The composition for screen taster session was a really useful insight into writing for short film clips under pressure. I thought that having hit points in the film notated in a part really helps with linking the music and the film, which is the most essential part of writing film music.
At the SaM Summer School, we spent the mornings of the second and third days doing taster sessions to try other types of composition! One of those was composing film music. Our task? To compose a piece of film music for a short 25 second snippet from film The Grand Budapest Hotel! We had 25 […]
I had a great time in the Film Taster Session! I am very interested in writing film music, so getting the opportunity to do this was very enjoyable! I think one of the most exciting things about this taster sessions is being able to write a piece and then have it recorded in The Purcell […]
The film’s setting of a snowy mountain gave me the idea to use harmonics and different bow positions, with large spaces of silence, to create impression of the icy atmosphere within the setting. It was very exciting to hear it performed!
In the Film Music taster session, we had 30 mins to write a short piece that would accompany a film clip. This was the first time I’d participated in such an activity, and in doing so I got to experience what it might be like to be a film composer! Aidan Goetzee, the film taster […]
Woah. That was quite something. The audience has been spoilt by the quality of the Film Group’s recitals this evening! Each student had a three minute long clip that a live ensemble performed in real time to the moving image. The compositions evoked an array of emotions, each and every one receiving an enormous round […]
As part of the experience at the SaM Summer School, everyone has a chance to experience a taster session with the four tutor groups other than your primary one. In the film group, I had 25 minutes to write a short piece for solo cello to accompany a film showing a dramatic scene of a […]
For the second and third days of the summer school, the morning’s activities involved us partaking in hour long sessions with all of the key tutor groups. One of today’s sessions was with the Film Group, and involved writing a short piece for cello to accompany a short film. Crucial moments were identified (known as […]
I think everyone found the film taster session enjoyable but challenging! Nonetheless, it deserves to be said that the staff were incredibly supportive and useful, offering detailed advice on how we should consider writing for the given scenarios of the short film we encountered. It was a deeply commendable experience.
The film music taster sessions tested my ability to write music in a limited time frame, and I ultimately found that I could do so. It provided me with an introductory experience to writing music that mimics the movements and actions within a 30 second film clip. The initial challenge of the task pushed me […]
It’s been fantastic to have the opportunity to work within the musical disciplines outside of my Key Tutor Group, such as Film Music. I’ve found that these stylistically varying sessions have broadened my knowledge of how to write for specific instruments and individuals within an ensemble. When working with film, I’ve also gained an understanding […]
Composing a piece as part of the 30 minute Film Group taster session proved incredibly challenging due to both time and orchestration restraints. Nonetheless, it was a valuable learning experience that offered incredible insight into the typically stressful conditions a film composer may encounter on a day-to-day basis. What really pushed me outside my comfort […]
Steve Reich – Six marimbas Bernard Hermann – Psycho Debussy –Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Wagner – THE Tristan Chord
Judith Weir Master of the Queen’s music in Pictures https://t.co/pIGbsD5l9L pic.twitter.com/VCeh9D0ZCj — Sam Summer (@samsummeruk) August 3, 2016 Sam reflects on his time on the instrumental course @Soundandmusic #SAMsummer16 https://t.co/3OhkzeudSm pic.twitter.com/ovETedCfuU — Sam Summer (@samsummeruk) August 3, 2016 British Library sound archive from today's talk…https://t.co/wEX6m2BMlL — Sam Summer (@samsummeruk) August 3, 2016 The saviour of the […]
Over the first two days our pupils get to experience a taste of what the other groups are doing at Sound and Music. In the film group pupils finish at a different rate so we asked them to tell us about their experiences, here are their comments … Eleanor Our task was to compose a […]
Jonty tells us how the film taster course went for him… Think of your favourite moment from your favourite movie. I am almost certain that this will be accompanied by a fantastic score which enhances it. The shower scene in Psycho, the famous 2-note riff in Jaws, Darth Vader’s dramatic entrance; they would all fall […]
Day 2 in pictures: the morning @soundandmusic #SAMsummer16 https://t.co/yPXL4xC4u3 pic.twitter.com/17bIiOdHDF — Sam Summer (@samsummeruk) August 1, 2016 This week I am King Of Beatbox working with young composers alongside @juicevocal at the @samsummeruk #SAMsummer16 pic.twitter.com/mXarm1Xse6 — MaJiKer (@MaJiKer) August 1, 2016 Hope everyones having a brilliant time @samsummeruk #SAMsummer16 gutted I couldn't be there this […]
“It seems like we’ve got a really friendly bunch this year, everyone is chatting and the place is buzzing already!” This was what several young musicians were saying as they walked into this evening concert. The Sound and Music Summer School 2016 started this afternoon with around 75 budding young composers arriving at the Purcell […]
As promised in yesterday’s post, today was an absolute marathon. I thought it would be an idea to look at how the day unfolded through the eyes of the Engineers today. (There will be some student posts about the day coming very soon!) For the three of us (Matti, Ieva and I) it kicked off early. […]
It’s the last full day of composing for some and that has meant that many are going into overdrive mode to get everything finished. There’s a hushed air of concentration across the Purcell School and the IT suite has been full to bursting with composers using sibelius, perfecting their scores, making final adjustments and printing […]
Day 3 in pictures the afternoon session http://t.co/9oftFa99Mu pic.twitter.com/K0MXqLfT2F — Sam Summer (@samsummeruk) August 5, 2015 Busy work on the cross cultural composition. Taken by @thejordanblack @soundandmusic pic.twitter.com/67wdT0Da6o — Sam Summer (@samsummeruk) August 5, 2015 We are inspired #summerschool #takeover #newmusic pic.twitter.com/ZKpxFm5PCH — Sound and Music (@soundandmusic) August 5, 2015 Composers @EHowardComposer and @issiebarratt discuss […]
One of my favourite things about Sound and Music is the amazing mix of evening performances lectures and workshops that are given each day. So far this week we have heard Kuljit Bhamra performing Indian music with his band, Nathaniel Mann – talking about his work with the Pitt Rivers Museum, sound painting with Laura Jurd […]
Written by Pasha Mansurov Pasha is the flautist on the film music course It’s all happening now! Today was the first day of recording material for the films and I was genuinely overwhelmed by the musical ideas from the pupils. Having now taught at this course for 6 years (I consider myself a veteran) it always […]
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: […]
A fantastic taster session in the film department today! It was very useful to get used to the kind of pressure you would be under during an actual film production. I found the different briefs very interesting as they give a whole new perspective on how the film is viewed. In short, a rather valuable […]
“Gosh, it already seems like we’ve all known each other for ages.” This was what several young musicians were saying as they walked into this evening concert (More about that later!) The Sound and Music Summer School 2015 started this afternoon with around 75 budding young composers arriving at the Purcell School for a week […]
Pre course thoughts from Aidan Goetzee. We are days away from the 2015 Sound and Music summer course. I’ve more or less chosen the films that the students are going to be working with. Each person in my group is going to be working with a different film and I have to get the variety […]
I was set the task of composing music for a Charlie Chaplin film. At first I was worried I would never manage to produce a score by the end of the week, but once the ideas started to come it wasn’t a problem! The tutors encouraged us to use few themes but to use them creatively, so I came up with two different themes to represent two themes of the film – fear and confidence. Then came the fun part of developing the motifs to fit the different parts of the film. I especially enjoyed writing a tense duet for cello and flute when the lion woke up!
Throughout the week I’ve gradually been learning to use Logic, generally by trial and error, but the tutors have been very helpful showing us how to do everything we want to do! I feel incredibly lucky to have my work recorded by such talented musicians and to have such a good introduction into the world of electronic music. I will definitely install Logic on my home computer and hopefully will score lots more films – it’s so satisfying to have your own music playing to a film! Thank you SAM tutors!
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