# Sonuscore's Composer of the Year Award



## cedricm

BECOME THE SONUSCORE COMPOSER OF THE YEAR 2022
& WIN A LIVE ORCHESTRA SESSION​Compose new original music for a short version of the trailer for IronStar Films’ new sci-fi drama _Tellurian_ and
become our Sonuscore Composer Of The Year 2022.
The grand prize is a *live orchestra recording session* for a composition of the winner’s choice along with exclusive deals for 2022.
Runners-up will receive high-quality Sonuscore products.
Save the date!

DATES & DEADLINES​ 

Start of the CompetitionJAN 27th 2022Last Day To Submit The VideoFEB 10th 2022Voting PeriodFEB 17th – 23rd 2022Winner AnnouncementLate FEB 2022
TAKE A SNEAK PEAK OF THE TRAILER​The full version of the trailer, for which you will have to compose the music, will be available here at the beginning of the contest.
For now, get a taste of what’s coming:


VOTING​ 
*The voting starts on February 17th, 2022.
How to join the voting will be revealed on that day!*


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## MeloKeyz

Looks okay but again, like Spitfire, I don't like their first rule in the "Rights" section.

*"We receive the right to publish the composition without any restrictions in terms of time and space – we need this to share your submission and especially the winning entry on our own channels, etc. You retain the full ownership and copyrights of your composition"*

_*"The Participant retains full ownership of their work. By entering the competition, the organizer is being granted, on a non-exclusive basis and free of charge, the right to use the composition submitted for the Competition and their artistic performances and recordings in a territorially and time unlimited way."*_

Both in normal and official languages.

And they're giving an unclear example by saying "on our own channels, etc." which is bloody mysterious.

What are these channels? and what are the "etc."?

And please give me a break! Don't think they're talking about youtube channels, okay!


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## Remnant

Thank you Sonuscore for making this cool trailer available to score. I took a shot at it and really enjoyed doing it. Below is my submission.


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## SONUSCORE

Hey Guys,
thank you very much for sharing our contest with the VI Community.

We specified the above mentioned paragraph of our *Rules and Conditions* to avoid any misunderstandings or misinterpretations:
"

We receive the right to publish the composition without any restrictions in terms of time and space – we need this to share your submission and especially the winning entry on our own channels (website, social media and all channels related to Sonuscore where we might mention the contest now and in the future. For example: Assuming there will be a brand-new social network in the future and we want to show all previous contest winners and their compositions in a throwback post. For this we would need the aforementioned publishing rights.) You will always retain the full ownership and copyrights of your composition."

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us should you have any further questions!

All the best,
Your Sonuscore Team


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## liquidlino

Was doing a little background research on trailer tropes. Watched this gem from 1991... amazing how simplistic and "midi" the trailer music sounds, it didn't sound that way back in 1991 when I watched T2!


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## jcrosby

liquidlino said:


> Was doing a little background research on trailer tropes. Watched this gem from 1991... amazing how simplistic and "midi" the trailer music sounds, it didn't sound that way back in 1991 when I watched T2!



This is AMAZING! (Unfortunately the music... mmm not so much  How long we've come...)

There was a great discussion about tropes and repetition a few months back if you didn't stumble onto it already. Post 10 onward there's a good discussion about this).






Creating trailer music


I came upon this page being advertised to me: https://evenant.com/trailer-music-redefined/ I'm not really keen on spending $399 on a single course, unless someone has had experience with it otherwise. But I'm curious on how to get that epic trailer sound. Does anyone have any advice, or...




vi-control.net


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## liquidlino

jcrosby said:


> This is AMAZING! (Unfortunately the music... mmm not so much  How long we've come...)
> 
> There was a great discussion about tropes and repetition a few months back if you didn't stumble onto it already. Post 10 onward there's a good discussion about this).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Creating trailer music
> 
> 
> I came upon this page being advertised to me: https://evenant.com/trailer-music-redefined/ I'm not really keen on spending $399 on a single course, unless someone has had experience with it otherwise. But I'm curious on how to get that epic trailer sound. Does anyone have any advice, or...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> vi-control.net


Thanks! Great link. I'm actually aiming for tropey trailer music on this one, aiming for absolutely zero originality. I think I might have succeeded too! I've crammed in braams, hits, risers, ostinatos. But... No piano pings. That's a step too far. Plus, the real trailer has piano pings, that would be too far to include them.


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## freecham

I find that composing for a trailer is a rather difficult task. This one especially with the FX sounds hits. I didn't manage to put any drums. But it's a nice challenge ! Good luck to everyone !


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## blaggins

Hi @SONUSCORE, thank you for running this contest! I had a question about this bit of the rules:



> The copyright to the trailer of _Tellurian_ belongs to Iron Films Limited. If you want to use the video with your composition on any other channel other than this contest, simply write us an email, tell us what you want to do, and then we can officially approve it and everyone is legally safe.


What is the stance on posting the re-scored trailer to personal YouTube channels? (By the way this is not me calling out anyone in this thread who has already posted their entry to YT, I just figure we are all going to have the same question so I figured it might short cuts things to just answer it here instead of y'all getting 500 of the same question in your inbox).


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## Remnant

For what it is worth, I emailed them this question and they said it was OK to post to YouTube. I presume they will respond and not require an email from everyone seeking approval.


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## ernzo

freecham said:


> I find that composing for a trailer is a rather difficult task. This one especially with the FX sounds hits. I didn't manage to put any drums. But it's a nice challenge ! Good luck to everyone !



You did many good things to portray the scenes, very good ideas all over..

Timing is a big part of the problem and difficulty here, it's all a matter of speed.
This is true for a lot of trailers, but in this case it's very accentuated..

They are telling a mini story that comes/goes to different scenes all the time,
but since they're disconnected scenes, is difficult to differentiate one from the other..

It's a bit like:
Reflexive scenes, combined with Intense snippets, and different storyes/povs that go in parallel,
and then the different scenes kinda build up to a sort of extended climax..

If one wanted to portray each different scene accurately,
the music will have to have a lot of variation going to-from the Intense parts,
and it will have to be very agile, tight and intense.. but doing that can be difficult/demanding,
and since the scenes are not long enough to grant/sustain such change, it's not really worth it.

So yeah, in conclusion you did very well.
(Probably better that I would in most aspects, although I'm usually not a cinematic composer..)

It could have been faster/tighter in some points,
and the Intense parts could have been a bit more defined..

But it was a Difficult trailer, and actually not the best trailer..

And you actually managed to represent very well the overall Reflexive yet Dramatic tone,
all while using a distinct instrumentation, mixing Orchestra/choir with synths and modern sensibilities..



(there may be a better word than Reflexive to define the mood,
but I don't have my linguist hat today..)


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## liquidlino

My work in progress so far... would definitely appreciate any input! Never tried to score a trailer before - but I did watch a bunch of classic trailers and tried to include as many tropes in this as I possibly could... Syncing the tempo has been the hardest part, especially with the included percussive FX that we have to use... Haven't touched this for a few days, been letting it rest, I think I need to work on the balance of instruments and dialog a bit more, and maybe the middle section needs more variation, not sure. Repetition seems to be a major trope for these sorts of action sci-fi trailers.

EDIT: It's CSS, BHCT and StormDrum3. Piano is UVI Austrian Grand.


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## ernzo

liquidlino said:


> My work in progress so far... would definitely appreciate any input! Never tried to score a trailer before - but I did watch a bunch of classic trailers and tried to include as many tropes in this as I possibly could... Syncing the tempo has been the hardest part, especially with the included percussive FX that we have to use... Haven't touched this for a few days, been letting it rest, I think I need to work on the balance of instruments and dialog a bit more, and maybe the middle section needs more variation, not sure. Repetition seems to be a major trope for these sorts of action sci-fi trailers.
> 
> EDIT: It's CSS, BHCT and StormDrum3. Piano is UVI Austrian Grand.



Ouch..

I'm very sorry to say, I always try to be Constructive,
but imo that Drum that you used that goes Blam Blam all the time,
is the perfect example of what Not to do with Drums..

It's OK if you use a Bass Drum of some kind, Real or Synth..
But the timbre/sound of this one you used is not appropriate at all.

This is a drum to use very Scarcely, only at the most intense/decisive moment,
and to represent/signify something (like the fist fight).. but not a drum to use all the time.

Using it all the time is a bit silly, and actually quite distracting..
I'm sorry to say.

The rest is actually not too bad tho..
It's a bit repetitive musically speaking, but the Orchestra has a good tone and is well adjusted,
and you managed to make the most of that simple musical idea..

There's a few good ideas in the portrayal, like the Tempo change at the beginning,
the overall structuring, and the timing is good enough..


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## liquidlino

ernzo said:


> Ouch..
> 
> I'm very sorry to say, I always try to be Constructive,
> but imo that Drum that you used that goes Blam Blam all the time,
> is the perfect example of what Not to do with Drums..
> 
> It's OK if you use a Bass Drum of some kind, Real or Synth..
> But the timbre/sound of this one you used is not appropriate at all.
> 
> This is a drum to use very Scarcely, only at the most intense/decisive moment,
> and to represent/signify something (like the fist fight).. but not a drum to use all the time.
> 
> Using it all the time is a bit silly, and actually quite distracting..
> I'm sorry to say.
> 
> The rest is actually not too bad tho..
> It's a bit repetitive musically speaking, but the Orchestra has a good tone and is well adjusted,
> and you managed to make the most of that simple musical idea..
> 
> There's a few good ideas in the portrayal, and the timing is good enough..


Ha, yeah probably right! That was me lifting from the T2 trailer I linked earlier in this thread - it constantly has this Drum+Anvil hit and tutti hit going throughout the whole trailer... maybe I shouldn't copy an idea from a 30+ year old trailer  I will look to tone down that part and, as you say, reserve it for the high impact moments.


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## ernzo

liquidlino said:


> Ha, yeah probably right! That was me lifting from the T2 trailer I linked earlier in this thread - it constantly has this Drum+Anvil hit and tutti hit going throughout the whole trailer... maybe I shouldn't copy an idea from a 30+ year old trailer  I will look to tone down that part and, as you say, reserve it for the high impact moments.


Again what I enjoyed the most is the use of Tempo,
the dramatic slow down at the beginning was very fitting.
And then the various structural tempo changes, and general accellerando were all well placed..

This variation of tempo makes the repetition be more of an element of Recursivity..
And this helps building the overall intensity and sustain the climax..

It's a very Dynamic approach to music, and that's excellent.
Great idea in itself..


In fact I wonder how much will it change if,
instead of a melodic/romantic and Consonant musical basis,
you applied the same idea on a more impressionistic and Dissonant musical/harmonic approach..

This could fit the Intense parts and relative Darkness,
but will probably loose the effect and not fit the more Reflexive aspect/scenes of the trailer as much..
So yeah, maybe not appropriate in this case, but maybe for a Darker type sci-fi trailer..

But in any case,
I certainly like the overall Concept, and Dynamic Structural approach of what you did,
and it's interesting to think it could be applied just as nicely with a different musical and harmonic basis.. 

(and that's how good of an idea it is..)


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## freecham

ernzo said:


> You did many good things to portray the scenes, very good ideas all over..
> 
> Timing is a big part of the problem and difficulty here, it's all a matter of speed.
> This is true for a lot of trailers, but in this case it's very accentuated..
> 
> They are telling a mini story that comes/goes to different scenes all the time,
> but since they're disconnected scenes, is difficult to differentiate one from the other..
> 
> It's a bit like:
> Reflexive scenes, combined with Intense snippets, and different storyes/povs that go in parallel,
> and then the different scenes kinda build up to a sort of extended climax..
> 
> If one wanted to portray each different scene accurately,
> the music will have to have a lot of variation going to-from the Intense parts,
> and it will have to be very agile, tight and intense.. but doing that can be difficult/demanding,
> and since the scenes are not long enough to grant/sustain such change, it's not really worth it.
> 
> So yeah, in conclusion you did very well.
> (Probably better that I would in some aspects, although I'm usually not a cinematic composer..)
> 
> It could have been faster/tighter in some points,
> and the Intense parts could have been a bit more defined..
> 
> But it was a Difficult trailer, and actually not the best trailer..
> 
> And you actually managed to represent very well the overall Reflexive yet Dramatic tone,
> all while using a distinct instrumentation, mixing Orchestra/choir with synths and modern sensibilities..
> 
> 
> 
> (there may be a better word than Reflexive to define the mood,
> but I don't have my linguist hat today..)


Thank you for your insightful analysis. You have underlined all the difficult points ! I tried to find the right balance beetwen action/drama but i felt the drama part was stronger. And you're right for the speed : the last part is maybe too slow.


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## Peter Satera

How am I just seeing this now!? 😭 Hopefully will be able to join in!


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## Taron

Yup, just found it this morning, too... and I'm seriously under-equipped right now! 
Let's see what I can do with a tiny Intel Atom PC and free vsts...

Well, it's just a first attempt and even that has been a bit rough here ...but no excuses.

SO...since it's unclear regarding sharing this stuff on youtube, here's just an unlisted first draft.
DAW: MuLab (www.mutools.com)
VSTi: BBCSO Discover, Charlatan
VST: Auburn Studio's Panagement 2, Valhalla Supermassive, OTT, (mediaVst to show video)
Computer: BeeLink miniPC (Intel Atom 1.7Ghz, 4Gb RAM)


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## blaggins

Very impressed at what you were able to to with free VSTs @Taron!

I just entered mine as well and posted it to YT (having sought and received permission from the contest organizers of course!)


I am consistently finding that "trailer" sound to be very difficult to achieve. I'm never quite happy with how mine sound next to more professional ones which are always just ... well MORE. I can never quite get as loud, as intense, as big of a build, or as heavy of hits as I'd like. Doesn't seem to make nearly as much of a difference (as I would expect anyway) how many layers I put in there or how much I am cranking the percussion up. I'm not sure if it's an arrangement thing, or a mixing thing (probably a combination if I had to guess). Anyway, this is the best I can do, for now at least. :-P Lots to learn!


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## aeliron

tpoots said:


> I am consistently finding that "trailer" sound to be very difficult to achieve. I'm never quite happy with how mine sound next to more professional ones which are always just ... well MORE. I can never quite get as loud, as intense, as big of a build, or as heavy of hits as I'd like. Doesn't seem to make nearly as much of a difference (as I would expect anyway) how many layers I put in there or how much I am cranking the percussion up. I'm not sure if it's an arrangement thing, or a mixing thing (probably a combination if I had to guess). Anyway, this is the best I can do, for now at least. :-P Lots to learn!


Wow. Sounds heavy and intense enough to me! Nice work!


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## aeliron

Taron said:


> Yup, just found it this morning, too... and I'm seriously under-equipped right now!
> Let's see what I can do with a tiny Intel Atom PC and free vsts...


Nice! Pretty amazing what you did with a swizzle stick and some baking flour, tech-wise!


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## blaggins

aeliron said:


> Wow. Sounds heavy and intense enough to me! Nice work!


Thanks for the kind words @aeliron


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## Taron

Thanks, @tpoots & @aeliron , that's very sweet! Yeah, haha, tisn't much more than swizzle stick and flour, indeed! Only today I somehow got myself to try VCSO2 and Sforzando, being A WHOLE LOT lighter on my little pocket pc, really. But alas...maybe next time, hehe.

Well, tpoots, you're absolutely getting the trailer vibe up'n'running. The second half kind of drifts a little into its own world, not stopping for what's in the clip, but still sounding very flipping strong! Great job, really! Makes my whole approach feel so subdued, hahahaha... but it's wonderful to see/hear the different takes on it. Just great!


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## blaggins

Taron said:


> Thanks, @tpoots & @aeliron , that's very sweet! Yeah, haha, tisn't much more than swizzle stick and flour, indeed! Only today I somehow got myself to try VCSO2 and Sforzando, being A WHOLE LOT lighter on my little pocket pc, really. But alas...maybe next time, hehe.
> 
> Well, tpoots, you're absolutely getting the trailer vibe up'n'running. The second half kind of drifts a little into its own world, not stopping for what's in the clip, but still sounding very flipping strong! Great job, really! Makes my whole approach feel so subdued, hahahaha... but it's wonderful to see/hear the different takes on it. Just great!


Thanks! Yeah I know what you are saying. I'm a little worried the judges won't appreciate my barreling though things but I wanted to try for the "classic" 3 part trailer approach: Intro -> Build -> Climax. That emotional, but slower, choir climax (which is actually a bit anti-climactic after the ostinato build) may have been a bad choice but it felt "right" to me at the time... The trailer does get very violent at the end and I figured emotional slow moving choir can make for a good juxtaposition with extreme violence, plus there's some uplifting dialog in the last 1/3rd of the trailer which it fits with. I'm not sure if I really sold it well enough to make it work though... 🤪


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## Taron

No doubt, there are clear structures for trailers, which is why they all too often really sound the same: "in a world...". And, no doubt, there's a real point to it, too. But I'm kind of interested in immersing myself in the footage, whatever it may be, and just sort of feel my way through it, assuming it is supposed to generate both expectations and informed curiosity.

There's also the sort of relationship between qualities, you know, like what's the nature of this movie from a budget/technical point of view and how does the music reflect the movies deeper nature. My assumption is that this gives me an unnaturally perfect edge right now!


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## ernzo

tpoots said:


> I just entered mine as well and posted it to YT (having sought and received permission from the contest organizers of course!)
> 
> 
> I am consistently finding that "trailer" sound to be very difficult to achieve. I'm never quite happy with how mine sound next to more professional ones which are always just ... well MORE. I can never quite get as loud, as intense, as big of a build, or as heavy of hits as I'd like. Doesn't seem to make nearly as much of a difference (as I would expect anyway) how many layers I put in there or how much I am cranking the percussion up. I'm not sure if it's an arrangement thing, or a mixing thing (probably a combination if I had to guess). Anyway, this is the best I can do, for now at least. :-P Lots to learn!



Nice thematic Intro, sets the right mood right away.

Loved the way you resolved it,
introducing the epic Drum right on with the harmonic change with the new chord progression..

The Choir works really well here..

Excellent idea resolving and letting the whole thing fade away after the Title,
this serves different purposes, wrapping the whole thing up,
while creating a space and a sense of preparation/ante, which also highlights the dialog,
"we need to get to him"..

The next section has a very different mood, like say a more mechanic workshop kinda thing,
the nice harmonic changes make it be a little more twisted, while also increasing in complexity as it goes..
It's all very fitting in structural terms,
and of a higher aesthetic quality/value than the trailer itself.. lol

Then it goes back to the say epic reflexive mood,
connecting/consolidating with the intro,
but this time in a more defined way thx to the more militaristic snares and ensemble drums,
building up nicely up to the Light scene and final Title screen..

I find the ending a bit abrupt,
maybe some notes could have been sustained a bit longer here/there,
and I think the choir is not helping much bringing a feeling of resolution..

Also I expected a bigger Final BLAM! of sorts, maybe with echoes and synth stuff..
Although finishing subtly with the ensemble drums is also a respectable idea. 


-As for the intense trailer sound,
I think some libraries like Damage 1/2, or Action Strikes will be right on the spot,
also stuff like the good old Evolve series may have very fitting stuff,
so much so one could also also learn from it in terms of sound design.. 

(Also Brass/FX is a big factor in terms of Epicness..)


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## Taron

Awwww...and mine wasn't worthy of feedback..

DO ME, DO ME!  ...I'm kidding, no worries, . Was good feedback, though!


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## ernzo

Taron said:


> Awwww...and mine wasn't worthy of feedback..
> 
> DO ME, DO ME!  ...I'm kidding, no worries, . Was good feedback, though!


What can I do you for?.. lol

The Intro is very good/fitting,
combining those Subtle string shorts with the synth and Horns..

Then it evolves to a different thing,
where the strings take the lead while increasing in complexity..

I can't really identify the Time Signature here,
maybe it's an amalgama of sigs that progresses, but I certainly Loved the idea.

It's a more Subtle approach,
but the rhythmical oddness really adds to this kinda unsettling feeling of preparation..

Just like tpots, after the Title you did a similar type of resolution and fade,
it's interesting that you came with pretty much the same idea separately,
and here it works just as well..

Then instead of presenting the next section full on,
you kinda make it progressively build-up from the ground up..

Good use of harmony here with the chromatic change at the end,
which helps building all the intensity before the.. Silence! and shots..

Excellent idea,
good sound design, very fitting.

Also great how you make it come back with the distorted synth sound on front,
and the orchestra creating some Movement on the Low end..

This is basically Genius mode right here..

And yeah it keeps on there until the end,
nice build-up of the Tension towards the Light scene,
smart use of Silence again, and the ending fade-in was just brilliant.

Great stuff!

Very smart use of Rhythm and Silence, nice structural ideas..
you create all the ante/tension and magnitude, but you're using the instruments very lightly/subtly.

Which shows how a few well placed notes can also go a very long way,
no need to be yelling and banging the instruments all over the stage, no need for the 24tbones section.. lol

Nice Sound Design all over,
nice use of sound FX, bang/stings, synths etc..

Not the most over the top stuff,
but it's all very Balanced and fitting. 


-I think you're probably the Smartest of us all,
like that typical Silent guy who sits on the far corner of the classroom,
drawing/whatever and basically minding his business.. but then you get to talk to him,
and discover he's the wickedest mf-er with the biggest/strangest internal life.. 

Just kidding, I've got no idea, and I'm probably very wrong..
Or am I?

What was the Time Signature/amalgama again?


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## Taron

ernzo said:


> What can I do you for?.. lol
> 
> The Intro is very good/fitting,
> combining those Subtle string shorts with the synth and Horns..
> 
> Then it evolves to a different thing,
> where the strings take the lead while increasing in complexity..
> 
> I can't really identify the Time Signature here,
> maybe it's an amalgama of sigs that progresses, but I certainly Loved the idea.
> 
> It's a more Subtle approach,
> but the rhythmical oddness really adds to this kinda unsettling feeling of preparation..
> 
> Just like tpots, after the Title you did a similar type of resolution and fade,
> it's interesting that you came with pretty much the same idea separately,
> and here it works just as well..
> 
> Then instead of presenting the next section full on,
> you kinda make it progressively build-up from the ground up..
> 
> Good use of harmony here with the chromatic change at the end,
> which helps building all the intensity before the.. Silence! and shots..
> 
> Excellent idea,
> good sound design, very fitting.
> 
> Also great how you make it come back with the distorted synth sound on front,
> and the orchestra creating some Movement on the Low end..
> 
> This is basically Genius mode right here..
> 
> And yeah it keeps on there until the end,
> nice build-up of the Tension towards the Light scene,
> smart use of Silence again, and the ending fade-in was just brilliant.
> 
> Great stuff!
> 
> Very smart use of Rhythm and Silence, nice structural ideas..
> you create all the ante/tension and magnitude, but you're using the instruments very lightly/subtly.
> 
> Which shows how a few well placed notes can also go a very long way,
> no need to be yelling and banging the instruments all over the stage, no need for the 24tbones section.. lol
> 
> Nice Sound Design all over,
> nice use of sound FX, bang/stings, synths etc..
> 
> Not the most over the top stuff,
> but it's all very Balanced and fitting.
> 
> 
> -I think you're probably the Smartest of us all,
> like that typical Silent guy who sits on the far corner of the classroom,
> drawing/whatever and basically minding his business.. but then you get to talk to him,
> and discover he's the wickedest mf-er with the biggest/strangest internal life..
> 
> Just kidding, I've got no idea, and I'm probably very wrong..
> Or am I?
> 
> What was the Time Signature/amalgama again?


You have totally figured me out!  ...except possibly for the "silent guy" part.  My thing back in school ended up being the witty guy in the corner, doing his own thing, but then throw something into the room that lightened the mood of most (pfffhaha  ). But, yes the rest is probably a great way to describe me! 

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! You totally did it and I'm thrilled about it, thank you, really! 
I may actually still do a little bit of cleaning up here and there, but only to tighten things where needed or make a bit more room, especially in the violent climax. I kinda wonna help those rather stale sound fx bangs there a tiny bit, if I can... gotta see.

But, really, wonderfully uplifting feedback, really keeping me super motivated!
One thing with not having any bells nor whistles to work with is that it allows one to go in and create from the ground up again, which is something I love more than anything. Somehow limitations makes me pretty excited, too, but I could do with real time playback, HAHAHAHA...dang it. However, total joy and you're adding a good deal of joy to it for me!

Besides, you're all pretty awesome and I feel like I've got plenty of catching up to do, especially with this trailer stuff. Great fun, though, really!

- Oh, snap, the time signature, haha. It is all 4/4 really, but I'm ripping things apart a little with triplets (some syncopation) and offsets, trying to do exactly what you've noticed, dissolving a straight rhythm, whilst keeping a pulse, but inspiring sense of dread and uncertainty. Rhythm is split between celli, violas and basses, fighting each other a bit. And a little pizzicato pinch from violins 1 to also break the bar repetition some more, besides some harmonic variation for that matter. Really interesting to deconstruct things with some care.


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## blaggins

Thanks for the analysis and kind words @ernzo. Definitely very helpful!


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## J-M

That percussion FX is driving me nuts, I'm having a really hard time getting it in sync...Could always ignore it, but it sounds a bit silly imo if one just glosses over it.


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## blaggins

J-M said:


> That percussion FX is driving me nuts, I'm having a really hard time getting it in sync...Could always ignore it, but it sounds a bit silly imo if one just glosses over it.


Yuppp. I tried for a while to get a tempo synced to it, but it's not consistently in any tempo itself 🙉 .... in the end I just went for a happy middle-ground tempo that more-or-less has their percussive elements on the beat, but not really. I think this ends up working "ok" since little fluctuations in timing don't stick out too too badly in context.


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## J-M

tpoots said:


> Yuppp. I tried for a while to get a tempo synced to it, but it's not consistently in any tempo itself 🙉 .... in the end I just went for a happy middle-ground tempo that more-or-less has their percussive elements on the beat, but not really. I think this ends up working "ok" since little fluctuations in timing don't stick out too too badly in context.


Yeah, I got close. If I want them on the downbeats I have to change meters and do slight tempo changes...wouldn't do that if I were writing a trailer track and hoping to get it placed, but in this case it's okay me thinks. Let's see if I can come up with anything decent for Thursday...


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## aeliron

Wow, this was fun but very challenging. Quite a stretch ... had to learn more about tempo and beat mapping and fitting music to cues (or trying to) ... and lots of frustration with Logic automatically setting tempos to 700 (well, close) ... 

Pretty much all HOOPUS, which is my experiment in having a full orchestra on a laptop. 

Tropey-ness warning is ON.


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## markcumbria

Has anyone received an acknowledgement of their entry from Sonuscore? I got a 'successfully transferred' email from WeTransfer but that's all. 
I never expect to get anywhere with these competitions but it's good to know your work is at least being considered.


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## markcumbria

markcumbria said:


> Has anyone received an acknowledgement of their entry from Sonuscore? I got a 'successfully transferred' email from WeTransfer but that's all.
> I never expect to get anywhere with these competitions but it's good to know your work is at least being considered.


An update.... I've just received an email saying my entry has been downloaded. Good to get confirmation. 
Good luck to everyone who has entered.


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## liquidlino

ernzo said:


> What can I do you for?.. lol
> 
> The Intro is very good/fitting,
> combining those Subtle string shorts with the synth and Horns..
> 
> Then it evolves to a different thing,
> where the strings take the lead while increasing in complexity..
> 
> I can't really identify the Time Signature here,
> maybe it's an amalgama of sigs that progresses, but I certainly Loved the idea.
> 
> It's a more Subtle approach,
> but the rhythmical oddness really adds to this kinda unsettling feeling of preparation..
> 
> Just like tpots, after the Title you did a similar type of resolution and fade,
> it's interesting that you came with pretty much the same idea separately,
> and here it works just as well..
> 
> Then instead of presenting the next section full on,
> you kinda make it progressively build-up from the ground up..
> 
> Good use of harmony here with the chromatic change at the end,
> which helps building all the intensity before the.. Silence! and shots..
> 
> Excellent idea,
> good sound design, very fitting.
> 
> Also great how you make it come back with the distorted synth sound on front,
> and the orchestra creating some Movement on the Low end..
> 
> This is basically Genius mode right here..
> 
> And yeah it keeps on there until the end,
> nice build-up of the Tension towards the Light scene,
> smart use of Silence again, and the ending fade-in was just brilliant.
> 
> Great stuff!
> 
> Very smart use of Rhythm and Silence, nice structural ideas..
> you create all the ante/tension and magnitude, but you're using the instruments very lightly/subtly.
> 
> Which shows how a few well placed notes can also go a very long way,
> no need to be yelling and banging the instruments all over the stage, no need for the 24tbones section.. lol
> 
> Nice Sound Design all over,
> nice use of sound FX, bang/stings, synths etc..
> 
> Not the most over the top stuff,
> but it's all very Balanced and fitting.
> 
> 
> -I think you're probably the Smartest of us all,
> like that typical Silent guy who sits on the far corner of the classroom,
> drawing/whatever and basically minding his business.. but then you get to talk to him,
> and discover he's the wickedest mf-er with the biggest/strangest internal life..
> 
> Just kidding, I've got no idea, and I'm probably very wrong..
> Or am I?
> 
> What was the Time Signature/amalgama again?


So.. ernzo. Clearly you know a lot of good stuff about music! Any clues to who you are in real life? A hans alt account?


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## liquidlino

Sadly I was really sick for the week preceeding the submission, so I didn't get as much time and energy to rework this and finalise it as I'd have liked, so here's my updated submission that I sent in. Tried to tone down the big hits, kept it somewhat more subtle for most of the time.


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## blaggins

Very solid entries both of you @Jeremy Spencer and @liquidlino! Very epic.

If that was you "toning down" the big hits, I'm not sure if my headphones can handle turning them up.


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## liquidlino

tpoots said:


> Very solid entries both of you @Jeremy Spencer and @liquidlino! Very epic.
> 
> If that was you "toning down" the big hits, I'm not sure if my headphones can handle turning them up.


Lol! It was more that I had them running throughout the whole thing before... I think on re-listen I'd tone down the hits even more in the middle section, go for a different hit. But I do like the big massive loud hits on the build up to the final orchestral upwards run and bow/gun sci-fi fx. I was just going for maximum excitement... Maybe it's just me liking the smell of my own farts, but even now when I play it my heartrate increases and I feel very excited, even breathless, particularly when the 16th hi hat pattern comes in in the third act.


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## Taron

Man, this competition was flying by so quickly for me, I almost forgot about it again. Which made me remember that I hadn't updated my post with the actual final submission of mine...





__





Sonuscore's Composer of the Year Award


BECOME THE SONUSCORE COMPOSER OF THE YEAR 2022 & WIN A LIVE ORCHESTRA SESSION Compose new original music for a short version of the trailer for IronStar Films’ new sci-fi drama Tellurian and become our Sonuscore Composer Of The Year 2022. The grand prize is a live orchestra recording session for...




vi-control.net





Yeah, y'all have done some great takes on this. What I liked about this one was that it really, really was open to mood-design, no matter how 1 dimensional the material, hehehe, the music could take it from "who cares about the story"-action to "I hope someone cares about the story"-drama and everything in between. 😄

I also found it was fascinating in such a short set of cuts to immediately hear in the original audio the sound of the budget.😅 ...I mean, it's amazing to notice what subtleties can harm impressions so quickly. I find this amazing and educational. It takes so much to make a movie look and feel right, considering Hollywood productions, but with that same consideration in mind, it takes so little to match the narrative! 🤣

But, hey, I'd like to believe there were many passions going into this one and it gave me a chance to follow my own passion with the extra challenges I had the chance to meet and it was plenty, plenty of fun!

Good luck to you all!


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## blaggins

The top 10 are up and voting has commenced! https://sonuscore.com/composer-of-the-year-award

Anyone from this thread get one in?

I just listened to all 10 and they are all quite good! In listening I was also trying to look for commonalities between them, as a kind of clue for me on what to improve on for next time. This is not as valuable as direct feedback of course, but perhaps still interesting to see what others did better than I did... so far I'm feeling that they are all tending towards a more "modern" and less "orchestral" sound? I hear quite a bit of juicy sound design elements as well, lots of synthy stuff, maybe fewer complete melodic ideas? String ostinatos are old fashioned I guess (though I kind of knew this already while looking at other threads discussing current film trailer scoring trends). I'd be very curious to hear what others are taking away from it.

I also noticed that the mix/sound is quite good on all of them, nice and clear and loud on YouTube. Having said that though I admit that I am a little bit surprised how buried the dialog is on some of them, or how obvious some of the huge fader rides are pushing the music down when there is anyone talking. I'd have figured that'd be a huge no-no but apparently I'm wrong!


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## Remnant

I didn’t recognize any of the names from anyone on this thread, including mine. The finalists were all quite good, and I wholly agree they were definitely looking a bit more sound designy synths/hybrid type stuff. I thought the ones here were all quite good as well, and tended a bit more toward orchestral, which I prefer, again including mine. In any event, you should all be proud of your excellent entries.


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## aeliron

tpoots said:


> ...
> 
> I just listened to all 10 and they are all quite good! In listening I was also trying to look for commonalities between them, as a kind of clue for me on what to improve on for next time. This is not as valuable as direct feedback of course, but perhaps still interesting to see what others did better than I did... so far I'm feeling that they are all tending towards a more "modern" and less "orchestral" sound? I hear quite a bit of juicy sound design elements as well, lots of synthy stuff, maybe fewer complete melodic ideas? String ostinatos are old fashioned I guess (though I kind of knew this already while looking at other threads discussing current film trailer scoring trends). I'd be very curious to hear what others are taking away from it.
> 
> ...


Was definitely surprised how much of them were mostly sound design. If we had known this up front, our entries could have been done and submitted much sooner!


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## prasad_v

Well, I didn't think I'd have a chance but hey its natural to be disappointed 🥲

Had fun doing this! I went with a mostly orchestral style with few synth elements. Now I'll just salvage this material to make a few tracks  
Kudos to all my fellow participants!! Hang in there.


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## aeliron

prasad_v said:


> Well, I didn't think I'd have a chance but hey its natural to be disappointed 🥲
> 
> Had fun doing this! I went with a mostly orchestral style with few synth elements. Now I'll just salvage this material to make a few tracks
> Kudos to all my fellow participants!! Hang in there.



It still was fun and a great learning exercise, and also great to hear your submissions!


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## liquidlino

Hang on ... Very first finalist I listen to and they've deleted the original FX track. I didn't know you were allowed to do that?! I struggled to work around and with those big hits and now I find out I could have just deleted it all?????


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## blaggins

liquidlino said:


> Hang on ... Very first finalist I listen to and they've deleted the original FX track. I didn't know you were allowed to do that?! I struggled to work around and with those big hits and now I find out I could have just deleted it all?????


I remember them saying that was allowed actually. I don't remember if it was in the rules, or in the YT video that Sonuscore posted when the announced the contest? Though I opted to leave them in myself b/c ... well, I don't have any crazy trailer hits to replace them with and wouldn't really know where to put them anyway.


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## Remnant

Definitely just always grateful when these videos are made available to us. So thanks to Sonuscore and I hope these devs keep the videos to score coming.


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## prasad_v

liquidlino said:


> Hang on ... Very first finalist I listen to and they've deleted the original FX track. I didn't know you were allowed to do that?! I struggled to work around and with those big hits and now I find out I could have just deleted it all?????


Most certainly  They provided the tracks separately so that you can play with the levels/edit as required to fit your composition (I did check with them about this explicitly).


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## Jeremy Spencer

Well, 340 didn't make it into the top ten, but I'm sure there were tons of good one. Take contests with a grain of salt. The cool part is, you can now use it as part of your demos.


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## liquidlino

tpoots said:


> I remember them saying that was allowed actually. I don't remember if it was in the rules, or in the YT video that Sonuscore posted when the announced the contest? Though I opted to leave them in myself b/c ... well, I don't have any crazy trailer hits to replace them with and wouldn't really know where to put them anyway.


From memory, all I recall them saying was they were providing the stems so you could mix them better if need be to suit the composition. A lesson learned - pay closer attention to the rules, I assumed it was like all the other comps that usually explicitly say, "don't mess with the original audio, it must be included". Anyway, like eveyrone says, it's great experience, and great fun to create and enter, so don't take this as me being upset. Good luck to the finalists.


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## aeliron

liquidlino said:


> Hang on ... Very first finalist I listen to and they've deleted the original FX track. I didn't know you were allowed to do that?! I struggled to work around and with those big hits and now I find out I could have just deleted it all?????


I thought we weren't allowed to touch the tracks (except maybe lower the volume). "Mix them better" doesn't mean "disappear them" to me. Oh well.

Also puzzled as to how some of these will be played by an orchestra. Unless it's a Damage-only orchestra!


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## Jeremy Spencer

aeliron said:


> Also puzzled as to how some of these will be played by an orchestra. Unless it's a Damage-only orchestra!


It doesn't mention that, they just said up to 90 seconds of an original piece.


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## Remnant

Right. You get a session with an orchestra for a piece of 90 seconds, but not necessarily the piece in the trailer. Man that would be awesome.


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## aeliron

Jeremy Spencer said:


> It doesn't mention that, they just said up to 90 seconds of an original piece.


Ah. Thanks for the clarification! I mistook that to mean the soundtrack should be orchestral.


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## Taron

AH, well, well, that's funny, that we could've ditched those FX, haha...somehow I find myself among those, who can't be bothered to read everything. 🤪 ...almost thought this one also couldn't teach me much, but there's a perfect lesson already! 

I often get the feeling that these competitions are just as much a matter of timing submissions as they are about not making a totally terrible track. Get the feeling these were the first 10 that worked enough?! 

Upshot, always do these things to have fun and try to challenge yourself. It's thus far my best take-away from them all. (unfortunately ) ...but, no, I've had a riot with it and I hope you did, too!


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## liquidlino

Taron said:


> AH, well, well, that's funny, that we could've ditched those FX, haha...somehow I find myself among those, who can't be bothered to read everything. 🤪 ...almost thought this one also couldn't teach me much, but there's a perfect lesson already!
> 
> I often get the feeling that these competitions are just as much a matter of timing submissions as they are about not making a totally terrible track. Get the feeling these were the first 10 that worked enough?!
> 
> Upshot, always do these things to have fun and try to challenge yourself. It's thus far my best take-away from them all. (unfortunately ) ...but, no, I've had a riot with it and I hope you did, too!


Yep! There's no way they listened to all submissions and these were the absolute best ten. Just the first ten that weren't terrible. They all have a common flavour to them too, which is similar to the original score for the trailer. 

But yeah! Was lots of fun, and that's all that matters as this is just a fun hobby to pass away spare time somewhat more productively than playing video games.


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## odod

my low quality submission (still a rookie)


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## Jeremy Spencer

liquidlino said:


> Yep! There's no way they listened to all submissions and these were the absolute best ten. Just the first ten that weren't terrible.


This may be the case for sure (we'll never know). I remember all the debate when Spitfire did the Westworld Scoring Competition, there were over 10,000 submissions and they claimed their team checked out every single one. Maybe they did, but I have doubts.


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## freecham

I believe that we should not expect anything from this type of competition but take the opportunity to make the music we like. Sometimes, it's good to get out of conformism and fashion trends (i'm not sure I did with my entry by the way !). I was very pleased that Spitfire chose David's entry. What I sometimes regret in the results is the lack of musicality and the absence of melodic motive (but this is so subjective and there are other ways to transmit an emotion, including sound design !). But I must admit that it's still really fun to create for this kind of videos ! Good luck to the finalists !


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## blaggins

Certainly it's impossible to know for sure if they all got listened to, though in this case there's only about 9 or so odd hours of entries. A small team could go through that in a few days without breaking a sweat. Also 9 hours is assuming all 90 seconds are listened to for all entries. In reality I bet you know pretty quick if you don't like something and you can stop listening to it after 10-15 seconds.


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## Codetronx

That was my entry.


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