Hi all.
Tap tap tap. Bit of housekeeping to start with.
Firstly, I’ve just launched a new website as my musical online home. It’s also serving as an introduction to my musical alter-ego (like a superhero, but with pants on the inside). Check it out at:
Secondly, all that design branding has been reflected here at On/Off Switch. I thought about rebranding the Substack, but I spend loads of time turning things on and off when making music so it still all 'fits’ I think. So, thanks for your loyal service, red circle thing. RIP.
Ok, onto the main meat of this one. You’ll see a tab on the new site (have you not been yet? C’mon!) called ‘Foundtracks’.
What’s that apart from a typo? Well, it’s not. It’s one of my well-meaning, impeccably researched Dad puns which annoyingly work rather well.
Basically, a ‘Foundtrack’ is a means to an end. As part of my MA, I’m building a body of music work. And that involves showing as proof of concept my ability to soundtrack a trailer, or scene from a famous movie or TV show, or perhaps a trailer.
This involves finding a bit of footage on the internet - hopefully without any pre-existing score - and doing a ‘new’ score or a bit of sound design over the top. The trick is if there’s a pre-existing score (like in a trailer) to avoid hearing it first so you’re not influenced. More problematic than you would think.
But, once you’re over that bit it’s GREAT FUN. You’ve got a fantastic sandbox to play in and just be creative and match the visuals. It’s not perfect. Sometimes, the BPM wafts all over the place as a trailer might not have had a full piece of music, so things don’t quite sync, but it’s all good practice.
You want examples? It’s on the website (hint), but ok then. Here’s some I prepared earlier.
Firstly, here’s a re-scoring of the new Netflix ‘Ripley’ trailer. I have no idea what the audio is like on the original - check it out to compare if you dare!
Oh, and disclaimer - all Foundtracks visuals and scene audio are used for educational purposes and the rights remain with the original artists.
© 2024 - Netflix
Ok, next up here’s the opening scene of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ which is A) an awesome scene and B) comes without virtually any score over the top. Thanks Hans.
©2017 Warner Bros. Pictures, Syncopy Inc all rights reserved.
So, that’s a Foundtrack! I’ll be doing more of these over the year, but if you’ve seen something that fits the brief let me know and I might have a whirl - let’s call it the Foundtrack Challenge.
Until next time
G