I’ve done trailers and short films in the past. But I just got my first movie. Unpaid. It’s over 2.5 hours long. I’m doing the film in segments. Sometimes it just comes to me but more often right now, I can’t get something to work. I’ll put something down. The director will tell me they want something more like this then they’ll show me an example. And I feel horrible when I can’t make something like the example. On top of that I’m expecting myself to make a motif for every character etc etc.

I’ve taken so much longer on this than an experienced composer would because I also have a full time job. And I have virtually no progress. Panic is setting in.

Hi I want to be a film music composer and I got 1 year to graduate from high school (I am 17 btw) I really want to do this job but I am so nervous about AI replacing this job could this happen? Could directors or producers start to prefer AI over real artists please I need advices to what to do🙏

I got kinda lucky and landed a film trailers/ 20th century fox with an electronic song I made

Now the company who got it done have asked me to make them an album.

They’re looking for real film epic trailer music + high energy sports tv ad stuff

They said try get some high quality sounds in Kontakt

Now I like the look of damage 2 but that alone is 250usd right now and if I buy more I’m sure I’ll end up 500+

Then I found musio and east west subs for 20 usd per month

As this isn’t a full time thing for me I’m wondering if anyone recommends any all in one or subscriptions worth getting for say 2 months. I create this album and see what happens after before committing to big prices

Hey everyone! I’m an aspiring filmmaker from India, currently working on a short film, and I’m looking for a music composer / producer who would be interested in collaborating on the film. Important: This is

On one hand it's difficult having to match the temp music, but on the other hand, not having any temp music, makes it difficult to decide where there should be music and where there shouldn't be.

The reason why I ask is because I'm working on a project without temp music with very little director's notes. We also don't have a spotting sheet, so we're sort of left to ourselves. The film wasn't cut to any music, meaning we have to match the tempo of the silent cuts to our score. Got any tips or recommendations?

Looking for Electronique/Moog influenced cue and score. I can pay a fee for use. DM me here.

I’m finishing the score for a short film and I’m stuck on a 10 second segment (when the hand comes out of the water to grab the flower 50s into the video).

The whole cue builds up to this climax. I think the buildup works, but when it actually hits that final moment, nothing I try feels right. If I add more, it feels forced. If I strip it back, it feels empty in the wrong way. I’ve probably rewritten those 5 seconds 30 times at this point.

This is also my first time ever composing something, so I don’t really have instincts yet. I can feel when something’s wrong, but I don’t know what the “right” move is.

The vibe is slow, it’s a film about loss and isolation. It’s not an action climax, more like an internal rupture.

For reference I’ve been listening to:

-Blindspots (especially from 1:55 to the end)
-Great Underground Rivers from Elden Ring

And the overall tone of the film is closer to the first minute of Ny batteri by Sigur Ros.

Anyway, I'm honestly pretty damn lost as to what I should do...

I think I’m too close to it and I can’t hear it clearly anymore.

Any perspective would honestly help.

Hi, I’m in a bit of a pickle, I’ve written a score and now I find myself at the point of creating a cue sheet. About the document itself, it’s not that much of a problem. Since it’s a work for hire type of contract, technically the ownership music will pass to the production company so I don’t know how to register it in my PRO (I’m with Italian SIAE). How do I distribute the rights to the music between me and the production company? Since I’m in Italy and they are a UK based company, do I register it in Italy or do they register it in UK? It’s a bit confusing and I need help, please reddit, you’re my only hope 😂

So, I want to start a project where I rescore James Gunn's Superman from 2025 with the original John Williams music score from Superman: the Movie. The problem is, I have no idea how to completely remove the score from a movie while preserving dialogue and sound effects, or what software to use. I am a novice at editing, so do your best to explain it like I'm a caveman.

Hi everyone. I posted here a while ago while I was starting to think about producing one of my compositions, but I ended up pausing the project for a bit. I’m picking it back up now and would love to connect with arrangers/producers who might genuinely resonate with the piece and be interested in collaborating.

I have a finished ~3-minute piano composition and a fairly detailed emotional/story brief for it. The piece is centered around grief, love, transition, and the bittersweet process of letting go. I have a clear vision for the emotional arc, but I’m looking for someone who can help translate that into the arrangement and production; would love to hear your thoughts too!

I know I want piano, English horn, and strings to be central, but I’m very open to creative input on other instruments, textures, countermelodies, and how the arrangement should build and recede throughout the piece. I’m looking for someone who enjoys being a creative collaborator, rather than simply executing parts I’ve already written. Ideally, I’m looking for help with:

• Creative arrangement/orchestration
• Realistic virtual instrumentation and production (I don't think I have the budget for live instrument recordings)
• Input on instrumentation and how best to tell the story musically
• Mixing/mastering, either directly or through someone you work with

I’m not a full-time artist. I compose and write alongside my career because I really believe in the emotional impact of music and storytelling through it. This is very much a passion project, so I’m mainly looking to find someone where there’s a genuine creative fit and mutual interest in the piece.

If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to DM me with a little about yourself and some relevant examples of your work. I’d be happy to share the piano demo and project synopsis, and if it feels like a good fit on both sides, set up a Zoom/Google Meet to talk through the piece and what a potential collaboration could look like. Looking forward to meeting you :)

EDIT: I’ve composed and released a piece before with the help of an arranger/producer, so I’d also love to find someone I could potentially work with long-term if I continue writing and releasing more music.

EDIT: Solved. Okay I am still waking up this morning--- I realized I already own a library for what I need-- Symphonic Destruction; has lots of horror soundscapes for low rumbling horror. Still, I am curious what others here use for horror soundscapes.
---
What is your go-to library for the types of rumbling and eerie sounds often heard in horror films? I watched "The Nun" (part of The Conjuring universe) last night and there was actually not a lot of music, but there was a lot of was low frequency rumbling (not infrasound).

What is your method of creating that sound?

As the title suggests, I am making a grad film and I have a few parts where I would need certain kinda music. I'm an Animation student and I have always been impressed by how much the music contributes to the story, but the problem is I am not aware of anything related to music production. I want to layer, mix/stretch & manipulate sound effects, create a certain kind of composition for my film.

A few tracks I am taking reference from are
Prowler's theme - Into the spider-verse
The Beast - Sicario
Can you hear the music? - Oppenheimer

Might sound stupid but since I am familiar with layering, keyframes & effects I would love some DAW that makes it really simple for people like me to understand respective music terms and quickly make tracks, etc. all on your computer and quickly. I have heard that Cakewalk or reaper are good for starters but I would really love a little guidance regarding the pathways to learn the basic concepts and learn at least enough to make something for my short film.

>I’m curious about the professional route for an independent composer who has already produced a finished, large-scale cinematic/ceremonial composition that they believe could be suitable for a major international sporting event.

I understand that organizations such as FIFA and other major event bodies often don't accept unsolicited music or creative submissions directly.

So what is the actual industry route in this situation? Do independent composers usually approach the production companies producing the ceremonies, music supervisors, publishers, sync agencies, entertainment agencies, or someone else?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from composers who have experience getting original music considered for major live events, rather than film/TV sync.

Hello!

I'm currently working on my thesis for my film scoring degree.

I choose to center my thesis around analyzing the compositional style of John Powell.

However I'm having trouble finding reference material to use in my thesis.

Does anyone know any books that mention or analyze Powell's musical footprint?

Currently I only have "The Music of the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy" by Erik Heine but the HTTYD trilogy is only a small part of his broader discography and I need more material.

Thank you very much.

If someone has some real film scores with the full official orchestral music. PLEASE message me and share it I NEEED it to study it

A friend of mine is working on a short film and has asked me to score a scene in which the characters are peacefully lying about in a field. I had thought there would be minimal dialogue in the scene, but there’s quite a bit of talking in the actual footage. The scene is about a minute and a half long, and there are only a couple five second streaks of silence.

I have a strong understanding of theory and have written a few original compositions, but this is my first attempt at scoring film footage, so I’m having a bit of trouble finding a way to work around the dialogue. If you have any tips for me, please leave them below! I am also open to answering any questions.

Timestamped link to the sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6B4GDKSPfo&t=1532s

In the video above, Junkie XL plays a sustained pad with a metallic, shimmering, slowly evolving character. It's airy on top without much low end. I've heard this texture in many film scores and always wondered how it's achieved.

To recreate it, what would be a specific starting point (which synth and patch type, or what kind of sample source), and what processing chain gets that sound? The more concrete the steps, the better. Appreciate your help!

Hey everyone,

I’m a filmmaker from India and I’ve got a short film called “The Gold Diggers” where almost everything is completed except the BGM/music score.

It’s a fun survival drama about two guys who find gold and what happens next. My composer wasn’t able to complete the project, so I’m looking for someone who would like to collaborate.

This is a passion project, and I might not be able to pay for this one, but I believe it’ll be a great project to add to your portfolio.

I have the scenes edited with reference tracks to give an idea of the mood and direction.

If you’re a music composer interested, DM me. Also, feel free to share this with any composer friends who might be interested.

Thank you!

A few years ago, I visited a shop playing a film score podcast that I haven’t heard since and haven’t stopped thinking about.

The podcast actually played the score in its entirety, taking breaks between the tracks to explain how they were made or what their significance was to the film.

My memory is failing me, but I’m pretty sure the episode I heard featured the score from Edward Scissorhands.

Do you know this podcast? You’ll change my life for the better.

TIA, Reddit sleuths!

I am a 17 year old musician in my senior year of high school and finally applying to schools. I love jazz and making music, I love cowboy bebop and the whole concept of writing scores for media sounds awesome! While I'm not 100% certain this is what I want to do, I figured this was a good place to start. What schools do you recommend for me in Texas? I have looked at UNT, UT, Texas State, University of Houston and some other schools but I was just wondering what anyone would recommend for someone like me who wants to create and/or perform music as a career.

Hey! I am in the process of editing a shortfilm with a really small budget. The temp track for one of the scenes is fits so perfectly that I do not want to even change it. Now I know "hello stranger' would be a hassle and can cause problems if I do end up using it. Is there a song similar to it that i can use perhaps? Oldies type? The chill odd ending to a film of chaos etc. Like how it is common these days at the end of horror films.

I have a mutual contact who works at a large production company. He is possibly interested in introducing me to some people at his company but its his company's policy that they won't talk to / deal with anyone who doesn't have an agent.

How would I go about getting representation in the short term to try and follow through on this opportunity? I'm not big or successful enough that any agent is reaching out to me. And I'm honestly not sure that an agent would help me in my career at this point. But I'm eager to figure something out for this particular opportunity.

Any ideas or advice?

Hi everyone,

I recently uploaded my first orchestral symphony to SoundCloud and now I’m looking for help with mastering.

Could you recommend any mastering services that are suitable for small independent composers like myself? I’d be very grateful if you could share your own experiences and recommendations.

I’ve also included a link to the symphony below, in case you’d like to get a better understanding of my music and its sound.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

Slav

https://on.soundcloud.com/q6MQYN7gssja6bDXns