Scoring a Trailer

One trailer, rescored 4 different ways by students in USC's Scoring for Motion Pictures & TV program.

Who do you think did the best job?

Original Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AwvuirSEAA

Take 1: Sam Jones

Take 2: Gareth Coker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XploZ3pbsW4

Take 3: Jason Acuna

Take 4: Dave Volpe

I think all of them were compelling, but the one I have to give the win to is Jason Acuna.

Volpe was a close second for me, but his soundscape was not as impressive to me as Acuna's. Acuna also had him beat on that climactic moment where the bike hits the wake and shatters into pieces. That was movie magic, at least for me. Great work, everyone! I think they all did outstanding.

My take:

I also liked Jason Acuna's. It really captures that "retro yet modern" feel of the movie itself (judging by the trailer). In a theater this would make me a bit more interested in seeing it. I also liked how the intro music draws you in, up to the piano hit; and I think he did the best job on scoring the "hit" where the bike disappears into the tunnel. All in all great job.

I really liked the less tonal bits of Sam Jone's score & the sound textures he used so I give it second place.

Gareth Coker's music was a bit too... suave? (almost like a car commercial?). It didn't focus on the action or the fear the blue guy was feeling. At the same time I think he did the best job on the tunnel sequence while that seemed to be a weird area in the others' music.

I think Dave Volpe did a great job as well, the only thing I didn't like was the decision to put actiony music after he falls off the bike.

All four are great and a big improvement on the inexplicably unscored official trailer. :phones:

All four are great and a big improvement on the inexplicably unscored official trailer. :phones:

But I like the inexplicably un-scored trailer as well... the sound of the bikes, shattering glass, and overall tension of the film without the music is, well, just as riveting. I thought the exercise, though, was to build a track off of the trailer as though it were in the film itself... well, at least that's what I came to the table thinking about when I watched each trailer. If all of them were supposed to be tracks -for a trailer- to the movie, I don't think most of these would make the cut for me. Too much music can be a bit, well, overblown for a teaser. That's why I like the teaser as it is...

If another Tron trailer emerges here in the next few weeks, hopefully it will offer more cut-aways of the film to bring that true epicness of the film to the foreground. Then, I think a scored trailer would be more appropriate then.