These are video clips from films I have scored.

But instead of just presenting straight video, these clips have the music turned up and some written commentary added on top of the image.

This will provide you with insight into the amount of detail I put in to any given scene, following all aspects of story and action to provide music that fits the film like a glove.

And while the music follows the image perfectly, it always makes musical sense on its own. That is something worth listening for in the following clips.

Clip 1: The Citizen

Genre: Action

Film: The Citizen Episode I

I love scoring action, so clip number one is an action scene.

The Set-up:
The protagonist is a vigilante on his first mission against the Russian mafia. He must collect a crucial disc, but a civilian gets taken hostage.

This scene in the film occurs after a fairly long build up - all the characters and events lining up into place. Things finally get going and the protagonist (wearing the night-vision goggles) attacks the baddies who are holding an older gentleman hostage.

The visuals themselves were fairly static: there was a limited amount of physical action, no running or fighting, no quick pans or cuts, so the music played a central role in creating that feeling of motion and intensity.

What I like the most about this cue:

The music is intensely chromatic yet flows very nicely, it has a LOT of hits and follows the action really well while still making complete musical sense. The ending has aleatoric glissandi in the strings that really provide the right feeling of intense disorientation needed for this scene. And the closing timpani roll as the head lifts, gives a great bookend for the scene.

PS. Because of compression the scenes are quite dark and lacking detail. The music rocks, though, so it's okay.

PSS. This was a working cut of the film, so it has time code and no special effects. The music is loud though, that makes up for it!