Scoring Project

After sitting around aimlessly for a couple of weeks, I finally have a potential cure for my summer ennui. (And, thank goodness. Sitting in my bed wearing ugly running shorts and eating Trader Joe's bon-bons are not a good combination.)

I was asked to score the future promotional video for the University of Cincinnati's Graduate School, and I recently had a meeting with the director.

I'm excited about this project, since I initially wanted to write music for films when I was younger. I even interned for a film composer years ago, but I dropped out of the "film scoring emphasis" part of the USC's undergraduate curriculum and that was that. This did not mean that I no longer had an interest writing music for films; rather, I wasn't sure if working with directors in the industry was something I wanted to pursue at the time. (Do I have any regrets dropping from the program? Well, somewhat; Elmer Bernstein was alive then and teaching classes at the school.)

I'm not exactly sure what type of music I'll be writing for this project, probably something "inspirational," following the themes of "diversity, international impact, and excellence." Also, I need to write something "original, melodic, and intriguing."

The director liked the look and feel of this video, but he stated the music does not need to be similar.

Hm. I usually don't write upbeat music, but maybe I could find a solution by writing faster music? Something less melancholic? Maybe I can avoid Philip Glass syndrome when scoring this short? Also, the director is still working on the video! I will not have the luxury of scoring this short during post-production. I'm totally going into this blind. Did I mention that I have less than two weeks to write this?

For now, my game plan is this: I will draw inspiration from the buildings on campus. I normally don't brag about Cincinnati, but I attend one of the coolest-looking campuses in the world. I hope these pictures I posted give you an idea.

By the way, the first building is my gym, just so you know. Is this inspiring me to exercise more often? Eh, it's possible.