Over the past few months I have been participating in a podcast with Scott Murray and Joel Lewis called Movie Mumble, hosted by Nerds That Geek (also available on iTunes). We take turns picking a movie, then we watch it together, and then talk about it for the podcast. I composed an original theme, and then for each episode, I do a version of the theme that fits the film we are watching (check the media player to listen to the themes). Here is our ‘Welcome‘ episode to give you and idea of what to expect. For our first cycle of films, we watched ‘Dragon Lord‘ (Joel’s pick), ‘The Sky Crawlers‘ (Scott’s pick), and ‘Koyaanisqatsi‘ (my pick). We also recorded a ‘Cycle One Recap‘ and two special episodes: ‘The Room‘ and ‘The Disaster Artist‘.
Follow me on Instagram for behind the scenes pics and sneak peek videos.
Back in August I participated in a few contests and here are the results. The first was for Sample Library Review’s Soundiron Bumper Scoring Challenge. I was given a 10 second video logo to compose music for, using mostly Soundiron libraries. Had I won, my entry would be the official music for that logo. While I probably can’t publish the logo with my music, you can view the video here, and then listen to “Iron Sound” to get the gist. The other contest, through ThinkSpace Education and Spitfire Audio, was to compose a 2-3 minute piece using only Spitfire Labs libraries ($3 each and the money goes to charity). “Cold and Hollow” was the result.
On the weekend of January 20-22, I participated in another Global Game Jam at the University of Denver. I did music and sound effects for the game Bass Cannon: Cogs from Space Hell, made for the Oculus Rift VR headset and Oculus Touch Controllers. You use three guns to shoot sound waves at different colored vases, that only shatter under specific frequencies. Check out a sample of the music under “Compositions” to the right.
During the most recent 48 Hour Film Festival, some of the music I composed didn’t get used, but I decided to post it here anyway. Some things to listen for: (1) At one point in the scene there is a reference to a mobile game that was very popular at the time. (2) Around the climax of the scene, a slow-motion “bullet-time” effect was used.
Also, on Tuesday April 26th at 7:30, the Lamont Symphony Orchestra will be performing Astronauts vs. Aliens at their New Music Concert. I hope to see you there!
A while back, I joined a group on Facebook that does competitions for composers every few weeks. This was the description of the most recent challenge:
A Jeep chase through the jungle, enemies starting close behind you, then falling out of sight. Just when you think you are safe, the enemies approach you from a place you didn’t expect!
The ending should tell us the story of how the chase ends!
A while back I mentioned that I wrote some music for the (soon to be released) game “Rope Ninja.” Not all of the music was used, so I decided to arrange all of the music I had written into a loose narrative of the game. A Rope Ninja Suite, if you will.
First there is the opening title, then music for Level 1 (flute melody), until the first boss approaches. On the first try, our hero is defeated, but immediately tries again, more experienced and confident, and this time is triumphant. The music continues in Level 2 (cello melody), but before long the final boss appears. After an intense battle, our hero is once again victorious. The piece closes with a combination of the music from Levels 1 and 2 (flute and cello melody).
Sorry, not THAT LSO. Tuesday, April 28 at 7:30 The Lamont Symphony Orchestra will perform Desolation, along with new works by Lamont student composers.
Tim Girard 