Sampling Your Own Instruments
The most powerful tools in a DIY film composer’s kit are virtual instruments. You can easily make your own by sampling real-world instruments – or in this case, a toy.
(more…)John Williams: An in-depth look at scoring Star Wars
John Williams heads back to the Academy Awards tomorrow, with The Rise of Skywalker nominated for Best Original Score. This iconic composer shows his award-winning process in a documentary from 1980.
(more…)“Succession” Composer Explains His Score
The composer responsible for the iconic score of HBO’s “Succession” has done an in-depth interview with Vanity Fair explaining his music and creative process. Check out the video and my thoughts below.
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Best Small Midi Controller for Film Composers
A midi controller is essential for the DIY film composer. You don’t need a huge studio (or huge budget) to add one to your toolkit. There are many small midi controllers that pack a ton of features into a small form factor. In this post, I review my favorites so you can pick the best one for your project.
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Akai Fire Midi Controller Review
The Akai Fire is the first hardware device custom-built for FL Studio. It features a lot of user-friendly integrations that make the DAW experience better. But, it may not be the best tool for a film composer to invest in. Read my full review below.
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It’s Mermaid Time: DIY Short Film Scoring, Part 4: Voicing
This is the fourth part in a series following my process of composing music for a short film. I’ll take you along on the creative journey with a specific real-world example, from conception through festival premiere. At the end of the series, see the finished product and listen to the full score!
This fourth installment will focus on finding the core instrumentation for the score, what I call “voicing.”
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Seven Best Music Software Apps for Composers
There are a ton of options when it comes to choosing the best music software available to composers today. It can be overwhelming to choose the “right” one. At the end of the day, the best choice is the software package that allows you to be the most creative. The less barriers between your imagination and the music, the better. And, the best software packages can even inspire you to try new things and compose music that is truly unique.
**UPDATED June 2019 to reflect new versions and features of the software**
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It’s Mermaid Time: DIY Short Film Scoring, Part 3: Attack Plan
This is the third part in a series following my process of composing music for a short film. I’ll take you along on the creative journey with a specific real-world example, from conception through festival premiere. At the end of the series, see the finished product and listen to the full score!
This third part will go through the initial script breakdown, and we’ll build an initial attack plan for the cues needed.
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It’s Mermaid Time: DIY Short Film Scoring, Part 2: Inspiration
This is the second part in a series following my process of composing music for a short film. I’ll take you along on the creative journey with a specific real-world example, from conception through festival premiere. At the end of the series, see the finished product and listen to the full score!
This second part will take you through my process for collecting and cultivating inspiration specific to this project.
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It’s Mermaid Time: DIY Short Film Scoring, Part 1: The Project
This is the first part in a series following my process of composing music for a short film. I’ll take you along on the creative journey with a specific real-world example, from conception through festival premiere. At the end of the series, see the finished product and listen to the full score!
This first part will introduce the project specifics and lay out the details I considered before deciding to tackling it.
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