Fantasy Film Without Music: Film Scoring Exercise

Hi there,

while there is a plethora of student films in the drama, action and comedy section I never came across anyhting close to fantasy. Consequently, up-and-coming film composers looking for first experiences in different genres don't have the opportunity to practise their skills on a fantasy production, which really is a shame considering the multifarious musical options that particular genre offers. However, just recently in my parent's attic I stumbled over an old camcorder which my brother and his mates used many many years ago (around 2005) to shoot their own little fantasy flic called "The Dagger Deliverance", set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, famous for entries such as Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights or the D&D pen-and-paper roleplaying game. Though it's obviously an extremely LOW budget fan film production, which in its entirety never was finished, they put a lot of hard work into it and some scenes just have a wonderful amateurish and naive charme to it. ;) Unfortunetly, all of the finished and survived sections of the film use temp-track music (mostly from well-known feature films of that genre), thus it is impossible to re-score it without also having to re-dub all the sound and dialogue tracks. Seeing no other way, I ported the original raw material from the analogue camcorder, re-edited together three suceeding scenes, applied some sound and visual effects and voilà: here you have your fresh amateur fantasy film template for film scoring exercise! :D Since I had to use the sound originally recorded on set, the few dialogue passages are in German.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV5ecE6aHUE

You can use the film and audio material provided here under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.09: :) Have fun! Being a hobbyist composer myself I am still working on my own score for these scenes and probably will upload my approach on this in the next few weeks.

Dustin

This sounds fun. Maybe I'll give it a shot! 

Despite finding my path to scoring later in life, I'm deeply committed to this craft. I'm currently scoring an independent fantasy film, a project that has pushed my limits in terms of time, budget, and resources. This experience has demanded I wear many hats, handling everything from sound design and Foley to final mixing. I've invested heavily in this pursuit, both financially and emotionally, because I believe in the power of sound to elevate storytelling.

Scoring is a tremendous responsibility, shaping a film's emotional landscape. Though this particular opportunity has passed, I appreciate you recognizing the dedication and artistry involved in bringing a story to life through music. Like the artisans of a cathedral, we contribute to something larger than ourselves, often without recognition. I'm eager to lend my skills and passion to any project, big or small.   Thank you to this forum and opportunity for this.  Though I find it 8years late...  I believe in it, and would love to contact people in this regard for my own sake...