Composing

Great choice! What I love most is how the score doesn't just establish the historical setting, it immediately captures the political tension and uncertainty. Those chromatic movements keep the listener slightly off balance, which perfectly reflects the intrigue and paranoia of the story.

Cool. I think, though, the music is a bit loud for a scene based around silence. A more ambient take would fit better here, IMO.

Michael Dzurak thanks for the comment. obviously composers have to deliver the music loud. there is later a mixing stage where those issues are addressed.

thanks for the reminder.

cheers.

Ouch. Shows what I know! I'm sure it can be mixed to a great fit.

Michael Dzurak Not at all—your comment was genuinely helpful, and that's exactly why I enjoy sharing these rescoring projects.

As composers, we're usually focused on writing the music, and in a real production the final balance is handled during the mixing stage. Because of that, I overlooked something important: for a portfolio piece, people naturally expect the music to already sit well against the picture.

You reminded me that even when it's "just" a practice rescore, presentation matters. Most people aren't thinking about the different stages of post-production—they're simply judging the final result. That's a really valuable point, and something I'll definitely pay more attention to going forward.

Thanks again for taking the time to mention it—I really appreciate the feedback.

João Moreira I completely agree!!!

With time we will evolve with AI around, some will accept it some will reject it or use it but don't tell, but in any case always there's a thin line between plagiarism and creativity, because many Award winning composers I know, work by copying work of masters or borrow from other composers. I share also Joao idea that we are hired as composers to be unique and original and give to the movie or any other medium a fresh sonic texture and identity, and it's not easy, even to be able to create the best work for any project you get the music rejected by the director or composer many times, and the amount of time you put and effort to find the right combination and balance is huge, but at the end it's a matter of love to the craft.

cheers

My comments in this post was a very specific use to get either a collaborator or performer to 'envision' what a finished totally human creation and/or performance would sound like

1. I mentioned film music/cue creator solely to define the term "mockup". In the film context I defined a mockup as a combination of totally human created video with the music to get buy in and by giving them a way to move from a draft to a finished product. I in no way suggested that film music/cue be created by anything other than the composer themselves.

2. In the music creation process and especially in songwriting imho, the music is often creator by first laying down melody, chords, and lyrics. Often times we 'complete' the track by adding an arrangement (who sings or plays what and how). We all know that a given melody and chords can be arranged in many ways - arguably the worlds most recorded songs could be happy birthday, stardust, or yesterday. So in the song business, going all the way is a great strategy if there is an artist already lined up to sing/play/perform. But if you are shopping/promoting a song the question remains how far do you go. If you get a grab/hit for your song, then quite often the artist wants to be involved in part or all of the arrangement. There are many factors such as singing/playing style, voice ranges, availability, target albums/collections (such as Christmas) that will impact on that particular arrangement.

3. So in the promotion phase of a song (if you are not so talented as to be able to sing and perform it yourself) what can you do. One approach is to create an arrangement with a particular artist in mind created by human vocalists and performers. This what I refer to as the mockup - done totally with the intent of promotion. The current pre-AI way is to finish the track with instrument samples or live musicians and a live vocalist. The costs with studio time can easily run $500 to $1,000 for a single arrangement. Many simply can not afford it. There are less expensive routes but at reduced quality and 'wow' factor. And that is for a single arrangement. Say you want a track with a male instead of a female singer or perhaps a duet. That is another arrangement not to mention having to schedule and coordinate another session (and the expense).

4. A mockup for me takes the human part through the creation of a melody, chords, and lyrics. From there multiple mockup arrangements, styles, and genres can be created tailored to the pitched target. Say you want a song arranged as a theater piece, a big band piece, a salsa, a country or pop genre. Imagine the costs doing more than one. Even as AI-assisted costs go up,as it should, as licensing is worked out, the overall costs and time to create for a mockup will be less than a total human created arrangement

5. Again it's a mockup. I can still pitch a big band arrangement say as a mockup and then move on to create something else without having to spend weeks scoring it just to pitch it. And if say they like the 'mockup', I can use software such as Avid Audioscore to help me start moving the music to sheet format.

that's how composers end up fighting the Temp music, as if you show something to a director or producer or any one involved in the decision and they agree, you will end up with wanting the same result, mockup or not, I think also you mean a demo synched, you will end up using the AI generated idea and making it reproduced via transcription or a midi mockup. At the end there's no right or wrong, and you are right to use what you feel will make you advance.

I abhore temp tracks. They have resulted in a uniformity of sound in too many movies and TV shows, lacking any character or distinctiveness. (There is nothing suspensful about a done-to-death low D pedal point without any dissonance above it.)

As to the song, the mockup provides a clear illustration of the arrangement you have in mind. The song itself is well enough written that it makes me want to hear a live band of fellow humans cover it. That's what will add character to the technique. So I do hope this song gets a non-AI performance of it.

Thanks for sharing this Navid Lancaster - I always enjoy seeing tools that can help streamline the creative process. I'm curious—which feature has saved you the most time so far? Has anyone else here tried it yet?

Right now I am using it on two projects. I'm not looking at it as a time-saver per se. It is more of an avenue to finish projects on time. It has a countdown to the due date of projects which I find very motivating. I would advise to read the online manual first though. The learning curve is not steep. Make sure you have a dedicated folder to save the documents (In Windows it navigates to the Documents folder when you open a new project so create your folder in there). One more thing, after you unzip the download in Windows you will be getting and .exe file (or its equivalent for Mac). If you delete the file, at least in Windows, the shortcut will not point to the file so make sure that you place that file somewhere in your system and pin the shortcut on your taskbar. This is the second version of the app and was a massive expansion of the first. He will be making instructional videos soon so I'll be on the lookout for them.

Regarding people trying it out I don't know anyone personally. The software was shared in a private Facebook Composer Group and VI-Connect so there are people congratulating him on creating it so I assume they are using it. I am happy with it but I did ask the Developer to make a small tweak so that we can keep track of different versions of a cue.

that's amazing thanks for sharing

Matthew Jordaan - I loved it! What's your process for a project like this?

Thanks a lot Kat Spencer. I've only been scoring for a little under a year so I don't know if my process is correct, but for this project it felt like it needed music to hit specific moments more often than underline the subtext or mood, like a lot of animations. So I marked off hit points and then improvised melodies and built harmonies around them, adding more and more pieces of the orchestra to expand it vertically, layering counter harmonies to add colour and counterpoint melodies. The trickiest part for me with this was transitioning horizontally between parts without sounding too jarring, so I tried to use voice leading from chord to chord. I play classical guitar and also electric guitar in metal bands, I don't play piano, but I'm teaching myself and I have to improvise and figure out the chords and scales by ear. What's your song-writing process?

First of all, congratulations, Matthew!

It's actually quite rare to see someone with less than a year of scoring experience demonstrate such a strong awareness of writing to picture. One thing I often notice—especially with composers coming from a classical background—is that they naturally focus on writing beautiful music but don't always think about what we call hit points, which can completely change the direction and purpose of a cue.

The fact that you're already thinking about those moments, while also considering voice leading and smooth transitions between sections, shows that you're approaching film scoring as storytelling rather than simply composition. That's a skill many aspiring composers overlook.

Keep developing that mindset. Your musical voice will continue to evolve, but having a solid understanding of how music serves the picture is an excellent foundation to build on.

Wishing you all the best—I look forward to hearing more of your work!

Hi Ashley,

It's really interesting to hear the instrument that opens the piece. It's definitely not something I would have thought of myself, and that's what makes it so inspiring. Sometimes it's easy to fall into clichés and assume that establishing an Egyptian setting means relying heavily on native Egyptian instruments. Instead, the opening immediately captures the feeling and emotional weight of the story without depending on those obvious musical choices.

That, to me, is one of the greatest strengths of the score. Rather than saying, "This is Egypt," it says, "This is the story you're about to experience." The music establishes emotion first, allowing the setting to emerge naturally through the storytelling.

It's a great reminder that film music isn't always about representing a place or culture literally—it's about serving the narrative and the emotions behind it.

One opening I've revisited countless times is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Howard Shore establishes the mythology, the scale, and the emotional weight of Middle-earth within minutes. Another is Up, where Michael Giacchino introduces themes that continue to evolve throughout the film, making the score feel like a character in its own right.

Thanks for sharing this breakdown. It's a fantastic reminder that the opening cue isn't just there to accompany the first scene—it invites the audience into the world of the film and gives them a reason to stay.

Kat Spencer The same thing is true in screenwriting the scenes you cut are sometimes what makes the ones that remain hit harder. What's left unsaid in a scene often does more work than the dialogue. Silence is a choice not an absence. Do you find that instinct transfers when you're working on story analysis as well?

Kerry, thanks for sharing more of your process. It’s interesting how something as simple as changing the flute library completely changed the emotional feel of the piece. Those little decisions often end up making the biggest difference.

I can definitely relate to the backup lesson too. Losing a project file is every creator’s nightmare. Hopefully this version ends up being even stronger than the original. I’d enjoy hearing it once you’ve finished the drums and percussion.

Jon Landers I do think we live in a world now where the sound has to be sonically perfect. Mostly because we have the technology to more easily now. This trend tends to be more forgiving though with smaller budget pieces, whether it be an album or a movie score. I just went the the Palm Springs Shortfest and not all the music was perfect. Some of the films were too loud at times, and sometimes the dialogue was a little too quiet although audible. It's understandable to have a film or a an album with a micro budget that's not perfect Sonically. But when you have the money to pay for an entire music department, it's not really acceptable to have noticeable flaws that distract from the film. The speaker technology in movie theaters these days pick up on every little thing, especially when it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop. I agree that the most important thing in a song is not the mix and mastering, it's the song itself, but a film composer's job is similar to an editor in the sense that he, she, or their work should be invisible and only serve to enhance a scene, unless we are talking about a musical.

Michael Teisan , I think that’s a fair distinction. I completely agree that when a production has the budget and resources, there really isn’t much excuse for technical flaws that pull the audience out of the experience. My point was more about independent creators working with limited resources. I’d rather hear a great song with a few sonic imperfections than a perfectly mixed song that says nothing. As technology continues to improve, hopefully the gap between independent and big-budget productions will continue to narrow.

Michael, thanks for such a thoughtful perspective. I appreciated your comments about the balance between artistic quality and production budgets. It's encouraging to hear that from someone who's been attending festivals like Palm Springs ShortFest. I hope we have the opportunity to continue the conversation.

Thanks, Cyrus. I appreciate your kind words. Right now I'm probably most excited about helping original artists find opportunities in film and television through TBAIMS Connect while also collaborating with filmmakers who are looking for distinctive music that helps tell a story. At the same time, I'm fascinated by where music, visual storytelling, and emerging AI tools are taking creative collaboration. Your work at Creative Station sounds like it sits right at that intersection, so I'd enjoy learning more about what you're working on.