This time I took part in the Score the World 2 contest: We had a given video sequence (the last 4 minutes of the Oscar winning film “Son of Saul”) and had to write accompanying music to it.

The actual movie does not have music, and does not need it, so I decided to step back and just use it at appropriate points. In fact, the guideline to the task mentioned that we should be cautious not to put music too far into the foreground – after all it is a movie, and the music only plays a side role.

I had very great support from my brother, who was teaching me a lot about mixing and let me use his gear. I realized the first time, what this can do to a track – or, to put it the other way round – how much I missed by not following at least the most basic rules. Shame on me! And thanks, dear brother!

Congrats, you got into the TOP 50 in the Score The World 2 contest!

Your rank is: 30.

There were a few hundred participants, so your result is truly a nice achievement!

The Placement Notification

Wow! So this makes me count to somewhat around at least the best 15%!!!!!! 🙂

As one of the top 50 participants, I have also been honored by getting the detailed feedback from the jury:

  • “The mood you conveyed greatly enhanced the visuals. Great orchestral writing.”
  • “Really great balance of the instruments. The tonal balance could be improved a bit though. The strings are a bit harsh in the high mids and the violins sometimes overpower the lower voices a bit. The brass could use a bit more power and buzz at times in the highs.”
  • “I think this entry has potential. There are moments where the underscore matches the scene very well (i.e as we see the kid peer around the corner). However, I found it an odd choice to wait an entire minute without a single real note apart from a low drone. Then, when the music does enter, the composer vastly overplays the moment when the protagonist smiles. While I appreciate the attempt, I would have liked the music to be less grand and more intimately involved in the narrative structure.”
  • “Positive: Orchestration is solid. Improve: I think the first scenes with no clear dialogs would have been better with music”