# Scorerelief 2021 competition



## Markrs

THE FILM SCORING COMPETITION WITH A HEART​Score Relief is a free-to-enter film scoring competition. We have amazing prizes for composers, thanks to the generosity of Allen & Heath, ThinkSpace Education, Aston Microphones and Triune Digital, along with our partners at Northern Film Orchestra. We have a great judging panel of experienced and successful composers.

Enter Score Relief 2021!​It's completely free to take part. Simply provide us with your email address here and we'll send you the unscored video, with all the instructions and information that you need. Deadline: Jan 31st 2021.

https://www.thecuetube.com/scorerelief2021
If you wish to donate to Scorerelief:


https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/score-relief-2021


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## Max Bonsi

Hi Markrs and thank for this
I'm in and honestly I can't understand why so much silence here...
Who knows
Anyway it will be funny to score this and really NOT EASY!!
See u!

Max


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## Markrs

If anyone is planning on entering the competition there will be a Live Q&A with Jack Hughes from Northern Film Orchestra will be here on YouTube at 19.00 GMT
Plus remember to give to a very worthy cause


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## Max Bonsi

Ok thank you
It is tomorrow right?


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## dzilizzi

Thank you, this looks interesting.


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## Markrs

Max Bonsi said:


> Ok thank you
> It is tomorrow right?


Yep, tomorrow night


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## Markrs

I hope we have a few here are looking to or have entered the competition. This probably well beyond my very beginner abilities at the moment.


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## dzilizzi

Markrs said:


> I hope we have a few here are looking to or have entered the competition. This probably well beyond my very beginner abilities at the moment.


Sometimes it is the trying that teaches you things. You don't have to actually enter the finished product. But I never pass up opportunities to get free scoreable video. Then check out what others did and see how you can improve.


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## Markrs

dzilizzi said:


> Sometimes it is the trying that teaches you things. You don't have to actually enter the finished product. But I never pass up opportunities to get free scoreable video. Then check out what others did and see how you can improve.


You are right 😊


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## mallux

Markrs said:


> I hope we have a few here are looking to or have entered the competition. This probably well beyond my very beginner abilities at the moment.


Yeah I'm on day 3 of my effort... it is a tricky one, but I've got a good deal further than I did with Westworld already. Give it a go, what have you got to lose?


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## styledelk

I may give this a try!


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## Loïc D

I may try to.
I’ll try to meet the deadline


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## Markrs

Even though I had posted this on this forum, I had not registered to get the competition pack as was a bit too nervous to do it. Thanks to the kind words I have requested the pack. ❤️


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## Max Bonsi

Markrs said:


> Even though I had posted this on this forum, I had not registered to get the competition pack as was a bit too nervous to do it. Thanks to the kind words I have requested the pack. ❤️


Oooh man absolutely you have to give you a try
I'm glad you did!
Things like this teach us something, surely not buying the latest library on the market...
Let's keep everybody in touch and see what we are able to do, and let's have fun!


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## angeruroth

Yeah, IMHO it's all about the challenge, not the result or the price, and by participating you are already contributing a bit to a good cause.
And you can always adapt the challenge to your needs: For this contest I'm trying something different, scoring "live" (I don't mean streaming or anything like that but improvising while watching the video, trying to find and set the mood in real time) and it's being really interesting.
It's going to require lots of corrections and improvements after the playing process, that's for sure, and some plain writing, but if the end result is good (or at least not horrible) it could speed up my workflow a lot.
I wonder if someone is composing like that...


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## Rossy

I cant thank you enough, this is the kinda stuff I want to learn and its great score relief has put this out. Count me in.


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## Rossy

mallux said:


> Yeah I'm on day 3 of my effort... it is a tricky one, but I've got a good deal further than I did with Westworld already. Give it a go, what have you got to lose?


Absolutely nothing


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## Loïc D

Markrs said:


> I hope we have a few here are looking to or have entered the competition. This probably well beyond my very beginner abilities at the moment.


My advice : try it.
There’s no better way to learn.


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## wst3

For those that shy away from actually entering contests (I'm in the list) may I respectfully suggest that you download the contest materials (in this case the video) take a swing at it.

Thus far I've tried my hand at countless (literally, I've lost count) contests, and I've learned a ton, and I've had fun, and no, I have yet to submit anything. I came close with Cinesamples recent Christmas contest, but ran out of time what with Christmas and all that<G>!

For me the point is not the contest, or the prizes, it is an opportunity to work on something that is new to me. And even more important, it is the opportunity to compare what I've done with the output from others. Not in a contest sense, since I am not qualified to judge, but rather as a way to see how others approached the challenge. I learn quite a bit from that.

TL;DR - download the video, and have fun writing a score for it. If you like the result submit it, otherwise add it to your archive. You learn something every time you try!


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## Dewdman42

I’m working on it in my spare time but I doubt I will finish in time, enough to my satisfaction in order to hit the deadline. But we’ll see


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## fourier

This is such a great chance to practice and learn. Wonderful video. I completely missed this thread during the holidays, happy to discover it now. Thank you for sharing, Markrs!


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## Mr Sakitumi

Thanks for the headsup on this scoring comp.
Downloaded the video last night (just out of curiosity) to see what it’s like.
Such a beautifully animated short story.

Have so much other production work on the go, but started dabbling...hours later...and now I have a roughly sketched entry to complete before the 31st.


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## FelixDeepTerror

Too bad most of it will probably come down to who the best mixer is.


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## mallux

FelixDeepTerror said:


> Too bad most of it will probably come down to who the best mixer is.


That wasn't the impression I got from the YouTube Q&A session on Sunday. Bryan specifically said: "We're not expecting production or mixing or mastering expertise... this is a composing competition." ... then Jack: "You can mix it and master it as good as you're able to when you submit [...] You want to present your music as best as you can [...] but we wouldn't mark you down for a bad mix".


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## FelixDeepTerror

mallux said:


> That wasn't the impression I got from the YouTube Q&A session on Sunday. Bryan specifically said: "We're not expecting production or mixing or mastering expertise... this is a composing competition." ... then Jack: "You can mix it and master it as good as you're able to when you submit [...] You want to present your music as best as you can [...] but we wouldn't mark you down for a bad mix".


So I can score with NotePerformer in Sibelius without it "marking down"?


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## freecham

Thank you for the information ! And an another big thank to the organizers for this competition ! This is the second time I compose for a movie (after the Westworld Spitfire). It's a nice challenge for learning and progress. I really like to watch the entries of the different participants : it is stimulating and I'm often blown away. This is just my entry (maybe not definitive).


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## Jotto

Im in! Competitions like this is big fun. Because of the challenge...not the competition. According to Spitfire the jury wont even bother to listen to all the entries anyway, but i do learn a lot doing things i normaly would not do.


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## Markrs

FelixDeepTerror said:


> So I can score with NotePerformer in Sibelius without it "marking down"?


I think the core desire is to judge the composition not the mix. However the qualities of the sample libraries used might effect the composition, though I feel strongly that the desire is to focus on the composition.


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## ZosterX

Thanks for sharing this, love the contest :D


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## emilio_n

I am not sure if I will have enough time but I will try to do even I finally don't send. This Is a fun exercise and a great way to learn!

Absolutely out of the competition, but this is not the most important.


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## ptram

I know I will not finish in time, but the short is so nice and well made, that it is a joy to work on it.

And I've already learnt several things while trying to make my score.

Paolo


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## Loïc D

That's a nice short. 
Meeting the deadline will be hard.

For those who consider entering seriously, please bear in mind the very limited orchestra that will play your piece (if you win of course) : 1 percussionist, chamber strings, only solo WW & brass, no tuba, no English horn, no celesta, etc.


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## from_theashes

I love this competition... the opportunity to score such nice material is great and I learned so much while composing. I don’t think I have a chance to win, cause there are so many great entries... but it’s awesome to have such a pool of scoreable material.

This is my entry:


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## Markrs

from_theashes said:


> I love this competition... the opportunity to score such nice material is great and I learned so much while composing. I don’t think I have a chance to win, cause there are so many great entries... but it’s awesome to have such a pool of scoreable material.
> 
> This is my entry:



Sounds fantastic! I have been listening to lots of entries on YouTube and they are all very good


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## Rob

I already know I won't have the time, but subscribed anyway... let's see


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## Rossy

I'm giving it a go but struggling to get a feel for the clip. Just got to keep trying but yeah, give it a go.


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## TimCox

I had a very good time working on mine, the clip being absolutely stunning really helped. I limited my writing to the 27-piece orchestra listed in the grand prize. Although there is a moment where you'd need 3 percussionist but I couldn't resist 

I think everyone should take a crack at it, it's a great clip they chose with lots of flavor for a composer to work with


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## mallux

Here's my 2 weeks of blood, sweat and tears (I'm kidding, I really enjoyed the process, but I need to publish it or I'll just be tempted to fiddle with it every day until the end of Jan):


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## TimCox

mallux said:


> Here's my 2 weeks of blood, sweat and tears (I'm kidding, I really enjoyed the process, but I need to publish it or I'll just be tempted to fiddle with it every day until the end of Jan):



Hey! You used the little woodblock tune too! Awesome stuff, here's mine:


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## mallux

TimCox said:


> Hey! You used the little woodblock tune too! Awesome stuff, here's mine:



Yeah I suspect most people will have had the same thought... the wood blocks are so front and centre you kinda have to go with it!
Think it’s interesting to see how people treat the little doggy semi-climax when he saves the carrot... I must have tried half a dozen different things there... like yours better! Getting Star Wars vibes (in a good way).


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## freecham

The movie is interesting with à lot of differents climax (magic, strange, action, epic, humor) in a short time. The dog is the real hero (sort of Indiana Dog). He deserves an epic musical part !


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## TimCox

freecham said:


> The movie is interesting with à lot of differents climax (magic, strange, action, epic, humor) in a short time. The dog is the real hero (sort of Indiana Dog). He deserves an epic musical part !


The dog is the most important character, not just in this, in every movie where there’s a dog


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## jtromburg

Markrs said:


> Even though I had posted this on this forum, I had not registered to get the competition pack as was a bit too nervous to do it. Thanks to the kind words I have requested the pack. ❤️


I am in the exact same boat... I've never done this before but decided to try it anyway because even if I don't submit I'll learn something.
Thank you for posting!


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## jtromburg

TimCox said:


> Hey! You used the little woodblock tune too! Awesome stuff, here's mine:



Really impressive orchestration! very John Williams-esque.


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## The Z

Awesome competition and lots to learn from it! Loving checking out everyone's approaches. Here's my entry ☺️


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## Rossy

I want to listen but dont want to be influenced (and I know how good people are here so its more than a probability) Im looking forward to the outcome and hearing everyone's entry.


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## TimCox

jtromburg said:


> Really impressive orchestration! very John Williams-esque.


As an absolute John Williams fanboy this is the best compliment I could ever receive


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## Pappaus

Finally Finished - Now I can enjoy everyone else’s video. Nice contest - I wasn’t used to writing direct to DAW (I write with Dorico first) I really enjoyed this one and can now start watching everyone else’s work. woohoo


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## pawelmorytko

In the same boat in that I tried staying away from watching other people's entries before I finished my own. I couldn't help but to listen to the original which is absolutely stunning, lots of great entries here too now that I have a chance to listen to them!

Here's how my went...


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## crossrootsdoc

Well I've not started putting notes down yet but I agree it is suber exciting


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## TimCox

pawelmorytko said:


> In the same boat in that I tried staying away from watching other people's entries before I finished my own. I couldn't help but to listen to the original which is absolutely stunning, lots of great entries here too now that I have a chance to listen to them!
> 
> Here's how my went...



That end melody game me goosebumps! Gave me serious John Powell vibes


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## Ritchgbg

Hi !
I'm late but i'd like to give it a try !
Can you contact me or send me some links to downloads the elements ??
Thanks


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## Pappaus

It is at the beginning of the thread. You still have till the end of the month.


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## Markrs

Ritchgbg said:


> Hi !
> I'm late but i'd like to give it a try !
> Can you contact me or send me some links to downloads the elements ??
> Thanks


Here is the link to the website. The closing date is the end of the month

https://www.thecuetube.com/scorerelief2021


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## Ritchgbg

Markrs said:


> Here is the link to the website. The closing date is the end of the month
> 
> https://www.thecuetube.com/scorerelief2021


Thanks !!


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## Germain B

One more ! I'm really glad I had time for this as it's the first time I try this scoring exercise. And the animation movie is beautiful and inspiring.
I chose to stick with the given instrumentation (I like constraints) although I didn't use the piano.
That was so much fun !


I listen to some other entries and there is amazing staff ! Very different approaches.


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## fourier

So many great clips to watch through, very impressed by the creative output!

I hope to find time to finish one myself, but there's just so few hours in a day. I wondered if you guys know if we can adjust the volume of the original sound in any way, or if it needs to be completely untouched?


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## Germain B

fourier said:


> I wondered if you guys know if we can adjust the volume of the original sound in any way, or if it needs to be completely untouched?


I was wondering too but when I wanted to have a rather good balance between the clip and my music, it was clipping. The clip is pretty loud. If I remember correctly, I turned it down by 6dB or 7dB.
I end up with approximately -20 LUFS and was wondering if I was supposed to aim at -23 or other value...


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## PeteH

Still a couple of weeks to enter this competition! I really enjoyed this. For anyone struggling, I just mashed my keyboard along with the video, then worked on the 1% of that mess that seemed useable. 
Good luck everyone.


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## Mr Sakitumi

I reworked the dynamics on my drunk vst flautists...they must have been at the pub, which is why the mod wheel did little to no real control over dynamics.
resorted to using straight up volume automation for fades.
Anyway, uploaded again and I'm much happier with the result.


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## AnninaMelissa

Too bad I only saw this today! Good luck everyone!


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## nightenlight

Markrs said:


> THE FILM SCORING COMPETITION WITH A HEART​Score Relief is a free-to-enter film scoring competition. We have amazing prizes for composers, thanks to the generosity of Allen & Heath, ThinkSpace Education, Aston Microphones and Triune Digital, along with our partners at Northern Film Orchestra. We have a great judging panel of experienced and successful composers.
> 
> Enter Score Relief 2021!​It's completely free to take part. Simply provide us with your email address here and we'll send you the unscored video, with all the instructions and information that you need. Deadline: Jan 31st 2021.
> 
> https://www.thecuetube.com/scorerelief2021
> If you wish to donate to Scorerelief:
> 
> 
> https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/score-relief-2021





Here is my entry. (updated)

For this composition I got inspired by early Renaissance music.


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## Markrs

nightenlight said:


> Here is my entry.
> 
> For this composition I got inspired by early Renaissance music.



Really nice to hear a completely different approach. The only issue is that the sound effects are out of sink with the video and it sounds like you might have clipping on the music.


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## nightenlight

Markrs said:


> Really nice to hear a completely different approach. The only issue is that the sound effects are out of sink with the video and it sounds like you might have clipping on the music.


Clipping issue could be removed. But I cannot update it , can only create a new one.

Will work on the synch, can I delete it in your web site and upload a new one?


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## Markrs

nightenlight said:


> Clipping issue could be removed. But I cannot update it , can only create a new one.
> 
> Will work on the synch, can I delete it in your web site and upload a new one?


I don't know as it is not my competition, it is run by the cubetube. You could email the organisers: [email protected]


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## nightenlight

Markrs said:


> I don't know as it is not my competition, it is run by the cubetube. You could email the organisers: [email protected]


I’ll write to them. I think clipping is from YouTube algo. I don’t have it in the original.


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## zach.mx

Really stoked on this, I'm about 25-30 seconds into my rendition and already having a ton of fun. I've done tons of tracks on my own but never wrote to picture. It's proving to be pretty challenging, but I think I may have time to try and squeeze out something before the deadline.

Will check back in when I have something to show! Even it's after the deadline 🏄‍♂️


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## jazzman7

pawelmorytko said:


> In the same boat in that I tried staying away from watching other people's entries before I finished my own. I couldn't help but to listen to the original which is absolutely stunning, lots of great entries here too now that I have a chance to listen to them!
> 
> Here's how my went...



Wonderful Work. Well done!


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## mussnig

So I am just starting to work on it (and until I have finished and submitted it, I am not going to listen to the other entries - but afterwards for sure!).

However, I am not completely sure I really understand this scene. So are those tree creatures (which seem to represent winter) just following the magic crystal (or whatever) like dogs? And she is using it to lure them away (but it also seems that she has a bit more control over them, once it's in her staff)? And are these magic trees "good" or not? On one hand, they are part of nature and remind me a bit of the Ents in LOTR. On the other hand, they are depicted a bit menacing.

I find that the text that comes with the video doesn't completely answer the questions to me ...


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## Germain B

There is a full video of this short film on Youtube. It is 7 minutes long and may help you. I'm also left with some interrogations but I'm fine with it.
(There's music on the original video, so if you don't wan't to get influenced... mute it ?)


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## antanasb

mussnig said:


> So I am just starting to work on it (and until I have finished and submitted it, I am not going to listen to the other entries - but afterwards for sure!).
> 
> However, I am not completely sure I really understand this scene. So are those tree creatures (which seem to represent winter) just following the magic crystal (or whatever) like dogs? And she is using it to lure them away (but it also seems that she has a bit more control over them, once it's in her staff)? And are these magic trees "good" or not? On one hand, they are part of nature and remind me a bit of the Ents in LOTR. On the other hand, they are depicted a bit menacing.
> 
> I find that the text that comes with the video doesn't completely answer the questions to me ...


Aren't they like ginormous moths?


Despite all that, the percussionist -- what instruments one usually has at hand? Triangle, cymbals and?


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## mussnig

Germain B said:


> There is a full video of this short film on Youtube. It is 7 minutes long and may help you. I'm also left with some interrogations but I'm fine with it.
> (There's music on the original video, so if you don't wan't to get influenced... mute it ?)


Thank you!


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## antanasb

Here is a picture of one. Those leafy things look extraordinarily similar to the ones in the video...


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## mallux

mussnig said:


> So I am just starting to work on it (and until I have finished and submitted it, I am not going to listen to the other entries - but afterwards for sure!).
> 
> However, I am not completely sure I really understand this scene. So are those tree creatures (which seem to represent winter) just following the magic crystal (or whatever) like dogs? And she is using it to lure them away (but it also seems that she has a bit more control over them, once it's in her staff)? And are these magic trees "good" or not? On one hand, they are part of nature and remind me a bit of the Ents in LOTR. On the other hand, they are depicted a bit menacing.
> 
> I find that the text that comes with the video doesn't completely answer the questions to me ...


Part of the fun of this, for me, is seeing how different composers interpret the scene... I think it’s deliberately ambiguous... but maybe watch the original version (with the sound turned down) for a little more context? It’s on YT.


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## AudioLoco

It's like risking Sauron getting hold of the the ring, if the "ents" get the ring (the light quartz magic thingy on the stick) winter will stay forever and spring will never come...

Well, that is my LOTR translation at least....


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## Rachel

I saw this contest 1 week ago, I thought I won't have time to do it, but I did! I may be inspired . This was a very nice exercise to do. Here is my entry :

Comments welcome, thanks!


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## Markrs

There is a new video about the prizes, that might be of interest. They also mention that you don't need to limit yourself by the orchestra as they will help you arrange it if you win.


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## antanasb

They still said, somewhere, that they WILL take into account the translatability of the score. Even though you can use e.g. synths, they will have a hard time translating that to a chamber orchestra...

So having a cool synthy track might not land you the first prize, if I understood correctly?


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## Tinesaeriel

Heya, folks!

Just finished this! Definitely had a lot of fun with this one; went for a big, giant-sounding orchestral fantasy piece in the vein of James Newton Howard/James Horner. This was also the piece for me to test out Cinematic Studio Woodwinds in context, and to see how well it fits with Nashville Scoring Strings and Junkie XL Brass.

Hope you folks like it!

Best,
Adam



LIBRARIES USED:

Nashville Scoring Strings 
Junkie XL Brass 
Cinematic Studio Woodwinds 
Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 1 
Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 3 
Spitfire Audio Albion ONE 
Spitfire Audio Hans Zimmer Percussion Standard 
Spitfire Audio BBC Orchestra Lite 
Cinesamples VOXOS 2 
Cinematic Studio Strings 
Kontakt Factory Library


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## Markrs

Tinesaeriel said:


> Heya, folks!
> 
> Just finished this! Definitely had a lot of fun with this one; went for a big, giant-sounding orchestral fantasy piece in the vein of James Newton Howard/James Horner. This was also the piece for me to test out Cinematic Studio Woodwinds in context, and to see how well it fits with Nashville Scoring Strings and Junkie XL Brass.
> 
> Hope you folks like it!
> 
> Best,
> Adam
> 
> 
> 
> LIBRARIES USED:
> 
> Nashville Scoring Strings
> Junkie XL Brass
> Cinematic Studio Woodwinds
> Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 1
> Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 3
> Spitfire Audio Albion ONE
> Spitfire Audio Hans Zimmer Percussion Standard
> Spitfire Audio BBC Orchestra Lite
> Cinesamples VOXOS 2
> Cinematic Studio Strings
> Kontakt Factory Library



Excellent score really has that James Newton Howard/James Horner that you were going with. The mix sounded really good as well.


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## Germain B

Oh yeah, that's a pretty impressive one, @Tinesaeriel !


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## Markrs

antanasb said:


> They still said, somewhere, that they WILL take into account the translatability of the score. Even though you can use e.g. synths, they will have a hard time translating that to a chamber orchestra...
> 
> So having a cool synthy track might not land you the first prize, if I understood correctly?


I think if you created a rock soundtrack or an entirely synth based one, that would probably effect the decision, but if you add a bass synth in or maybe used 2 percussion layers (they only have one percussionist) or score for a larger orchestra, or created your own samples to use, they would help you arrange it to work within the limitations of the scoring orchestra. This is only my interpretation of it, which could be wrong.

In the end I think they want you to be creative and explore the possiblities of what can be done, to find a unique voice, I think those things will matter more.


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## JackNFO

Hey guys, this is Jack from Northern Film Orchestra here. 

Firstly can I just say how thrilled we all are to see so many of you enjoying the competition and submitting such wonderful entries. The shortlisting process is definitely going to be extremely tough for us with such a strong calibre of music being delivered. You all deserve a pat on the back!

Its looks as if there has been a very lively discussion going on here which is great! Im sure many of you probably have questions so I'm here to clarify anything relating to the orchestra side of this competition and answer any questions for those of you who missed the live Q/A.


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## JackNFO

Markrs said:


> I think if you created a rock soundtrack or an entirely synth based one, that would probably effect the decision, but if you add a bass synth in or maybe used 2 percussion layers (they only have one percussionist) or score for a larger orchestra, or created your own samples to use, they would help you arrange it to work within the limitations of the scoring orchestra. This is only my interpretation of it, which could be wrong.
> 
> In the end I think they want you to be creative and explore the possiblities of what can be done, to find a unique voice, I think those things will matter more.


Couldn't have said it better myself!


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## Markrs

JackNFO said:


> Hey guys, this is Jack from Northern Film Orchestra here.
> 
> Firstly can I just say how thrilled we all are to see so many of you enjoying the competition and submitting such wonderful entries. The shortlisting process is definitely going to be extremely tough for us with such a strong calibre of music being delivered. You all deserve a pat on the back!
> 
> Its looks as if there has been a very lively discussion going on here which is great! Im sure many of you probably have questions so I'm here to clarify anything relating to the orchestra side of this competition and answer any questions for those of you who missed the live Q/A.


Thank you for joining us here Jack, I agree that there have been some amazing entries so far. It is great to see so much talent out there!


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## Germain B

The live Q/A was really instructive and somehow motivating to give it a try.


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## JackNFO

Germain B said:


> The live Q/A was really instructive and somehow motivating to give it a try.


Thanks thats really great to hear


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## antanasb

Markrs said:


> I think if you created a rock soundtrack or an entirely synth based one, that would probably effect the decision, but if you add a bass synth in or maybe used 2 percussion layers (they only have one percussionist) or score for a larger orchestra, or created your own samples to use, they would help you arrange it to work within the limitations of the scoring orchestra. This is only my interpretation of it, which could be wrong.
> 
> In the end I think they want you to be creative and explore the possiblities of what can be done, to find a unique voice, I think those things will matter more.



Yeah, that is very good information! Thanks!

Despite that, I have never tried to compose for a specific number of players myself. That puts many limitations, on e.g. percussion use as you just pointed out. I find it very interesting to try and see how I can manage to do it with this approach as a challenge to myself to make it sound good, interesting, fitting the picture and the band.. 

Hoping, that limitations will nurture creativity, eh?


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## andylowemusic

Hey! Good to see a lot of people getting involved with this one. This is the second time I've entered a competition (the first was Westworld, like someone else in the thread!)

I found scoring an animation hugely different. It's like the music is shouldering the responsibility of bringing everything to life. I felt the details took on a huge significance.

Anyway, here's my entry:


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## andylowemusic

I forgot to say that the instruments in the above are all Cinesamples


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## blender505

Really cool to finally be able to go through all of these now that I'm done with my entry. It's interesting to hear everybody else's interpretation of this.

For my part, I watched this film a while back, so I tried not to be influenced by the original score as much as I possibly could (though that may or may not have happened, I've yet to listen to it since writing, so I've got no idea where I'm at). I did remember the main theme though, so I made the express decision to only use the woodblock theme at the end.


----------



## angeruroth

I finally decided to submit my little experiment, but I'm not satisfied with the end result.
I must say that scoring in real time was fast like nothing else (30 minutes to score the whole thing!), at first, BUT the result was too sloppy, too "simple", and with my keyboard (Yamaha P105) performing the perc is not a good idea, so then I spent about 2.5 hours trying to solve the timing issues and improving the overall sound, maybe more. 3 hours is the time limit I gave to myself so then I stopped, but damn, I'm not sure that's a good way to save time. Maybe with practice, but it also limits the amount of complexity you can safely add, so... I don't know. At the end of the day it is what it is I guess.


----------



## Markrs

Below is a video of Dan Keen composing for this animation short in just an hour. Now if you don't want to be influenced you might not want to watch it, but it is great seeing what can be done in such a short period of time.


----------



## ZosterX

Hi everyone, here's my participation as well !

Absolutely loved work on this animation. One of my main goal as composer is to be able to compose for animation movies so this is a great training ! 

And good job to all, I have listened to incredible score here, @Tinesaeriel you absolutely nailed it !!


----------



## Maxfabian

So fun to hear what everyone is coming up with. There are definitely some serious skills out there! 
Here is the music I wrote for this sweet little short animation and it was really great fun working on it. Hope you like

Cheers!


----------



## Mark Stothard

Hi everyone, 

I really enjoyed working on this. Here is my entry.

Best of luck to you all.

Mark.


----------



## Hywel

Hi folks

Good luck to everybody participating in this contest.

I completed my entry yesterday so here it is...




Here is how I approached it (I hadn't done anything like this before) - I decided I would attempt it in 3 cues, and as it happens I started writing with the feel good “Main Theme” at the end (Cue 3).

So my Cue 3 starts after the chase downwards and begins where the young girl takes full control over the beings with the long legs and gets them marching up the hill. The music starts gently and develops and intensifies throughout. There is a final solo piano rendition of the theme over the final credits at the end of the video.

Cue 2 or the chase downhill sequence, I wrote next and decided that I would keep to a relatively simple rhythm but keeping it going throughout. I reduced the intensity of the music at the point when the dog saves the day but tried to keep the momentum going while the young girl catches up and regains control of the situation.

Cue 1 at the beginning, I wrote last of all. It has gentle upwardly moving strings during the prologue, a hint to the Cue 3 melody on piano which I tried to synchronise with the sound of the young girl activating her staff for the final note of the theme, and then finally more powerful strings building to the calamity point when the girl tumbles and loses the object down the hillside. The chord progression used is the one that will become the basis for Cue 3.

I scored my music specifically for the instrumentation of the 27 piece Northern Film Orchestra and I used the following sample libraries in my production -

Cinematic Studio Series - Woodwinds, Brass and Strings including Solo Strings
Spitfire Audio - Harp, Albion ONE and Albion NEO
CineSamples - CinePerc
Sample Logic - Drum Fury
Piano - Noire and The Grandeur both by Native Instruments


----------



## Rob

I don't know if I'm going to submit my entry, for two reasons. One, it's my first time writing for picture, with a very limited free time to dedicate to fun activities like this and it shows... my writing sounds antiquate, compared to some of the posts here. This brings me to reason number two, which is related to age. I've watched part of the live video and felt like an old man sitting uncomfortably among young kids. So, I'm posting my version with a certain reluctance... 
View attachment Spring-rob.mp4


----------



## Germain B

Well I found it definitely richer and more original than some other entries.
I liked it !


----------



## Markrs

Rob said:


> I don't know if I'm going to submit my entry, for two reasons. One, it's my first time writing for picture, with a very limited free time to dedicate to fun activities like this and it shows... my writing sounds antiquate, compared to some of the posts here. This brings me to reason number two, which is related to age. I've watched part of the live video and felt like an old man sitting uncomfortably among young kids. So, I'm posting my version with a certain reluctance...
> View attachment Spring-rob.mp4


Sounds fantastic Rob!


----------



## Jk86

Here's mine! 

First time composing to picture too so would love some feedback also! 

Good luck everyone! 

Libraries used are :

Performance Samples Vista
Performance Samples Caspian
Cinesamples CineStrings
Hans Zimmer Percussion


----------



## Rob

Markrs said:


> Sounds fantastic Rob!


thank you Markrs and Germain, that's encouraging...


----------



## Germain B

Pretty intense, Jk86 ! Wow...

The main theme reminded me "Colours of the wind" from Pocahontas -which is appropriate, I guess.


----------



## Loïc D

Rob said:


> I don't know if I'm going to submit my entry, for two reasons. One, it's my first time writing for picture, with a very limited free time to dedicate to fun activities like this and it shows... my writing sounds antiquate, compared to some of the posts here. This brings me to reason number two, which is related to age. I've watched part of the live video and felt like an old man sitting uncomfortably among young kids. So, I'm posting my version with a certain reluctance...
> View attachment Spring-rob.mp4


Are you kidding?
This is really good job !


----------



## Furmi Gomez

Hi everybody! I hope everyone is healthy and holding up as alright as possible in this crazy times we're in.
Without any concerts happening all this time, I have to say that focusing on composing music has saved me from going crazy...

So, here's my take on this beautiful animation, Spring, yeah...the speed on changes of emotions and pitches given by the sounds of wood blocks on the animation have been a bit of a challenge, but I had a lot of fun doing it and I love challenges  I'm happy with the result, I hope you all enjoy it!


----------



## freecham

Rob said:


> I don't know if I'm going to submit my entry, for two reasons. One, it's my first time writing for picture, with a very limited free time to dedicate to fun activities like this and it shows... my writing sounds antiquate, compared to some of the posts here. This brings me to reason number two, which is related to age. I've watched part of the live video and felt like an old man sitting uncomfortably among young kids. So, I'm posting my version with a certain reluctance...
> View attachment Spring-rob.mp4


Nice version ! Like the dreamy end ! I don't think it sounds "antique".


----------



## Erhan Kolay

Hi everyone!

this is my first post on Vi. So, this is more meaningful for me to post my entry for #scorerelief competition. And here is the entry!
Hope you enjoy it!

All of the sounds from Cinematic Studio Series. (even piano) Yes woodwinds are too .It was a good chance to experience Cinematic Studio Woodwinds in action. Percussion is True Strike 1 and there is a Harp from Eastwest HO.And Shire Flute(Embertone)

Best
And there are a lot of amazing entries
Good luck to all! It was a good experience.


----------



## Markrs

Just wanted to say how amazing all these score relief entries are. I have watched them all, and been very impressed by the variety of appraoch but also the standard!


----------



## Loïc D

Erhan Kolay said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> this is my first post on Vi. So, this is more meaningful for me to post my entry for #scorerelief competition. And here is the entry!
> Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> All of the sounds from Cinematic Studio Series. (even piano) Yes woodwinds are too .It was a good chance to experience Cinematic Studio Woodwinds in action. Percussion is True Strike 1 and there is a Harp from Eastwest HO.And Shire Flute(Embertone)
> 
> Best
> And there are a lot of amazing entries
> Good luck to all! It was a good experience.




Excellent ! I wouldn’t be surprised to see it rewarded. Good luck !


----------



## Germain B

It's so cool that this competition got that much attention. There's so many entries !! It's great for the cause and for the Cue Tube which is quite recent.


----------



## Germain B

Erhan Kolay said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> this is my first post on Vi. So, this is more meaningful for me to post my entry for #scorerelief competition. And here is the entry!
> Hope you enjoy it!


Welcome here ! And what a way to introduce yourself... ! I'm really impressed by what I heard... What a beautiful you did here.
I'm always thrilled by good use of woodwinds.


----------



## Markrs

Erhan Kolay said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> this is my first post on Vi. So, this is more meaningful for me to post my entry for #scorerelief competition. And here is the entry!
> Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> All of the sounds from Cinematic Studio Series. (even piano) Yes woodwinds are too .It was a good chance to experience Cinematic Studio Woodwinds in action. Percussion is True Strike 1 and there is a Harp from Eastwest HO.And Shire Flute(Embertone)
> 
> Best
> And there are a lot of amazing entries
> Good luck to all! It was a good experience.



This is very good and accomplished! Great first post for VI-Control!


----------



## yoshi-1

Hello people!

I've been wandering around in this thread since a few weeks and got me really motivated to try my own version, and now I'm finished! It took me a whole two days (like, really two whole days) to finish this.

I, like a few others, also used the woodblock melody as the main melody and as a main motif and fattened it up here and there.
Since I'm playing a little cello and violin, I also recorded dozens of strings layers and hope that it sounds ok!

The samples are all Sounds from the EastWest ComposerCloud.
Here is my entry:



I'm open for any feedback.
Good luck to all other participants!

Best


----------



## Markrs

yoshi-1 said:


> Hello people!
> 
> I've been wandering around in this thread since a few weeks and got me really motivated to try my own version, and now I'm finished! It took me a whole two days (like, really two whole days) to finish this.
> 
> I, like a few others, also used the woodblock melody as the main melody and as a main motif and fattened it up here and there.
> Since I'm playing a little cello and violin, I also recorded dozens of strings layers and hope that it sounds ok!
> 
> The samples are all Sounds from the EastWest ComposerCloud.
> Here is my entry:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm open for any feedback.
> Good luck to all other participants!
> 
> Best



This is excellent work, 2 days well spent!


----------



## nightenlight

Rob said:


> I don't know if I'm going to submit my entry, for two reasons. One, it's my first time writing for picture, with a very limited free time to dedicate to fun activities like this and it shows... my writing sounds antiquate, compared to some of the posts here. This brings me to reason number two, which is related to age. I've watched part of the live video and felt like an old man sitting uncomfortably among young kids. So, I'm posting my version with a certain reluctance...
> View attachment Spring-rob.mp4


No such thing like an old man. Keep going!


----------



## milford59

I have never done this before, and I am quite new to Cubase , but I have become very interested in film music over the last few months. I didn’t listen to any other entries before doing mine - and now that I have finished , and watched a few other entries, I realise that I have a lot to learn !! I am not sure if I am allowed to rip off a motif from Indiana Jones (probably not) but anyway - here it is !


----------



## Dragor

Hi everyone. This is yet another entrance. I've done an extra video just for the notation, please enjoy and good luck to everyone!


----------



## Markrs

Dragor said:


> Hi everyone. This is yet another entrance. I've done an extra video just for the notation, please enjoy and good luck to everyone!



This is excellent and was great listening along with the score!


----------



## Hywel

Dragor said:


> Hi everyone. This is yet another entrance. I've done an extra video just for the notation, please enjoy and good luck to everyone!



Wow, that is impressive... 

What software did you use to produce the notation and how did you make the notation present and scroll like that in the video?


----------



## iMovieShout

I've only just come across this via Instagram. 
I'd like to have a go please. 
Can you send me the links and video etc?

Thanks


Markrs said:


> THE FILM SCORING COMPETITION WITH A HEART​Score Relief is a free-to-enter film scoring competition. We have amazing prizes for composers, thanks to the generosity of Allen & Heath, ThinkSpace Education, Aston Microphones and Triune Digital, along with our partners at Northern Film Orchestra. We have a great judging panel of experienced and successful composers.
> 
> Enter Score Relief 2021!​It's completely free to take part. Simply provide us with your email address here and we'll send you the unscored video, with all the instructions and information that you need. Deadline: Jan 31st 2021.
> 
> https://www.thecuetube.com/scorerelief2021
> If you wish to donate to Scorerelief:
> 
> 
> https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/score-relief-2021



I've only just come across this via Instagram. 
I'd like to have a go please. 
Can you send me the links and video etc?

Thanks


----------



## Markrs

jpb007.uk said:


> I've only just come across this via Instagram.
> I'd like to have a go please.
> Can you send me the links and video etc?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> I've only just come across this via Instagram.
> I'd like to have a go please.
> Can you send me the links and video etc?
> 
> Thanks


Hi,

If you got to:
https://www.thecuetube.com/scorerelief2021
The scroll down the page a bit You will see an area where you can enter your email address and submit. The Cube Tube will then send you the animated video to your email address.


----------



## Dragor

Hywel said:


> Wow, that is impressive...
> 
> What software did you use to produce the notation and how did you make the notation present and scroll like that in the video?


Thanks, much appreciated! It's a little complicated, but basically you make a very long one page score in your notation program (I use Dorico but any notation program will work), export the PDF and import it into Illustrator which allows you to separate out the components. Then I put it all together in After Effects and animate it.


----------



## Loïc D

Hi folks !
Here's mine.
I scored to the "target" orchestra of 27 pieces. Well kind of, since my strings sections are a tad larger.

Any feedback appreciated and goooooood luck to everyone ! (plenty of classy entries here)


----------



## PipRobin

Hello fellow musos! New to this forum, so be gentle... I thoroughly enjoyed this project, and especially having a specific number of instruments to use as well as a number of pitched elements to work with in the sound design. The libraries uses are Spitfire Audio BBCSO for the wind, brass and percussion, their Chamber Strings and Native Instruments Noire piano. Thank you to The Cue Tube team for the terrific opportunity. Hope you enjoy it!


----------



## dzilizzi

Well, I had hoped to at least give this a good try, but computer problems delayed it. Then when I watched it on Sunday, I realized my orchestral writing chops are good enough for action/chase scenes, but this is a little more than I can do yet. I can see what it needs, but I'm not sure I can do it.  

These are all really well done. I'll have to go back and listen to all of these. The ones I've listened to are really great.


----------



## antanasb

Finally...

I think I can’t do better.. Here is my first proper try at orchestral scoring:


In the end I scrapped writing for a specific orchestra setup with BBC as I hit a block while composing with sections, and just winged it with Albion One... I am quite happy how it turned out..

Cheers!


----------



## chelsea2608

Wow some fantastic entries... here's my take! I had some great fun writing this score, thanks to Cue Tube and all the organisers for making this happen.


----------



## kepler

Found out about this competition last week, and it was so tempting to listen to everyone's work! lol. But I resisted until I finished my attempt last night. Gotta say, there are some amazing submissions! Truly great job to everyone who gave this a go. So without further ado, here was my attempt!


----------



## Dan

Here is my entry. I wrote it with the 27-piece orchestra in mind using Infinite Woodwinds+Brass and Spitfire Chamber Strings (replaced by CSS for a few legato passages).


Best of luck to everyone! I already heard some very strong entries and can't wait to hear more! It really is an amazing learning opportunity to see one little clip scored by so many people.


----------



## Neifion

Here's my entry. I used CSS, CSW, CSB, Spitfire Percussion, Evolution Series World Percussion, Spitfire Andy Findon Kit Bag, and Glacier Keys. It was nice to score again and brush a bit of the dust off after a 4-year hiatus. Getting towards the finish line! Good luck to everyone!


----------



## Eptesicus

Finished mine today -



Went with keeping it purely orchestral with pretty standard orchestral forces/instrumentation (+tin whistle, childrens/adult choir and a few big toms).

I have to say it was very therapeutic to score this gorgeous animation during lockdown.

Here is just the music -


----------



## Jacob Fanto

Eptesicus said:


> Finished mine today -
> 
> 
> 
> Went with keeping it purely orchestral with pretty standard orchestral forces/instrumentation (+tin whistle, childrens/adult choir and a few big toms).
> 
> I have to say it was very therapeutic to score this gorgeous animation during lockdown



Well done. Wow.


----------



## Eptesicus

Jacob Fanto said:


> Well done. Wow.


Thank you!


----------



## EddBlakeley

Great work everyone. The quality of entries is astounding. Here's my humble try!

I like the fact that it's not creatively constrained, despite the competition winner performance limitations (ie. the size of the band). I am mostly in love with fusions of all instruments, so it was a very appealing competition from that point of view. Besides, that's how modern scoring works nowadays.



I will say that I hope we don't have a repeat of the Spitfire debacle - the winner is deserving; try not to jump on any negative band wagons!


----------



## chrisav

Wow, lots of great submissions, some incredibly steep competition here! 
Here's my version, and also my first attempt at scoring to picture. Super fun experience and I learned so much about the entire scoring process now over the week that I've spent on it.



Good luck to everyone!


----------



## Loïc D

EddBlakeley said:


> I will say that I hope we don't have a repeat of the Spitfire debacle - the winner is deserving


Sorry to deviate topic, but it’s been months since the SA Westworld competition wrapped up and I can still perfectly hum David Kudell’s 8bit theme while I forgot all other entries - uncluding mine. So much for the undeserving winner.

Entering contests is also accepting to learn things from the winners whatever you think of their entry or style. Contests are not made to validate your own tastes or style or writing (unless if you win to some extent).

But let’s keep that debate for when the jury will pick up a death metal entry 

Good luck to everyone !


----------



## EddBlakeley

Loïc D said:


> Sorry to deviate topic, but it’s been months since the SA Westworld competition wrapped up and I can still perfectly hum David Kudell’s 8bit theme while I forgot all other entries - uncluding mine. So much for the undeserving winner.
> 
> Entering contests is also accepting to learn things from the winners whatever you think of their entry or style. Contests are not made to validate your own tastes or style or writing (unless if you win to some extent).
> 
> But let’s keep that debate for when the jury will pick up a death metal entry
> 
> Good luck to everyone !


Couldn't agree more!


----------



## Leslie Fuller

Loïc D said:


> Sorry to deviate topic, but it’s been months since the SA Westworld competition wrapped up and I can still perfectly hum David Kudell’s 8bit theme while I forgot all other entries - uncluding mine. So much for the undeserving winner.
> 
> Entering contests is also accepting to learn things from the winners whatever you think of their entry or style. Contests are not made to validate your own tastes or style or writing (unless if you win to some extent).
> 
> But let’s keep that debate for when the jury will pick up a death metal entry
> 
> Good luck to everyone !


I’ve remarked that very line to David Kudell on YouTube, that his main theme is memorable! Damn him!


----------



## Mr Sakitumi

Loïc D said:


> Sorry to deviate topic, but it’s been months since the SA Westworld competition wrapped up and I can still perfectly hum David Kudell’s 8bit theme while I forgot all other entries - uncluding mine. So much for the undeserving winner.
> 
> Entering contests is also accepting to learn things from the winners whatever you think of their entry or style. Contests are not made to validate your own tastes or style or writing (unless if you win to some extent).
> 
> But let’s keep that debate for when the jury will pick up a death metal entry
> 
> Good luck to everyone !


Totally true, while reading this I’m also able to recall and hum David’s winning composition.
I think we always need to check our egos and pride at the door when entering these competitions and just appreciate being film composers for a brief moment in time.

David Kudell’s NI Orchestral Tools Time/Special bows demo and walkthrough was also great for me to come across.
He mentions how he “loves a good melody”, which also resonates with me (and I’m sure many of you here too)

I carried that idea into my Spring score submission (posted my entry link earlier in this thread)
But here it is again


I built it around a central melodic theme (which even starts on its own) and returns later in my score.
There are even subtle melodic elements through my action and breakdown scenes.

Textures, sounds, chords and progressions can definitely carry an emotion, but to me, melody narrates and holds a deeper connection to an emotion and this short film has a lot of heart and feeling to it.


----------



## Omar Raafat

Really enjoyed working on this. Such a great animation and so many great entries! Here is my take on it. 



Omar


----------



## mussnig

Here is my entry, it was a challenge for sure.



Libraries used:
Aaron Venture: Infinite Brass
Clark Aboud: Cling Film Frame Drums
Pianobook: Winter Voices
Sonokinetic: Ostinato Strings
Spitfire Audio: Albion NEO, BBC Symphony Orchestra Core, Bernard Herrmann Composer Toolkit, Originals Cinematic Percussion, Ricotti Mallets, Spitfire Harp, Spitfire Percussion, Studio Orchestra Professional
And a self-sampled knife hitting a plate :-D I wanted to have at least something that's unique/individual ...

EDIT: Just noticed, that there are two additional drum hits around 2:20 which I didn't put there. Seems to be some bug during export and for some reason I didn't notice it. Fortunately they happen to be more or less in time, but they make it a bit more "groovy" than I wanted it to be. Well ...

EDIT 2: Upon further investigation I realized that these are actually not drum hits but sound FX from the original clip. Weird that I never noticed this before ...


----------



## Christoph Pawlowski

Hello everybody!

I just finished my entry. I decided to stick to the rules and tried to make the best out of it. Sometimes the small orchestra size was a little tricky but I could manage it. I wish everyone good luck!

My orchestra: 1st Violins: 4; 2nd Violins: 3; Violas: 3; Celli: 3; Double Bass: 1; Piano: 1; Percussion: 1 percussionist at a time; Harp: 1; Flute: 1; Horns: 1; Trumpet; (Tenor) Trombone: 1

Sample libraries: Spitfire Chamber Strings; Spitfire Solo Strings; Spitfire Symphonic Brass; Spitfire Harp; Spitfire Percussion; Spitfire Symphonic Woodwinds and finally Native Instruments Noire


Regards,
Christoph


----------



## jazzman7

This has been a wonderful kickstart. This has stretched my VI's, my older computer, (I have frozen and unfrozen more VI's than I ever thought possible), and most of all, me. I'm a beginner in orchestral film scoring, so this has been quite a challenge. I had so many ideas as I sketched this out, but threw most of them away and kept circling back to the main theme as the action allowed. This animation has real heart and has been inspiring and fun to work on. So many ideas that could have been followed....I hate and love deadlines!


----------



## silouane

Hey ! Here is mine with BBCSCO essentially.
Cheers !


----------



## purplehamster

This is a pretty cool competition. The entries on this thread are amazing, been learning a lot from it. 

I could probably make a few more changes but this will have to do for now.



Good luck everyone!


----------



## Lassi Tani

Hi all! So many amazing scores here! What an inspiring thread. I'm having issues with the sfx track volume levels. In some places it's really loud like the woody hits in the beginning. And the forest scene has a lot of lows and mids. I wonder if we are allowed to mix the sfx track? Have you done anything to it?


----------



## Jacob Fanto

Hey guys, just completed my entry! Like others have mentioned, the top prize in this contest for me was simply scoring to this gorgeous animation. What a wonderful experience! Libraries used are in the video description:


----------



## Max Bonsi

Ok and here's my take on it, just one day before the closing...
It's been funny and really not easy, anyway I hope you'll enjoy
And good luck to everyone!!

Max


----------



## Hywel

sekkosiki said:


> Hi all! So many amazing scores here! What an inspiring thread. I'm having issues with the sfx track volume levels. In some places it's really loud like the woody hits in the beginning. And the forest scene has a lot of lows and mids. I wonder if we are allowed to mix the sfx track? Have you done anything to it?


I considered early on what I should do about the sound design elements and in the end I left the track untouched at 0dB and tried to work my soundtrack around the major elements. I didn't do any ducking either of the soundtrack.


----------



## Pianistas1981

Really enjoyed writing music for this video.
Here is my entry! Good luck to all !


----------



## [email protected]

And here comes my entry!

This was a pleasure and a challenge at the same time since there is so much going on in these 3 minutes. Until now I stayed away from listening to other entries and I am very excited to be able to liste to all the other versions.

I hope some of you may enjoy mine! 



I would be happy to receive some comments or feedback.


----------



## Jorgakis

This is quiet discouraging hearing all those great entries, but anyway here is my try:


----------



## Genian

You guys are amazing, it's a pleasure to listen to you) I finished my recording, appreciate it if it's not difficult!)


----------



## Markrs

Jorgakis said:


> This is quiet discouraging hearing all those great entries, but anyway here is my try:



Don't be discouraged, this sounds amazing. You should be proud of it!


----------



## Jazzaria

My modest entry:


Scored for the 27 instrument complement of the orchestra. Writing without dropping arbitrary instruments in isn't something I do often  but I actually found the restriction fun and inspiring.

Some impressive entries here, hope you all enjoy mine - thanks!


----------



## kepler

sekkosiki said:


> Hi all! So many amazing scores here! What an inspiring thread. I'm having issues with the sfx track volume levels. In some places it's really loud like the woody hits in the beginning. And the forest scene has a lot of lows and mids. I wonder if we are allowed to mix the sfx track? Have you done anything to it?


I ducked where needed. If it's disqualified for that, so be it. I just wanted it to sound good!


----------



## Lassi Tani

kepler said:


> I ducked where needed. If it's disqualified for that, so be it. I just wanted it to sound good!


I wrote to Cuetube and they said taking the whole sfx track fader down is okay, but not individual parts. But I doubt they will notice small volume adjustments.


----------



## CyrilBellem

Hello,

Here is my entry, yet another "spring" video 

Good luck to everyone!


----------



## Loïc D

Hywel said:


> I considered early on what I should do about the sound design elements and in the end I left the track untouched at 0dB and tried to work my soundtrack around the major elements. I didn't do any ducking either of the soundtrack.


Same here, I left it untouched and wrote around it.
I ducked the music track, not the sfx track, and by only a few db (2b max iirc).


----------



## justiceci

Hi! I'm new here. I've tried to my best to complete this score after my working hours and I've rushed a little to meet the deadline. This was very exciting and I'm happy to being a part of this competition. So, here is my entry. I hope you enjoy. Thanks!


----------



## storyteller

So many good entries! Good luck to everyone! Here is mine. I had a blast writing it. It is written with the 27 piece orchestra in mind... except the Bassoonist is going to play Taikos... and have a great time doing it. 

_...and there is a panpipe tucked in there that one of the wind players can play in between his/her parts...._



*Libraries Used:*
8dio Century Strings, 8dio Century Brass Ensemble & Solo, NI Symphony Series Brass Solo, Berlin Woodwinds Legacy, Bohemian Cello, Spitfire Joby Burgess Percussion, Hans Zimmer Percussion, 8dio Epic Toms Ensemble, Evolution Series World Percussion, LDLC Cymbal Rolls, ISW Pearl Piano, 8dio Age Harp, Forest Kingdom II, Spitfire Edna Earth, KV331 Synthmaster, Air Vacuum Pro, Ethera Gold 2.5, Ethera Intimate Vocals, Cinesamples Voxos, EW Voices of the Empire, EW Hollywood Backup Singers, 8dio Liberis (ALL INSTRUMENTS AND VOCALS WERE SAMPLE LIBRARIES)


----------



## Simon Lee

Hey Guys here's my attempted. Good Luck all


----------



## Markrs

On youtube alone there looks like there have been 1,200 entries. There will also be many many more not on youtube as well. A fantastic result for the competition!



https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/scorerelief2021


----------



## SamC

Great competition and so fun working to such a stunning animation. Great entries, everyone! Here's mine.


----------



## Woodie1972

Here's my version:

#SCORERELIEF2021


----------



## Lassi Tani

There are so many entries! Anyhow here's my version:



Good luck to all!


----------



## yiph2

My entry:


It's my first time scoring to film so I hope you enjoy!


----------



## gohrev

Just wrapped up my work, it was a real joy to write for this animation!!  
Coming evenings will be spent on listening to all the other entries in this thread - didn't want to listen to anything before I submitted mine, so I can't wait to hear what you all created!


----------



## Manfred




----------



## janwilke

This is my entry - finished right on time! 
It is my first time composing directly in the DAW (as opposed to notating everything). And I tried to use almost every library I own  

Libraries used:
Albion ONE, Albion NEO, OACE, CSS, BBCSO, OT Majestic Horn, Sonokinetic Largo, Grosso and Espressivo


----------



## pascalou

Hello ,


https://www.thecuetube.com/sharevideo
server unavailable at home...


----------



## zach.mx

In just before the deadline. I probably could've spent a little bit more time on it, but it was my first time writing to picture so I'm not holding it against myself. I'm surprised I even managed to finish.

Anyways, good luck everybody!


----------



## Mr Sakitumi

Here is my 2nd entry ( no orchestra approach)

(I do recall Brian and co saying on the Q&A vid that you can enter more than 1 submission.
I really wanted to try this out...a simpler, minimal approach.

There are many incredibly orchestrated entries and I tried to go that route as well with my first entry.
With this I was actually moving away from all of that.
So using just piano, a pad, a brief organ, celeste, kick and snare I wrote this.

I did play off the wood knocking melody to develop a melodic theme, whereas in my 1st entry I tried to create my own theme.

This was actually so freeing, not trying to go so big and sweeping with orchestral colours.
And I also wanted to see how the story and visuals changed with a softer, gentler approach.
Glad to get this in just in time, before the deadline.


----------



## fourier

pascalou said:


> Hello ,
> 
> 
> https://www.thecuetube.com/sharevideo
> server unavailable at home...


I got through, but after clicking "submit" it froze - now, they do warn that "THE SUBMIT FUNCTION TAKES A FEW SECONDS, PLEASE BE PATIENT!", but it's now been around 20 minutes. I suppose I can wait two more hours if 8 PM GMT was the deadline


----------



## SamC

Mr Sakitumi said:


> Here is my 2nd entry ( no orchestra approach)
> 
> (I do recall Brian and co saying on the Q&A vid that you can enter more than 1 submission.
> I really wanted to try this out...a simpler, minimal approach.
> 
> There are many incredibly orchestrated entries and I tried to go that route as well with my first entry.
> With this I was actually moving away from all of that.
> So using just piano, a pad, a brief organ, celeste, kick and snare I wrote this.
> 
> I did play off the wood knocking melody to develop a melodic theme, whereas in my 1st entry I tried to create my own theme.
> 
> This was actually so freeing, not trying to go so big and sweeping with orchestral colours.
> And I also wanted to see how the story and visuals changed with a softer, gentler approach.
> Glad to get this in just in time, before the deadline.



Stunning approach, very creative and beautifully handled, nice work.


----------



## Mr Sakitumi

SamC said:


> Stunning approach, very creative and beautifully handled, nice work.


thanku


----------



## Manfred

fourier said:


> I got through, but after clicking "submit" it froze - now, they do warn that "THE SUBMIT FUNCTION TAKES A FEW SECONDS, PLEASE BE PATIENT!", but it's now been around 20 minutes. I suppose I can wait two more hours if 8 PM GMT was the deadline


My guess is their server is crashing due to high submitting volume. Give it a little time. Try every 15-minuted or so. I’m sure it will resolve...I had the same issue for an hour last evening (US pacific time). Cheers!


----------



## Markrs

Mr Sakitumi said:


> Here is my 2nd entry ( no orchestra approach)
> 
> (I do recall Brian and co saying on the Q&A vid that you can enter more than 1 submission.
> I really wanted to try this out...a simpler, minimal approach.
> 
> There are many incredibly orchestrated entries and I tried to go that route as well with my first entry.
> With this I was actually moving away from all of that.
> So using just piano, a pad, a brief organ, celeste, kick and snare I wrote this.
> 
> I did play off the wood knocking melody to develop a melodic theme, whereas in my 1st entry I tried to create my own theme.
> 
> This was actually so freeing, not trying to go so big and sweeping with orchestral colours.
> And I also wanted to see how the story and visuals changed with a softer, gentler approach.
> Glad to get this in just in time, before the deadline.



This is really effective. very impressed with what you achieved without using an orchestra.


----------



## MariGea

I had a free evening and decided to give it a try 

Orchestra with amount of people given.
Libs random Spitfire BDT + Intimate Strings + CimematicSoft + RandomSomethingElse + Some OT +ARKHIS
Scores draft in the video description (if anyone interested).


----------



## mallux

Markrs said:


> On youtube alone there looks like there have been 1,200 entries. There will also be many many more not on youtube as well. A fantastic result for the competition!


... and yet only 265 people have donated to the charity so far... I’m sure everyone on the thread has already donated, but I’ll leave this here just in case:



https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/score-relief-2021


----------



## Markrs

MariGea said:


> I had a free evening and decided to give it a try
> 
> Orchestra with amount of people given.
> Libs random Spitfire BDT + Intimate Strings + CimematicSoft + RandomSomethingElse + Some OT +ARKHIS
> Scores draft in the video description (if anyone interested).



Sounds great and it is lovely having the score with it. Very kind of you to share it


----------



## fourier

Okay, so I finally managed to upload my attempt. It's been a month in the making, with some minutes and hours here and there. My initial goal was to try to incorporate as many of the libraries I've bought lately as I could. This is my first attempt at making any music the last decade, and my first at anything orchestral, so bear with me.

(Apologies in advance for the "Modern Talking version of My heart will go on" in there! )

VSTs:

CSW
CSS/CSSS
CSB
EW Percussion
EW Spaces II
BT Phobos
Fabfilter
Celtic ERA
Genesis Children's Choir
Pianoteq 7
Diva
Spire
Pigments


----------



## gohrev

mallux said:


> ... and yet only 265 people have donated to the charity so far... I’m sure everyone on the thread has already donated, but I’ll leave this here just in case:
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/score-relief-2021


Thank you for the reminder!! Just submitted my pledge. It's a great cause.


----------



## pascalou

fourier said:


> I got through, but after clicking "submit" it froze - now, they do warn that "THE SUBMIT FUNCTION TAKES A FEW SECONDS, PLEASE BE PATIENT!", but it's now been around 20 minutes. I suppose I can wait two more hours if 8 PM GMT was the deadline


I also waited 10 minutes. But my video has been posted, I checked on my profile. Once we click, the video is sent. It is true that it is very very slow but it works


----------



## MariGea

pascalou said:


> I also waited 10 minutes. But my video has been posted, I checked on my profile. Once we click, the video is sent. It is true that it is very very slow but it works


I have the same problem, I am trying now for more than 3 hours :/ Still nothing appears on my profile, no shared videos :S

Edit: it managed to post 4 mins ago


----------



## Egor Kurdello

I decided not to illustrate each movement in the movie directly (as it comes from American film-production "school"), but make a full piece of music with correlated accents and telling an ongoing story. Some parts are working as counterpoints. And being a film-director myself I also used an art-house trick - predicting the resolution of a scene by changing the state in the music.
The score is written, but probably it will be needed to change woodwinds with something else and Rhodes piano with a normal grand piano...
90% of instruments are recorded live.


----------



## Egor Kurdello

Markrs said:


> Sounds great and it is lovely having the score with it. Very kind of you to share it


Great track, sounds amazing! Love the chords and emotion changes!


----------



## MariGea

Markrs said:


> Sounds great and it is lovely having the score with it. Very kind of you to share it


Thank you <3

Score is a draft, few accents there out of place I moved it a bit. But it helps for me to see what is where. Normally I would spend more time writing down some comments. It was also unnecessary to have 1th solo strings from every section. I wanted to, but there was enough voicing, and the scores are rather simple. I like the middle part a lot, sadly it was very hard to animate it with my libraries. Shame to admit I still don't have brass libraries at all, so had to be creative with something that sounds close :D


----------



## MariGea

Egor Kurdello said:


> I decided not to illustrate each movement in the movie directly (as it comes from American film-production "school"), but make a full piece of music with correlated accents and telling an ongoing story. Some parts are working as counterpoints. And being a film-director myself I also an art-house trick - predicting the resolution of a scene by changing the state in the music.
> The score is written, but probably it will be needed to change woodwinds with something else and Rhodes piano with a normal grand piano...
> 90% of instruments are recorded live.



oO violins recorded life? If not I must have what you have right now. Violins sound heavenly!


----------



## Maarten

My last-minute submission. Very nice competition. Thanks to Markrs for pointing this out. 

[EDIT] After submission to #scorerelief2021 at the last minute, I noticed something had gone awfully wrong with the synchronization (the brass blasts) so I corrected it and in the process also re-balanced the volume of some instruments. (bass clarinet, oboe and french horn) 

Unfortunately this corrected version was to late for re-entry. But it doesn't matter. Good learning experience. And fun to do 

Right version:


[/EDIT]


----------



## Mr Sakitumi

Markrs said:


> This is really effective. very impressed with what you achieved without using an orchestra.


thanku mark. i didn't spend a lot of time on my 2nd entry (literally yesterday and today)
but it was enough time to create a mockup of what i was hearing in my head, as well as
try something different to my 1st submission.

also appreciations to you for highlighting this competition for a cause in the forum.
it was a great opportunity to work to such a beautiful animation and story.
well done cuetube for creating a successful competition with such a great calibre of entries.
good luck everyone!


----------



## Rossy

I missed the deadline but enjoyed the challenge. Lots of great composers here so good luck to everyone. I look forward to the next one.


----------



## yiph2

Seems like they extended it for 12 hours


----------



## Rossy

yiph2 said:


> Seems like they extended it for 12 hours



So what time is classified as morning, i'm on EST.


----------



## jazzman7

Rossy said:


> So what time is classified as morning, i'm on EST.


It'll be GMT. They are 5 hrs ahead of us


----------



## pascalou

Ceci est mon entrée. Bonne chance à tous


----------



## gbrady2021

Here's mine! If anyone has any constructive criticism/thoughts, either mixing/mastering/orchestration/etc., please let me know– I always want to be learning!


----------



## Trash Panda

Should we expect a chip tune meme to win again? 

#toosoon?


----------



## Jacob Fanto

Trash Panda said:


> Should we expect a chip tune meme to win again?
> 
> #toosoon?


Speaking of, do any of you guys who also participated in the Westworld scoring contest feel like this animation was _loads_ more inspiring to write for?


----------



## Lassi Tani

gbrady2021 said:


> Here's mine! If anyone has any constructive criticism/thoughts, either mixing/mastering/orchestration/etc., please let me know– I always want to be learning!



Very good! Great ideas! I think the sfx track is too quiet, especially in the chase scene, where I can't really hear the sounds of the trees. The music has to support the sfx, not overpower it. I like how you tried different in the chase scene, but I think it misses the climax hitpoints of the picture. I understand that today people try to avoid hitting those big moments of the picture, but I think the music should reflect it at least in some way. The ending is wonderful when nature wakes up. We had a similar idea in that part .


----------



## mussnig

Jacob Fanto said:


> Speaking of, do any of you guys who also participated in the Westworld scoring contest feel like this animation was _loads_ more inspiring to write for?


I for sure found it more inspiring and a better scene overall than the scene from Westworld, which in itself I didn't find really great. But because the scene here has so much more character, I also found it a bit harder (and also confining) to find something that fits to the picture (e.g., the semi-climax - I for sure struggled with that one). The scene in Westworld was kind of generic and I saw many submissions with quite different styles that all fit the scene very well (at least in my opinion). With this scene here I found more similarities between different entries, so far.

I also have to say that I spent way more time on this one compared to Westworld. But for sure this has also something to do with the fact that I have way more libraries now and also that I now tend to think and analyze more than before (which is probably not always beneficial).

BTW, I am not claiming that I succeeded to find something fitting in any of the two contests - I am just writing about my impression/feelings.


----------



## Markrs




----------



## yiph2

Here's the list of people who have entered


----------



## fourier

Markrs said:


>



I think the ambience you hear in this video is the British soundtrack of Spring.


----------



## iaink

Jacob Fanto said:


> Speaking of, do any of you guys who also participated in the Westworld scoring contest feel like this animation was _loads_ more inspiring to write for?


Absolutely, it's a beautifully done film and a pleasure to write to those visuals. Hopefully the reception to the winning entry is more positive and civil! There are some fantastic entries posted on this thread. 

Here is my submission:


----------



## stigc56

I had a wonderful time composing for this beautiful film. I started in my Nuendo template, but found that I needed a score to help me, especially because I wanted to create a score for the Northern Film Orchestra. I switched to Dorico - parttime music copyist until Corona (!) - and the scoring tools in Dorico are just fabulous. Here is my submission:


----------



## Markrs

Thomas Brunet has done a breakdown of his entry which is interesting and educational to watch.


----------



## JackNFO

mussnig said:


> I for sure found it more inspiring and a better scene overall than the scene from Westworld, which in itself I didn't find really great. But because the scene here has so much more character, I also found it a bit harder (and also confining) to find something that fits to the picture (e.g., the semi-climax - I for sure struggled with that one). The scene in Westworld was kind of generic and I saw many submissions with quite different styles that all fit the scene very well (at least in my opinion). With this scene here I found more similarities between different entries, so far.
> 
> I also have to say that I spent way more time on this one compared to Westworld. But for sure this has also something to do with the fact that I have way more libraries now and also that I now tend to think and analyze more than before (which is probably not always beneficial).
> 
> BTW, I am not claiming that I succeeded to find something fitting in any of the two contests - I am just writing about my impression/feelings.


We are really happy to hear that you enjoyed this clip more than Westworld! Theres been a lot of negative outcomes from recent scoring competitions so Its nice to hear that people are having a positive experience with Score Relief


----------



## janwilke

My entry is not on the list, even though I uploaded it on time. I emailed them Monday and again today, no response so far.


----------



## zach.mx

janwilke said:


> My entry is not on the list, even though I uploaded it on time. I emailed them Monday and again today, no response so far.


Sitting in the same boat at the moment. I don't mind if I don't win, but I'd at least like to be a part of the pool of contestants


----------



## JackNFO

janwilke said:


> My entry is not on the list, even though I uploaded it on time. I emailed them Monday and again today, no response so far.


I have chased this up with the cue tube and they said that at the top of the list there are instructions for what to do if you are not on the list. The problem will either be that you haven't assigned your video category on youtube to #scorerelief2021 or that you missed the deadline because of the server issues. If the latter is the case and your video was definitely uploaded on youtube before the deadline, you can email [email protected] and they will accept you.


----------



## janwilke

JackNFO said:


> I have chased this up with the cue tube and they said that at the top of the list there are instructions for what to do if you are not on the list. The problem will either be that you haven't assigned your video category on youtube to #scorerelief2021 or that you missed the deadline because of the server issues. If the latter is the case and your video was definitely uploaded on youtube before the deadline, you can email [email protected] and they will accept you.


I have seen the instructions. The category was missing with my entry, even though I was sure I had turned it on.

Problem is, they won't email me back or update the list. How can I know if my entry is accepted now?


----------



## Barbe Rouge

Markrs said:


> Thomas Brunet has done a breakdown of his entry which is interesting and educational to watch.



Wow, thanks for posting my video on here, Markrs, I just saw it!




janwilke said:


> I have seen the instructions. The category was missing with my entry, even though I was sure I had turned it on.
> 
> Problem is, they won't email me back or update the list. How can I know if my entry is accepted now?


They are very busy now with setting things right, they had hundreds of requests. Bryan posted a message saying he's sorry to not be able to respond to every mail but I'm sure they're working on every single entry. Maybe check the list regularly? Hope the matter resolves quickly.


----------



## janwilke

Barbe Rouge said:


> They are very busy now with setting things right, they had hundreds of requests. Bryan posted a message saying he's sorry to not be able to respond to every mail but I'm sure they're working on every single entry. Maybe check the list regularly? Hope the matter resolves quickly.


Thank you, I did not see the message. I feel however, that just sending a short standard reply to every inquiry would not only be fair and inspire more confidence, it would also save them time - I am sure they get bombarded with follow up emails.


----------



## Barbe Rouge

They're very active on many social networks and they probably answered a lot of emails. They may have assumed the message would be spread widely. I know how frustrating it must be, but remember they're doing this for free on their spare time  Having had a short exchange with Bryan and seeing how he does things, I've no problem trusting The Cue Tube. Fingers crossed for you and all the people still waiting!


----------



## Galoubet

Hello,

This is my entry, I made it in 5 days in Dorico. The short was adorable and very inspiring.


----------



## tomicious

OK it was pretty creatively challenging. I missed deadline for this scoring competition because I decided to participate quite late and for the reason I was not satisfied with my result at the time of submitting. Current result is a sketch which I quite like. I was inspired mainly by James Newton (Fantastic beasts) and Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean) and result is not Dark Knight  (Which they both scored together)

Originally I planned to replace Albion ONE strings with Performance Samples Con Molto and do proper production, but I need to move to another project.

It was outside of my comfort zone, since I do not watch a lot of animation movies, but I learned A LOT. Enjoy!
PS: My favorite part is End Credits, wait for it!



Used libraries: EWQL Symphonic Choir, Ra, Hollywood woodwinds, Hollywood Percussion, Stormdrum 3, Orchestral Tools Babel, Spitfire Albion ONE, Spitfire LABS Dulcimer, SAM Free Orchestra, Performance Samples Caspian


----------



## fourier

Markrs said:


> Thomas Brunet has done a breakdown of his entry which is interesting and educational to watch.



This was a very nice and brief breakdown to watch. My initial beat to the 6/8 was to go with dubstep, it lent itself fairly well to the stomps, but I got some hints from a friend that it broke with the rest of the music.

Would be nice with more such videoes, it's always nice to see people's intepretations of workflow and creative deliberations.


----------



## ZosterX

Hi, I don't see my video on the youtube playlist ? Do they still putting ? Should I email them?


----------



## Loïc D

Barbe Rouge said:


> Wow, thanks for posting my video on here, Markrs, I just saw it!
> 
> 
> 
> They are very busy now with setting things right, they had hundreds of requests. Bryan posted a message saying he's sorry to not be able to respond to every mail but I'm sure they're working on every single entry. Maybe check the list regularly? Hope the matter resolves quickly.


Same boat here.
Wrong category, wrote email with no answer, managed to fix the category once the site was up again, and wondering if my entry is registered.
We’ll see...


----------



## stigc56

ZosterX said:


> Hi, I don't see my video on the youtube playlist ? Do they still putting ? Should I email them?


I asked TheCueTube and they said it was something YouTube managed/decided!


----------



## Loïc D

ZosterX said:


> Hi, I don't see my video on the youtube playlist ? Do they still putting ? Should I email them?


YouTube shows a limited list of entries (rough guess is around 500, far from the total entries).

I was just wishing the CueTube guys update their Excel before 8th so that everyone can check that their entry is here (and get rid of duplicates too).
But I guess that their brain is overwhelmed by watching so many entries.


----------



## janwilke

Loïc D said:


> YouTube shows a limited list of entries (rough guess is around 500, far from the total entries).
> 
> I was just wishing the CueTube guys update their Excel before 8th so that everyone can check that their entry is here (and get rid of duplicates too).
> But I guess that their brain is overwhelmed by watching so many entries.


Bryan said he didn't have time to answer the emails, but he said everyone who followed the instructions on the top of the list is in.
Updating the Excel would have been the cool thing to do here (they need an updated list anyways, so why not update that?). Maybe they learn from this for the next one


----------



## Navid Lancaster

Had lots of fun composing the music for this resocre competition. Using the four notes of the girl knocking as a leitmotif.


----------



## Scamper

Dan said:


> Here is my entry. I wrote it with the 27-piece orchestra in mind using Infinite Woodwinds+Brass and Spitfire Chamber Strings (replaced by CSS for a few legato passages).



This one is really my favorite and I love how the scales are integrated.

Unfortunately, I somehow missed this whole competition, but I listened to most entries and there are lots of lovely scores. Good job, everybody. I always think Animation lends itself the best to varied and fun writing.
Even without the competition (let's face it, I wouldn't have won anyways) I thought about scoring this clip, but I might have tainted my blank page with all the input from the entries.


----------



## Dan

Scamper said:


> This one is really my favorite and I love how the scales are integrated.
> 
> Unfortunately, I somehow missed this whole competition, but I listened to most entries and there are lots of lovely scores. Good job, everybody. I always think Animation lends itself the best to varied and fun writing.
> Even without the competition (let's face it, I wouldn't have won anyways) I thought about scoring this clip, but I might have tainted my blank page with all the input from the entries.


Thank you for your kind feedback! 

The idea of having the woodwinds play those scales in the background to accompany a slower string/brass melody was actually inspired by Einojuhani Rautavaaras "Cantus Arcticus", an absolutely amazing concerto for orchestra and birds (on tape). 
Most of the time he achieves this effect by just having a flock of arctic birds sing along while the orchestra plays the dreamiest of music. But in the third movement the woodwinds really get in there. More complex scales than my simple half-tone-scales, but I liked the contrast of perceived "chaos" vs. harmony very much and tried to apply it here to introduce some mystical element and sense of something going on beneath the surface.


----------



## Markrs

Some free gifts for everyone that took part and extra prizes for the top 3 winners (Metropolis Ark 1 and 2)


----------



## Eptesicus

Markrs said:


> Some free gifts for everyone that took part and extra prizes for the top 3 winners (Metropolis Ark 1 and 2)




What a great contribution from Orchestral Tools! 

I'm glad to see they have almost reached the 10k target too. Its been such a rough year for those in the industry.


----------



## iurii84

Hi everyone,
this is my entry, I would like to receive some criticism on it, please. If it's not difficult for you

I am just starting to write music for films. This is only my 4th project
Thank you and have a good day


----------



## mussnig

iurii84 said:


> Hi everyone,
> this is my entry, I would like to receive some criticism on it, please. If it's not difficult for you
> 
> I am just starting to write music for films. This is only my 4th project
> Thank you and have a good day


Hey,

first of all, welcome to VI-Control!

Second, as a disclaimer: I am not an expert with respect to basically anything, so don't take my words (especially in the following) too seriously ... 
I just listened to your entry (but only on my mobile phone, so I cannot really say a lot about the mixing etc.) and I quite enjoyed the composition in general. I liked that you basically sticked to a simple theme and played around it.

There were a few things that I noticed that could need some improvement (in my opinion): Sometimes it seems that your instruments are not playing together/in time. This seems especially noticeable in the faster passages. I obviously don't know what exactly you used for your mockup and how you made it, but the usual things to do are negative pre-delays/track delays for the individual tracks and sometimes you will have to manually nudge MIDI notes.
There was also something about your choice of percussion, but I cannot say exactly what (I've played percussion in orchestras for quite some time, so it just felt a bit off/unusual to me) - maybe the percussive effects where just a bit too much in total for my feeling.

Also, which virtual instruments are you using? In case you have bought some libraries, you really need to massage MIDI CCs a lot to make it sound realisitic (at least most of them - there are exceptions of course). If you are using stock instruments/plugins etc. you probably don't have the possibilities to do this. There are some other tricks you could do to make stock instruments sound more realisitic (e.g. playing around with volume and EQ modulation) but I wouldn't obsess too much in that case (Those sounds are many times simply not of the same quality as other stuff and if you put too much energy in it, you might lose your motivation all together).

In any case, it seems to me that you are really enjoying to compose and create music, so go on and continue to do it!

PS: nice webpage!


----------



## iurii84

mussnig said:


> Hey,
> 
> first of all, welcome to VI-Control!
> 
> Second, as a disclaimer: I am not an expert with respect to basically anything, so don't take my words (especially in the following) too seriously ...
> I just listened to your entry (but only on my mobile phone, so I cannot really say a lot about the mixing etc.) and I quite enjoyed the composition in general. I liked that you basically sticked to a simple theme and played around it.
> 
> There were a few things that I noticed that could need some improvement (in my opinion): Sometimes it seems that your instruments are not playing together/in time. This seems especially noticeable in the faster passages. I obviously don't know what exactly you used for your mockup and how you made it, but the usual things to do are negative pre-delays/track delays for the individual tracks and sometimes you will have to manually nudge MIDI notes.
> There was also something about your choice of percussion, but I cannot say exactly what (I've played percussion in orchestras for quite some time, so it just felt a bit off/unusual to me) - maybe the percussive effects where just a bit too much in total for my feeling.
> 
> Also, which virtual instruments are you using? In case you have bought some libraries, you really need to massage MIDI CCs a lot to make it sound realisitic (at least most of them - there are exceptions of course). If you are using stock instruments/plugins etc. you probably don't have the possibilities to do this. There are some other tricks you could do to make stock instruments sound more realisitic (e.g. playing around with volume and EQ modulation) but I wouldn't obsess too much in that case (Those sounds are many times simply not of the same quality as other stuff and if you put too much energy in it, you might lose your motivation all together).
> 
> In any case, it seems to me that you are really enjoying to compose and create music, so go on and continue to do it!
> 
> PS: nice webpage!



Thank you very much for the detailed comment!
I really appreciated it.
First of all, I want to say that I had not a lot of time, cause I found this competition quite late.
I worked on it during less than 3 weeks in the evenings after my main work full time.
Usually, before finishing work, I check the sound on a variety of acoustics, including the phones. This time there was simply no time - therefore the out-of-sync of the instruments. Ears got tired and not heard those problems on monitors. Just after I put it on YouTube and heard from my cell I heard it...
I usually try not to use quantization when recording parts. I only fix the most obvious problems. In my opinion, like this mock-orchestra sounds more natural. But I absolutely agree with you that such an out of sync as I did in the Spring is unacceptable. And yes, I massage a lot my CCs 😁
I bought a subscription to East West. A quite complicated library to work with, but I don't see any reason to invest in a more expensive one yet. For now it's just a hobby
Thank you for webpage - I did it by myself
Vielen Dank!


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## pawelmorytko

I think the winner will be announced during the big finale here so make sure to tune in!


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## Christoph Pawlowski

pawelmorytko said:


> I think the winner will be announced during the big finale here so make sure to tune in!



That's nice to hear - thank you for the information!


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## wienryk

This is my entry for the competition:


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## Christoph Pawlowski

wienryk said:


> This is my entry for the competition:


I don't know if my headphones are not working properly, but the audio quality is suffering - A little too harsh. Very good music!


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## wienryk

Christoph Pawlowski said:


> I don't know if my headphones are not working properly, but the audio quality is suffering - A little too harsh. Very good music!


Thank you. Try here:


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## dedene

Is there any way to download the source material (movie with sound fx) as study material for scoring? The form to request the cue on the website seems to be taken away? Many thanks in advance!


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## Markrs

dedene said:


> Is there any way to download the source material (movie with sound fx) as study material for scoring? The form to request the cue on the website seems to be taken away? Many thanks in advance!


Here you go:









Score+Relief+2021.zip


Compressed (zipped) Folder



1drv.ms


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## dedene

Markrs said:


> Here you go:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Score+Relief+2021.zip
> 
> 
> Compressed (zipped) Folder
> 
> 
> 
> 1drv.ms


Awesome! Thanks a lot!!


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## Christoph Pawlowski

wienryk said:


> Thank you. Try here:



Yeah, better now. Again, awesome piece!


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## wienryk

Christoph Pawlowski said:


> Yeah, better now. Again, awesome piece!


👍


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## ZosterX

a live is upcoming. Does the winner have been already announced ?


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## wienryk

ZosterX said:


> a live is upcoming. Does the winner have been already announced ?



I have no idea.


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## Eptesicus

I dont think the winner (s) have been announced (unless I have missed something). 

I presume the youtube event today is the announcement of the winners and runners up.


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## SamC

Congrats to the winners! It was a great competition.


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## jazzman7

SamC said:


> Congrats to the winners! It was a great competition.


Agreed. Congrats to all!


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## TimCox

So bittersweet, I'm bummed I didn't place but among all of the brilliant entries it's hard to be anything but ecstatic for the winners. Great music everyone


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## Loïc D

The winning entry is fantastic, top quality work and I dare say far ahead of what's mostly heard in movies.
I can't wait to listen to the runners-up too.

A quick wrap up for those here who didn't attend the full live show :
- Cue Tube will be posting a general evaluation of the entries they got with tips, and probably explain more about their choices of the winners
- They are considering a personal review of entries for a fee
- They are setting up a Discord server
- After much requests on the live chat, they are considering publishing their top 100 selected batch of entries.
- I think I heard that the charity went to 12.000 GBP (at least above the 10.000 goal)

I have really appreciated the way they dealt with the process, the charity, how they were very open, the prizes were great too. And the movie is awesome. Definitely Cue Tube is providing something unique.

I think we're all really looking forward to attending the next contest.

Congrats to the winners and all the participants.
Now we may actually enjoy Spring :D


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## jazzman7

Loïc D said:


> The winning entry is fantastic, top quality work and I dare say far ahead of what's mostly heard in movies.
> I can't wait to listen to the runners-up too.
> 
> A quick wrap up for those here who didn't attend the full live show :
> - Cue Tube will be posting a general evaluation of the entries they got with tips, and probably explain more about their choices of the winners
> - They are considering a personal review of entries for a fee
> - They are setting up a Discord server
> - After much requests on the live chat, they are considering publishing their top 100 selected batch of entries.
> - I think I heard that the charity went to 12.000 GBP (at least above the 10.000 goal)
> 
> I have really appreciated the way they dealt with the process, the charity, how they were very open, the prizes were great too. And the movie is awesome. Definitely Cue Tube is providing something unique.
> 
> I think we're all really looking forward to attending the next contest.
> 
> Congrats to the winners and all the participants.
> Now we may actually enjoy Spring :D


I think they have done an excellent job with all of the challenges involved. The fact they were actually able to complete the live orchestral version of the winning entry this quickly, along with everything else they had on their plate, is impressive.


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## Germain B

Yep, everything was really good.
The competition and its conditions, the animation movie, the cause, the communication, the prizes, the staff.
And this winning entry... amazing.
Looking forward to hear the other top entries as its really promising.


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## Maxfabian

Where can I find the announced winners... anyone?

Cheers


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## jazzman7

Maxfabian said:


> Where can I find the announced winners... anyone?
> 
> Cheers


Youtube post for cuetube


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## mallux

I must admit I don’t really get why people are so keen to see the top 100 shortlisted. How are you going to feel when you’re not on that list either? Isn’t it enough to have participated and had a good time?


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## Pappaus

I get why people want a list. 95 more of us can feel like winners. Although with 1800 entries, most of us will still on the wrong end of the list. Still better off than the judges who had to watch the film 1800 times. (I realize that individual judges didn’t watch all entries, but I listened to about 40-50 of my fellow contestants and got pretty burned out ). Thanks to the organizers!!!


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## gohrev

Fantastic competition, and a well-deserved winner!

This was my first competition ever, and I would gladly pay a fee to get professional feedback on my work. Excellent idea.


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## jazzman7

mallux said:


> I must admit I don’t really get why people are so keen to see the top 100 shortlisted. How are you going to feel when you’re not on that list either? Isn’t it enough to have participated and had a good time?


I myself don't insist they publish it, but if they did, I admit I could not resist my curiosity....even if my musical ego were in danger!


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## Markrs

Just managed to watch the score relief winners YouTube video. Massive congrats to the winners. I loved listening to the live recording of the winning entry. I listened to all the ones posted on here as well as others on YouTube and was blown away by the quality. A truly fantastic competition.


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## Germain B

mallux said:


> I must admit I don’t really get why people are so keen to see the top 100 shortlisted. How are you going to feel when you’re not on that list either? Isn’t it enough to have participated and had a good time?


I don't care about my placement but I would like to see this list to listen to more of those entries that were well considered by the jury.


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## thetemplerecording

I agree with Germain B, the top100 list would be useful not to gratify ourselves in case we are in it, but to listen to the entries that the jury considered best written and produced, so that we can improve our way of working.


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## Loïc D

thetemplerecording said:


> I agree with Germain B, the top100 list would be useful not to gratify ourselves in case we are in it, but to listen to the entries that the jury considered best written and produced, so that we can improve our way of working.


Yes, and I can totally gratify myself if I’m in as well


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## fourier

I've listened through the five winners contributions, and I really, really liked the 5th placed one by Kennoniah Dean Bellile ()

Being all very subjective, I found it to stand out from the other four with timing, voicing and something that drew my attention and kept it there throughout (mind you, I've surely been through this clip some hundred times by now). However, I suppose such music is just as much about taking the backseat and blend in as getting noticed. As someone green to all of this, using music sparingly and not being front and center but for when it's really called for, must surely be a difficult skill to master.

I hope this didn't come across as not being very impressed by all the winners, they are all wonderful and worthy winners, and I'd wish I had the ability to make as good soundtracks as they've done here.

Here's hoping for more competitions like these, especially when you can also donate and help raise awareness for such a good cause.
​


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## stigc56

I don't know if I'm the only one who are looking for melodic lines in all these compositions? I know it's a film score and maybe it's my age, but isn't there are a lot of orchestration and not so much "music".


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## NeonMediaKJT

The first place sounded gorgeous played by the orchestra.

tbh, I had a slight anxiety attack when I saw my name pop up 😂 Never thought that'd happen.


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## Fry777

NeonMediaKJT said:


> The first place sounded gorgeous played by the orchestra.
> 
> tbh, I had a slight anxiety attack when I saw my name pop up 😂 Never thought that'd happen.


I actually spotted your entry early on Kurt, and immediately thought it would be a winner


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## TimCox

NeonMediaKJT said:


> The first place sounded gorgeous played by the orchestra.
> 
> tbh, I had a slight anxiety attack when I saw my name pop up 😂 Never thought that'd happen.


Oh god it was so beautiful right? Amazing stuff.

I really enjoyed yours as well, I had to go check out all of the winners to see where I measured up!


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## jazzman7

stigc56 said:


> I don't know if I'm the only one who are looking for melodic lines in all these compositions? I know it's a film score and maybe it's my age, but isn't there are a lot of orchestration and not so much "music".


There seems to be a general trend away from Melody in a number of genres from what I've gathered. I admire much of what I hear, but strong thematic elements are looking to be more the exception than the rule... As though the idea is going out of fashion. I must admit tho that I've not made the most exhaustive survey. I've simply noticed this in what I have been hearing the last several years


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## Mr Sakitumi

stigc56 said:


> I don't know if I'm the only one who are looking for melodic lines in all these compositions? I know it's a film score and maybe it's my age, but isn't there are a lot of orchestration and not so much "music".


I submitted 2 entries and actually wrote my melodies first, so they are both melodic driven,
but did hear some amazing melodic interpretations from the wood knocking sound.

With the sonic and textural capabilities of sample libraries these days, it makes sense that there is a trend towards alternative, maybe less melodic approaches.

What i did enjoy in this competition, was discovering some really skilful, young composers and some
incredibly moving scores.
The Cue Tube did so well with the whole thing and congrats to the winners!

and going through so many entries....I've had my fair share of hearing tons of flutes


----------



## jazzman7

Mr Sakitumi said:


> I submitted 2 entries and actually wrote my melodies first, so they are both melodic driven,
> but did hear some amazing melodic interpretations from the wood knocking sound.
> 
> With the sonic and textural capabilities of sample libraries these days, it makes sense that there is a trend towards alternative, maybe less melodic approaches.
> 
> What i did enjoy in this competition, was discovering some really skilful, young composers and some
> incredibly moving scores.
> The Cue Tube did so well with the whole thing and congrats to the winners!
> 
> and going through so many entries....I've had my fair share of hearing tons of flutes


I did the same...A melody line over my acoustic guitar. I ditched the guitar for the recording and Flute ended up as one of my lead instruments on this one haha. It just felt like the right tone for the main theme. I won't talk about how my lack of great Legato stuff in my current VI's may have contributed to that decision : )


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## iaink

Congratulations to all !


----------



## Markrs

I'm sure quite a few of you got the email with a link to Jack Hughes blog about Scorerelief 2021, but if not I have posted it below.









Score Relief 2021 - The Grand Finale


Hello and welcome back to the Northern Film Orchestra blog. Today we have something a little special for you all. After several months of planning and build up we are thrilled to share with you the grand finale video from Score Relief 2021, in partnership with The cue tube. Whilst many of you...




www.northernfilmorchestra.com


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## FabTramp

Congratulations to the winners!!  It's been such a great competition! 

Just a quick question: Do you guys know if we are allowed to use the video in our Portfolio? 

Thank you!


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## mallux

Apparently there were some free sample instruments offered to all entrants... I don't have any emails about it... did anyone else receive anything?


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## jazzman7

I got an email but never bothered with downloading. Checked it sometime later but the link was broken. Sorry, don't have the email anymore. Must have been deleted. They didn't look to amount to that much that I can recall so I didn't really bother with them. Some kind of perc stuff


----------



## mallux

jazzman7 said:


> I got an email but never bothered with downloading. Checked it sometime later but the link was broken. Sorry, don't have the email anymore. Must have been deleted. They didn't look to amount to that much that I can recall so I didn't really bother with them. Some kind of perc stuff


Ah well, never mind. If they were Kontact Full instruments I wouldn't have been able to use them anyway. I will try not to be offended about being 
left off the mailing list, I'm sure it wasn't personal


----------



## jazzman7

jazzman7 said:


> I got an email but never bothered with downloading. Checked it sometime later but the link was broken. Sorry, don't have the email anymore. Must have been deleted. They didn't look to amount to that much that I can recall so I didn't really bother with them. Some kind of perc stuff


Just found the email. Shamanic Drums and Glass Bottle percussion. Prob should have downloaded. For all I know they might have been useful. 
​
​


----------



## mussnig

jazzman7 said:


> I got an email but never bothered with downloading. Checked it sometime later but the link was broken. Sorry, don't have the email anymore. Must have been deleted. They didn't look to amount to that much that I can recall so I didn't really bother with them. Some kind of perc stuff



Same thing happened to me as well ...


----------



## Leslie Fuller

mallux said:


> Ah well, never mind. If they were Kontact Full instruments I wouldn't have been able to use them anyway. I will try not to be offended about being
> left off the mailing list, I'm sure it wasn't personal


Just checked too, and the two instruments mentioned by @jazzman7 were from a company called 344 Audio and required Full Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher.


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## jazzman7

mussnig said:


> Same thing happened to me as well ...


Ha! Thanks... I feel better!


----------



## Codetronx

Better later than never, isn't it?


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## jamwerks

Does anyone still have the original (unscored) video ? I was working on my on version, changed computers, and don't have that video file any more.

On Dropbox or by WeSendIt ?
Thanks


----------



## antanasb

jamwerks said:


> Does anyone still have the original (unscored) video ? I was working on my on version, changed computers, and don't have that video file any more.
> 
> On Dropbox or by WeSendIt ?
> Thanks


It is available on Cue Tube now. 

If you can't acces it -- I can share it later.


----------



## jamwerks

antanasb said:


> It is available on Cue Tube now.
> 
> If you can't acces it -- I can share it later.


Thanks, checking out the site now...


----------

