handel_afficionado
Member
uploaded my entry with 15min to spare, shew! good luck everyone.
Mr, your music lifts the film and the dialogue. Really powerfull. Congrats.
uploaded my entry with 15min to spare, shew! good luck everyone.
That's fair, but I've heard equally good entries that end on a hopeful note and those that end on a sad note, and they all take different paths through the scene to get there. All are equally valid. But ultimately what's going to matter, as it always does when working with film, is what the director has in mind - not the composer's interpretation of the scene.^^good points but also I feel that honestly the monologue tells more about the mood than a brief could, in this context at least. It starts one place, goes into obvious bits of frustrated nostalgia to content nostalgia to fear and hope and an inner will to live without fear. Etc.
To me the mood is slightly sorrowful, heavily contemplative, and ends with resolve.
True enough.That's fair, but I've heard equally good entries that end on a hopeful note and those that end on a sad note, and they all take different paths through the scene to get there. All are equally valid. But ultimately what's going to matter, as it always does when working with film, is what the director has in mind - not the composer's interpretation of the scene.
A creative brief would put everyone on the same trajectory so judging can focus on the actual composing, without factoring the composer's ability to also guess what the director wanted.
Anyway, it's all good.
Really great feedback and thanks for taking the time to write such a great summary of these competitions! I think we've learnt so much from doing this one that we can take into the next one. It's clear that there have been dozens of approaches and that makes the all the entries really diverse and has made listening to all the entries so far really fun.What's interesting and particularly challenging with this and other recent scoring competitions, is that composers are being asked to take responsibility for a lot more of the decision-making process than typically occurs in many real world situations.
For example, with this clip, we were asked to create music that "elevated" the film's content, but it was left up to us to decide if the music should convey sadness, hopefulness, anger, frustration, etc... Those kinds of decisions are usually driven by the director and other creative stakeholders.
A spotting session between the composer and director, at the very least, would determine what emotions the music should reinforce, where those exact moments occur, and possibly even what kind of sounds should be used. It doesn't always happen this way, but it's a common way of working, and in terms of competitions, would provide a clearer basis for judging the entries.
I've heard so many excellent entries that have taken completely different emotional trajectories, I'm just glad I'm not a judge forced to make a decision. Considering we don't know what the director actually has in mind, how can for example, a beautiful hopeful score and an equally beautiful sad score be compared on the same footing? Which of those emotions is the director going for? What was the writer's intent? When does the music need to inform the audience how to feel? This is important information, since the primary purpose of a film score is to reinforce and elevate emotional content.
Just to be clear, I'm not complaining - all competitions have their quirks, and judging decisions are always going to have a large subjective component, and that's perfectly fine - it's simply the nature of the beast.
But for future competitions, it would be nice if at least a creative brief were provided up front so we know what the filmmaker is looking for, what criteria the judges will be using to evalute the entries, and in what direction our composing efforts should be foucsed. With this clip, for example, if we knew up front the director wanted the score to convey an overall feeling of sadness, we'd have an identifiable goal against which all scores can be equally compared.
Anyway, these competitions are always fun regardless, and I've been blown away by the level of quality and creativity in so many of the entries. I swear I've heard at least a dozen entries that are clear winners in my book. I don't envy the task before the judges
A full spotting session isn't necessarily required, but it would be definitely be cool. At a minimum, a simple creative brief that describes the emotional intent of the music, and some of the key hit points, should provide sufficient guidance.Potentially there could be one film with two different entry types and two different winners:
1. Director's notes - watch the spotting session and write what's in the director's head.
2. Free creative - Do what you like. The most creative and individual wins.
Would love to hear people's opinions on this . . .
Thanks for putting on the contest! It has been fun. The short was really powerful and well done. I like the idea of two categories in the future. That way people can decide if they want to take a shot at "what they hear" or "what the director wants." But for the creative one, I would focus that more on the "oh I wasn't thinking that, but I really liked it!" approach to judging rather than "this was very creative." I'd make people hashtag their entry target as well... eg #directorsnotes or #roguecomposer (ha!)Potentially there could be one film with two different entry types and two different winners:
1. Director's notes - watch the spotting session and write what's in the director's head.
2. Free creative - Do what you like. The most creative and individual wins.
Would love to hear people's opinions on this . . .
Thanks,
Rob
I love how you are open to this discussion!Really great feedback and thanks for taking the time to write such a great summary of these competitions! I think we've learnt so much from doing this one that we can take into the next one. It's clear that there have been dozens of approaches and that makes the all the entries really diverse and has made listening to all the entries so far really fun.
I love what you think about real-world scenarios and potentially that's what we'll aim to do with the next one. Make it as close to the real thing as possible with a spotting session included and notes on what beats and emotions should be hit.
Saying that, I love the idea that people can express themselves freely and take what they want from the script and be free to create whatever they like.
Potentially there could be one film with two different entry types and two different winners:
1. Director's notes - watch the spotting session and write what's in the director's head.
2. Free creative - Do what you like. The most creative and individual wins.
Would love to hear people's opinions on this . . .
Thanks,
Rob
Hello,
Here is my entry (mixing is not perfect)
Thank you a lotThe reverse piano samples are really carrying forward the mood in your piece. Cello bends were really nice during the transition into the section where he thinks about his Mom. There's just a bit too much volume on the cello there. The vocals as you carried your piece to the end are awesome, and loved the ending! Congrats @tkmusic on a well executed piece.