Music for a little horror project

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6 comments, last by nihitori 6 years, 6 months ago

Howdy,

I tried my best to compose the score to a little horror production called „Sarah”, a short film (18-19 min) produced by film students from all departments about a series of murderous events around a remote cabin the woods. It was executed for educational purpose only; nobody involved got any money. The film is to be released online after an initial promotion phase for short film contests, festivals etc.

However, I am eager to get some early feedback on the music, especially some hints concerning the mix and the overall sound. Is it realistic enough? If not, what sucks the most? Of course, there were no real accoustic instruments involved. Fell free to tel me what you think about it. :) Maybe you'll recognize the major motif (a falling fourth/tritone shift) here or there. ;)

https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandID=674265

Best regrads

Dustin

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I listened to your Opening-Teaser and overall, I liked it! You've got the right timbre and feeling, alright! A few critiques:

(disclaimer - I'm listening on my laptop so please keep that in mind)

- the piano doesn't sit in the mix right for my ears. It feels a bit too dry and perhaps a bit too loud. The rest of the ensemble has a bit of reverb on it that doesn't happen on the piano.

- what is the theme? Since I've not scene the film, I'm having a hard time knowing what your main melodic motif is after listening several times. Is it in the teaser? Since you're the composer of the whole project (including the teaser - instead of using licensing music) I feel like this is a prime opportunity for you to hint at the main theme in the teaser.

- could we see the visuals too? That would help fill in the blanks as to why you made the decisions you did.

I enjoyed it!

Thanks,

Nate

Nathan Madsen
Nate (AT) MadsenStudios (DOT) Com
Composer-Sound Designer
Madsen Studios
Austin, TX

Hey Nate, thanks a lot for your feedback, really appreciate it! :) You're absolutely right, my piano patch is way too dry. Just forget to put some reverb onto it (the same thing goes for the piano entries on the other tracks).

Of course, as soon as the producers give their o.k. the director will upload the flick on youtube, but I am afraid they will hold it back till the bidding phases for most European short film contests are over, which will take at least 5-6 months. :-/

I listened the first one (resolution) and the last one (teaser) and they had a nice feeling and good production overall :)

I'd say the same about the drums in the first piece as nsmadsen said about the piano. They feel too close and dry compared to other instruments. Some reverb will most definitely help.

BTW what libraries you used mostly when you did these? I think i recognized some of the trailer-like samples but I'm not sure.

@Nate: I just reliazed that I didn't reply to your second hint. The main motif is incorporated into the teaser music, but not very obviously. The four deep impact sounds are E, H, E B, which represents exactly this motif. But I was very restricted by what was happening on the screen and couldn't present it in a good old overture style. ;)

@Kasu: Thanks for your thoughts, the overall reverb is indeed a bit imbalanced due to the very different sample banks I used. The percussion clashs are from an old Giga bank, while the piano is from 88Ensemble by SONiVOX.

The film has finally been uploaded on youtube:

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Congratulation on your work for this project! I think you did pretty much all that the film requested to be done music-wise. I do agree with the others that the mixing could be a bit more cohesive, but that is always, of course, a bit relative... If you wanted it to sound that way, then I guess it is ok. Keep it up!

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