Composing

Here's mine: Title: Thanks-Viv-Ing Logline: When Vivian, a harried young mother and kindergarten teacher, finds herself juggling the chaos of directing a Thanksgiving-themed play, she must navigate the comedic struggles of creativity, family, and community to create unforgettable memories for her students and children all while navigating her first holiday season after a perilous divorce. Dramady-Musical with lots of upbeat numbers that show the frantic pace of her life. Even when sad, lonely, or in overwhelm, the pace is fast in the beginning. As things resolve, the musical tempo becomes less harried.

I can happily say that I have not lost the spark yet. I am only slowing down with writing songs now simply because I have written more than 450 of them. I am now busy uploading them to sites like Fresh Tunes where people can actually discover them. It takes time when there are hundreds of songs to list.

Wyman Brent This is true! Best of luck with all of the uploads!

Two years ago I walked away completely from composing, from playing the guitar, all of it. I was burned out from working so hard and Covid wrecking some good things I had going after school, I had just had it, completely. But that only lasted for about 6 or so months... a friend of mine called me one evening and asked me if I wanted to be in a.good local rock band that the founder was leaving, who was also a friend, so I said I would think about it. I have to admit I was happy where I was, the pressure was gone, the long hours all of it, I could do things I wanted to but didn't have time, which was great. But something was also missing so I said yes, I would join. At first all I wanted to do was play the guitar live and enjoy that, not go back to the composing gig but all it took as a little Rock and Roll guitar to light that fire again and here I am back at it. The wife said it was meant to be.... :-)

The spark wanes quickly if you stop working, simple as that!

There was a time during the years 2013 to 2015 when I didn't write as much. A lot happened during that time, most tragic was my aunt died of leukemia and I just didn't want to write or vlog. It wasn't until 2016 when I started attending open mic nights that I met people who also loved to write and that made me want to get back into writing songs. I think covid really wrecked lots of potentially good things, though. Having everything close or shut down for a few years didn't help. While I was still songwriting with a friend during that time in which we emailed lyrics back and forth, we haven't had time since the pandemic ended to get together and record because my friend is having problems finding people who are serious enough about the music to want to collaborate in writing melodies. Joining online communities in 2021 really helped, but I feel like I lack the creative space in the real world. I feel like the world hasn't been the same since 2020.

I will be watching this!! Ashley Renee Smith thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for sharing the conversation, Ashley Renee Smith. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is my new favorite movie of the year and my favorite Frankenstein movie. What stood out to me most about Alexandre's approach is he explored/dug to suggest ideas for the music and bring a new voice to the film.

Fantastic!!! (I had the honor of working with Alexandre Desplat on 'The Upside of Anger'. Such a professional talent!)

Every time one faces the blank sheet of manuscript paper or a new file in your DAW....

Justin Wildridge for sure!!

The scariest situation was when we suddenly got Peter Jackson's King Kong dropped in our laps at James Newton Howard's studio. 4 weeks to write and record a 3 hour film. Cue the 2 AM meltdown I had in the parking lot basically sounding like Bill Paxton's character from Aliens.

Creatively I've had to wear so many hats over the years. The hardest stuff for me to adapt to was animation.

Till now, the scariest risk was to contact a professional film composer to get his feedbacks on my work. I asked him to give me a sharp answer : either it's unworthy, or it's way far from good and need much work, or it's pro and I should keep on doing it. Guess what, I'm still here, I had the best answer ever but I was ready to give up everything if his answer was negative.

Nice to meet you Julien CLÉMENT - fun fact, Clement is my maiden name.

Libby Wright I started in 1996, right after I stopped taking piano lessons, which I started when I was 6 years old. That's when I discovered I could compose. I had to be away from the "structured learning" and expectations to find that it naturally comes to me if I don't think about the "rules."

At about 13 when I suddenly realized it´s possible to play by ear. And yes, Kat, I dropped piano lessons too!

Guitar Instrumental music and Songs for to many years. Orchestral film type compositions for about ten or so years!

Started on guitar as a child in the late 70s. Played rock for years but in 2000 I started working for a composer in a commercial post studio in Sacramento. 2003 moved to LA and been doing film work ever since.

Composing seeded into my mind at teenage (~ 90's), then stayed dormant for decades. I've listened to thousands hours of musics of any style since then and never stopped playing the piano that I started at age 6. But in 2023 I felt a strong need to come back to composing in a serious manner. The seed has now turned into a little tree ! My main goal is to me a full time music composer for cinema and documentaries.

I enjoyed the story, the acting, the cinematography, the music, and more, Geoff Hall! It's hard to pick a favorite thing. The music made me feel like I was back in that time period. The story, acting, etc. did too.

Maurice Vaughan agreed, Maurice. It was a totally immersive experience. In fact, we talk a lot about immersive cinema and I think we should use ‘Sinners’ as an exemplar when we talk about this.

Did you mean Trish B’s piece, Morgan ?

It is nice !

Kerry Kennard When I was in school the think was and still is I think, but is changing because of the Expression Map technology, to have one midi track per articulation for all instruments groups. So once you get two or three string, woods, brass, perc, choir, etc. blares and you add all the inputs, a few VCA's to help balance all the different libraries out in the mix, you end up with a huge template. With the Expression Map stuff you can once again run one track per instrument for all articulations.. I like the single track per instrument workflow much better myself, even thought the template still has a lot of tracks it's not near the 2000 numbers. Some of the A list guys I've heard have 8 and 10 thousand with banks of VEP servers in a server racks. Crazy, but they have assistances to help the manage those behemoth templates.

Morgan Aitken Yea, the Omnivoice plugin is pretty cool for sure! I haven't messed with it yet to much I will say though.

Kerry Kennard , I'm kinda musically illiterate... so, who is Trish B?

Morgan Aitken , the link you have above brought up Trish, ... some last name starting with B.

Now, it's right ... hearing the thin voice from OmniVocal. Yikes, ... it's def. thin to me.

Glad it does some words !

Music and sound can really enhance shows (like Fallout), movies, etc., Ashley Renee Smith. I add music in my scripts. It's just something like "Classic Rock plays on the radio." I've also been focusing on sound more in my scripts.

Ashley Renee Smith I’m looking forward to Fallout 2, how about you?

https://youtu.be/ECI3eCAxRGw

Is anyone using AI to generate MIDI or an original score? What was your experience?

I haven’t , but this was in the new this morning..

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/ai-generated-country-song-topping-billboards-country-digital/story?id=127445549

there has been some push back by artists and some in the entertainment industry, but..

Rick puts it in a better perspective as always!!

https://youtu.be/rGremoYVMPc?si=FQzXAINPM12MoLgU

Usually breaking up with a guy or falling in love, for me at least

That is how I wrote True Haunt. The events I went thorugh as a kid came pouring back when I starting my writing career.

It is a wonderful feeling. Just that seems to be my fate every day. I have now written more than 450 songs since April. Each one pops out without me having to give any real thought beforehand. A random thought, an image, something I read, or some video online and there go my hands writing out another song.

Good question, and a lovely insight, Kat Spencer ! I've come up with ideas or let's call them musical moods mostly while reading; screenplays, novels, poetry. Or watching dailies. An actor will deliver a performance that just cries out for a certain compositional accompaniment to their scene. I'll often pull up Cubasis and Iconica on my iPad and sketch something right there, in the editing suite. Usually it's not that good, but it gives me a starting point to either explore further or pass on to a composer.

The worst thing is when something comes up while half-asleep! You have to rise and write it down, otherwise it will be forgotten by morning ;-D

I'll start: TITLE: Too Empty Chair. The style would be bluegrass and the major themes would harken back to listening to songs on a scratchy radio like The Carters. (Set in the Great Depression.) Chorus: When mama passed from here to hereafter, her babies all would cry. All they wanted was her love, a hand to dry their eyes. But every Sunday morning, before the church bells ring, those cherub faces turn to that empty chair, they stand and sweetly sing.

My full feature SETESH on youtube is based on the 4 notes in Beethoven's opus 135- must it be?

Ooooooo, I see a slow zoom in toward the fireplace. The music is dark, low strings and muted brass in minor key. The flames start to morph into crimson and liquify, while high string clusters reminiscent of Penderecki scream louder and louder. The flames are now a huge torrent of blood, flooding into the sitting room. The torrent of blood is like a dam breaking. The armchairs are swept up in the deluge, as the camera is immersed in blood, the scene ends.

Ok, I admit it, I watched The Shining once too often as a kid.

First , welcome back! That sounds like an incredibly exhausting stretch—recovering from strep and doing a cross-country move is massive. I’m so glad you’re back and, as you said, ready to rest and have some fun. You’ve definitely earned it!

I love this game, and that image is pure atmosphere. Here’s my take:

Song Title: "Finally Home"

The Core Concept / Themes: I was really struck by the story you shared. The song (and the movie) wouldn't just be set in this room; this room would be the destination.

The song’s verses would be about the "noise," the "cold," and the "long-haul" – reflecting the chaotic journey you just described (the illness, the stress, the endless highway). The lyrics would capture that feeling of being worn down and just needing a place to stop.

Then, the chorus would be the moment of arrival. It would be the music that swells as the character (you!) finally drops their bags, lights the fire, and sinks into that chair.

Themes: The major themes would be Sanctuary, Resolution, and Healing.

Why: Because the feeling in that image isn't just "cozy"; it's the feeling of safety after chaos. The movie is the storm; the song is the sound of the storm finally passing.

A wonderful game! I hope you're getting all the peace and warmth that this picture radiates.