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.

After years of making sounds for trailers, we built our own line of tools for composers

Hey everyone, Nathan Fields here. I’m a composer and sound designer, and I’ve spent the last 11 years creating music and sound design for film, TV, trailers, and games.

After constantly building custom sounds for our own work, we figured it was time to make some of those tools available to other composers. So we created The Foundry.

Our first releases include Echelon: Drum Hits, a Kontakt instrument packed with cinematic hits, trailer toms, stomps, claps, metallic impacts, aggressive impacts, and more, plus Echelon: Cinematic Synths & FX.

We also released Origin, a completely free collection of modular instruments built from raw Eurorack recordings, including Mod-Keys, Mod-Perc, and Mod-Tones.

Here’s a quick look at what we’ve been building. I’d genuinely love to hear what you think and what kinds of instruments you’d want us to make next.

Hey everyone,The ending of T2 is a masterpiece, and Brad Fiedel’s original score is incredibly beautiful.I reimagined "It's Over" (Good-Bye) as a sad orchestral ballad. I wanted to strike a perfect balance between deep sadness, intense emotion, dark romance, epic scale, and raw brutality without losing the original melody.Would love to hear what fellow Terminator fans think of this vibe!
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9AhOsEDwE
"There is no fate but what we make."

Enter the realm of dreams.

I composed this original cinematic score to accompany a dark fantasy journey through the mysterious world of dreams.

From the sleeping world of mortals to the hidden realm beyond their dreams, follow the journey of the Dream Lord as an ancient creation escapes into the mortal world.

🎼 ORIGINAL CINEMATIC SCORE
The music is the heart of this project. I wanted to create a dark, mysterious and epic orchestral score inspired by the atmosphere of modern fantasy cinema, combining powerful orchestral themes, dark textures, dramatic percussion and mystical elements.

🎥 AI-GENERATED VISUALS
The visual sequences were created with AI as a cinematic tool to bring the story and the music to life. The story, musical composition, sound design and artistic direction are original.

🎧 Best experienced with headphones.

If you enjoy original cinematic music, orchestral fantasy scores and dark cinematic storytelling, consider subscribing for more original compositions and AI-assisted cinematic projects.

🎼 Music & Score: Mo KRIMKA
🎬 Cinematic Direction: Mo KRIMKA
🤖 AI-assisted Visual Creationhttps://youtu.be/2i0UdkPenvg

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for an experienced composer who is available to start right away to create the original score for my independent psychological horror feature film, Daniel, the Goodboy.

The film is 1 hour and 26 minutes long and blends surrealism, magical realism and modern-day fantasy. It isn’t strictly a horror film, but it carries a dark, unsettling atmosphere.

I’m looking for music that feels timeless—something that doesn’t clearly belong to a particular decade or era. The score should work as a subtle but powerful layer beneath the film, flowing through the subconscious of the audience rather than constantly demanding their attention.

I have used ambient music as temp music because it captured the timeless quality I’m looking for, but the final score does not necessarily need to be ambient.

To explain the film, its musical direction and exactly what I’m looking for from a composer, I’ve created an instructional breakdown video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t51hP2UklPc

Absolutely no AI-generated music. Please do not apply if you use AI to create music. I cannot associate this project with AI-generated music.

I’m looking for someone who:

• Has experience composing music.
• Has a strong understanding of atmosphere and restraint.
• Can create music that feels timeless rather than noticeably contemporary.
• Communicates well and is open to working collaboratively.
• Can take feedback while also bringing their own artistic instincts to the film.
• Is available to begin working on the project soon.

Payment: After watching the breakdown video and understanding the scope of the project, please provide a quote for what you believe would be fair.

Timeline: I’m looking for someone who can start right away, but the overall timeline is flexible. I would like the score completed by January 1, 2027. Quality and finding the right person are more important to me than speed.

If you’re interested, please email me at [mrbearsproductions@gmail.com](mailto:mrbearsproductions@gmail.com) with:

• Examples of your previous work, if available.
• Your quote after watching the video.
• A little about your creative process and experience composing music.
• Your current availability.

Thanks!

Alex Ibarra
Writer and director of Daniel, the Goodboy

Hello! I’m planning to apply to college in 2027 to study film scoring or music composition, and I’ve recently started working on my applications. I’m currently trying to figure out how I should approach my top choices and would really appreciate some advice from people familiar with these programs or the industry. My three top schools right now are Berklee College of Music, NYU, and USC. I’m definitely open to other schools but these are the three that have stood out to me the most so far.

My main dilemma is between NYU and USC. NYU offers Early Decision, and I’m considering applying ED because I would genuinely be very happy attending NYU. However, since ED is binding, I’m worried about committing to NYU and potentially giving up the chance to attend USC. From what I’ve read online, a lot of people seem to recommend USC for film scoring because of its location in LA, connections to the film industry, and potential networking/job opportunities. USC is probably the school I’m most excited about for those reasons, but I also feel like my chances of getting accepted there may be lower.

So I’m stuck between applying ED to NYU, which I would still be very excited to attend, or not applying ED anywhere and taking my chances with USC, NYU, and Berklee during the regular application process. For anyone studying film scoring/composition or working in the industry: how significant is the difference between USC, NYU, and Berklee? Is USC’s location in LA actually a major advantage for someone who wants to score films? (Price is fortunately not a problem for me.)

I’d also really appreciate recommendations for other film scoring or composition programs. Thank you!

the song is “The Tell-Tale Echoes (The Ripper) off my current release “Midnight Dreary: The Raven of Whitechapel”

Completely unrelated to film scoring. But, what the hell do people usually wear to premieres? Is it ok to go business casual or is full business attire better? I got one in 4 hours and shit's making me sorta panic lol.

Edit: I survived! I went with dark slacks and dark polo with a grey jacket on top. That experience was.... something

Hey everybody,

My name is Heymish, and I'm looking to work with filmmakers and content creators to create sounds for their work. I've been producing for nearly a decade, but recently got into creating movie-style background tracks. It was definitely a transition from the rap beats I used to make, but I enjoy composing a great deal and would love to work for filmmakers.

Suspense, ambience, and horror are some sounds I feel I can produce well, but I am confident branching outside of those.

If anyone is interested in working with me or has any advice on how to connect with filmmakers, respond to this thread or email me at [heymish@heymishunderground.com](mailto:heymish@heymishunderground.com)

I’ve heard from some interview that it doesn’t matter how good your music is if it doesn’t fit what’s going on as it would just appear strange and so I thought of this. Can they say “Alright, you need to stop showing off how good your music is and make it worse so it doesn’t draw too much attention” or can you just make the whole score as sublime as possible? This is assuming you’re actually trying to fit the music but it being too good might render this impossible no matter what you do. Additional question but do you think only pros and connoisseurs would notice when a score is too good or regular viewers too?

Especially lately this sub had been inundated with an influx of people posting hoping to get hired for a project. I may be wrong, but isn't that kinda agains the spirit of the sub? I thought this was a place for discussion of film scoring not just a place to post portfolios.

I think we should have a (maybe) weekly thread where people can post their portfolios. It would keep things from being clogged up, and for those looking to hire, it would be convenient to just look at everyone's work in a single place.

Thoughts?

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?

I’m a Vienna-based songwriter offering a small selection from my album Valley Songs to accredited student filmmakers for no-fee sync + master licensing.

Valley Songs was published in June and already got radio airplay in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Austria. 14 songs about the different valleys of life, just voice and guitar, recorded over four days in Berlin this March. 

I control both master and composition rights, so clearance is one-stop. The songs work especially well for narrative shorts, documentary, montage, road/travel sequences, titles and end credits.

Link to the songs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xcQGjg4-qgJDeig1dDQ61E_Ue32hmlI-

"Oceans", documentary trailer. Music composed by Kenny Nieves. Keko productions.

©2025 kekoproductions . If you need an original score done for your social media, movie, film, documentary, feel free to reach me at kekoproductions.com Enjoy!

Hello cool orchestral people. Glad I could grab your attention, guitar player here, recently getting into orchestral writing.
I’m having trouble finding strings that can match the aggression of my guitar. I use a high-gain lead tone, a thin/sharp pick and a very hard attack, so basically every note has an immediate, percussive transient with a lot of scrape before the sustain — almost like playing a dulcimer with a knife 😂
The problem is that even aggressive dynamics in a lot of string libraries still have a relatively soft front edge. My guitar legitimately has a harder attack on every sustained note than basically anything in the entire orchestra, so the strings can feel like they’re from a completely different sonic world. I’m looking for strings with serious bow bite/rosin/scrape and an immediate attack, while still being usable for sustained melodic playing. Any library recommendations? Also, I’m not trying to be edgy or looking for some gimmicky “aggressive strings” sound. I actually write a lot of stuff that normal orchestral guys would like — I just need the same musical vocabulary with a stronger physical emphasis, because that’s what my guitar playing demands. Any recommendations are helpful and I truly appreciate it!

I'm Ismail, a composer and music producer based in Morocco, and I’m looking to collaborate with filmmakers, directors, and indie creators to score original music for your upcoming film projects.

Whether you're working on a feature, a short film, a documentary, or a narrative trailer, I specialize in crafting emotive, mood-driven soundtracks that elevate visual storytelling and deepen the audience's connection to the screen.

What I offer:

• Diverse Scoring Styles: Custom compositions spanning dark atmospheric soundscapes, cinematic suspense, thematic drama, and modern hybrid beats (lo-fi, hip-hop, ambient).
• Full Audio Production: Complete composition, mixing, and audio mastering optimized for theatrical, festival, or digital streaming mix standards.
• Scene-Accurate Scoring: Original cues tailored precisely to your edit—including main titles, character motifs, tension builds, and emotional narrative peaks.
• Director-Focused Workflow: Clear feedback loops, quick turnaround times, and open communication to ensure the score matches your vision and temp tracks seamlessly.

If you have a project in development or post-production and need a custom score to bring your story to life, feel free to comment or send a DM! I'd love to learn more about your film and share portfolio samples with you.

Hi, I’m a student at the Swedish music high school Rytmus. I’m 16 years old and is an advanced bass player. But my dream when I get older is to be a film composer. I started to try some things about a week ago.

What’s your best tips to get started and to get forward, and to get good