For my final project I opted to revisit a film from freshman year and compose an entirely new score which I thought would better suit the visuals. I was especially attracted by the overall haunting nature of the piece and felt that it was a prime template for which to create an interesting and emotive soundscape. I felt that my first draft had a consistent tone with tracks that blended nicely into one another -- my primary goal in this assignment -- but there were issues with the sound in the first scene and with a couple other transitions. I hope that the edits that I have made for my final draft are satisfactory.
There were two opposing viewpoints regarding the first scene: should it simply have one single track as most montages do, or should it be more varied? I had initially taken the latter route for my draft, but after finding that I did not like that it was three separate tracks, I found a compromise. One track, that which I liked the most and felt struck the best balance between strong and subtle and which was bleak but not overwhelming. I then accentuated it with the two tracks that had previously stood on their own, using only the best portions. My aim was to create a consistent montage sound given texture by two passages of fittingly haunting sounds that also matched the rhythm of the scene. I then synched up the screeching sound to match the entrance of the priest, cut short the silence between scenes two and three and polished the two transitions in the final scene, among a litany of smaller but still enormously significant edits.
The result, I hope, is not a fitting culmination of the work that I have done, but a sign of my potential and of what I am capable of; this class was a beginning for everyone, after all, and I'm pleased with this piece and the point that I'm at. I feel that the piece flows smoothly with a variety of sounds that act as one together and are in no way jarring, and I think the sounds suit the material. I have had excellent, insightful critiques in this class, especially the critique of my last draft, and I'm looking forward to hear what the class and the professor have to say about my final work.
