What do we do when we need to make present-day music sound “retro?” That’s the question I faced when having to write a romantic theme in the style of a 1950s Hollywood film.
Read Moresoundtrack
Batman always leaves a good impression…
What if Hans Zimmer Wrote a Podcast Outro?
One of the joys of contributing outros for Scriptnotes is getting to learn more more about a composer’s style.
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only the creepiest quartet plays music here…
What if 2020 had a Soundtrack
I absolutely love scary movies. And more than that, I love writing scary music. Detuned pianos, screeching strings…
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A still from Horizon Zero Dawn can stand in for the unreleased short, right?
Writing Music for a Silent Film
in soundtrack, short film
The short film follows the efforts of a lone woman carrying fire and light from one town to the next in a world that lives in unending darkness.
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X marks the spot?
What does Good Company sound like?
For a while, a simple piano tune was rattling around in my head - something warm and cool at the same time…
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grainy black and white = scary!
6 Creepy Halloween Tracks
in soundtrack
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I use it as an excuse to watch a bajillion horror movies, and also to listen to my favorite kind of movie music - horror movie music.
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All journeys must come to an end…
New Music: Cataclysm
in soundtrack, animation
It’s always fun when you’re asked to hit a range of emotions within a single cue.
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A person who has returned from the dead…
New Music: Revenant
in soundtrack
It’s funny what inspires a song sometimes. It can be a word, an image, a feeling…
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The creepiest “snow” you ever saw
New Music: Scriptnotes Chernobyl
in soundtrack
As I’ve been watching Craig Mazin’s excellent HBO series, Chernobyl, I’ve been especially taken by the score for the show.
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Helping WGA members track their projects
The Start Button
in soundtrack
I recently wrote the score for John August’s video explaining The Start Button - a new way for WGA members to track their current projects and request help from their guild if they need it.
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Run, little man, run!
New Music Release: Go, Jira!
in soundtrack
I’ve been listening to Lorne Balfe’s score to Mission Impossible: Fallout a lot lately, and this idea started developing in my head: what if an Ethan Hunt-type character (let’s call him, I dunno, “Jira”) had to save the world from The King of the Monsters by running a lot?
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It’s not an action-style logo without a blue anamorphic flare!
New Music Release: Izumi Junior High School in Action
in soundtrack
This is a gift I gave to my students and co-workers before I left my school in Japan. I wanted to give the school something unique. I came up with this - an action movie arrangement of their song.
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New Music Release: Road Less Traveled
Just because you take the road less traveled doesn't mean it's bumpy and scary. Maybe it's paved. Maybe it's the scenic route. Enjoy this pleasant piano and strings piece about taking a detour in life.
Read MoreNew Music Released: Passing Storm
I wrote this epic, trailer-style piece to tell a simple story - a character gets into trouble but manages to emerge clean on the other end. This is the first entry in my collection of music library tracks.
Read MoreA Misfit Soundtrack
Adventures of Miss Fit is the definition of a passion project. Gregg and Denise Simpson put over five years of their life into this cool documentary about Real Life Superheroes. What do I mean by “Real Life Superheroes?” Does that mean police officers and firefighters?
Great guess! But no.
It means…
Read MoreSticks - Music and Sound for an Animatic
in animation, short film
Composers get to work on projects of all kinds - big and small; live and animated; horror and humorous. We usually show up right at the end of the production when everything is wrapped, locked, and ready for the final ingredient. But this composing job for John August was a chance to…
Read MoreLast Date - Writing Music for a Short Horror Film
It's all about connections.
In dating, it's about how you connect. Do you like the same things? Did you make a good first impression? Is your date going to suck your soul out through your eyeballs?
OK, so maybe that last one isn't universal, but it's…
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