# The westworld competition is coming to an end, time to take a deep breath and share your thoughts!



## Mukkenerd (Jun 25, 2020)

Hello folks!

This Saturday the westworld competition from spitfire will find it`s end and the winners will be announced on a live stream. I wanted to use this opportunity to ask for your thoughts on this topic in general. To the ones who participated and took part in this great opportunity, what experiences did you have while producing the score for this challenge? Did you do allnighters, had relentless fun or problems all along while trying to do your best? What expectations do you have and what did you maybe learn through the process of creating this score? Please share anything you can think of. Good luck to us all!


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## CT (Jun 25, 2020)

It was fun. I did it in the first few days. Tried not to overthink it or get too brainy. I like how it turned out but doubt it's far enough beyond "functional" to stand out amidst the thousands of other entries.


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## josephspirits (Jun 25, 2020)

As a pretty engaged fan of the show, listening to weekly theory podcasts etc., I really enjoyed the choice of scene that they landed on. For me the genre switching element made it very open. I started planning and improvising early on but due to having my day job and some other projects I was engaged in I had to kind of work on it over and over again throughout the month, a little each day or in big binge chunks. I actually liked this though because it gave me a lot of opportunities to step away from the little details I was obsessing over and more appropriately manage the time I had left vs the other elements I wanted to introduce.
Though I used to play bass in a jazz/funk band I don’t think I’ve ever really worked in that genre in a DAW so I ran into a lot of challenges that I’m glad I could learn from going forward.


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## fish_hoof (Jun 25, 2020)

I enjoyed hearing the wide range of how one scene could be scored. Also had some positive discussion with others, which has been really nice. There are some wonderful composers here, really enjoyed listening to others entries. Great work all!


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## nolotrippen (Jun 25, 2020)

It :emoji_beers:sharpened my knowledge of a lot of my software gear. It was easier than I thought it would be. It was also harder than I thought it would b.


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## jononotbono (Jun 25, 2020)

Participating in this has been one of the most creative and funnest months I’ve had in a long time!


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## Cheezus (Jun 25, 2020)

It was a really convenient platform for me to explore what I like and don't and where my limitations are. I definitely feel like I rushed it the last couple days so there are spots that I would change if I could but I'm overall happy with how it turned out given how little experience I have and it was a fun experience.


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## Grizzlymv (Jun 25, 2020)

It was a really fun challenge for me even if I decided to not submit it when I saw the massive amount of entries and talent in there already. I didn't felt I would bring anything new to the table which inna way, was a bit discouraging and a reality check for me. But I still wanted to complete the exercise if only to see if I'd be up to the caliber and test my limits
The main challenges for me were to 1, stay fresh and non repetitive through the whole sequence but keep a consistency in the thematic, 2, making sure the music wasn't front row and kept spaces for other elements in the mix. 3, probably the most challenging one, find the proper hit points / tempo. 
The most interesting part for me was to see the different approaches / angles / spotting from the various entries. It's really incredible to see how the various music can impact the same scene. Seeing how a change or hit place in a place you wouldn't even have considered make so much sense, etc.
Overall a great learning experience. Congrats to all.


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## InLight-Tone (Jun 25, 2020)

Whats the Westworld Competition?


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## Mukkenerd (Jun 26, 2020)

For me it was the first time working on moving pictures. A lot to take into consideration in creating the music for this one. A good learning process and many puzzles to solve, which was very engaging. It may sound strange, but i loved having a deadline. It kept me very focussed. Otherwise i tend to get lost in time and space.

With the number of entries it may feel discouraging but at the same time we all put our talent and energy into this competition and it wouldn´t surprise me at all if the winners (incl. runner-ups) didn`t even feel the slightest hope of getting there.

I am also looking forward for the discussions on the winners, if there is a consensus by the community on the decisions or not.


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## Loïc D (Jun 26, 2020)

I was able to drive the music to my intentions & choices - whenever they are good or bad - which means that :
1. I'm pretty covered with my libs (ok, I bought Spitfire Percs & Studio Strings Pro meanwhile  )
2. I can produce something feeling less and less disappointed by the outcome. My entry is exactly what I wanted to do.

So, I gained some self-trust, which is quite meaningful to me 

Especially since I'm just a monkey with a fake guitar.


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## ynwtf (Jun 26, 2020)

One of the biggest impacts for me was finding an opportunity (excuse?) to finally buy a library. I've been on the fence for a year or three. When this competition opened I thought, _"What better way to add an unnecessary expense than to create something for a competition I could never win!? BRILLIANT!"_ Even then I procrastinated, measuring different libraries and such. I ended up with Spitfire's Scoring Duo bundle and Alternative Solo Strings on May 17th I believe, then spent the next two weeks or so in a crash course trying to learn how to do anything with it all.

I did end up taking 2 days off from the day job there at the end with a final all-night'r (that's French, btw, for _all-night'r_) and into most of the final day just to get my submission posted a few hours before close.

I had a blast with it. I was able to hit maybe 85% of what I was aiming for, conceptually and I could have tightened up and filled out a LOT, but I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome given the lack of experience there. I would have liked more time for mixing but it is what it is. I am very happy with the timing, or at least of what I could pick up on and highlight. I feel I was just dumb-lucky to go with the tempo that I did. Oh it's rough. Don't misread me. I'm very aware lol. But I'm proud of it.

Maybe the most important experience from all this is learning that I can start and _actually *finish*_ something like this. Music is a hobby for me and I am horrible for starting projects only to abandon them forever among the remaining dust of other, older forgotten dreams.

What I'm *not *so keen on is the wide open aircraft-sized hangar door to new libraries that I've fallen through. I'm almost reluctant to admit that I picked up the BBCSO Core when the introductory price hit. OMG I think I have a new addiction  but at least I have a nice sounding clarinet? Thanks, Spitfire. _You bastages.....

_


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## jononotbono (Jun 26, 2020)

ynwtf said:


> OMG I think I have a new addiction



Don't worry. 

You're in the best place in the world... to help you feed that addiction.


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## robgb (Jun 26, 2020)

I can't believe I won.


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## toomanynotes (Jun 27, 2020)

guy who wrote that 2-8 bit computer score won!


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