# First promo post..



## Patrick_Gill (Jul 1, 2011)

Hey fellow Composers!


How are you all ?  


This is my first ever post on the V.I. Control forum, well at least in a sense of showcasing my work, so please be nice!.


Just thought I'd post a few links to a few films I have worked on in the past and present. Please let me know what you guys think!. Any comments appreciated. Will be happy to answer any questions you may have, really interested to know what you guys think!. Thanks.


*STREET FIGHTER LEGACY.,*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ZXSzaUIBQ


*THE SEER - TRAILER., *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OR6mOYxLLw

*FIXED - WHAT IS A JOURNEY?*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNyKRQeYgIo



Be Well!


Patrick.,


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## JohnG (Jul 1, 2011)

awesome, dude!

It seems that everyone gets to start with some of the hardest types of scenes -- looonggg fights.

I liked what you did on the Street Fighter overall. Didn't like the guitar though -- your "background" stuff with drums and whatnot was plenty. The guitar drags too much attention to the music when the fight is just starting. Leave some room for yourself to build, helping to curve the action up to a first climax, then lull, then second climax. Put differently, I think scoring fights works better when one focuses on the shape of the overall scene, rather than shot by shot; you don't need to "do it all" right at the top.

Besides, wailing electric guitar over a kickboxing scene is pretty 1980s. Ok, maybe 1990s too!

A recent example of a more minimal style is on display in "Game of Thrones" -- more like the old Jerry Goldsmith model. Don't get me wrong, he hits a lot of the action (Total Recall) almost like a cartoon; he doesn't just play a groove or something. But he gives himself someplace to go by taking a while to set a tone, sometimes with just drums and some growling, sometimes with a pulse. Limited resources at the top.

Sounddesign is strong. Probably could have beefed up the finale of "The Seer" with more sections of the orchestra (brass, more percussion) supporting / punctuating the strings, but what you did supports the scene.

Really fun to hear your work! Cheers.


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## Patrick_Gill (Jul 2, 2011)

JohnG @ Fri Jul 01 said:


> awesome, dude!
> 
> It seems that everyone gets to start with some of the hardest types of scenes -- looonggg fights.
> 
> ...





Hey John,


Thanks very much for your reply and critique!. Glad you enjoyed it.


Ah yes the guitar! . Looking back it's the one area I'm not completely satisfied with, I would certainly have taken a different approach now!..

Originally, when I wrote the 'Ken' theme I did not have guitar in mind for the 'lead', my original idea was to be more subtle, much like in the score of '300', very thrash metal, drop D tuning. In fact the actual main melody was played by the violins section originally, after a few decisions made here and there we decided to go for a guitar lead for the melody. Of course I wanted to make Ken & Ryu's theme recognisable and as faithful to the original as possible, which was the point in the whole project. In a sense the short was almost like a 'demo', showcasing everything including it's theme's, which hopefully explains my motifs here.

The plan was to storm in full charge at the beginning of the fight, then later bringing out the drama and glory with 'Ryu's theme. Again I had to work out a way to include the two original theme's that everyone knew and loved whilst incorporating both into a long fight, it was certainly a challenge. It was one of my earlier attempts at huge action writing. I normally write a lot of electronic and atmospheric / orchestral score.

Overall I am very happy with it though, I feel everything works but naturally like anything there is always room for improvement. Thanks for your help!. If we do get a series i'll be looking forward to applying a lot of great orchestration tips I've picked up over the year.


I know what you mean about the 1990's / 80's vibe.. I personally actually miss those epic guitar lines in scores, as dated as they seem now hah.. Loved the Lethal Weapon score.

The Game Of Thrones score is superb! Huge fan of that and the series itself. It is very minimalist which I have learnt is always a great way to go. It does have an excellent tone, I feel what your saying!.

Really appreciate your feedback John, much obliged!.. 

Patrick,.


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