Our biggest (and probably best) challenge yet. Rescoring a beautiful piece of documentary content from our esteemed team. We have a wonderful brief for you and an opportunity to cut your teeth, gain experience and that all-important intuition. We’re here to help you build up your chops with no risk to your future clients or indeed career. Join us live, bring your notepads and your Gauloises!
Aims:
The aim of this challenge (and what you’ll be judged on) is threefold:
Instead of simply putting different “bits” of music over the show try instead to write something first that is engaging, has some changes, some light and dark, possibly even a modulation of key or instrumentation. Instead of restarting this every time you bring the music in try exploding it across the timeline. Instead of starting and stopping the music you’re starting, pausing and resuming. This will help with the narrative and cohesiveness of the piece.
Unlike a previous challenge (‘Facent’) we’re not expecting you to do a full mix of dialogue sound effects and music. Instead we’re hoping you can present the music back to us as you would a client. Namely being incredibly mindful of dialogue. This can be by automating volume levels relative to dialogue. But an even more sophisticated way of achieving this is to adjust compositional and arrangement elements of your music so it doesn’t interfere.
HIT THE BRIEF. Whilst a client may forgive you crashing some dialogue or using the same piece of music in a couple of locations what they want to hear is that you’re on the same artistic wavelength. The music can add so much stylistic energy to any show but also help to drive home the director’s central thesis that he wants the viewer to take away with them. Hitting brief is one of the hardest parts of becoming a successful media composer as you first have to translate how people use language to express a vision of how you’re to express something in a non-linguistic form!
I’m very much in two minds as to whether to post this, as I’m not completely sure I have the submission format right, and I don’t want to mislead anybody else.
I submitted a version of the video with my score (and no other sounds), but at a much higher volume than I would expect it to be used when mixed in with the dialogue in the edit - perhaps 12dB louder.
It might be useful to others to know that I had to down-scale the video to 720p (1280x720) to get the file size under the limit on the challenge submission form.
The score is built on the idea of reflection - both in the audio/visual sense and the sense of meditation, driven by my best effort to imitate a Gnossienne, which is then reflected/echoed/mangled in various ways as the documentary progresses.
EDIT
Leaving this here, but having raised it on “Can You Hear Me Now” 8 April 2026, my approach isn’t the right one, and a mix of music and dialogue is expected.
My 60fps 4K render is 5.5gb, which I can still upload to YouTube with no problem. For the submission form, can I break down the big file into multiple RAR or ZIP files to submit? Otherwise I can submit via an iCloud link. This challenge was alot of fun, I did it all in one day, couldn’t help myself… I was going to try to use that new Crow Hill Shit Synth also, but couldn’t fit it in.
Sharing my entry for the Crow Hill Composing Challenge Paris. Crow Hill Instruments/FX used included Vaults Glass Beaker, Vaults Tuned Gongs, and Piano Rack FX. Been awake for about 36 straight hours LOL. I had a blast with this one, really like the docuseries. I would love the opportunity to rescore more episodes.
Hello Ed,
For the purpose of the challenge I’m sending mine with the dialogue, I can see in part two of the brief the music is to be presented back as you would to a client, But I think that would be in a real world scenario ?
Great question last night !
Maybe we need a master class on presentation of music to a client
Ps Great job with your piece
I agree, that would be a great video for Christian to make, to show how he actually presents a sketch to a client…as far as what is the best format (dialogue, no dialogue, etc.) For me, I just tried to present as close to a finished product as possible to give the client the best impression of what it would be like, but I could see a case for doing it how Ed did his also.
Thanks Michael - my first instinct was to submit music and dialogue, but I talked myself out of it, having second- (and third-) guessed myself several times!
For @daniela.tocan and anyone else who noticed the missing section of dialogue at TC 01:13:13:23, the audio was in the music track rather than the dialogue track - I wondered whether this was part of the “real world” element of the challenge. Here’s a link to an approximation of the missing section which I used a stem-splitter AI tool (the free Audacity plugin) to split from the music. Insert it starting at 01:13:13:23.
This was a challenging but super enjoyable one, no idea whether I’ve hit the brief! I’ve tried to use a number of ideas that I had already written that seem to suit the context. I’ve kept things relatively simple instrumentation wise, mainly piano throughout but there are various vaults instruments in the mix as well. I did the same as @ed.harper for the broken dialog.
Hi folks just treat this challenge as a learning experience. You have all done some terrific attempts so please don’t worry yourselves. I’m learning loads from you guys. It will be very interesting to see how Christian picks his favourite for this challenge. All the best and good luck to you all.
You’ve probably rescued me - I’m a bit out of my depth but having a try anyway because it’s a super chance to learn… I was feeling a bit bad already because it’s a long piece and the team are so good at listening to everything so I wouldn’t have submitted it without that dialogue… I will still download audacity and have a stab at doing it myself, but in my “notes” I’ll fess up to taking your steer! So thank you!!
Thinking again, is part of the test to know to go back to crow hill and ask for it?? I have no idea! but on the plus side, and excuse the overshare, I’m learning I mind less about having no idea than I thought I would… which is handy!
I’m really enjoying it Michael, All though I have nothing to compare it to, As this is my first time using a Daw . The challenges are really helping, Plus lots of you tube tutorials ! You get a sixty day free trial, Then $60:00 for individual or small businesses and $225 for high revenue businesses.
One time fee which is good
but on the plus side, and excuse the overshare, I’m learning I mind less about having no idea than I thought I would… which is handy!