Pre-Production: Title Sequence Composer Progress

What Soundtrack Am I Looking For?

As previously mentioned in my title sequence progress post, I am looking for a composer to create a soundtrack for my title sequence. Kate and I also decided that if we find a composer whom we both like, we will be keeping in contact with him/her to see whether the composer will also be interested to compose other elements for our pilot episodes (for example, the credits, in between scenes, etc).

In terms of what I'm looking for content for the soundtrack, I was quite open to the composers to offer me something which they think is best suited. However, in my application I mentioned a few aspects that were needed, such as:

   - Sound effects for the light flickering on the logo animation, a noise for the 'flash' of the stage
     lights and a sound that matches the footsteps on the stage.
   - Something simplistic so it remains conventional for Mockumentaries (see title sequence post for
     more information). For example, a basic melody or limited types of sound used
   - Subtle comedic elements that can hint that the show has elements of comedy inside.

Title Sequence Choices Received

After a few days, I had a fair bit of interest in the title sequence, receiving 7 applicants within a week. After getting in touch with all applicants I was sent some examples, which can be seen below. I then decided to choose out of the three which one seemed most effective and suited for the sequence in which I will work with the composer to help make the soundtrack perfect.

Colette Jonas (http://vocaroo.com/i/s0XeMEysYwxw)

My first impressions of this soundtrack were quite mixed - the melody seemed quite catchy however I wasn't too keen on the sound effects that Colette had used. For example, the drums didn't quite connect with the melody and doesn't entirely follow the Mockumentary conventions. Nonetheless, this still seemed catchy and effective but I feel it wasn't the strongest applicant.

Micheal Moore (http://vocaroo.com/i/s0shFoME2Eo5)

Micheal's soundtrack too was impressive - it remained original and definitely had a sense of comedy within the soundtrack which is what is needed. Nonetheless, I feel that the different types of sounds used counteract one another, making the soundtrack seem clustered when instead it needs to sound smooth and minimalistic. This too was impressive however to me wasn't the strongest out of the three.

Matt Part (http://vocaroo.com/i/s18k58gv7GP9)

Matt's soundtrack however was the most appealing to myself. It has a simple yet catchy melody which seemed very suited to the Mockumentary genre. The switch after the introduction too was very catchy and was the sort of idea I was looking for. The only downside to this first draft would be that there were a couple of instruments within the soundtrack that didn't quiet fit in with everything else.

Decision

From the three applicants, I decided to go with Matt Part's soundtrack. This was purely because he has a noticeable interest in Mockumentaries meaning he understands how the title sequences work, which was clear from his first draft. The other two were still effective title sequences, however Matt's example seemed the most suited and flowed the best with my title sequence.

Amendments

Nonetheless, the soundtrack still needed some work for it to be perfect. I got back to Matt saying that I liked the melody and style of the Mockumentary, but said that it needed work on the following points, which you can see from an email that I sent to Matt:

Second Draft

He then got back to me on a second draft in which he had taken on board the points for improvement. This second draft was a much better improvement however still needs some minor improvements, which were:

Below is the second draft of the soundtrack added to the title sequence:

https://vimeo.com/148428871

Third Draft

Shortly after giving Matt my feedback, he got back to me with a third draft. Once again he had taken onboard what I was looking for and has now created a soundtrack which I was very pleased with. There was only one change that I could think of, which was to remove the two last low-pitched notes so that the title sequence has a nice smooth flow from start to beginning.

Below is the third draft of the soundtrack which too was added to the title sequence:
https://vimeo.com/148430969

Final Draft

Here is the final draft for the soundtrack of the title sequence. As well as removing the final 2 low notes at the end, Matt then mastered all the sounds for it to be published as the final draft, which you can hear below:

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0Sd3fxqyZea


All in all, I am very pleased with the soundtrack and feel that Matt would also be a great composer for the rest of our production.