# Music Cosmos Composer Competition End date 10th Nov 2021



## Markrs

It's free to enter!
Download the video *WHO SHOULD DECIDE *by *Amazon Frontlines* 
Create a new score (keep the voice over)
*Read the Instructions* included in the downloaded folder
Upload the video with your original score and proper credits to YouTube
Submit your work by clicking the button “Submit Your Track Here” (above)
10 finalists will be selected by a jury and will be featured at www.musiccosmos.earth for public voting. Votes from the jury (more weight) plus public vote will result in winners according to the number of available prizes. More details to follow (see prizes below).
Read the FAQ below for complete information and if you have questions, get in touch: [email protected].
Entries close Nov 10th @ 11:59pm PST.






https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021


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## Leslie Fuller

Markrs said:


> It's free to enter!
> Download the video *WHO SHOULD DECIDE *by *Amazon Frontlines*
> Create a new score (keep the voice over)
> *Read the Instructions* included in the downloaded folder
> Upload the video with your original score and proper credits to YouTube
> Submit your work by clicking the button “Submit Your Track Here” (above)
> 10 finalists will be selected by a jury and will be featured at www.musiccosmos.earth for public voting. Votes from the jury (more weight) plus public vote will result in winners according to the number of available prizes. More details to follow (see prizes below).
> Read the FAQ below for complete information and if you have questions, get in touch: [email protected].
> Entries close Nov 10th @ 11:59pm PST.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021



Thanks @Markrs! I was going to post about this competition, but you got there first.


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## Markrs

Leslie Fuller said:


> Thanks @Markrs! I was going to post about this competition, but you got there first.


I only know about as someone, possible from here, I subscribe posted their entry. I like that this one is a documentary style with commentary.


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## Manaberry

Oh wow. Gavin and Reuben doing their magic. Best prize!


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## quickbrownf0x

Oh it's free, is it, @Markrs?


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## quickbrownf0x

quickbrownf0x said:


> Oh it's free, is it, @Markrs?


So since it's free I figured I'd dust off my old VideoSync, so we'll see what happens. Also haha - bewbs. 







Hmmmmm, purple.....


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## Markrs

quickbrownf0x said:


> So since it's free I figured I'd dust off my old VideoSync, so we'll see what happens. Also haha - bewbs.
> 
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> 
> Hmmmmm, purple.....


Nice setup!


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## Rossy

Markrs said:


> It's free to enter!
> Download the video *WHO SHOULD DECIDE *by *Amazon Frontlines*
> Create a new score (keep the voice over)
> *Read the Instructions* included in the downloaded folder
> Upload the video with your original score and proper credits to YouTube
> Submit your work by clicking the button “Submit Your Track Here” (above)
> 10 finalists will be selected by a jury and will be featured at www.musiccosmos.earth for public voting. Votes from the jury (more weight) plus public vote will result in winners according to the number of available prizes. More details to follow (see prizes below).
> Read the FAQ below for complete information and if you have questions, get in touch: [email protected].
> Entries close Nov 10th @ 11:59pm PST.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021



Thanks Markrs, I need all the practice I can get.


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## Rossy

quickbrownf0x said:


> So since it's free I figured I'd dust off my old VideoSync, so we'll see what happens. Also haha - bewbs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hmmmmm, purple.....


Frigging sweet


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## quickbrownf0x

Just for a laugh, here are my personal spotting notes;






 

Off to a good start, I'd say.


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## Rossy

quickbrownf0x said:


> Just for a laugh, here are my personal spotting notes;
> 
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> 
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> 
> 
> Off to a good start, I'd say.


I hate to hijack your spotting pic but would you know if I can do something similar in Studio One?


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## quickbrownf0x

Rossy said:


> I hate to hijack your spotting pic but would you know if I can do something similar in Studio One?


No idea, does this help?

https://s1manual.presonus.com/#Mixing_Topics/Using_the_Marker_Track.htm?Highlight=marker


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## Rossy

quickbrownf0x said:


> No idea, does this help?
> 
> https://s1manual.presonus.com/#Mixing_Topics/Using_the_Marker_Track.htm?Highlight=marker


Thanks, I didn't men for you to look it up (I don't want to seem lazy) yours looks so cool. I can imagine how helpful it is. Cheers for doing that anyway, yours looks better.


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## quickbrownf0x

Rossy said:


> Thanks, I didn't men for you to look it up (I don't want to seem lazy) yours looks so cool. I can imagine how helpful it is. Cheers for doing that anyway, yours looks better.


No worries


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## Axilleys

Why one needs Instagram to participate to a competition?


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## quickbrownf0x

quickbrownf0x said:


> Just for a laugh, here are my personal spotting notes;
> 
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> 
> Off to a good start, I'd say.


I found reading these spotting notes out loud works best if you channel your inner Bill Burr, btw.


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## prasad_v

quickbrownf0x said:


> Just for a laugh, here are my personal spotting notes;
> 
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> 
> Off to a good start, I'd say.


Ha ha ha ha ha I read the whole thing in Samuel L Jackson's voice


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## quickbrownf0x

prasad_v said:


> Ha ha ha ha ha I read the whole thing in Samuel L Jackson's voice


Let's test that theory; 'I've had it with these motha****** tree loggers in this motha****** rainforest!'


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## quickbrownf0x

Hey guys,

anybody else working on this? I sure hope not or I might as well give up and start a petting zoo. 
Some progress today - fully orchestrated.... 10 bars today. Felt pretty chuffed, so figured I'd share. How are you guys doing? 







10 bars done, about 30 to go in 8 days before mixing/mastering. Betcha I can do this.


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## blaggins

quickbrownf0x said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> anybody else working on this? I sure hope not or I might as well give up and start a petting zoo.


heh. Yeah I was working on it, just finished. Curious to see what you all come up with! For what it's worth, here's my attempt. I'm already afraid that I "overscored" it a bit, but I was having too much fun with chord progression.  Critiques and constructive criticisms are very welcome!


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## quickbrownf0x

tpoots said:


> heh. Yeah I was working on it, just finished. Curious to see what you all come up with! For what it's worth, here's my attempt. I'm already afraid that I "overscored" it a bit, but I was having too much fun with chord progression.  Critiques and constructive criticisms are very welcome!



Goddamn it. This is why I shouldn't listen to the competition before posting my own stuff. Back to the drawing board again. I'm about 3/4's done, with a day and a half to go before mixing  F*ck me.


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## blaggins

quickbrownf0x said:


> This is why I shouldn't listen to the competition before posting my own stuff


I feel you on that! I always try and tell myself it's art, so not fundamentally a comparative thing anyway, although I can't say that it always works. 

Best of luck for finishing your submission @quickbrownf0x, looking forward to hearing it!


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## quickbrownf0x

tpoots said:


> I feel you on that! I always try and tell myself it's art, so not fundamentally a comparative thing anyway, although I can't say that it always works.
> 
> Best of luck for finishing your submission @quickbrownf0x, looking forward to hearing it!


Maan it's going to be shit.  You too, btw. Best of luck!


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## quickbrownf0x

Okay, you bunch of animals - here's my entry. 




And here's the uncompressed wav file on its own;





Feel free to take the piss. Had a whole bunch of fun working on it, though.
Wish I had more time to polish it up, but let's see if I can win that mastering session, huh? 

Right. Time for a change of shorts.


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## Markrs

quickbrownf0x said:


> Okay, you bunch of animals - here's my entry.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here's the uncompressed wav file on its own;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Feel free to take the piss. Had a whole bunch of fun working on it, though.
> Wish I had more time to polish it up, but let's see if I can win that mastering session, huh?
> 
> Right. Time for a change of shorts.



Very nice DJ. I like that the music doesn't dominated over the message, but supports it.


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## Dragor

Hi everyone! This was my entry for this, cheers.


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## quickbrownf0x

Markrs said:


> Very nice DJ. I like that the music doesn't dominated over the message, but supports it.


Cheers.  I secretly added 14 Misfit Fiddles in there, just for you guys.


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## quickbrownf0x

Dragor said:


> Hi everyone! This was my entry for this, cheers.



Very cool.


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## quickbrownf0x

Super interesting to watch all these different takes, btw. Funny though, how, after having to (mostly) listen and watch my own version over and over again, it's somehow getting harder to separate the video from the score for me. Catch myself watching someone else's version thinking 'oh right and then when the tree falls down - subtle sub boom here...'


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## creativeforge

quickbrownf0x said:


> Okay, you bunch of animals - here's my entry.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here's the uncompressed wav file on its own;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Feel free to take the piss. Had a whole bunch of fun working on it, though.
> Wish I had more time to polish it up, but let's see if I can win that mastering session, huh?
> 
> Right. Time for a change of shorts.



Just beautifully done and weaved into the video.  

If I had one thing to suggest would I dare mention the snare seems a bit out of place? Imho. Maybe use drums that are more traditionally used by the natives of this land? That's their communal voice. Just a thought.  

All the best,

Andre (not a professional musician)


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## blaggins

Very nice @Dragor and @quickbrownf0x! Really enjoyed both of those.


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## iMovieShout

A bit weird that the voice over and sound design files are not separately available with the video.
Nomally the video, voice over and sound design are separate.


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## blaggins

jpb007.uk said:


> A bit weird that the voice over and sound design files are not separately available with the video.
> Nomally the video, voice over and sound design are separate.


I was under the impression most all DAWs split the video and audio when you import, so you have separate control over the audio as if it was any old track in your project. Is this not the case with yours?

As far as sound design, there wasn't really any in this vid.


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## quickbrownf0x

creativeforge said:


> Just beautifully done and weaved into the video.
> 
> If I had one thing to suggest would I dare mention the snare seems a bit out of place? Imho. Maybe use drums that are more traditionally used by the natives of this land? That's their communal voice. Just a thought.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Andre (not a professional musician)


Appreciate that, cheers! I can see what you're saying. That's not a snare though, that's a chopped up recording of a chubby old Amazonian lady taking a sh*t in the forest on the back of a turtle, whilst holding on to a jungle vine. So I actually thought it should fit, but you may be right.


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## quickbrownf0x

jpb007.uk said:


> A bit weird that the voice over and sound design files are not separately available with the video.
> Nomally the video, voice over and sound design are separate.


They were. You get a video with just the voice. In my case, I actually added a whole bunch of sound design to it, even into the cue itself.


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## Ritchie M

Here is my effort, my first competition, and first time scoring anything beyond droning meditation music! Didn’t listen to anyone else’s before I did mine, and glad I didn’t as I would have gone to bed and started crying, some very good scores done!


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## quickbrownf0x

Ritchie M said:


> Here is my effort, my first competition, and first time scoring anything beyond droning meditation music! Didn’t listen to anyone else’s before I did mine, and glad I didn’t as I would have gone to bed and started crying, some very good scores done!



Pretty darn good. And in 3/4 - cool! I think not listening to the competition is a smart move.


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## Ritchie M

quickbrownf0x said:


> Pretty darn good. And in 3/4 - cool! I think not listening to the competition is a smart move.


Thank you! As for the 3/4, just felt right (I’m a lead guitarist that is just starting out with this stuff, resisting the urge to bang a solo over everything 😂😂😂). 

I wasn’t sure how others approach these things, I have always loved a good score, but I am a typical lead guitarist and use licks, and wanted to try to do this to better myself as a musician and move away from that way of creating. Going to try the Spitfire challenge though, as I tried to do this as a music piece from beginning to end, rather than mood and taking each section in turn (which I guess is a more traditional score method???). The ones posted so far though, wow, so already broke that first rule 😂😂😂


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## Codetronx

And that's mine; I hope you like it


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## quickbrownf0x

Pfff, okay probably best to just quit music, sell my gear on Reverb and instead start selling pictures of me making bananas disappear as NFTs. All you guys have great entries.


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## blaggins

Codetronx said:


> And that's mine; I hope you like it



I liked your transition between the explosives and the 2nd half. Curious about the vocals near the end, were those recorded or is that a library?


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## quickbrownf0x

tpoots said:


> I liked your transition between the explosives and the 2nd half. Curious about the vocals near the end, were those recorded or is that a library?


Those were explosions? I thought they were farting Amazonian mud hamsters.


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## Codetronx

tpoots said:


> Curious about the vocals near the end, were those recorded or is that a library?


Library: Eduado Tarilonte's Shevannai featuring the voice of Lara Ausensi. Amazing!


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## quickbrownf0x

Codetronx said:


> Library: Eduado Tarilonte's Shevannai featuring the voice of Lara Ausensi. Amazing!


If this has a multi-layered cowbell in it OMG, I'm buying it today.


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## handel_afficionado

Hi everybody, here's my entry: 
If anybody have critiques or suggestions for improvement that would be great. Cheers!


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## handel_afficionado

quickbrownf0x said:


> Okay, you bunch of animals - here's my entry.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here's the uncompressed wav file on its own;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Feel free to take the piss. Had a whole bunch of fun working on it, though.
> Wish I had more time to polish it up, but let's see if I can win that mastering session, huh?
> 
> Right. Time for a change of shorts.



very cool! And I never thought that I could start with a more positive tone in the music and then go to an even more inspiring tone


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## Gian Luca Zucchelli

Hi everyone this is my entry for Music Cosmos "Who should decide", I hope you like it:


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## quickbrownf0x

handel_afficionado said:


> Hi everybody, here's my entry:
> If anybody have critiques or suggestions for improvement that would be great. Cheers!



Lots of good stuff here. Cool! Maybe tart it up a bit with some reverb, add a little soft quantization?


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## quickbrownf0x

handel_afficionado said:


> very cool! And I never thought that I could start with a more positive tone in the music and then go to an even more inspiring tone


Cheers, yeah I felt that the two things it should reflect were a sense of beauty, respect for nature and a sense of hope. 
And to have a some sort of catchy tune, something people would recognize. 

The (better) CTA (IMO) is 'okay, join let's fix this together', not 'it's all going to shit, doom and gloom, but maybe sign up'.

Thatd be bad UX/marketing/storytelling.


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## handel_afficionado

quickbrownf0x said:


> Cheers, yeah I felt that the two things it should reflect were a sense of beauty, respect for nature and a sense of hope.
> And to have a some sort of catchy tune, something people would recognize.
> 
> The (better) CTA (IMO) is 'okay, join let's fix this together', not 'it's all going to shit, doom and gloom, but maybe sign up'.
> 
> Thatd be bad UX/marketing/storytelling.


Yes, I see. You totally proved that is possible because it's a good fit between the music, image and voice over. 
I started a little doomy  so that I could arrive in a brighter climax. At least was my initial thought


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## handel_afficionado

quickbrownf0x said:


> Lots of good stuff here. Cool! Maybe tart it up a bit with some reverb, add a little soft quantization?


ok, the reverb I will try to improve in my next productions. By soft quantization what do you mean? Like quantizing some notes that are a bit off tempo in the piano?
Thanks for the suggestions by the way


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## LorenzoBarcella

Hi everybody! This is my submission. Any feedback is welcome! Thank You!


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## pranic

I'm looking forward to seeing more submissions (as I find some free time with the holiday tomorrow). I took a crack at the competition with this entry. Hope you enjoy, and open to any feedback, as well! Happy Wednesday, all!


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## Baronvonheadless

Damn, just missed this one. Was going to make something earlier this week but got caught up in some other work and then today found my car was broken into so was tied up with insurance/police report bullshit. Oh well. Really loved this video/theme and had some good ideas for it. Next time. I might still score it just for practice


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## TomislavEP

I'm a bit late to the party; I've found about this only recently. On top of it, I'm experiencing some unexpected issues with my DAW these days, some of which I'm still sorting out. But I've jumped on the train in the last moment, so here is my entry:


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## from_theashes

This is my entry "Gaea" for that Competition... fiddling with some new libraries and having a lot of fun


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## quickbrownf0x

Fantastic entries. How long did it take you guys from start to finish how'd you go about coming up with ideas? It took me about 10 evenings, including mixing and adding the music to picture, posting, etc.


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## Davidrivero

Good morning companions. This is my participation.


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## sal-lp

Hi, i hope you like it! Thanks!


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## pranic

quickbrownf0x said:


> Fantastic entries. How long did it take you guys from start to finish how'd you go about coming up with ideas? It took me about 10 evenings, including mixing and adding the music to picture, posting, etc.


Agreed, that everyone's entries that I've watched so far from this thread have been really creative and top-notch. I started mine on Sunday and spent probably a total of 8 hours over four days, with most of my time spent on mixing and mastering (but I had some challenges, in that every time I went to watch on my TV, it sounded terrible. Turns out my 20 year old receiver was struggling to output on the left channel and so it's time for a new receiver for the home theatre. I really just need to trust my studio monitors and headphones on the computer (would have saved me a bit of time).


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## pranic

quickbrownf0x said:


> Okay, you bunch of animals - here's my entry.



Had the chance to watch your entry today and really loved the second half with the slower drums and the crescendo in brass and some of the cymbal flourishes! It ended in a very inspirational way! The section with the explosions felt a little bit under-developed after having seen most people build that up with some dissonance -- Overall, I see that you were building up to that great finish. Nicely done, and good luck in the competition, @quickbrownf0x


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## quickbrownf0x

pranic said:


> Had the chance to watch your entry today and really loved the second half with the slower drums and the crescendo in brass and some of the cymbal flourishes! It ended in a very inspirational way! The section with the explosions felt a little bit under-developed after having seen most people build that up with some dissonance -- Overall, I see that you were building up to that great finish. Nicely done, and good luck in the competition, @quickbrownf0x


Hey, that's cool, thanks! I see what you mean and I think this is also partly due to the fact that I only had one spotting session and then didn't watch the video again right until the last day where I put everything together.

I didn't want to get bogged down in hitpoints and Mickey-Mousing. Wrote the whole thing away from picture. And so with the deadline looming, I just put it under and went 'yeah, first try - good enough. Hit that Send button!'. 

If I had a bit more time, I'd probably tweak a bunch of things, but it's like my old college professor always said 'the cue/mix is done when it has to go out the door. Don't overthink.'. 

OR I need to hire a really good music editor to make me look good in the end. 

Anyway best of luck to you, too.


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## darcvision

hi, this is my entry. i'm not sure if the music are loud enough, btw i just score this video only using percussion. i hope you guys enjoy this score... cheers


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## Jon K

Found out about this with a week to spare but managed to finish in time.


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## quickbrownf0x

Sooo, any word from those Cosmos guys yet?  I checked my spam folder, but so far nothing.


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## blaggins

Not yet as far as I've heard.


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## quickbrownf0x

Hey guys, I just got some sort of response in the form of a fancy mug shot on their Cosmos Instagram. Any of you got the same thing? No idea what this means.


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## LorenzoBarcella

quickbrownf0x said:


> Hey guys, I just got some sort of response in the form of a fancy mug shot on their Cosmos Instagram. Any of you got the same thing? No idea what this means.


Yes me too some days ago! They are doing it for every participant


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## quickbrownf0x

Goddamnit, here I was thinking I passed round one or something. 

If the next one is Korean kids games on an island, I'm out. Call me lazy.


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## quickbrownf0x

Okay, cool -


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## Ritchie M

The list is out for the shortlist anyway, and happy to say, I am on it. https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021


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## Jon K

I didn't make the cut


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## Davidrivero

Ritchie M said:


> The list is out for the shortlist anyway, and happy to say, I am on it. https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021





Ritchie M said:


> The list is out for the shortlist anyway, and happy to say, I am on it. https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021



Congratulations Ritchie. I love your version. Good luck.


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## Ritchie M

Davidrivero said:


> Congratulations Ritchie. I love your version. Good luck.


Thank you David, that means a lot to me!


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## blaggins

Ritchie M said:


> The list is out for the shortlist anyway, and happy to say, I am on it. https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021



Very well done @Ritchie M, congrats!

Mine didn't make the cut either, though I'm still pretty proud of what I did (I'm sure in a few years I'll look back in this post and cringe at what I did though...) 😂 I do wish there was some type of feedback, even like a one liner on the most eggregious reason for elimination... otherwise it's hard to know what to focus on improving for next time. I do realize with 500+ entries it's not reasonable for the judges to do this though... Alas.


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## Ritchie M

tpoots said:


> Very well done @Ritchie M, congrats!
> 
> Mine didn't make the cut either, though I'm still pretty proud of what I did (I'm sure in a few years I'll look back in this post and cringe at what I did though...) 😂 I do wish there was some type of feedback, even like a one liner on the most eggregious reason for elimination... otherwise it's hard to know what to focus on improving for next time. I do realize with 500+ entries it's not reasonable for the judges to do this though... Alas.


Thank you! I already know there are parts of mine I’m not happy with, I just enjoyed the process. And it would be nice to have feedback of course, I certainly think people here are informed enough to critique, but if you are happy with what you have done, that’s your style of music creation, and it’s never “wrong”.


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## blaggins

Ritchie M said:


> Thank you! I already know there are parts of mine I’m not happy with, I just enjoyed the process. And it would be nice to have feedback of course, I certainly think people here are informed enough to critique, but if you are happy with what you have done, that’s your style of music creation, and it’s never “wrong”.


For sure! Still though, I think some of my big questions are (1) did I overscore? Not enough room to breathe? (2) did I hit the right emotional levels... Too dramatic? Or not dramatic enough? 

These may not even be the right questions to ask of course 🤪 also they may have just not liked it- simple as that, and totally fine. If anyone has the time and inclination to offer advice I'm certainly itching to learn more... Link:


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## Ritchie M

tpoots said:


> For sure! Still though, I think some of my big questions are (1) did I overscore? Not enough room to breathe? (2) did I hit the right emotional levels... Too dramatic? Or not dramatic enough?
> 
> These may not even be the right questions to ask of course 🤪 also they may have just not liked it- simple as that, and totally fine. If anyone has the time and inclination to offer advice I'm certainly itching to learn more... Link:



See, I couldn’t comment, because I have seen others that have gone through that I feel don’t work, and there are parts of yours I like and parts I would do differently, but then I wouldn’t have approached it how you did and if I had tried to do in your style, it would have been a mess. I know some composers get briefs to “emulate” a style, but I couldn’t do that because I’m not good enough, ans I think your own voice is important. I do think the way you have used the sounds for percussive and rhythmic episodes is absolutely superb, and wish I was able to make that sort of thing!


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## quickbrownf0x

Well, looks like I'm out.  But very happy to see some of you still in the race - that's awesome


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## blaggins

Ritchie M said:


> See, I couldn’t comment, because I have seen others that have gone through that I feel don’t work, and there are parts of yours I like and parts I would do differently, but then I wouldn’t have approached it how you did and if I had tried to do in your style, it would have been a mess. I know some composers get briefs to “emulate” a style, but I couldn’t do that because I’m not good enough, ans I think your own voice is important. I do think the way you have used the sounds for percussive and rhythmic episodes is absolutely superb, and wish I was able to make that sort of thing!


Thanks for the listen and the thoughts @Ritchie M !


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## Jon K

I felt like I really covered the different tones of the video really well I dunno. Starts out sort of mysterious then transitions to somewhat sinister in how the forest is being degraded then transitions into an emotional interlude before going into an uplifting end. Any suggestions? If you were a judge what would you disqualify me for.


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## Leslie Fuller

Just received notification of the 15 chosen finalists for the competition.

See here for voting: https://www.musiccosmos.earth/competition2021?mc_cid=49c53e1ee9&mc_eid=e36a300f11


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## quickbrownf0x

Hey guys, well it was tough, but in the end I voted for José Monzón, with Aidan D. Higgs as a close runner-up. Most important reason was that to me they helped tell the story the best. To me, the story is about hope for the future as long as people are willing to get their act together in time. And of course to show off the beauty of the forest, the people, and so on.

These two guys didn't go straight to just using a Damage 2 ensemble from start to finish and I like that. I noticed that some of/many the others did and I'm just not sure if that kind of trendy, epic style is really appropriate here. But that's just my two cents. 

May the best person win!


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## darcvision

hi, honestly i didn't expect i am qualified as a finalist, but i hope you guys enjoy it and vote the best finalist


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## quickbrownf0x

darcvision said:


> hi, honestly i didn't expect i am qualified as a finalist, but i hope you guys enjoy it and vote the best finalist


Best of luck, buddy!


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## quickbrownf0x

They've just announced the winners. Congratulations to Markus Dag, Álvaro Rodríguez Cabezas, Aidan D. Higgs and Abdul Razak Yanggang!

All fantastic entries


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## blaggins

I agree, they were also pretty different takes which I appreciated. Well done all.

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Ok so here comes some observations that will probably stir the pot a bit, although I intend it as an honest question not as a political statement. I was looking through the shortlist and I see only 2 women (some of the names I am not familiar enough with to "judge" if they are typically a woman's vs. men's name, but I did a bit of googling to clarify things for myself). That's about 5%. What's going on here? Was there really a disproportionately large number of entries from men vs. women? I know @A.Dern to be both a feminist but also an honest judge, so I would guess that there wasn't bias going into the judging... so are the scales really that imbalanced among junior composers working today?


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## A.Dern

tpoots said:


> I agree, they were also pretty different takes which I appreciated. Well done all.
> 
> -----
> Ok so here comes some observations that will probably stir the pot a bit, although I intend it as an honest question not as a political statement. I was looking through the shortlist and I see only 2 women (some of the names I am not familiar enough with to "judge" if they are typically a woman's vs. men's name, but I did a bit of googling to clarify things for myself). That's about 5%. What's going on here? Was there really a disproportionately large number of entries from men vs. women? I know @A.Dern to be both a feminist but also an honest judge, so I would guess that there wasn't bias going into the judging... so are the scales really that imbalanced among junior composers working today?


I can't really answer that because we didn't all judge everybody. The contestants were divided up amongst the judges (I think by alphabet or something) so everyone was picking their favorites out of the 25 people they were assigned. Since there were submissions from all over the world, it was often not even clear to me whether I was listening to a man's or woman's work because the names were foreign to me. In general the number of women (both working and aspiring) in this field is indeed lower (for reasons that would go too far to get into here). But how many women were part of the competition as a whole, only the people running it would know. The jury was pretty balanced though (both gender and race wise) so I doubt there was any bias here. The people running this are very honest upstanding guys with loads of integrity from what I've experienced.


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## A.Dern

Also, for what it's worth, both Alvaro and Aidan were in my assigned judging group so I definitely picked them to be finalists myself.


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## blaggins

Thanks for your response and insights @A.Dern! I did get the impression (as a contestant) that the organizers were unusual transparent and communicative, which I really appreciated especially since the contest was free to enter. It was nice that they posted the shortlist which is really the only reason we can even have an informed guess about the distribution of sexes. It was just surprising to see the huge difference.


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