RES

I always wanted to document my process a little more. Hopefully you’ll like this free-form entry about a score. And hopefully it’s not the last one, too…

So… RES. How did it all came to be? Funny enough, at first I was asked to write a tune to dance for. I got a message from the director couple of days before the shoot:

The jazz was chosen and so I wrote a quick piece that was used on set.

Julia (one of the lead actresses) even improvised some words to it and sang on set! In the end, the scene didn’t make it into the final cut of the movie, but it was the first piece of music I wrote for this.

Couple months later, before I got the rough cut, I have written a suite, based on the script and what I was shown so far. From the very beginning, the director and producer wanted me to use leitmotifs and themes to represent certain things in the story.

For Lena – one of the main characters – it was important to show her demise, how unstable her life is and how she is spiraling down. Here, you can hear the melody descending on closely placed chords that never gets fully resolved.

For her sister, Luiza, we wanted to capture a very classical, romantic sound that could join more modern tracks here and there. There was a classical music piece chosen for the scene in the bath, which I got inspired by. The problem was – the piece in question was way more quirky than needed and made the scene sound more comical that it should be. I decided to go with a string ensemble and wrote a very classical-sounding, romantic piece, that was brilliantly performed by Steven Faux.

For the two male protagonists, I have settled on using a mountain dulcimer and other ethnic instruments with a synth backdrop. There are in the state of constant alert, as they know they have chosen to be in the very dangerous situation. There are lives at stake, and it depends on them to save them.

There is also a recluse theme, which is leaning more into the sound design world.

His theme was made using the axe sound when he was chopping the tree on set. It sounded a bit weak on the recordings, but it still was distinct enough to transform it into something very unique and ominous. It is more symbolic than anything else. It also gives momentum to the cues it appears in – just like in the story, the reculse actions give momentum to further events.

All that connects and intertwines into a score that has some orchestral elements but relies heavily on the sound design and granular, organic synthesizers. Like mentioned before, the melodies and themes were very important, so they carry on most of the narrative power within the music. The synths can sound a bit overwhelming, and that was their role all along – they represent a very gloomy and opaque situation the characters got themselves in. It constantly tramsforms and consumes the characters, like the stress and the emotions they might feel at any given time. Even if not consciously, it still lingers in the back of their head.

Here and there we can encounter a moment of clarity, e.g. during a Revelation scene in the library. There’s a new fact that might bring Lena to the solution of the mystery. The synths give space to the instruments and motifs connected to the characters who were responsible for this turn of events.

On sound design end, three sounds that really made the score were:

• Reversed shaker – It has a very uncertain and unsettling vibe, which fit the action in couple of spots.
• Striking violin strings with the bow effect – For that “ticking” sensation, I wanted to go for something organic as well. Since violin is already on the score, it was natural to play with some weird techniques and get unexpected results.
• Rubber band bass – made out of a rubber band, which samples were recorded at 96k very close to the microphone, then resampled into 48k and put into the KONTAKT instrument. It has a great organic sound. Its short attack is perfect for doing arpeggios. Along with some treatment and reinforcing it with a synth sub, it made for a great foundation of sound.

This was a very enjoyable score to write and my first collaboration with Steven Faux and Oli Jacobs. Give them a follow!

Big thanks to the K.O.media team for making me a part of this adventure!