2 Busy 2 Compose

I had originally envisioned composing my own music for the project, but I do not think I will have enough time to do so.

I have been watching a lot of movies and television shows with the same tone as the film, and I've noticed the suspenseful music, with stings and fast paced beats. It really contributes to the mood of the piece. However, I also want to include music with a modern twist on past thrill movie scores. I want viewers to understand that the film takes place in the current era, and every aspect of production will reflect that.

I want to incorporate a kind of "mini-soundtrack" into the piece. Last year, I only used one song in my portfolio project, and it was primarily because the film was only two minutes and was supposed to be a "film opening", and not reflect an entire story arc. I plan on using at least two or three royalty-free compositions in the project to emphasize different feelings and emotions.

I did some research into general crime genre films to understand what an excellent soundtrack should be for my specific type of film. The website, criminalelement.com, gave the names of the composers of the score for the piece as well as songs from the soundtrack. Because of copyright issues, I will barely be able to use any actual "songs", and the film will be full of instrumental music. Specific scores that stuck out to me included the piece "Oraculum"  by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the film "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". It isn't the typical slow, brooding tune one would expect, but full of clashing and clanging that has an eerie effect. An abnormal score such as this may fit in well with the piece, matching the unusual character of "Hader".

While I was thinking about odd score choices, I remembered a song from "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". The song was used throughout different parts of the film with tension and action- an operatic ballad. It added an odd sense of validity to the piece, seeing as a piece of such grandeur was in a setting of chaos and confrontation. The song is called "The Last Rose of Summer". The vocals make the violent action of the scenes feel beautiful, like a piece of art. I also think that this notion fits very well with the character of  "Hader".

To find the music, I am going to use a website given to us by a county administrator that provides royalty-free music for a certain fee. Killer Tracks is easy to use and searches using wide parameters and multiple genres.

I'm excited for this specific aspect of the project, especially since I only used one song last year. I can't wait to explore the music library, and select some of these "odd" choices that I hope will challenge the audience's senses and disturb them even further.

Resources:
http://www.criminalelement.com/face-the-music-five-crime-films-with-first-rate-scores-and-soundtracks/ (Information on stellar crime film soundtracks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viDB6qzRp0s (Oraculum)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo_(soundtrack) (Further research on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack)
https://www.soundtrackmania.net/three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri-soundtrack.html/ (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Soundtrack and "The Last Rose of Summer")