For my senior project I will be scoring the short film The Song For Rain (2012) by Yawen Zheng, with sound selection inspired by musicians Mort Garson, Pierre Dutour, and Hiroshi Yoshimura. The goal of the project is to challenge the way I create music by composing for a video rather than a stand alone song. On top of this, I want to learn how to get commissioned for film and television scores so I can monetize the music I make. I have spent the last five years producing music off my laptop, mostly using digital instruments and samples, so I will be further challenging myself by recording the score using exclusively analog equipment (recorded into a laptop, but all played with physical instruments).
Throughout the project, I will be meeting with British composer Mike Higham, who is currently working on “The Little Mermaid”, releasing in 2023, but he has also worked on “Into the Woods”, “Mary Poppins Returns”, and many other big name movies (he has a full Wikipedia page that is worth checking out). He has also worked with the Spice Girls, Tina Turner, and U2. I will first be meeting with Mike to ask him about how he got into the business and get his advice as I dive into this project. As I begin scoring, I will be sending Mike drafts of my work for reviews, which will all be done via Zoom since he is based in England.
As for the buckets, the general project idea falls under creativity since I am creating a music score from scratch with all original compositions. For the academic bucket, talking to Mike and learning about the music scoring industry will teach me how I can seek out career opportunities during and after college. On top of this, I will be taking Nick’s Music outside Academia seminar, further helping me learn how to monetize my work. For the service bucket, I will be volunteering with the Brooklyn Book Bodega, which is a Brooklyn-based organization that sends books out to families in underfunded communities. I will also be doing a weekly afterschool program with Mason Rosse at P.S. 290, teaching students how to use editing software.
I will be recording the soundtrack between my bedroom, the music room (when available), and other friend’s houses, all depending on what instruments/equipment I need on a given day. I have never committed to creating a multiple track body of music, let alone a project that is completely analog, so it will challenge me as a musician who is more comfortable working in a digital space. If I end the project with a polished soundtrack that I am proud to share and can be listened to as both an accompaniment to the film and a stand alone EP, I will be happy with the results.