT 100% agree, if I were scoring it, even audition on this piece, I'd do it differently.

I really appreciate you watching through to the end anyway man. Takes some perseverance.


----------



## Iswhatitis (Jun 3, 2020)

Amusics said:


> I totally get it, yeah. It's not what I would probably have done if I were the composer on the show. Although, I was told that the 'Ride of the Valkyries' version that was included with the downloadable materials was the final version. He's switching movie genres, so MAYBE it'd play to that part, BUT 100% agree, if I were scoring it, even audition on this piece, I'd do it differently.
> 
> I really appreciate you watching through to the end anyway man. Takes some perseverance.


I don’t think the Ride of the Valkyries is nearly the right piece or style of music for this scene either, though perfect for the movie Excalibur!!


----------



## NathanTiemeyer (Jun 3, 2020)

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!


----------



## Amusics (Jun 3, 2020)

nolotrippen said:


> What libraries please?


I'll try and hit the big ones, the video I posted shows some of that as well.
Also there maybe one or two patches not listed.

Woodwinds:
Albion 1 (Hi,Lo) - Original version
Albion 3 (Lo)
Cinewinds
Orchestral Tools - Revive
Hollywood Winds

Brass:
Cinebrass
Cinematic Studio Brass
Brass Horn/Trpt Phalanx
Cage Brass

Strings:
Cinestrings
Afflatus Strings
Action Strings
Soaring Strings
Adagio Violin
Orchestral String Runs
Cinestrings Runs
Tiny bit of Albion 1 (original)

Percussion:
Cineperc
Cineharp
Imperfect Samples Steinway

Verb:
Seventh Heaven Reverb (Bricasti)

I THINK those are the big ones.


----------



## goalie composer (Jun 3, 2020)

Amusics said:


> Thanks for the responses! Really appreciate it. For anyone interested.
> Here is a link to the walkthrough I just made. Not really great at just off the cuff talking, but I tried my best. If you have more questions, I'm happy to try and answer.



Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and process!


----------



## nolotrippen (Jun 3, 2020)

Amusics said:


> I'll try and hit the big ones, the video I posted shows some of that as well.
> Also there maybe one or two patches not listed.
> 
> Woodwinds:
> ...


Thanks!


----------



## Cheezus (Jun 5, 2020)

This is the exact shit I'm here for. This was the first thing I tried to do for my entry, but I'm not nearly good enough to pull it off this good. Ended up sounding more like a 60s detective movie.


----------



## Amusics (Jun 5, 2020)

Cheezus said:


> This is the exact shit I'm here for. This was the first thing I tried to do for my entry, but I'm not nearly good enough to pull it off this good. Ended up sounding more like a 60s detective movie.


Thanks for checking it out. I checked out yours as well, really fun piece. Honestly, I think it’s awesome that it has a unique vibe, I haven’t heard an entry yet like that one! Better to stand out doing something cool and interesting!


----------



## Cheezus (Jun 5, 2020)

Amusics said:


> Thanks for checking it out. I checked out yours as well, really fun piece. Honestly, I think it’s awesome that it has a unique vibe, I haven’t heard an entry yet like that one! Better to stand out doing something cool and interesting!



The judges have a ton of entries to sift through so they probably appreciate something oddball every once in a while. At least I hope?


----------



## robcs (Jun 5, 2020)

You had me from the opening MI motif. Definitely the most engaging of the entries I’ve seen. The spotting was... spot on!

took me back to my misspent youth 

And thanks for putting up the walkthrough. I know how I’ll be spending my weekend!


----------



## Amusics (Jun 6, 2020)

Cheezus said:


> The judges have a ton of entries to sift through so they probably appreciate something oddball every once in a while. At least I hope?


110% man.


----------



## Pincel (Jun 6, 2020)

Amusics said:


> I know there have already been so many entries into this, but as a composer, it’s rare we get to write whatever we want! After viewing quite a few entires I noticed something was missing. I went full unabashed 80s adventure score. How y’all enjoy! I know I did. THE TEMPO OF BOOM




That was impressive as f*ck! What surprises me the most, is that you've made it work! I've seen some other very good entries that tried to reach for this old school orchestral action vibe, but I have say that none of them pulled it off quite as you did. It's mega fun! Congrats, hope you're one of the winners.


----------



## RogiervG (Jun 6, 2020)

Amusics said:


> I know there have already been so many entries into this, but as a composer, it’s rare we get to write whatever we want! After viewing quite a few entires I noticed something was missing. I went full unabashed 80s adventure score. How y’all enjoy! I know I did. THE TEMPO OF BOOM


We've got a winner!!


----------



## AndyP (Jun 6, 2020)

Great job!

I had a similar idea, but did not take part in the competition.
I was thinking more of a western soundtrack where instead of modern cars a stagecoach is followed by riders.

Of all contributions to the competition I have heard so far, this is my favourite.


----------



## Stringtree (Jun 6, 2020)

TLM49. Nice. I hope you upgraded past the _cardboard box_ it came with. I did not. 

So many thanks. This is gold. I really like the articulated-brass advice to choose it over legato. 

Very sorry I goaded you into this behind-the-scenes along with so many others. Not. 

No chance I'll watch this just once. There's a certain sarcasm and irony I love in your choice of this palette. Who cares if you win the contest? Do you need any more sample libraries or even have the space? You have my attention for sure!

Greg


----------



## Stringtree (Jun 6, 2020)

Richard Wilkinson said:


> Silvestri! Octatonic stuff, the signature 'umpah' tritones etc - celeste/harp/piano/high woodwinds etc



There's gold scattered around on the ground here. Every smart post is a way to learn. 

Thanks for your impressions, Richard. I'm just following breadcrumbs. I knew it had a sound but I didn't know what to call it. Along with Amusics' walkthrough, I'm a little smarter. Not much, but a little.



Octatonic. I have a particular set of skills. I will find you, and I will use you.

Best,

Greg


----------



## R. Soul (Jun 6, 2020)

I've mostly avoided this competition - this is actually only the 3rd entry I've listened. 
But this was awesome. Well done.
Got a lot of Back to the future vibes from it, but that's never a bad thing.


----------



## Mike Greene (Jun 6, 2020)

Iswhatitis said:


> I think this music is excellent and you definitely scored it to this picture very well. However, as much as I like your music I don’t think it fits for Westworld at all. For Star Wars, absolutely! For Westworld, I just don’t like it and felt bored and disconnected when watching to picture, but you are talented. I had a very hard time watching all the way thru since your music is wonderful but not the right vibe for this scene.


File this one under, "Didn't Get the Joke." 

This was freakin' great, Andrew!


----------



## rpaillot (Jun 6, 2020)

Really impressive man.

Sample programming, mixing, orchestration, writing but the most impressive thing imo and i'm sure everybody here will agree is that your spotting was really good. The stops, little breaks, little twists and turns in the picture were perfectly nailed in the music, and sounded pretty natural and fluid. It makes the whole scene really works and glue together.

It takes some serious skills to do that. I wish that your entry will be in the finalists.


----------



## tack (Jun 6, 2020)

I simultaneously admire the effort and agree with Iwhatitis that it didn't _feel_ right for Westworld (but we part ways in that I was certainly never bored). Clearly Amusics was channeling Silvestri (and I got a few hints of Goldsmith too), and why not! As a Silvestri homage it was excellent. But IMO the thing about Back to the Future is that it was lighthearted and comedic as much as it was dramatic, and those sentiments were captured brilliantly in Silvestri's score. Westworld is meanwhile much more bleak, tense, dystopian.

Someone mentioned Williams, and while Amusics' contribution wasn't Williamsesque, if we're going to quote the greats, I kept thinking the Minority Report score would be much more fitting for this Westworld scene.


----------



## jononotbono (Jun 6, 2020)

Loved it man! Has made me wanna watch Back to the Future! I’d definitely call you if I needed music like this!


----------



## toomanynotes (Jun 7, 2020)

Iswhatitis said:


> I don’t think the Ride of the Valkyries is nearly the right piece or style of music for this scene either, though perfect for the movie Excalibur!!


Carl orff you mean?


----------



## Iswhatitis (Jun 7, 2020)

toomanynotes said:


> Carl orff you mean?


----------



## Saxer (Jun 7, 2020)

Great version, lot of fun! Actually the first entry I watched to the end 

Thanks for the walkthrough!


----------



## Consona (Jun 7, 2020)




----------



## Vincent Martin (Jun 7, 2020)

Sounding like Silvestri's to me, I love this !
And very well suited to the motion pictures
Impressive work !
Thanks for the entertainment.


----------



## Amusics (Jun 7, 2020)

AndyP said:


> Great job!
> 
> I had a similar idea, but did not take part in the competition.
> I was thinking more of a western soundtrack where instead of modern cars a stagecoach is followed by riders.
> ...


Thanks so much AndyP. That’d have been awesome! It’d have been a lot of fun to explore that for sure.


----------



## Amusics (Jun 7, 2020)

Stringtree said:


> TLM49. Nice. I hope you upgraded past the _cardboard box_ it came with. I did not.
> 
> So many thanks. This is gold. I really like the articulated-brass advice to choose it over legato.
> 
> ...


I maaaaaaay still have the cardboard box 😝. I do need to get to that situation dealt with.


----------



## toomanynotes (Jun 7, 2020)

yes you need help. 😜


----------



## sp.aviram (Jun 7, 2020)

So freaking good!


----------



## jamieboo (Jun 7, 2020)

Excellent work!!
Springs, fizzes and pops organically with the various contours of the sequence.
And it's like a splash of cold water, reminding us that our perspective of what 'fits' is often conditioned by convention.


----------



## Mukkenerd (Jun 13, 2020)

Really like your entry! The only one from a few hundreds i listened so far, that is really good. Apart from mine of course, lol. Nah, just kidding. Very consistent and great oldschool vibe, very dynamic. I can`t listen to more of the generic stuff going on. As if there is only one sample library available on the planet. Big thumbs up!


----------



## jononotbono (Jun 13, 2020)

Mukkenerd said:


> Apart from mine of course, lol.



Where is yours? I Wanna have a listen!


----------



## Mukkenerd (Jun 13, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Where is yours? I Wanna have a listen!


Have fun while destroying!
click on the link


----------



## David Kudell (Jun 13, 2020)

I’m not sure how I missed this one, but just heard it and it’s phenomenal!


----------



## jononotbono (Jun 13, 2020)

Mukkenerd said:


> Have fun while destroying!
> click on the link



Man, who am I to destroy anyone! 😂
Im currently waiting for a plane to Florida so will check it out when I’m not surrounded by masked people.


----------



## alexandrost (Jun 13, 2020)

_hey Doc! you're not going to believe this we have to go to 1955!_

Great job


----------



## Mukkenerd (Jun 13, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Man, who am I to destroy anyone! 😂
> Im currently waiting for a plane to Florida so will check it out when I’m not surrounded by masked people.


Since you left out my statement after "apart from mine of course, lol" which was " Nah, just kidding. " You put my whole statement in a distorted context, which the media often does, so i just assumed you wanted to test the newbie for substance. Have fun!


----------



## Amusics (Jun 13, 2020)

Mukkenerd said:


> Really like your entry! The only one from a few hundreds i listened so far, that is really good. Apart from mine of course, lol. Nah, just kidding. Very consistent and great oldschool vibe, very dynamic. I can`t listen to more of the generic stuff going on. As if there is only one sample library available on the planet. Big thumbs up!


Hey Raphael, thanks for checking it out. Also, cool entry on your end. The singing at the end almost sounded like a distorted cello at first so that was cool. Also, I’m wish you. I have nothing against hybrid orchestra or synth stuff. There is definitely a lot of it in this contest though. Was a big part of why I chose to do the old school route.


----------



## Mukkenerd (Jun 15, 2020)

Amusics said:


> Hey Raphael, thanks for checking it out. Also, cool entry on your end. The singing at the end almost sounded like a distorted cello at first so that was cool. Also, I’m wish you. I have nothing against hybrid orchestra or synth stuff. There is definitely a lot of it in this contest though. Was a big part of why I chose to do the old school route.


Your approach is definitely unique and deserves its praise. Let`s see where our creativity gets us. Wish you all the best for this contest!


----------



## I like music (Jun 29, 2020)

Wait, was this one of the runner-ups? I can't quite remember from the clip they showed in the announcement, but I remember thinking it had similar qualities (and quality) to the short clip I heard. Need to go back and find that announcement video again.


----------

