Original Score - "Whatever Lola Wants" !

[C. Ryan]

Hey everyone,

Just finished up working on a really fun project for an MFA thesis film at the University of Miami... there are only 5 cues but they cover a ridiculous amount of genres / styles (Spaghetti western, bullfight, tango, overly dramatic action, psycho, Southern, etc)... I can only hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them! I used EWSO Gold, Goliath, and Stormdrum 2 exclusively.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1T3mPfY3hU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklQSI_FHIU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL4_ESVJNrY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_V5Uj0BUKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc9PdFzTvFc

Honestly, I strongly feel that the visuals make the music better, so if you have the time, I highly suggest you check out the film---mature audiences only! (if that doesn't make you want to watch it, I don't know what will ) You have to create a username / password to see it (no personal info involved), but it has a chance at screening at the Miami International Film Festival, so a vote would be greatly appreciated.

http://miff.openfilm.com/submissions/35

Thanks for all the help over the past year, everyone-

Chris

[tedreedy]

hey Chris, nicely done! first of all, the link to the film is asking me for a username/password.

solid job on the cues. I have no doubt that they most likely work very effectively with the film. I have to say that for me this definitely sounded like a score made from samples. Now maybe this does not matter. I am very familiar with the EW sounds and recognize them instantly. perhaps 95% of the people who will ever watch this film do not know the samples and so they think they are real. so who knows. but to make this score perfect, I think you need to either a.) record with real instruments/orchestra or b.) put much more work into patch layering/articulation/expression in order for the samples to reach their maximum realism. but again it probably doesn't ultimately matter for your audience. just for the most critical of audiences solid job and keep at it, all of this is great exercise and will only help you in the long run. congrats

[C. Ryan]

Thanks Ted! Glad you enjoyed.

Originally Posted by tedreedy

to make this score perfect, I think you need to either a.) record with real instruments/orchestra or b.) put much more work into patch layering/articulation/expression in order for the samples to reach their maximum realism. but again it probably doesn't ultimately matter for your audience. just for the most critical of audiences

Ah, how I wish I had the time to record with a live orchestra, haha. I literally had three days to work on this film before it was screened, so even had I had the musicians to work with (the music school doesn't do much at all to help out us non-music majors), it would have been next to impossible to pull it all together in time. But for the hell of it, I'll probably try recording at least the trumpet parts, they're generally the most exposed and most sampled out of everything!

I know what you mean about the samples---I can recognize those penderecki strings in a millisecond, haha. I probably sound like a broken record, but at the end of the day, my main intent isn't to achieve realism, it's to write good music. Eventually I hope to get to a point where I can achieve both at once.

Thanks again!

Chris

[TGV]

That's some solid music. The tension build up was rather recognizable, but for rest, very original, and good. Also the sudden uptempo (bit of a shock, but fun to hear) in Reflections, and the sound design around it. Also e.g. the percussion sound in Temptation, very nicely done and integrated. It sounds a bit like Ry Cooder meets Gorecki, but it's effective and doesn't take the easy way. Well done.

[byo]

Really nice cues there, Chris. You seem to have captured the movie's feeling and mood
(although I haven't watched it yet). Let us know where/when we can watch it.

[Benji]

Nice job here!! But one thing held my attention in the first song ; the trompet player never takes his breath...

[C. Ryan]

Originally Posted by TGV

That's some solid music. The tension build up was rather recognizable, but for rest, very original, and good. Also the sudden uptempo (bit of a shock, but fun to hear) in Reflections, and the sound design around it. Also e.g. the percussion sound in Temptation, very nicely done and integrated. It sounds a bit like Ry Cooder meets Gorecki, but it's effective and doesn't take the easy way. Well done.

Thanks! As for the tension build-up, yeah, I struggled a lot with that one... but at the end of the day, good ol' penderecki strings were the most effective thing for the moment.

Originally Posted by Benji

Nice job here!! But one thing held my attention in the first song ; the trompet player never takes his breath...

Caught me.

And byo, unfortunately the film is only screening on the website I listed above. All you need to do to see it is to create a username and password, but once the voting is over I'm sure the director will upload it to vimeo!

Thanks guys-

Chris

[C. Ryan]

Hey guys, sorry to bump this, but the film's finally up on Vimeo! There are few minor syncing issues that we have to work out, but it's a pretty finished product:

http://vimeo.com/18033873

Enjoy!

Chris

[tedreedy]

nice job Chris! I'm not sure how I feel about the film -- it had its moments -- but your music definitely made it better. Kudos. Listening to the score again I really appreciate how you subtly modified the motifs from the original "Whatever Lola Wants" song and baked into your cues.

I thought for the most part your cues worked really well.

Spaghetti in the Everglades
OK I really like the overall sound here. solid beginning, definitely sets a tone. musically I really like this entire cue. however--as we move past the titles and opening establishing shots, as Jesse's approaching the car and through their conversation, I feel that the score is playing through too much, getting too music-video-y if that makes any sense, whereas I think a more "phrasing" underscore might be more effective here. then the end of the cue completely works.

Road Head Honcho
needs alot of work for realism (mostly in the strings), but then again in the film this isn't as noticeable (I wonder why)... I thought this cue gave a nice sense of action while at the same time injecting a bit of humor and lightening up the content of the scene. well done.

Gamechanger
standard but well-executed.

Lola's Reflection
I really love the idea here, where you're going with this. It's a really great vibe and conveys some complex emotions. The one thing that bugs me *slightly* about this cue is the pacing of the first 1:30. Within the film it makes it seem like we are only beginning on this journey, and there's a long road yet to come.. when really the film is 3/4 over.. if that makes any sense? Not sure if there's anything you can do differently here or if it's just the nature of the film's cut. The fast part at the end is great, wonderful adaptation of the theme that works well with the visual! (although I don't quite get the voice recording of an explosion sound? haha.)

Jesse's Temptation
This was great. Stayed within itself and the moment, completely appropriate and intriguing, deep and dark emotionally, subtly building tension. Especially layered with the cartoon, really creates a creepy effect.

thanks for sharing Chris! solid work, congrats.

[fongi]

Hey Chris, very nice work and the visuals always enhance the overall experience. I enjoyed all the tracks, I think Tedreedy has highlighted all the most important points except to say, the Trombone in the first track didn´t seem to fit, was very loud and raucous ! I thought the strings in Road Head Roncho were well done. The trumpets were also very good as was the Harmonica in Lolas Reflection at 1.32 was very convincing. All the tracks had a nice ambience and I think they were well mixed. Well done. Chris.