# So about the whole trailer music thing



## Replicant (Jun 20, 2017)

A while ago, I started a thread that became a gold mine of info regarding trailer music.

Leading off that, here is my first attempt at a "hybrid" sort of track. I created about 90% of the sounds myself rather than using an existing sample library dedicated to this kinda thing.





Let me know if I succeeded in the style, or failed miserably! Thanks in advance!


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## Steinmetzify (Jun 20, 2017)

I don't know whether you succeeded or failed but I dig it. Nice work sir.

Now I want to go watch Independence Day.


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## Replicant (Jun 20, 2017)

Ha! Thanks. I still haven't actually seen Resurgence.


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## Replicant (Jun 25, 2017)

I have added a second track called "The Sylvan Kingdom" to this little collection — I think that will be all for now.


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## DanielBeijbom (Jun 27, 2017)

It all ends here - Intro: Skip the first 17 seconds. The middle eastern feel is pretty nice after that, I would repeat and build on that some more instead. Middle part: The strings are too uninteresting and weak sounding. I would try adding some more rhythm in the strings there. Percussion is a bit boring. Try adding more rhythm and an overall aggressive feel to it) I would make the riser at the end longer and louder. Main part: Feels too much like a drum beat. Skip that, and go for more percussion and hits. Add once again more rhythm in strings, and also some melody lines. I would add brass to the main part. Perhaps some french horn melody. So far it's an ok start, but feels more like tv music. Think bigger and angrier. It's too neat sounding at the moment  


(About me: I've been writing trailer music for the past 2-3 years. I'm still relatively new to it, but have gotten my music placed in some movies - Planet of the apes, Rogue One to name a few)


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## Replicant (Jun 27, 2017)

DanielBeijbom said:


> It all ends here - Intro: Skip the first 17 seconds. The middle eastern feel is pretty nice after that, I would repeat and build on that some more instead. Middle part: The strings are too uninteresting and weak sounding. I would try adding some more rhythm in the strings there. Percussion is a bit boring. Try adding more rhythm and an overall aggressive feel to it) I would make the riser at the end longer and louder. Main part: Feels too much like a drum beat. Skip that, and go for more percussion and hits. Add once again more rhythm in strings, and also some melody lines. I would add brass to the main part. Perhaps some french horn melody. So far it's an ok start, but feels more like tv music. Think bigger and angrier. It's too neat sounding at the moment
> 
> 
> (About me: I've been writing trailer music for the past 2-3 years. I'm still relatively new to it, but have gotten my music placed in some movies - Planet of the apes, Rogue One to name a few)




Hey, thanks for the feedback, man! I've seen that Planet Of The Apes trailer your track is in a number times at the theater. Not a Planet of The Apes fan, but the trailer is epic.

Just for context though, the strings you're referring to aren't really strings. It's strictly the wet mix of ambience to create a "synth pad" from a synth, slow-attack tubular bells and I think some tremolo string samples mixed in with it.


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## SillyMidOn (Jun 28, 2017)

Replicant said:


> Let me know if I succeeded in the style, or failed miserably! Thanks in advance!



Well you have neither failed nor entirely succeeded, but you are definitely on the right track. I've only had a quick listen on a laptop (apologies), but your overall sound is good. The short answer would be: "you need more". 

It all ends here: intro too long, needs more happening, but the general idea is fine. So it needs to lead somewhere going to that drum break.The bit from 54 seconds, sounds like you are playing back some of the stems of a full track, but the main melody stems are missing, so maybe add french horn, high strings, some driving synth, maybe, but the sound of what you have per se is good, but you need more elements. And then at 1.27 it needs to go again, but even bigger. Take a listen to a track a youtube from some of the trailer houses that post music there (not all do!) then try and transcribe the whole thing. That way you will learn how many darn elements those full on hybrid trailer tracks have.

How many tracks/instruments do you have on the first piece? Full on hybrid trailer tracks can easily have 70+ tracks/instruments if your computer can handle it.

But, but, but I think you are on the right track, sounds like you can really get there with practice .

Hope that helps.


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## Replicant (Jun 29, 2017)

SillyMidOn said:


> but the main melody stems are missing



I'm kinda glad this complaint has come up a couple times now because, listening to a lot of this music, I was kind of under the impression that going all melodic was low-key considered a bad thing now. Especially in recent trailers I've watched, a lot of it seems to be mostly atmosphere, drums, braams and fx or a mash of different songs, so that's kinda what I was focusing on as I sort of though that is the style now. Being a teenager of the 2000s, I had always associated trailer music with Two Steps From Hell rather than the world as see it post Inception, if that makes any sense.

Also, I can't remember off hand how many tracks there are.


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## SillyMidOn (Jun 29, 2017)

Replicant said:


> I'm kinda glad this complaint has come up a couple times now because, listening to a lot of this music, I was kind of under the impression that going all melodic was low-key considered a bad thing now. Especially in recent trailers I've watched, a lot of it seems to be mostly atmosphere, drums, braams and fx or a mash of different songs, so that's kinda what I was focusing on as I sort of though that is the style now. Being a teenager of the 2000s, I had always associated trailer music with Two Steps From Hell rather than the world as see it post Inception, if that makes any sense.
> 
> Also, I can't remember off hand how many tracks there are.


There are still plenty of effects style tracks/trailers out there, see for example the trailer for Dunkirk (below), but to do that you really have to hit on a really captivating sound, which again you often create by mixing a lot of different ones (not always, but mostly), plus there's the ever popular ticking. Your two tracks are not in that mould so they need melodies, pulses everything really, if that makes sense.


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