The last two days have been filled with a variety of taster events. This meant that the students were all split up into random groups and had an opportunity to sample the other courses which have been taking place this week. Here’s a selection of what some of our students thought about the film music taster:

Danny

The film taster session was very enjoyable. Working to a brief was interesting, it felt much more like a puzzle to solve. It was quite challenging but with the help of Rosie and Jordan I was able to complete it. After this experience I would definitely like to learn more about film music.

Timothy

The taster sessions were enjoyable. I was introduced to new ideas, techniques and musical perspectives. The film session introduced me to techniques and practices used in the film music industry and the pressures of writing under time constraints! The experience was greatly enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a new perspective on the composing world.

Cameron

When I stepped into the film taster session I was very anxious as having been at the SAM Summer School last year, I knew the small amount of time we had. I had to work very quickly without too much thought beyond the basic idea I wanted to get across. Fortunately, I felt my short film score turned out well. The only thing I regret is I have not yet done film music as the main session. Regardless, the taster sessions , as well as the entire experience (learning new ways to compose, getting professionals to play music, and making some great friends), has been brilliant!

Chris

I would recommend the SAM Summer School to everyone in the known universe. I enjoyed the film taster session despite the time pressure.

Zakia

The film taster was so refreshing and exciting. Looking at something small from a new point of view and making snap decisions was so fun!

Alexander

I really enjoyed the challenge of writing music to film at the film music taster session today! My technological troubles were quickly remedied by Jordan and Rosie who assisted in the session.

George

The Summer School is fantastic and the food is pretty good too. You can’t get bored as there’s no time for that!

Owen

The taster session for film music was great. Despite the very short time limit this was a very good challenge to work under pressure, which I enjoyed a lot. The finished product was okay but I wasn’t too keen on it, so it was good that I got lots of feedback on how to make the main ‘hit point’ the most effective and dramatic. Another challenge was the jazz taster session, in which we learnt a lot of theory and modes. This will be very useful in my world music composition.