Scoring for Film

Instead of adding this back to the Long Neck Big Heart post, I decided to make a new post about scoring for film.  During the performance, there is a stop-motion video that required music.  As the sound-designer for the show, I decided to try my hand at it.  There are many challenges to scoring for film.  You really have to understand what the picture is saying, and putting that to music is difficult.  This short piece is a dream about a man and his relationship with his blue robe.




The Beast of Dreams from EJ Posselius.
 

Film Scoring Setup

I've also included some information about how I recorded the piece.  I hope this information proves useful for others doing this kind of work and that others can give me advice based on what I've done here.

My goal for this recording was to create a rustic, almost nostalgic feeling.  Using an upright piano was perfect for this.

For microphones, I used two MXL603s separated (~2') cardioids for high/low mixing. (After experimenting, this arrangement proved to produce the most vintage sound.)  I also placed an MXL4000 (set on cardoid) behind the soundboard (out of the picture) for added reinforcement.  I ended up not using this in the mix as the sound was too clean.  These microphones ran through the Alesis io|26 into Ableton, which I used for scoring.  The mixer and MIDI keyboard are not related to this recording.

Finally, the part that made this project so exciting is the custom mounted computer monitor above the piano.  Using the hardware from an old Dell flatscreen, I rigged it to a music stand.  It has many purposes... like letting me actually watch the film while I'm playing.  I am very pleased with this portion of the project and look forward to doing similar things in the future.  I can provide more information about building this kind of thing if there is interest. Email me.