# Entry for Berlin International Film Scoring Competition (selected as finalist)



## holing (Jul 3, 2018)

Hi all! I would love to share this piece I wrote a few months ago for the Berlin International Film Scoring Competition. Would love to have some feedback especially on how I can improve the quality of the mockup. Please share your thoughts with me!  Thank you in advance!


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## fiestared (Jul 3, 2018)

You've got my vote... Good work, go on...


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## synergy543 (Jul 3, 2018)

Holing, it sounds really great here! I really like the way you make good use of reverb in the piece to give a sense of space. In terms of how you could further improve, I think your mix technique is quite good though you could possibly be more dramatic in your expressiveness with a few gestures at the risk of becoming overly dramatic (although its really already quite good in this area as well). I agree with the previous comment on FB that you don't need to stop when the film goes to black, you could play on that with sound. I know this doesn't help much, but I think you did a great job and really hope that someone like Rctec steps in to give his opinion on this.


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## wickedw (Jul 3, 2018)

Congrats! First off I really liked it, the atmosphere that you put down really fits the images and plenty of mystery going on there. I think the mockup sounds really well done, didn't listen on any kind of decent headphones or speakers though so I'll let other people talk about mix incase there's anything to talk about. 

only very tiny small point that I have is the tension buildup around 3:43 where I think either the shorts should stay a bit more in the background or should be replaced by something else.. but I'm nitpicking a bit probably  

Again, very well done and congrats again


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## holing (Jul 3, 2018)

fiestared said:


> You've got my vote... Good work, go on...



Thank you!!!



synergy543 said:


> Holing, it sounds really great here! I really like the way you make good use of reverb in the piece to give a sense of space. In terms of how you could further improve, I think your mix technique is quite good though you could possibly be more dramatic in your expressiveness with a few gestures at the risk of becoming overly dramatic (although its really already quite good in this area as well). I agree with the previous comment on FB that you don't need to stop when the film goes to black, you could play on that with sound. I know this doesn't help much, but I think you did a great job and really hope that someone like Rctec steps in to give his opinion on this.



You're right about the black out scene, I wasn't too sure what to do with that long silence. Thanks so much for your feedback!



wickedw said:


> Congrats! First off I really liked it, the atmosphere that you put down really fits the images and plenty of mystery going on there. I think the mockup sounds really well done, didn't listen on any kind of decent headphones or speakers though so I'll let other people talk about mix incase there's anything to talk about.
> 
> only very tiny small point that I have is the tension buildup around 3:43 where I think either the shorts should stay a bit more in the background or should be replaced by something else.. but I'm nitpicking a bit probably
> 
> Again, very well done and congrats again



Thank you so much for your kind words! I kind of wanted the shorts to provide a little more motion in that scene, that's why I brought a little more to the front, but I could see having it played more subtly would work fine as well. Thanks a lot for your feedback!


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## Divico (Jul 3, 2018)

Gorgous! Amazing piece and amazing animation. 
Love the space, would you like to share your approach to reverb with us?
Only thing that I'd criticize is the Steeldrum/Hang that is standing out a bit. 
To me it feels too close and direct compared to the ambient reverby space of the other instruments.


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## Andrajas (Jul 3, 2018)

holing said:


> Hi all! I would love to share this piece I wrote a few months ago for the Berlin International Film Scoring Competition. Would love to have some feedback especially on how I can improve the quality of the mockup. Please share your thoughts with me!  Thank you in advance!



Good work and congratulations! Its very interesting to see and hear the difference between this and my submission  I also didn't play that much with the "black screens" hehe so you are not alone! But I really liked the approach you took and really don't have anything else to add over the comments above.

Cheers!


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## NoamL (Jul 18, 2018)

@holing great work! There is really nothing to complain about in the mockup... the only thing that could maybe change is that the woodwinds don't quite feel as if they're in the same space as the strings? They could use a tiny bit more reverb. But really, the sound is great.  I think the reason the judges may have chosen the other entries is because they were a bit more avante-garde and atonal in scoring? But I liked the way you scored it.


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## Brian Nowak (Jul 18, 2018)

Exemplary. I'll watch in my studio tomorrow morning but it works incredibly well. Bravo!


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## ken c (Jul 18, 2018)

Nice work! sounds beautiful.


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## Haakond (Jul 19, 2018)

This is great work!


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## holing (Jul 19, 2018)

NoamL said:


> @holing great work! There is really nothing to complain about in the mockup... the only thing that could maybe change is that the woodwinds don't quite feel as if they're in the same space as the strings? They could use a tiny bit more reverb. But really, the sound is great.  I think the reason the judges may have chosen the other entries is because they were a bit more avante-garde and atonal in scoring? But I liked the way you scored it.



Thanks for the feedback! I think you're right!  I'm using Vienna WW so sometimes they're a little difficult to be mixed into the same room with other instruments even I have put a lot of reverb and used Virtual stage....what would you do in that case?



Brian Nowak said:


> Exemplary. I'll watch in my studio tomorrow morning but it works incredibly well. Bravo!





ken c said:


> Nice work! sounds beautiful.





Haakond said:


> This is great work!


Thank you all for your kind words!!!


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## holing (Jul 19, 2018)

Divico said:


> Gorgous! Amazing piece and amazing animation.
> Love the space, would you like to share your approach to reverb with us?
> Only thing that I'd criticize is the Steeldrum/Hang that is standing out a bit.
> To me it feels too close and direct compared to the ambient reverby space of the other instruments.



I use Valhalla Vintage with a little bit of Sound Toys little plate mixed, also placed WW and Brass with Virtual Sound Stage. Thanks so much for your feedback!



Andrajas said:


> Good work and congratulations! Its very interesting to see and hear the difference between this and my submission  I also didn't play that much with the "black screens" hehe so you are not alone! But I really liked the approach you took and really don't have anything else to add over the comments above.
> 
> Cheers!



Thank you!!! The black screen is a tough! It was so long  I couldn't find yours but I'd like to check it out!


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## JonAdamich (Jul 19, 2018)

Amazing work. That ending is superb. Gave me chills when he looked out towards the planet. Great texture and great job!


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## MichaelB (Jul 19, 2018)

Congratulations! Your music draws me to the picture. As others have mentioned, don’t disappear on the black screen (ideal opportunity to do some musical portray of what is lurking in the dark or hints as to what to expect next) and I was really hoping your music would rise up to new heights to introduce the new creature that appears onscreen after the few blackout moments but you picked it up again when the egg shape object lit up. You have a talent to create magical moments (ET like) with your music and you can follow in the footsteps of the great composers. Hans, John Williams, please move up. Well done


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## Andrajas (Jul 19, 2018)

holing said:


> Thank you!!! The black screen is a tough! It was so long  I couldn't find yours but I'd like to check it out!



It was indeed hehe! Well, I hope I aint hijacking your thread here, but here is the youtube link 

it got its issues and not as nicely written as yours


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## holing (Jul 19, 2018)

JonAdamich said:


> Amazing work. That ending is superb. Gave me chills when he looked out towards the planet. Great texture and great job!



Thank you so much! The ending is actually my favourite part (the pitch bend in strings) 



MichaelB said:


> Congratulations! Your music draws me to the picture. As others have mentioned, don’t disappear on the black screen (ideal opportunity to do some musical portray of what is lurking in the dark or hints as to what to expect next) and I was really hoping your music would rise up to new heights to introduce the new creature that appears onscreen after the few blackout moments but you picked it up again when the egg shape object lit up. You have a talent to create magical moments (ET like) with your music and you can follow in the footsteps of the great composers. Hans, John Williams, please move up. Well done



Wow thank you so much Michael! Thank you so much for your kind words!!!



Andrajas said:


> It was indeed hehe! Well, I hope I aint hijacking your thread here, but here is the youtube link
> 
> it got its issues and not as nicely written as yours




It's really interesting to see a different approach! I like the tone you set up in the whole score! Just wondering, is that a sample library for the solo vocal part? If so what library are you using?


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## Erick - BVA (Jul 20, 2018)

Wow, first off, beautiful textures and mood. 
There is a lot of depth to the arrangement. 
The weakest part for me is some of the themes are a little generic, or seem to be what is expected (as an example, 2:53 - 4:00). That could be seen as a compliment because it's what I'd expect to hear in a film of this style. It's got a magical, almost Elfmanesque quality to it. 
That being said, there are certain harmonic choices which are really interesting and unique (especially the ending section) which give it a very 
intriguing mood. Really love the use of harp throughout. Love when the choir comes in at the end. Well done.


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## Loïc D (Jul 20, 2018)

Very nice orchestration and I love what you did with the reverbs.
I never heard before about this competition, and will surely give a look (or an ear).


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## NoamL (Jul 20, 2018)

holing said:


> I'm using Vienna WW so sometimes they're a little difficult to be mixed into the same room with other instruments even I have put a lot of reverb and used Virtual stage....what would you do in that case?



You're probably a better mixer than I am! But I might try to reduce the proximity effect (too much low frequencies when woodwinds are recorded with close microphones) by programming a high pass filter before the Virtual Stage plugin. This free plugin reduces the proximity effect and also models air absorption.


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## Michael Antrum (Jul 21, 2018)

All I can say is after about 25 seconds I stopped looking to try and find any criticisms, and just sat back and let it wash all over me.

I loved the Goldsmith/Alien vibe around 3.00, and particularly the fact that it didn't feel overblown/epic. I thought it very nicely judged, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if you went all the way in the competition.


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## Andrajas (Jul 21, 2018)

holing said:


> It's really interesting to see a different approach! I like the tone you set up in the whole score! Just wondering, is that a sample library for the solo vocal part? If so what library are you using?



It sure is! thanks! I think its Vocalise by Heavyocity


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## holing (Jul 23, 2018)

Sibelius19 said:


> Wow, first off, beautiful textures and mood.
> There is a lot of depth to the arrangement.
> The weakest part for me is some of the themes are a little generic, or seem to be what is expected (as an example, 2:53 - 4:00). That could be seen as a compliment because it's what I'd expect to hear in a film of this style. It's got a magical, almost Elfmanesque quality to it.
> That being said, there are certain harmonic choices which are really interesting and unique (especially the ending section) which give it a very
> intriguing mood. Really love the use of harp throughout. Love when the choir comes in at the end. Well done.



Thank you so much!!! I love to learn from masters of film music like (to name a few) JW, Elfman so I would definitely take it as a compliment to be compared to a great composer like Elfman, and at the same time I believe one has to have enough musical vocabularies to be able to write what on his/her mind. My style has evolved a lot since I wrote music and it's an ongoing journey. 



LowweeK said:


> Very nice orchestration and I love what you did with the reverbs.
> I never heard before about this competition, and will surely give a look (or an ear).



Thank you! The competition was new this year. They've got 300 submissions so I'm guessing they'll probably get even more next year!



NoamL said:


> You're probably a better mixer than I am! But I might try to reduce the proximity effect (too much low frequencies when woodwinds are recorded with close microphones) by programming a high pass filter before the Virtual Stage plugin. This free plugin reduces the proximity effect and also models air absorption.



Thank you so so much!! Just downloaded it I'll definitely look into it! Thanks for the tip


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## holing (Jul 23, 2018)

mikeybabes said:


> All I can say is after about 25 seconds I stopped looking to try and find any criticisms, and just sat back and let it wash all over me.
> 
> I loved the Goldsmith/Alien vibe around 3.00, and particularly the fact that it didn't feel overblown/epic. I thought it very nicely judged, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if you went all the way in the competition.



Wow, thank you so much!!!



Andrajas said:


> It sure is! thanks! I think its Vocalise by Heavyocity



It sounds great!  Thanks for sharing!


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Jul 24, 2018)

I watched this twice when you posted it, but I realize I didn't give it a thumbs up.

So...


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