u/machellic

Composing podcast music is a blast because it often means I’m writing something different from what I usually do, and in the case of the Scriptnotes podcast, it means I have a golden opportunity to study a well-known film score and figure out how to fit the famous Scriptnotes melody (C, E, D, B, C - or 1, 3, 2, 7, 1) in this new film score’s style.

When screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin had director Curry Barker on Scriptnotes, I knew this was the perfect chance to dive into composer Rock Burwell’s score for the horror film, Obsession.

Rock’s score is sometimes pretty, sometimes queasy, always a little unsettling. To mirror this quality in the Scriptnotes outro, I used a combination of synth keys and a processed wurlitzer along with synth pads that subtly waver around on a given pitch so they always sound a little out of tune. After a long build up, we finally voice the Scriptnotes melody (instead of the Obsession, Love is in the Air melody), and we introduce a felt piano layer, some subtle cymbals, and strumming guitars along with with a high synth pad that drifts far above its pitch before falling back down to where it started, giving the whole track a dreamlike, pretty, but unsettling feel - a kind of synth horror version of Scriptnotes.

I learned a lot creating a podcast outro in this style. It made me enjoy Rock Burwell’s Obsession score even more. I hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of what goes into making a Scriptnotes podcast outro like this!

When composing for dramatic films, realism matters. I play a few instruments, but I often find I need to program virtual instruments to match the realism of, say, a live alto saxophone I’m recording myself.

This is where I’ve found my aerophone comes in handy. It plays like a saxophone (at least the way I have it set up), and the bite and breath sensors record pitch and modulation MIDI information, respectively. It goes a long way toward making other virtual instruments I have sound more realistic, especially when mixed against a real player.

For this romantic drama scene, I wanted to have a back and forth musical conversation between an alto saxophone (which I can play myself), and a lower, bari sax (which I don’t have). I felt these two horns “talking” back and forth mirrored the conversation between the two romantic leads on screen, and it was important that the melody lines ended up weaving between each other, so there needed to be kind of a seamless handoff between one instrument and the other.

The aerophone ended up being a MIDI input device for a good-sounding bari sax virtual instrument I have and - I feel - sounds pretty good against the alto saxophone recording it’s in conversation with.

Sometimes, making an indie film score is all about making the budget go as far as it can and making the music sound as realistic as possible. I think tools like this help the drama of the film to be supported by quality music that can be written/performed faster.

I really love any excuse to perform an instrument into my DAW using alternative methods like these. Since the saxophone is my main instrument, it always feels more musical and emotional to me.

What do you think? Does the bari sax in this track sound as real as the alto saxophone?

As a composer for video games, I find I learn a lot by looking back at the creative brief for a level and seeing how the different references and musical comps combined with my own sensibilities to make something unique and fun.

I wrote this piece of music for the Japan Expansion map in the video game, Bang-on Balls: Chronicles - a chaotic, fun 3D platformer (like a mix of Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot) where you play as a bouncy ball character, BOB, exploring large, destructible, historically-themed open worlds (Vikings, Space Race, Japan, etc.)

For the Time Trouble on Kaiju Island expansion of the game, I was brought on to write various Japan-themed tracks that took place in different times/locations throughout Japan’s history. This track took place in contemporary Tokyo, where little 8-bit creatures are attacking the city. The audio lead of this indie game thought that Japanese City Pop could be a fun genre to dive into for this level, and so I listened to A LOT of city pop and wrote this fun little piece.

There’s a mix of retro 90s synths, classic Japanese koto and shamisen instruments, and punchy, big band-sounding trumpet and trombone stabs that add rhythmic interest to the chords. I also paid particular attention to the melody line in this track, because generally speaking, Japanese pop melodies tend to be longer and slightly more complicated than their Western counterparts.

As a composer, this ended up being one of my favorite tracks I wrote for the Japan expansion of Bang-on Balls Chronicles.

Composing a video game track like this is a real blast. I hope that seeing some of the references that went into the brief for this track is a fun look into all the small creative choices that make up an indie game soundtrack!

I definitely had a lot of fun composing for this game!

So Nintendo announced a remake of Ocarina of Time coming to the Switch 2! As a huge fan of the original (and a huge fan of the original’s music) there’s no better time to dive into my favorite theme from the N64 version… Koji Kondo’s Kokiri Forest Theme!

The music in Ocarina of Time is incredibly memorable, and this theme stands out as a particular earworm to me. It feels bouncy, like you’re skipping through a forest. Of course, in my arrangement of this theme, I expanded Kondo’s original instrument choices of recorders, flutes, and light percussion to something more orchestral - adding far more woodwinds (like clarinet and oboe), introducing a guitar and harpsichord line, and including a large brass section later in the piece.

To me, this larger sound mirrors how it felt as a first time player of the game, running around this level and, honestly, causing a bit of havoc in a world that felt like it got bigger by the minute.

An interesting music theory note is that Koji Kondo’s Kokiri theme is in the mixolydian mode, I believe, which is a major scale with a flat 7th. This mode gives the melody a kind of ancient-but-cheerful feel to it, that feels perfectly suited for the setting. The track is also incredibly efficient with motifs. It’s largely built from a short, repeating melodic cell that’s only a few bars long, but loops perfectly and feels complete each time.

In my arrangement, I leaned into the feeling you get when you’ve collected all your gear (the kokiri sword, the shield, etc.) and you’re slashing your way through the grass, looking for rupees, or you’re attacking your first enemies in the game on the way to the Deku Tree.

I’m excited for this remake of one of my favorite Zelda games. And I’m looking forward to the new variations on familiar themes (and new music) that might come with it.

Can you imagine running through Kokiri Forest with this track playing in the background?

As a film composer, I love writing music for documentaries; and one of the questions I find myself asking is how can music help make documentaries sound fun (when the situation calls for it)?

I think documentary films used to have a kind of “eat your vegetables” reputation, but lately we’ve seen many documentaries tackle a variety of subjects in an increasingly engaging and sometimes fun way. “Odyssey,” the feature length documentary about the creative problem-solving competition, Odyssey of the Mind, is one of those very fun docs.

When I was brought on to compose the music for this enjoyable feature film, I found myself asking that question again - how can I increase the fun factor in this film? One of the techniques I used was scoring this film less like a traditional indie documentary, and more like a classic Hollywood feature film. This sequence is a good example of that. The Odyssey team that we’ve been following throughout the film is about to practice a “spontaneous” problem, where they have to balance as many nails on a piece of paper as possible using just spaghetti and tape. As they joke with each other and try to come up with clever approaches, the music follows their brainstorming until they spring into action, and the track, too, expands into its biggest, busiest version of itself.

Not every documentary calls for this kind of approach, but in a movie where the subjects (The Odyssey Team) are so earnest themselves, we felt the music could be similarly big and heartfelt. You don’t usually have such a “large” orchestral sound in a small sequence like this - percussion bubbling away, strings and high woodwinds providing a rhythmic arpeggio, and a tuba and muted trumpet (and piccolo) carrying the melody in the end.

I hope this brief behind-the-scenes video gives you a sense of the kind of craft and thought that goes into documentary scoring. As a composer, I was thrilled to be a part of this lovely story.

What do you think? Does this sequence sound like it’s even more fun now?

As a documentary film composer, I’ve often heard the debate about the role of music in non-fiction films. Should it be emotional and push the audience the way it can in narrative film? Or should it be more objective and neutral, adding a sense of propulsion to a story, but commenting less (or not at all) on the subject matter?

This was a question we raised with the director and producer of the documentary film, Odyssey, when I began composing the original score. And Garrett Stiger and Alyssa Chamberlin were in full support of a big, emotional score for the film - very much at odds with what the norm was in documentaries when we began working on this.

The result was a documentary film with multiple musical themes, big moments, and grand emotions, which ended up mirroring the Odyssey of the Mind team we were following as they experienced the ups and downs of competing in this creative problem-solving competition. It also brought a level of nostalgia to the creators of the documentary, who participated in this organization when they were kids, too.

The score was made of large string ensembles, intimate woodwind melodies, and tender piano and chime lines mixed with occasional guitar and synth engines to keep things moving.

What do you think? Can documentary films have big, emotional scores? Or should the music refrain from commenting on the subject matter?

As a composer, I’m fascinated by this discussion.

As a composer for feature films, I was thrilled to write the original score for the documentary film, Odyssey, directed by Garrett Stiger, and produced by Alyssa Chamberlin. Odyssey is about the creative problem-solving competition, Odyssey of the Mind.

Odyssey of the Mind is in 30 countries. Over 15,000 teams compete each year. This is the story of one of them. Six California kids test their brains and talents against students in Odyssey of the Mind, a problem-solving competition requiring mechanical, creative and intellectual skills. With little money and zero adult participation, the teens build a robot to tell a story about bullying, exclusion and mental health. But how does their solution measure up?

Garrett and Alyssa first asked me to write a memorable main theme for their documentary film, wanting something that was “a bit of an ear worm.” So I leaned on the nostalgia of what it feels like to be middle-schooler with the chimes announcing the end of each class period. I wrote a simple melody that felt like it could be playing out on an intercom like that, and developed it into several versions - a simple piano melody, a full orchestral version, and several simple woodwind arrangements that play throughout the documentary.

After hearing the melody once, Garrett found himself humming it for days afterwards. Perhaps I was too successful?

There are many themes and motifs throughout this lovely, heartfelt documentary that take on a life of their own. I think writing a memorable theme (whether for narrative film, documentary features, or any story, really) helps bring an extra level of depth and emotion to a story, as well as giving the audience an element of the film that they can take with them out the door when the movie is done.

As a composer, I’m glad I was able to be a part of the journey for this film, and I’m happy I was able to write a memorable main theme for such an unforgettable documentary!

What does this simple melody make you think of?

As a composer for video games, I find I learn a lot by looking back at the creative brief for a level and seeing how the different references and musical comps combined with my own sensibilities to make something unique and fun.

I wrote this piece of music for a Wild West exploration level in the video game, Bang-on Balls: Chronicles - a chaotic, fun 3D platformer (like a mix of Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot) where you play as a bouncy ball character, BOB, exploring large, destructible, historically-themed open worlds (Vikings, Space Race, Wild West, etc.)

For the Wild West expansion of the game, I was brought back to write the bouncy, punchy tracks needed to bring this American West map of the game to life through music. In this intro/exploration level, we referenced many Ennio Morricone soundtracks, contemporary Native American songs, and a lot of fun PC game OSTs from our childhood. But all of this needed to be filtered through the lens of this wacky, funny game. So the opening of the track (instead of having a grand, brass fanfare) plays out the lead instrument of a “mouth trumpet,” which I think helps let players know what they’re in for with this new map.

Then we have a feast of amazing instruments pop up to play little solo lines - there’s a harmonica, Native American flutes imitating the whinny of a horse, several acoustic guitars and mandolins, and even pitched toms to play like the sound of galloping horse hooves on the dry desert.

Every once in a while, we even have an actual foley recording of an aggressive whip crack sound like it’s echoing across the canyon. All part of making this track sound Western and make you want to go exploring in this new map!

Composing a video game track like this is a real blast. I hope that seeing some of the references that went into the brief for this track is a fun look into all the small creative choices that make up an indie game soundtrack!

I definitely had a lot of fun composing for this game!

When composing music for video games set in other countries, I often think about ways to bridge the gap between authenticity and novelty in game music. On the one hand, of course we want to have a touch of authentic flavor, whether that’s traditional instruments, or specific time signatures or rhythmic feels, but in video game music (with a few exceptions) we also need to make sure it sounds contemporary and fun.

When I got the chance to write the music for the Japan map for Exit Plan Games and their Bang-on Balls: Chronicles game, I leapt at the opportunity to bring some of these considerations to the table. While composing music for the Japan Exploration theme that opens this new expansion map for players, I wanted to start off with something that sounded traditional, and then quickly transitioned to a fun, video game version of feudal Japan. Fortunately, I spent some time living and working in Japan, so I got to lean on my experience in the country when writing this track.

In this short video, I go over how we started off with Koto lines, Shakuhachi improvisations, and booming Taiko drums, but those usual culprits soon give way to things like a more swung feel in the drums, and synth augmentation for the plucked instruments, and beefing up the taiko rhythms with a kick drum and aggressive snare.

Hopefully, this brief look into what goes into making a video game score both authentic and new shows how much consideration goes into even a fun track like this. It’s an interesting combination, and I think it fits the whacky, bouncy world of Bang-on Balls well.

I hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look as much as I enjoyed writing this Japanese map music.

Writing music for video games, it’s sometimes fun to look back at the creative brief and the musical references that went into making a track what it is today.

I wrote this piece of music for a goldmine level in the video game, Bang-on Balls: Chronicles - a chaotic, fun 3D platformer (like a mix of Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot) where you play as a bouncy ball character, BOB, exploring large, destructible, historically-themed open worlds (Vikings, Space Race, Wild West, etc.)

For the Wild West expansion of the game, I was brought back to write the bouncy, punchy tracks needed to bring this American West map of the game to life through music. In this goldmine level, we had a variety of musical references including the song 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Luigi’s Mansion, and Wild West saloon songs. I combined all of this into a jazzy, western-feeling, bouncy track that sometimes echoes like it’s playing through the caverns of a deep, sometimes spooky, goldmine.

I used tape speed effects on a live harmonica player to give it an extra level of glissando and pitch bend, as well as layering in classic jazz orchestration like muted brass and harmonizing clarinet lines. Among all of this are some surprising elements like guitar chucks in the rhythm section and samples of a rock pick striking metal and gold to use as rhythmic accents throughout. All part of making this track extra specific to the mine it’s set in.

Composing a video game track like this is a real blast. I hope that seeing some of the references that went into the brief for this track is a fun look into all the small creative choices that make up an indie game soundtrack!

I definitely had a lot of fun composing for this game!

As a composer for video games, I’ve thought a lot about what can help to make video game music sound fun…

When I got to work with Exit Plan Games on their wacky project, Bang-on Balls: Chronicles, I got to put some of these thoughts into action.

In this video, I go over some of the composing and orchestration techniques I used for the Mexico level in the Wild West expansion of the game. Of course, this piece features many instruments you’d expect to hear in a fictional version of 1900s Mexico:

Mariachi-style trumpets and strings, the strumming of guitars, guitarrón, and charango, and of course, energetic, high-pitched gritos! Can you hear all of those in this opening minute?

But there are some surprising instruments layered in here as well that help increase the sense of whimsy and bounciness that this video game is famous for (Bang-on Balls has an “overwhelmingly positive” rating on Steam).

Enjoy this brief dive into the joy of composing for games!

I definitely enjoyed writing this track.

I'm a local Emmy-winning composer based in Southern California. I'm wrapping up a short film at the moment, but I also recently finished the music for Bang-on Balls: Chronicles - a fun, 3D platformer.

I'd love to jump into a new project with a fun team. I've included Bang-on Balls as an example of recent music I've written and also as an example of the kind of thought and detail that goes into each track I write. Each track in that game (in my Japan and Wild West contributions) were high-quality and super fun. I make it my goal to have each piece of music I produce sound as amazing as possible and fit the game like a glove.

I have an incredibly versatile style (some call me a musical chameleon). Here are some examples of my work:

🌐 Website

🎥 Instagram

🎵 YouTube

I'd love to chat about your project, even if you just want some quick advice on how music should be handled - I'm a friendly guy, I always think the best projects are when I had a great conversation about musical references and what a game dev needs the most out of the audio in their game.

Feel free to reach out and DM me.

Best of luck to you all!