Production Music for Cyber Animation Trailer - Post-Mortem

I love being able to assist other creative individuals with the assets they need to complete their projects. It humbles me to know that the information and skill set I possess are valuable and play a vital part in almost every form of creative media in today's era.

On that note, I was set to the task of producing a piece of audio for Nicholas Castiglione, an animator who required music to accompany a short cinematic trailer that he created. When I found out that Nick needed a producer for his project I didn't hesitate to offer my services. Due to having previously produced music for him, rapport has already been build and I was aware of his expectations of me, as his producer. The last time Nick and I collaborated together he created an action packed animation show-reel, so I was given the opportunity to make something chaotic for him (my favourite!). Check out the animation below (Appendix A) or read about it here.

Appendix A - Previous Collaboration with Nicholas Castiglione

This project was very different from the last, which not only shows Nick's versatility but also puts mine to the test. Titled World Builders, the concept was intended to be based in a prehistoric world. A character ( Caveman) stumbles upon the ruins of an ancient city and finds himself in an advanced science lab (Appendix B) where he inherits the legacy of an ancient race. Nick noted that his inspiration came from The Ancients of Stargate. The clip is only 10 seconds long, 5 seconds of a moving trailer and 5 seconds of the title. Easy. Because the project is short in length it means that the musical content must be of the highest possible quality, as there isn't much time to showcase my ability as a producer.

Appendix B - Screen shot of "World Builders" Animation Trailer

It's easy enough to create a piece of music to accompany something, but to create a piece of music suited to a theme is a little more difficult. I watched the clip a few times to help gain inspiration from the imagery, then it hit me. The colour scheme and atmosphere reminds me of a scene from Tron Legacy; a science fiction/fantasy movie released in December of 2010. The fight scene in the "End of Line" club (Appendix C), particularly from the 1:00 minute mark in the video below. The song is titled Derezzed, by Daft Punk (Appendix D).

Side note: if you watch the fight scene video (Appendix C) from the beginning, you'll notice that Daft Punk (Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) are cameoed as the DJ's playing music in the club. I love this! I think their placement in this scene is brilliantly ironic because not only did they compose the score for the movie, but also that it has been pointed out by many journalists that their head-wear and clothing were greatly influenced by the world of TRON. (Disney, O. 2016) Perfect casting if you ask me!

Appendix C - Club fight scene - Tron Legacy

Appendix D - Reference Track for "World Builders" Animation Trailer

I sent Nick a demo version of the track I had produced and he requested it to be modified and changed to a degree in which he thought would better fit the imagery. Unfortunately, by the time he got back to me about his request I had started another project already and when was able to edit the demo I gave him, he had already submitted his project. So we went with the original demo version. This wasn't ideal but definitely a learning curve for the both of us (I think).

Here is the 'final' result we ended up with.

In the future I will definitely enquire for a face-to-face meeting with the animator/designer/collaborator before starting the project, this will build rapport fast and also give a clear idea for both parties as to what is possible and what is expected. But at the end of the day, the project isn't bad by any means, just not what was envisioned.

References

Disney, O. (2016). Computerized: The Never-Before-Told Story of How Disney Got Daft Punk For TRON Legacy. Oh My Disney. Retrieved 17 July 2019, from https://ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/09/09/computerized-daft-punk/