Cue of the Week: Truth Among the Fish

Every composer should have the opportunity to score a scene in an aquarium. For one thing, it's very relaxing. It also lets one look for interesting sonic colors to reflect the exotic alien visuals of the water and its exotic inhabitants.

In this case I picked muted strings, vibraphone, and bass flute to reflect both the visuals and the introspective and mysterious discussion occurring therein. (Two bass flutes, actually - but as only one was available that day, we recorded a second pass as an overdub.)

Truth Among the Fish

Cue of the Week: The Yard Sale

This cue accompanies the Scene Most Likely To Make You Grab Your Kleenex in the film Against Time. I won't divulge any details, so you'll have to watch the movie to understand the full context.

Fortunately, this is now possible! You can now purchase Against Time from its website, or even rent it on Netflix.

(Filmmakers take note: as you can see, a side benefit of working with me is a free promotional junket for your movie.)

The Yard Sale

Cue of the Week: The Cemetery

Here's the next cue from the Against Time series. As the title implies, this piece is reflective and on the nostalgic side.

The studio where this was recorded (Magyar Radio in Budapest) featured a very interesting piano. It was an exotic Boesendorfer with a handful of keys below the normal bottom-most note, each of them colored black to emphasize their subterranean quality. I was tempted to try and write something for this instrument's extended range, but as you can tell, the present cue probably wasn't the place to start experimenting with sub-bass inharmonics. :)

A final note - for those of you curious about the movie itself, the official website is now online.

The Cemetery

Cue of the Week: Fight and Tragedy

Here's the next installment in the Against Time score series, a piece which accompanies the heated debate between Robert Loggia and Ean Merrig's characters, and the tragic consequences that follow. This cue normally goes by a more "spoliersh" name, but in light of the film's upcoming release I didn't want to reveal any plot points. (Especially since the film's director reads this journal and I fear his wrath.)

Most of this cue is what you would call classic underscore. It's meant to sit beneath dialogue, and so provides mounting ambient tension without getting in the way. There is something of a payoff at the end, however - so good things will come to those who listen to bass and cello pedals supplemented with ambient sampled textures. As the saying goes.

Fight and Tragedy