This project was set to create an emotional film score to a locked picture using spotting notes, conveying a sense of emotional uplift.
The story behind the scene is the following:
“A single mom, Karen, who has been struggling financially and emotionally to support her young daughter made a friend, Ben, who helped guide her through her tough time. After hanging out one night, Ben tells Karen it may be the last time he will see her. Karen doesn’t believe him and thanks him for all the support and encouragement he has given to her.
Genre: Light Orchestral
Compose/Producer: Daniela Calicchia
Mixing engineer: Daniela Calicchia
They say good bye and go their separate ways. After a few days of not hearing from Ben, Karen begins to think he was telling the truth and calls him. The call goes to an automated voice message which Ben has left. In the message, he describes how he has been sick for a long time and how he regrets many decisions. He talks about how he has done many people wrong and wishes he could do it all over. He mentions how befriending Karen and her confiding in him with her issues while he helped her made him feel at peace and as if he has at least reconciled a bit with his past. His last words are for Karen to cherish the time she has with her daughter and to believe in herself. Karen hangs up the phone and hugs her daughter. In the final scene Karen is spending time with her daughter on the beach as they both laugh and play.”
Spotting notes:
0:00 – 0:23 – Music should start with a lighter instrumentation and slowly grow. Nothing too dark or emotional.
0:24 – 0:36 – Music should begin to intensify in a sad way. Instrumentation should grow along with woman’s concern
0:37 – 0:56 – Music should be full instrumentation and should be at its climax. It should sound sad or devastated like the woman feels. Eventually the music should begin to die down or simplify during the shot of the telephone
0:57 – 1:11 – Music should be lighter and begin to make a transition to something more uplifting and energetic but not overly joyous.
1:12 – 1:34 – Music should be more inspirational, upbeat, and happy. Should reflect what the mother and daughter are doing and feeling. Music should end on fade out and be silent by the time the shot goes black.
