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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Day 2 is always a very busy time with key tutor groups working hard along with two taster sessions for everyone. Here is a flavour of what has taken place in each of the tutor groups today. World Music The World Music Group musicians have demonstrated their instruments including pitched Tabla, Nyckelharpa, Marimba and Clarinet. Pupils […]
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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