Wendell Scores

Peace in the Middle East

2010-11-20T23:28:00.011Z

Last week I attended my first concert at Birmingham Town Hall. "The Middle East Peace Orchestra" performed a programme of music from the great traditions of the Middle East, including their own version of Handel's Messiah.

It was not only great to hear virtuosos performing music with elements from Jewish "Klezmer", from Middle Eastern "Makam" and from the classical Arab music, but it was nice to see Middle Eastern folk promoting peace.

Check out their website if you're interested and want to know more about them:
www.peacemusic.dk

After a few weeks break, I finally got back to work. On Wednesday the director of the Angels Saga, sent me the second episode, and what an episode it is! 20 minutes of impressive camerawork, good acting, and gripping plot twists.

It's great to be scoring the next episode, it gives me a chance to develop my themes from the first, and expand my soundscape under a more adventurous storyline. There are moments of suspense and action in this episode that will allow me to really open up my musical palette, and I can't wait for everyone to hear the finished score!

"Angels - Episode 2" won't be finished for a few weeks yet, but in the meantime you can watch a behind-the-scenes video below:

It's great to be busy again, I am churning out a hell of a lot of music lately, so please check out my SoundCloud account where you can hear all my latest compositions:
www.soundcloud.com/wendellscores
I will be uploading new music very soon!

New Adventures

2010-11-11T22:37:00.007Z

Since work on the composition front has slowed down lately, I've enjoyed venturing in to new territory. The first of which is collaboration.

I have recently become active in the SoundCloud community, where I have come in to contact with a whole host of international composers. Aside from hearing and critiquing each other's work, many members collaborate together on pieces of music and make some truly inspiring sonic art. I have wanted to collaborate with another composer for a while now and SoundCloud presented me with the chance to do just that. Rui Martins, from Toronto, Canada got in touch with me several weeks ago and asked if I would like to collaborate on a piece. Rui had a strong musical theme, Middle-Eastern in flavour and ripe with potential that over a period of a month I thematically developed in to the piece you can hear in the player below.

Knights of Persepolis (Collab with wendellscores) by isle3music

The title came to me after the piece was finished as the music always conjured up imagery of Ancient Persia & Egypt while writing. The free form is typical of modern film music and the theme is developed, growing more and more powerful up to it's climactic ending.

I really enjoyed working on this piece, and it has helped to improve my orchestration skills greatly. I want to thank Rui for the opportunity, and I look forward to working with him again in the not too distant future.

Also, over the last couple of months I've been working with Hope Carney, a local singer/songwriter. I'm producing her debut EP and recording her songs at my house. So far it's gone really well, and you can hear one of her songs "Catch Me" at the following address:

hopecarney.bandcamp.com

Please take a listen and support her in any way you can. She's very talented and deserves success! More songs on the way soon...

In other news, I took a trip to London last month to see the Concert for Care at the Royal Albert Hall. David Arnold, the show's organiser, in aid of CARE international, organised a charity concert that featured some of the most successful film composers in the World today. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra brought to my ears the delightful repertoire listed below:

Independence Day - David Arnold

Cider House Rules/Chocolat/Emma - Rachel Portman

How To Train Your Dragon - John Powell

Chronicles of Narnia - Harry Gregson-Williams

The Piano - Michael Nyman

Love, Actually/World Trade Center - Craig Armstrong

Atonement - Dario Marianelli

Bright Young Things/American History X - Anne Dudley

There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood

Much Ado About Nothing - Patrick Doyle

La Vie en Rose - Christopher Gunning

Astro Boy/The Usual Suspects - John Ottman

Memphis Belle/Shadowlands - George Fenton

The line-up also consisted of the very talented Imogen Heap, Paloma Faith, Ricky Wilson, Jil Aigrot and comedians Jimmy Carr, Ed Byrne and Dom Joly.

It was a spectacular concert that inspired and entertained me in more ways than one. Maybe some of you reading this were there too and were as blown away as I was. I can't find any decent high-quality recordings but you can watch a video of John Powell's How To Train A Dragon score below with a brief introduction by the composer.

While I'm on the subject of concerts, I also went to see The Houston Symphony perform Gustav Holst's The Planets - A HD Odyssey at Birmingham Symphony Hall, along with Stravinsky's Fireworks and Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony.

"Houston Symphony & NASA teamed up to combine a faithful rendition of Holst’s The Planets, with spectacular HD imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope, Satellite fly-bys, the Mars Rovers, and animated compilations of planetary survey images (directed by Duncan Copp)."

A teaser of the concert can be viewed below. If it's coming to a city near you I thoroughly recommend attending the concert, you will not be disappointed. Clearly a lot of effort has gone in to the production and it's worth much more than the ticket price would have you believe!

I have a lot of exciting new projects coming up that I can't wait to talk about in the meantime you can hear all my latest compositions at:

www.soundcloud.com/wendellscores

Ikarus

2010-10-07T09:33:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I finished scoring "Ikarus" Part 2 for the original sci-fi series Venus Rises.

Unlike the previous two episodes I've wrote music for, there's no theme in this score. As there was a lot of tension in this episode, I wanted to concentrate more on the mood and instrumentation.

The score's orchestral with only a few sweeps and sound effects. This time I added a piano, to beef up the low end and colour it with a different timbre to my usual trombone, double bass and timp sections.

It's really difficult to create tension for a long time in a score without it becoming boring and uninteresting. The characters were thrown out of the frying pan, and in to the fire in this episode, and rarely was there time for relief. So there's lots of tempo changes and rhythms to help combat this problem and my ultimate goal when creating a score is to: "Make it exciting, and keep it interesting."

It's quite difficult to get back in to the style of writing I've always used for Venus Rises, as I've had a few projects in between. Ideally, I'd like to work on one project at a time. Nevertheless, I always enjoy writing for this series, it's really helped hone my craft and gain confidence in my scoring abilities.

"Ikarus" Part 2 is not available yet, but you can watch Part 1 at:

www.venusrises.blip.tv/file/2656183/

For all the latest updates and information about the series, please visit:

www.venusrises.tv

To hear my compositions in high-quality please visit:

www.soundcloud.com/wendellscores

Angels

2010-08-24T13:59:00.002+01:00

Last week I scored the short film "Angels" directed by Saeid Samimi. I've wrote for Saeid before for a short film called True Identity but I enjoyed scoring Angels a whole lot more!

Saeid really wasn't sure what type of music would fit with his film. He wanted something epic/heroic but scary in parts. My score unintentionally ended up sounding like John Murphy's score for 28 Days later.

I've been presented with plenty of opportunities lately to write in a more modern style. I think the music locks with the imagery really well and I can't imagine any other style of music fitting. You can view the finished film below:

I can really see this film being made in to a drama series for TV, I really hope that happens! It's one of the best films I've worked on this year :)

New Direction

2010-08-17T18:48:00.011+01:00

For the last few months I have been working on the main theme for a new web series, Dark Frontier: The Original Series.

I've worked for a couple of years now on all things Dark Frontier related, but musically have always took the orchestral route. So naturally I wanted to take a new direction with this new series of Dark Frontier.

I rarely take the non-orchestral approach but it's important to broaden your style of writing now and again and there's nothing challenging about writing in the same style all the time.

In keeping with this different approach, it's the first theme I've wrote, for a title sequence I haven't seen! Casey, the director, will be working on the visuals over the next few months, putting the images to my music and it was really liberating to be able to compose freely for a change, without thinking of hit points.

It's great to have creative freedom in my work, and it's the third Dark Frontier theme I've wrote. I wanted the following ingredients in my theme:

- Vocals and voicings of SubVision's Farscape theme

- Electronic style and pacing of Yoko Kanno's Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex theme

- Dark, primal/tribal percussive elements of Danny Elfman's Planet of the Apes (2001) score

It's one of the most original compositions I've ever wrote and I loved writing it! A lot of work has gone in to this theme. Casey and I have been sending each other ideas back and forth for months and from what little preproduction I've seen the music's really going to fit the style of this new series. It's dark, it's gritty, it's unique, and it's something I'm proud of!

I can't let you hear it yet as filming for this upcoming web series will start later this year, so I'll post a link to the title sequence when it becomes available!

For all the latest updates and information about the new series, please visit:

www.triple-fictionproductions.net

Freefall

2010-06-01T11:16:00.002+01:00

I've spent the last couple of weeks scoring "Freefall" Part 2 for the original sci-fi series Venus Rises.

I really enjoyed scoring this episode! Like "Crossroads" Part 2, my score to "Freefall" Part 2 is orchestral/electronic and quite percussive, with a few synth patches from my microKORG. I've started studying quite heavily in the art of orchestration and was able to apply everything I've learnt recently in this score. It is once again, the best piece of film I've had to work with. Stunning visuals, great acting, wonderfully constructed sets and a variety of interesting camera angles make this series a pleasure to work on.

This score took much longer to write than the first episode I scored partly because I really wanted to do a good job of it, I didn't want to add anything but my best music to blend with the amazing visuals on screen.

I wanted to do a really good job of this score, and I'd like to think of it as one of my best scores to date. Like the previous episode I scored there's a strong theme throughout the score, this time a short three-note ascension on the strings playing col legno. I used to meander through my scores, compositionally, but I've now realised that establishing a strong theme early on gives me a lot to work with in later cues, where I can manipulate the theme and add variations.

I'm overjoyed to be working on Venus Rises, it's brought out the best in me. I can't wait to score the next episode!

"Freefall" Part 2 will be released in July, but in the meantime you can watch the other episodes and find out much more about the series at:

www.venusrises.tv

www.facebook.com/venusrises

P.S. In other exciting news, I recently purchased Spectrasonics Omnisphere and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use in future scores!

Reclamation

2010-05-13T18:00:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I finished scoring the final episode of the mini-series Dark Frontier: Operation Deliverance.

This final score was my first entirely orchestral underscore of the series and included cues and motifs heard in previous episodes whilst ending musically like the shows' main theme, for a sense of closure.

I always strive for a better score than my last one, but "Reclamation" was tough to write for because it's the finale, and the conclusion to the whole series, and I felt a strong pressure to deliver the best score yet!

There's quite a lot of dialogue but there were a few moments during the CGI sequences where I could really go to town with the orchestra and write some exciting passages of music.

I really enjoyed working on this web series, each episode had a unique feel to it which allowed me to write a unique score each time. I got a lot of experience in orchestration and writing to picture from scoring this series. When I watch and listen back to earlier Dark Frontier episodes I see how far I've come in such a short space of time and how the more experience I get under my belt, the more I evolve as a composer!

I will be writing the main theme for, and scoring Dark Frontier: The Original Series later in the year, where I will be departing from the orchestral sound that has accompanied my previous work with Triple-Fiction Productions. I'm taking a new musical direction that will be percussive, electronic and industrial in style!

Here's a short teaser:

Rx

2010-05-03T16:42:00.014+01:00

Last weekend I scored the short film "Rx". Surreal, with a Donnie Darko/Total Recall-type plot, the film follows a young artist and his troubles with reality.

I felt that a style similar to the music by Jim Dooley for "Pushing Daisies" would really suit the film, as the story struck me as a kind of tragic fairytale.

Film scoring is essentially storytelling and my score parallel's the main character's mood. Starting off quite low and miserable, intriguing in the middle, and ending fairly jolly and upbeat, I think the music really carries you through the story, emphasising what the character is feeling at any given moment and keeping the viewer interested in the plot.

There is a motif I used repeatedly throughout the score, played by a treated mallet, at the moments where the nature of reality is questioned and when the main character takes "magic pills". It's nice to be able to have complete creative freedom in a project, and I enjoyed employing non-orchestral elements for a change, because familiar sounds could never represent a "reality in question".

I wrote 12 cues for this film, but there were a hell of a lot of scenes. I usually like to write fewer and longer cues but it depends on editing, which is one of the most influential factors on how I approach scoring a film.

I didn't have much time to score this film, so I couldn't be as creative as I'd have liked to be, but it's certainly unique.

Thanks to Jessie Wesley and Ben Ross for the opportunity!

You can view the film here:

http://vimeo.com/11534069

I haven't uploaded a cue from this film to my myspace account, as they were all too short to warrant an upload, but I've added a few more of my compositions so please go check them out:

www.myspace.com/wendellscores

Venus Rises

2010-04-29T18:51:00.013+01:00

Yesterday I finished scoring the episode "Crossroads" Part 2 for Venus Rises an original sci-fi series by J. G. Birdsall.

Here's a synopsis:

In the near future, Earth was devastated by a chain of cataclysmic events leading to a pandemic collapse of governments. The human race colonize Mars and Venus, narrowly escaping with technology amassed by mega-corporations during Earth's final days. As Venus becomes home to the working class, and Mars the seat of power, two friends enlisted in the Mars Defense Directorate uncover the first signs of civil unrest. Humankind finds itself once again at the crossroads of extinction as... VENUS RISES.

Series 1 follows five characters of Venutian and Martian origins: Demille Onaar the engineer, Aeriana Onaar a deaf pilot and hacker, Kylara Marinn the scientist, Private Sam Reegan, and Sergeant Nathan Griggs; All of whom play a pivotal role in the escalating conflict. Can five strangers put aside their differences to stop a war of worlds?

I am very excited to be a part of this production. A lot of hard work has been put in to the series, and the production design is excellent.

The style of my underscore for "Crossroads" Part 2 is orchestral/electronic. I've used a lot of percussion in places, the rhythms of which give a sense of journey and momentum to what is essentially an "exploratory" episode. My primary goal was to make it exciting and keep it interesting!

There were some scenes that required more upbeat/percussive/modern elements, one in particular, a chase scene where I also got my microKORG in on the action. I've been waiting to score a chase sequence for a long time, so I really enjoyed getting my musical paws on this scene.

I tried something new with this webisode by including a motif; a short, repeating phrase which is used frequently throughout the score. "Crossroads Part 2" is slightly mysterious but it keeps you on your toes. It's one of the best pieces of film I've had to work with and I can't wait to score the next episode!

You can watch part one of the first episode "Crossroads" on the Venus Rises website, where you can also find behind the scenes footage, the making of Series 1 featurette, production galleries and more!

"Crossroads Part 2" will be uploaded within the next few weeks!

For updates and all the latest news please visit the following links and join the revolution:

www.venusrises.tv

www.facebook.com/venusrises

True Identity

2010-04-18T01:10:00.007+01:00

Last week I wrote a short score for the 10 minute drama film "True Identity". The story's about a guy with a multiple personality disorder, and the film explores his good and bad side.

The directors' wanted an emotional score much like Thomas Newman's music for 'American Beauty' and 'The Green Mile'.

Very lightly scored with piano, a touch of strings and some synth pads, the music turned out quite ambient. I got to try out my EWQL Pianos on this score, they're incredibly realistic, I'm so glad I bought them!

I had to work through the night to get this one done as it was one of those 24 hour deadlines, but it didn't require much in the way of music and the score turned out really well. I enjoyed using just a select few instruments for a change and creating more of a soundscape.

You can hear a cue from the film on my myspace page at:

www.myspace.com/wendellscores

Thanks to Sarah Roberts and Saeid Shepard Samimi for the opportunity!

I also upgraded all of my East West libraries last weekend so I can't wait to put them to good use in my upcoming projects.

Appropriate Action

2010-04-06T17:40:00.000+01:00

I finished scoring the fourth episode of the mini-series Dark Frontier: Operation Deliverance yesterday.

There aren't many cues in this episode. I chose to score it fairly light (apart from the first and last cues which are very percussive) because the next episode will be the last, and will probably feature a lot of music.

I used a few of my own samples again in this score for the percussive elements, as it's certainly the most rhythmic music I've wrote for the series.

I also bought more virtual instrument libraries a few weeks back, Native Instruments' True Strike Tension, and East West Quantum Leap's Silk, which were put to good use throughout the score.

This episode has probably been the least challenging to score so far but there was a bit more action and a touching scene to score between two of the main character's which I really enjoyed scoring.

You can view and download 'Appropriate Action' along with the rest of the mini-series for free at:

http://triple-fictionproductions.net/index.php?p=1_32

For updates and all my latest music check out the following links:

Myspace

Twitter

YouTube

The Infection

2010-03-23T02:17:00.013Z

Yesterday I finished scoring the third episode of the mini-series Dark Frontier: Operation Deliverance.

So what did I get to do differently this time round?

Well, there was a moment in this episode that reminded me of The Omen (1976), so I finally got the chance to use my Symphonic Choirs library to great effect through the use of a program called WordBuilder where you can program speech for the choir of your choice to sing. I plan on bringing back the "Deliverance Choir" in future episodes in a big way, it sounds amazing!

Also, I spent the majority of last week sampling my own instrument. I recorded hundreds of household sounds including hitting hammers, shaking paint rollers, and guitar scrapes with my Erhu bow, which can all be heard scattered across "The Infection" Score. It's nice to be able to use sounds I've created myself in a score, rather than settling for just virtual instruments. I feel like I've earned the right to use sounds I've developed entirely myself and it also helps bring a more unique sound to the mini-series.

Notably, on the last day of scoring I had writer's block, and for a couple of hours I hadn't got a clue what to do, which was frightening! It's like suddenly forgetting how to use your arms!

I completed the score in time though...but only just!

I've found scoring under dialogue to be the toughest thing so far. You've got to capture the mood of the scene without interrupting the speech and clashing frequencies, and still remain somewhat musical and fluent.

My scores are starting to get a lot more orchestral now while utilising less synthesisers. I used to use synth pads frequently when I hadn't got a clue how to score a scene, but now I use them sparingly. I feel very comfortable with my writing now and I constantly seek to create a better score than my previous one!

You can view and download 'The Infection' along with the rest of the mini-series for free at:

http://triple-fictionproductions.net/index.php?p=1_32

To hear isolated cues from this episode and others please visit:

www.myspace.com/darkfrontiersoundtrack

Imperium

2010-03-16T22:55:00.000Z

Last weekend I wrote the main theme for the fan-film "Star Trek: Imperium", which you can hear in the above video. Created by James Woomer, the show is undergoing lots of production changes at this current time, so I really can't say much about it other than I look forward to scoring the upcoming episodes. Another composer was signed on to the series but due to his heavy workload it meant delays, James didn't want to wait too long so I thought I'd help him out.

I was given the same brief for Imperium as I was Dark Frontier, "DS9 meets Stargate", so the most important thing on my agenda was to differentiate the two shows. While both orchestral and rhythmic, there are more harmonies, melodies and instruments in the Imperium theme, to give it a thicker and rich sound.

There are more instruments in this theme than any other piece I have written up to now, and it really tested my computer, my CPU was being pushed to the max!

I started writing this piece to a title sequence, but due to production changes and the likelihood of a new title sequence I stopped writing to picture halfway through and carried on without. James said he would probably cut the new sequence to the music which is awesome and I look forward to working on his series!

In other exciting news, Christian Paolo Malo (the director of M.E.T.) got in touch with me recently. Regarding the short film, he had this to say:

"I am very pleased with the end result and the reaction at the screening was really good. The movie is still under wraps though for the moment, to better it's chances in film festivals. In the meantime, I can wet your appetite with this teaser that I uploaded..."

Christian used one of the cues from the film for the trailer music, so enjoy!

P.S. To find out more about Star Trek: Imperium please visit:

www.startrekimperium.net

Dead On Arrival

2010-02-16T09:52:00.010Z

Last week I scored the second episode of the mini-series Dark Frontier: Operation Deliverance.

Firstly I just want to mention that there has been a few changes in my setup since I last wrote music for a client. I have recently purchased the following:

- ADAM A7 Nearfield Studio Monitors

- East West Quantum Leap Complete Composers Collection Play Edition

- Native Instruments - Sonic Fiction

The A7s have a very clear sound, they are all I had hoped for, I am very impressed! Plus, all the new software instruments I bought have blown me away! I could not have wrote this score without them, they have already proved invaluable.

I love working on Dark Frontier episodes as each one presents a new challenge for me. 'Dead On Arrival' contains a lot of flashbacks to the TOS era of Trek, so there were a few scenes which presented me with the challenge of writing music the way a television composer would in the sixties. It required a bit of research and a lot of hours of The Original Series to sit through but I came up with an orchestral template I was happy with. To achieve that sixties sound I used muted brass, flutes, bass clarinet, bassoon, xylophone, timps and of course the organ!

While writing in a sixties-style wasn't a challenge per se, matching it with the modern-series Trek-style music was. There certainly needed to be contrast but an underscore is just another part of the storytelling, so it has to have some coherence throughout. I tackled this problem by keeping the majority of the score fairly light and mysterious which also remained faithful to the series, as I'd scored the first episode this way, and it helped make those moments where extra suspense was required even more striking!

I really spotted the cues for this episode carefully, which is ultimately why I think it's the best episode I've ever scored. The mix and quality of music is much higher than it has been in previous episodes, in part due to new equipment but also experience.

I am improving as a composer because of this series and I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't.

The Opening and End Titles to Operation Deliverance have also been dramatically improved, so please take a listen to those and other cues from the series at:

www.myspace.com/darkfrontiersoundtrack

You can view and download 'Dead On Arrival' for free at:

http://triple-fictionproductions.net/index.php?p=1_32

M.E.T.

2009-12-01T22:57:00.005Z

I spent the latter half of November scoring a short film called "Molecular Electronic Transition". Written and directed by Christian Paolo Malo, a student from the Vancouver Film School in Canada. "M.E.T." is a sci-fi about a settlement of people living in a futuristic underground city called Zebulun where they all live in hope that one day they will be chosen to travel to the Mars colony New-Babylon.

I had to reference the script more than usual for this score, as it was a foreign-language film. Christian was looking for "...an atypical tempo of beats and chords for the score, possibly electronic. Subtle yet very atmospheric. "

After viewing the film a few times, I wanted my music to capture the overall atmosphere of "M.E.T.", which a melodic score couldn't provide. So I crafted together some atmospheric sounds, and produced a soundscape which worked really well with the picture.

Windchimes feature prominently in the score, along with many synth pads and textures. I strayed away from using traditional instruments, however I did use a string section and choir, but really only for the ending.

I wrote five cues for the 10-minute piece, but it's my most minimal score to date. I'm used to writing roughly 30 minutes of music for each episode of "Dark Frontier", and they're usually quite melodic/harmonic/rhythmic scores. So I had to restrain myself from writing too many notes in this score, it was really more about the sounds themselves, timbre over pitch.

I always enjoy writing scores for science-fiction, it gives me the freedom to write in a unique way that other genres don't allow. There are no strict conventions you have to adhere to musically, other than what the director wants, but you can afford to be much more artistic in your choices.

The score went through a few revisions but upon final delivery the director replied, "This great music is really uplifting the whole movie and I'm very satisfied."

P.S. I just want to thank Christian for giving me the opportunity to work on this film, and his fellow classmate Tyler "Jinx" Moore for recommending me.

Underground & Up

2009-08-18T10:37:00.001+01:00

March of this year I starting working on a jingle for the "Underground & Up" Show on Rossland Radio Co-Op. I've been pretty busy since then and only really found the time to finish it last week.

The show will start up again September 15th, and will broadcast every subsequent Tuesday 4-5PM PST.

You can listen to the show at the following address:

www.rosslandradio.com

"Thy Promise Made, Thy Promise Kept"

2009-07-07T22:34:00.009+01:00

Over the past couple of months I scored the second episode of Dark Frontier.

Casey sends me each Act to score while he works on the next one which saves a lot of time in post-production. Although so much work went in to this episode that the date got pushed back considerably, I also took a much-needed holiday last month so I ended up scoring almost half of the episode in one week.

This episode was much less challenging to write than the first as there were more intimate scenes and I now have a better understanding of what makes a good underscore.

I had the chance to bring back a lot of cues from the first episode and Casey wanted original source music for the bar scenes this time. I had great fun working on these pieces, as I wanted them to sound "alien", instrumentation and structure you wouldn't hear in the music of our species.

I enjoyed working on the first act most as it was dark and mysterious, and I was able to utilise some features of my music software that I hadn't used before. Although I couldn't get the mix loud enough without distorting the signal so it only sounds good on my computer with my monitors. But music is an "underscore" after all, and only one part of the show, and after the first act, the mixing is fine anyway.

The mini-series has end credit music, and Casey wanted some for this show too this time, so I combined the main theme, the Bajoran love theme from this episode and the "Red Alert" cue to create a 3-minute medley.

Overall this score is much better than the first episode. The mixing is better and before I wrote every cue I thought "why is music here?". Notably my use of string arrangements increased and I had a lot of fun experimenting with old-school sci-fi sounds and writing for the bar scenes.

You can view and download "Thy Promise Made, Thy Promise Kept" here:

www.triple-fictionproductions.net/index.php?p=1_10

"Voice From The Past" will be released July 20th.

For updates please visit:

www.triple-fictionproductions.net

P.S. During working on this episode I purchased a Quad-Core Mac Pro so I can now make music on a computer and not have to suffer with latency issues and lack of power/memory from my laptop whilst recording. It's already saved me a lot of time and effort, it's a huge help!

Music For The Media

2009-04-28T21:44:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post to say I am taking a diploma in Media Composition.

Last month I enrolled on the course, "Music For The Media". Although I am already working as a composer, I have no qualification in the field, and I really felt I could benefit from what this particular course had to offer. It's the largest film music course in the World, and it's written and taught exclusively by working media composers!

You can take as long as you want to complete it and they help you not only find work at the end of the course, but help you build an impressive showreel! I shan't babble on but if you are an aspiring composer I fully recommend the course. You can find out more information on their website at:

www.musicforthemedia.com

I've almost finished my first assignment which is just as well because Casey has sent me the first act of the new episode of Dark Frontier to score, and I've still yet to write some jingles for Cami's Radio Show! ARGH...busy or what?!

"Voice From The Past"

2009-04-21T18:00:00.004+01:00

I spent the first week of this month scoring the first episode of the mini-series Dark Frontier: Operation Deliverance. Unlike the main series the episodes in Operation Deliverance are only 15 minutes in length. It usually takes me a week to score a 15-minute video but I hope to half this eventually as I won't always get the luxury of this much time.

After watching the episode for the first time I was very impressed. There were improvements left, right and centre. The sound was much clearer (a big plus for me!), the CG work was stunning, the acting was really good, the plot was well-written, the humour was just right, and the whole episode really felt like 'Trek.'

My first thought was "What the hell am I going to do?!" "If I smother this episode with sound, I'm going to ruin the visual experience." I had to choose very wisely where to place my cues, and I tried really hard to capture the mood of the scene. I think us composers are all guilty sometimes of going off on a tangent when something works musically instead of describing what we see. Listening back to the first episode I scored, I discovered some cues I'd wrote that didn't really capture the emotion of the scene, but it would be a different story with "Voice From The Past".

Obviously I'd already set the tone of the music for Dark Frontier in "Out of Shadows" so I had no trouble creating my sound palette. However, I had two major problems with that score: 1) Overdose of harps 2) Awful mix. I must admit I hate mixing! When you've spent four weeks recording and writing a score, the last thing you want to do is listen to it over and over again, and it's really hard to use your "mixing ear" and not your "composing ear." But I devoted the last day to mixing and the harp barely features. The producer commented on the well-balanced mix so I can't wait to hear it when the episode's released. I'm splashing out on a new mixing interface for my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) in a couple of months, it's a worthy investment and it will take my mixes to a whole new level!

I used the melody from the Dark Frontier Main Theme towards the end of the episode and re-used the "Red Alert" cue from "Out of Shadows" just for familiarity, but apart from these, every other cue is unique to "Voice From The Past". I generally want to avoid using previously heard cues as this is not a film, it's a series. The visuals aren't going to be the same each episode so why should the music be?

Casey also wanted music for the end titles. I tried a few ideas with a dark, military theme akin to the DF main themes but they didn't really work as they all used pre-existing melodic ideas and it didn't sound fresh. So I wrote something in the same musical DF style but more melodramatic.

At the end of a lot of shows on TV today the end credit music starts and it immediately takes away any mood the show left you with. However with heartfelt, sentimental music you can mull over the emotion in your mind, think about what you've just seen and ultimately leave in a good mood, or the mood/(s) the show set out to instill in you.

Overall I am very proud of this score, and to be a part of this production. The entire cast are in one giant boat, all striving for excellence! We continually inspire each other and even in this short space of time we've evolved in to one of the best sci-fi series on the web!

If you appreciate great talent, and love Star Trek I encourage you to register on the Dark Frontier Forum and contribute to this growing community. The producers of the show are always looking for new faces, for acting, voice-over's and plot ideas so please visit:

darkfrontier.netforums.us/

"Voice From The Past" will be released sometime in the Summer. For updates visit:

www.triple-fictionproductions.net/

You can also download several musical cues and themes from the show on the main site and you can listen to them all on the Dark Frontier Soundtrack page at:

www.myspace.com/darkfrontiersoundtrack

Also this month, Scott decided he wanted to go back to JJM Studios to re-record his vocals for the track 'Indigenous Pride.' He felt he could do a lot better if he had another go, so I booked him in the studios once again, and he did a much better job! Joel wasn't available on the day so it was all in the hands of a young engineer named Dan, who as it turns out went to the same high school as me...small world!

The last recording was a little dry in the reverb department, and considering this was supposed to be an atmospheric song I spoke to Dan about it and we ended up with a decent reverb on the vocals and a much better mix. This time the vocals sat with the backing track as opposed to on it. Dan and I share the same ideology when it comes to mixing so he was great to work with...even if he did wear a hat covering his ears, which is like wearing a blindfold to walk! Nevertheless he did a good job and Scott and I were extremely happy with the final mix.

As soon as I get a copy of the CD, I'll post the artwork and hopefully a clip of the song!

Busy Spring

2009-03-24T16:53:00.010Z

I was extremely excited to find out the news that Casey was making a new mini-series set in the Dark Frontier universe called Dark Frontier: Operation Deliverance. It meant one of two things a) more work and b) more experience in writing a main theme.

The title sequence is very impressive visually. Casey gave me the same brief as last time, "Star Trek meets Stargate". I've always got a Star Trek show on the go, so I never have any problems with inspiration. Casey wanted the first 10 seconds of the original theme used at the start of this one too and then after that I would have free reign, but I did want to subtly hint at the old theme, just to give the audience some familiarity in that this is still set in the Dark Frontier Universe. Although it's a spin-off series I still wanted a strong melody, and I wanted high strings arpeggiated behind it, as I've always loved this technique used in the Star Trek: Voyager theme. It always amazes me how I end up hitting the sync points by complete accident, it makes my job a lot easier!

I wrote the main theme back in February but it's not the only thing I've been working on...

This past couple of weeks I've been writing and recording a background track for a charity event taking place on St. George's Day. "Scott" is only my second UK client which is nice as he lives fairly close and I get to communicate with him in person and over the phone as opposed to via email with my international clients.

Scott wanted to record a song for an event he organises annually, he had lyrics and could sing them, but didn't have the knowledge or equipment to record a song. So he got in touch with me and we arranged to meet. I recorded him singing the track entitled 'Indigenous Pride' and he wanted me to write a very strong, patriotic backing track to his words.

Due to meeting in person, I got to really understand what it was he wanted. As soon as he sung the opening verse I could hear a brass band, french horns, military snare etc. So I set about writing the music to his words and I've spent the past fortnight emailing Scott the song and we've come up with the best arrangement we can.

I've just this second finished mixing and I'm taking Scott to JJM studios tomorrow morning to record the vocals. It's only a few miles away and I know the engineer there will do a brilliant job. "Joel" has helped me with mixing advice in the past and he recorded and mixed my band's debut EP. He's got superb equipment, cheap rates and I would highly recommend you check out his site:

www.univibeaudio.co.uk

It was great to work on something a little different, after all the orchestral music I've been composing for "Dark Frontier."

Casey will however, be sending me the second episode of "Dark Frontier" and first episode of the spin-off series very soon! But while I'm waiting, I plan to write a few jingles for a Canadian Radio Show, my friend works on called 'Underground & Up'. "Cami" interviewed me last year about my solo album "Purple Lines On Blue" and she's always been very supportive of my pop music so I felt writing some jingles for her show the perfect opportunity to add to my portfolio and to give her something back for all her support.

I'm very happy with how this year has started out, I'm going to have one busy Spring!

P.S. I'll post a link to 'Indigenous Pride' once it's available on Scott's website.

My First Episode

2009-01-06T20:34:00.005Z

"Out of Shadows" was released Sunday 4th January, the debut episode of the show Dark Frontier.

I spent a few hours each night for four weeks scoring my first episode which meant an extremely busy christmas for me. With a duration of sixty minutes, a lot of music was required and I'm glad I had a month to score because I really needed it...

It was a huge learning curve and a great experience!

My biggest concern was making the score cohesive, with so many emotions and so many cues required throughout the episode, it was important not to use too many instruments at one time.
I watched it for the first time today all the way through, and I'm pleased with how the music turned out, I had forgotten a lot of the music I'd written which shows how many hours I spent creating the score.

The only problem that arose while scoring, was blending my music with the dialogue and sound. Certain instruments were in the same frequency range as the sound effects or the human voice. Although not a worry for professional shows, the producer and I had to balance and mix the sound ourselves and I had to rewrite a lot of cues because the low-end sounds conflicted too much with the cellos.

"Out of Shadows" was a fantastic episode to score, I thoroughly enjoyed writing each scene, and I had so much to play with. Battles, romance, tragedy, comedy, tension, drama, curiosity, beautifully rendered CG transitions, the list is endless and there aren't many shows that can offer me as much as Dark Frontier has. I look forward to the rest of the series and I can't wait to begin scoring episode two!

You can view and download "Out of Shadows" here:
www.triple-fictionproductions.net/index.php?p=1_10

Casey (producer of the show) very kindly set up a myspace music page that features several cues from the first episode, I'll update it with brand new music after each new episode is aired. You can listen to the Dark Frontier Soundtrack here:
www.myspace.com/darkfrontiersoundtrack

"Out of Shadows"

2008-12-02T15:21:00.012Z

I've just received the first episode of Dark Frontier titled "Out of Shadows". It's scheduled for release Jan '09, so I have an incredible four weeks to score the 60 minute episode. Professional composers aren't usually given the luxury of this much time so I'm enjoying it while it lasts, as I know this won't always be the case...

I have watched the first act and I'm already blown away, my head's full of ideas and I can't wait to commence scoring.

Dark Frontier will be the first series I've ever scored and I'm extremely pleased to be a part of such an amazing project!

For updates please visit:

www.triple-fictionproductions.net

Triple-Fiction

2008-11-18T18:00:00.001Z

In October I wrote the main title theme for "Dark Frontier", a web-based series by Triple-Fiction Productions. Located in Lake City, Florida, Casey J Sullivan, the executive producer of the show wanted a deep, powerful and militaristic theme, so that's what I delivered.

After his first listen Casey emailed me saying, "It's Amazing!!! I love it. The energy, the beat. It's memorable and deep. It's exactly what what we have been looking for." You can watch and listen to the title sequence below.

I will also be composing incidental music for each episode of the series, and I am extremely thrilled to be a part of all this. Scoring of the first episode will begin the end of November and the release date for the series is set for January '09.

Dark Frontier is a fan-film series inspired by Star Trek®. It will be the first web-based series set in a "Mirror Universe", a parallel dimension

similar to that seen in many Star Trek® episodes.
Though there will be many similarities in the "Mirror Universe" depicted in this series, to that of the Star Trek® version. There will also be many, many differences.

"Witness the mutated rebirth of a science fiction legend." - Casey J Sullivan

LINKS:
www.triple-fictionproductions.net
www.youtube.com/triplefiction
www.myspace.com/darkfrontierseries

Love & Illusion

2008-11-13T18:00:00.000Z

In September I scored my first short film titled "Love & Illusion". Written and directed by Jonathan Tasman, a student from the New York Film Academy, the short is a whimsical and dramatic fantasy film. The film's message is that people need to remove walls/masks to be closer to each other.

Jonathan wanted the music to reflect the comical and romantic sides of the film. It needed to be light-hearted in places but really accentuate the romance and struggle between the two main characters.

For my first time scoring a short, this really was an enjoyable experience! The ideas came quickly and naturally, and I loved working on a project where the music mattered more than it usually would in a short film.

There are only two lines of dialogue in the entire film, which means the music runs throughout the entire film without a pause. The score really defines what the audience should be feeling, and plays a crucial part in the storytelling, more so in this film than any other.

I felt the most important element of the story was the romance. The score needed to have an underlying emphasis on the romance between these two characters throughout, and build gradually to the climax of the film. There are moments of tension and comedy, and the film is storytelling at it's best. Jonathan did a great job directing this film, especially since there's very little dialogue.

I scored to the rough cut, so a few changes needed to be made to the score when the final cut was sent to me, which proved a little taxing as I'd wrote in so many hit points that there were several timing issues. But once the changes had been made and score was complete I was very happy with what I'd accomplished on my first scoring job!

You can view the finished film below:

Inception

2008-11-11T20:00:00.002Z

I scored my first commission back in March/April of this year.

My client was Tom Swift from 2 Ten's Entertainment in the UK.

Tom needed music for two internet flash games, "Bold Fortunes" and "Tank Commander".

The first, a strategy-based combat game set in space and the latter, a top-down shooter.

I had free reign over these projects. Total artistic freedom was given so I was keen to try out some big orchestral sounds regardless of how small the project.

With a name like "Bold Fortunes" and a setting in space, it was asking for an epic theme. This called for a heavy brass section. If you're asked to write a space theme the brass section must play the melody, its just a given! Aside from the percussion, no other section of the orchestra hits your ears harder than the brass, and I was looking for a powerful theme. I couldn't decide on using major or minor so I ended up using both which worked well.

I also wrote a combat theme to be looped. Tension was key here but I took a back seat approach on this piece, as surely no one's listening to the music when they're blasting spaceships with lasers!

A looped theme was also used in "Tank Commander". This game has a very military feel so brass came to the forefront once again, along with the bass drum and strong snare. It needed tension so tremolo strings were added and a suspenseful motif on the cellos. John Williams' theme from 'Jaws' was a big inspiration for this piece.

Not only did I get the chance to compose for Tom, but in August I had my first taste of sound designing. I created the sounds of tanks moving, enemy fire, explosions, menu clicks etc. which would add more authenticity to the game playing experience.

"Bold Fortunes" and "Tank Commander" are still in development but once finished you'll be able to play along to my music :D

Please go to www.2tens.co.uk to check for updates and play some other awesome games!

Bio

2008-11-04T07:12:00.015Z

I felt my first post ought to explain a bit more about my background so here's a biography of my musical adventures to date...

Raised in a musical household, my earliest memory is sitting on my father's lap tapping on the keys of our old, upright piano with my fragile baby fingers. In awe of my father's musical prowess and eager to learn, I started taking piano and music theory lessons at the age of 7, with a respectable teacher for what was to become 10 gruelling years of hard work and mental discipline.

I ventured in to the realm of woodwind a couple of years later picking up the clarinet, one of the most beautifully toned instruments in the orchestra.

Upon joining high school, my musical abilities did not go unnoticed. For the next 7 years I was roped in to every orchestra, jazz band, ensemble, concert, festival, and fundraiser they could put me in. I toured as a member of the school orchestra and jazz band on several occasions taking me to performances in France, Belgium, Holland & Germany.

Quite the introvert, these ventures helped shape my character and increase my confidence.

In the last two years of high school I grew tired of being just a "pianist" and felt it was time to rid the label. So I bit the bullet and sung my first vocal performance to the public in the end of year show.

My first studio experience came in August 2005 where I recorded a collection of my favourite jazz tunes on vocals and piano at Yellow Shark Recording Studios in Cheltenham. This was a great insight in to a working recording studio and I later won a singing competition with one of these songs at Burntwood Wakes Festival 2006, on an overwhelmingly large, outdoor stage!

Receiving an acoustic guitar for my 18th birthday, I spent the next few years in and out of pop bands. Ever the typical teenager, I bought my first electric guitar not long after, and explored the skill of songwriting.

Moving ever higher in the education chain, I then went on to study Music Technology for 3 years at Staffordshire University learning the operations of a mixing desk, numerous recording techniques and the pleasure of composition.

Excelling in my written music class I started to take composition more seriously and formed "The Carnival" a two-piece alternative band, with my fiancée. During our first week of live performance we won the Lichfield Livewire Battle of the Bands competition, resulting in a slot in the Fuse Tent at The Beacon Park Festival on 14th July 2007. After being launched into local success, we went on to record our first EP "Kill Off The Show" which was released in the UK at a special Halloween show October '07, and released on iTunes Worldwide January '08.

In the same month I purchased Logic Pro Studio for my MacBook Pro, which enabled me to pursue a solo project. In just a few months I wrote, recorded and produced a pop/electronica album titled "Purple Lines On Blue" to sell online to the World in June '08.

I am certainly no stranger to music. Its always been and always will be an important part of my life. Here's a brief account of my film music background...

Growing up watching Spielberg's films with my father, I guess the first composer's name I noted outside of the classical genre was John Williams. Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Star Wars were among my "favourite tunes to whistle" and this is when my classically trained ear really began to develop.

As an early teenager I spent most of my time writing music on Sibelius software and eventually began writing pop songs on my piano. When the "The Carnival" was formed I realised how much I enjoyed composing and the potential I could accomplish with the right tools for the job.

My composer ambitions really only came to fruition the start of this year when I bought Logic Pro Studio. With 1000's of instruments at my disposal I now had the technology to show what I could do.

I began studying my favourite films and TV series, and purchased all the soundtracks I could afford. Researching and analysing scores became my main focus in life and I started educating myself on how to compose for orchestra and how to compose for picture.

After writing hundreds of compositions I grew aware of how natural writing music for orchestra came to me and I began scouring the internet for work...