Journal

Rum & Gold: Live Recording Assembly (Part 1)

Mon, 09 May 2011 13:04:36 -0400

Hey everyone!

Since I’ve been back from Ireland, I decided to take some time before I jump into new projects to assemble something from earlier in the year. I participated in an orchestral recording session dedicated to showcasing good orchestration among young composers in the Guild of Canadian Film Composers (now the Screen Composers Guild of Canada) and I was fortunate enough to have my piece recorded.

The performance was not up to my expectations, and so, discouraged, I left it on my hard drive and moved on. The original mock-up, exported straight from Sibelius and using only its default sounds (none of my advanced samples or mock-up skills in use here, as you’ll be able to tell) sounds like this:

Rum and Gold (Original Sibelius Mockup) by Mathazzar

Having had some time pass now though, I wanted to take it up again and try my hand at salvaging it. And so, from the 165 various audio stems (spot mics, hall mics, etc etc.) I have assembled the following version of the recording, which manages to omit most of the worst intonation issues. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good representation of the piece:

Rum & Gold (Audio Only) by Mathazzar

With this version done, I’ll be going over it again with samples to add the missing Trumpet 2 and tubular bells part, to beef up the low end, and to assist any other sections that could use a virtual boost. But for now, have a listen and see what you make of it! Live recording! Woo!

Also, here’s a score if you want to read while you listen:

Rum & Gold (Score)

MinoMonsters!

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:37:15 -0400

Hey everyone,

It’s been an exciting and productive spring and I look forward to being able to share more of what I’ve been working on when it becomes possible. To start things out though, I wanted to talk a bit about MinoMonsters.

MinoMonsters proves that good things happen when you combine collecting and battling monsters with social networking. It’s Pokémon for the current generation and it’s shaping up to be a really great Facebook game. I obviously had the privilege of working on the music, and really enjoyed myself. I think it comes across in the energy and cheerfulness of the music.

If you haven’t gotten sick of hearing it in-game at www.minomonsters.com, then I encourage you to have a listen below!

MinoMonsters by Mathazzar

Supastar!

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:28:00 -0500

Hi guys!

I know it’s seemed quiet around here lately, but I promise it’s only because it’s actually been very loud and busy around the studio. I’ve been privileged with a lot of work these past few weeks ranging from game stuff to short films to advertising and a web series, so I apologize for the break in updates but I haven’t come up to breathe much.

That said, I wanted to share with you a link to an iPhone game I recently provided music and SFX for because it’s wonderfully addictive and has found a permanent place on my iPhone. It’s called Supastar and was developed by the fine folks over at eBattalion. It’s actually 7 full games in one, so there’s a lot of value in this little package.

Check it out if you need a good distraction, I promise you’ll enjoy it!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/supastar/id410059805?mt=8

Film Scoring Workshop

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:15:00 -0500

Recently I was asked to give an introductory workshop on the world of film music for a class of young directors. My specific aim was to introduce them to the process and advantages of working with a composer on their films in the future.

It covers a lot of ground and so is necessarily quite superficial on each point, and there are also areas where I’ve left nothing but a basic concept on the screen which I expanded upon significantly out loud…but since some folks asked me to make my presentation available, I’m putting up the slideshow (there was no audio/video recording, sorry) and I welcome anyone to send me feedback or other speaking opportunities — there’s something very satisfying about sharing the craft with others!

Music for Film: Behind the Scenes on Prezi

Golden Sun Rising

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:10:21 -0500

For those who don’t know this, I first got into writing music by arranging game tunes, so I’ve always had a soft spot for the world of video game arrangements.

Since it’s been a long time since I did one (way back when I did this Halo theme medley), I decided to use some of my time over the holidays to put together a new arrangement. The game in question is a wonderful old RPG called Golden Sun that has just recently had a new sequel released for the DS — which I am playing through.

The arrangement is more of a tribute than a radical departure from the original material, but fans of the game will probably enjoy hearing an orchestral rendition. For those in the know, the two themes you’ll hear are the Main Theme and the Venus Lighthouse theme.

Enjoy and stay tuned for some pretty incredible updates…it’s shaping up to be an amazing new year already!

Golden Sun Rising by Mathazzar

This weekend, I finished work on a particularly special short...

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:19:58 -0500

This weekend, I finished work on a particularly special short film. The film in question which you can watch above, Connection, is the first major film project created by my girlfriend, the up-and-coming director, Shannon Litt.

Obviously a labour of love, the film was nevertheless legitimately rewarding to score, with many emotional peaks and valleys over the course of its 6 minute length. I’m very proud of the score and I hope that you will also enjoy it.

In a break from tradition, this project also had me in the role of video and audio post-production guy, so I got to practice colour grading, filters, foley, and all manner of other interesting aspects of the filmmaking process that are normally handled by others. I could get used to it…

Without further ado, please venture over to Shannon’s site where you’ll find the film and plenty more information about it — http://www.film.outlittstudios.com/

Deep: Available Now on BandCamp!

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:38:00 -0500

The time has come.

It’s been a busy and exciting couple of months of work, but I’m proud to announce that Deep is finally finished!

The album clocks in at just under 40 minutes. You can grab the tracks individually, and folks who buy the full album will be in for a surprise gift from me to you. Plus, I’ve made the first track free for everyone to download so feel free to grab it.

This is a great way to support my ongoing work, so while there’s a minimum price for the tracks and the album, there’s also a pay-what-you-like scheme going on that’ll let you pay a little extra as a friendly donation.

The music wanders fairly far from what you may be used to hearing from me, and I am very pleased with the way it turned out.

Please head over to my BandCamp page and check it out!

Deep | Mathazzar Studios on BandCamp

A Concept Album Introduction

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:39:00 -0400

Hey all!

Soooo it’s been a while since I’ve shared something, right?

Well my apologies for that. I’ve been working a lot and haven’t really had time to share things here, but today I have an important track to show you. It’s the first track from an upcoming concept album I’m doing as a personal project called ‘Deep’. Deep is a concept album exploring the sounds and imagery associated with the deep sea.

This first track, Nereus, is a good opener to give a taste of what’s to come not only because it combines many of the stylistic elements present throughout the rest of the album, but also because it’s an opportunity to begin on the surface of the ocean and work my way down, which feels like an appropriate progression considering my overarching theme.

The title comes from the figure in Greek mythology known as the ‘Old Man of the Sea’, an overlord of the ocean predating the rule of Poseidon.

I hope you enjoy, and if you’d like to keep abreast of developments related to the ‘Deep’ project then I encourage you to visit its website at deep.mathazzar.com

Nereus by Mathazzar

American Wife

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:57:07 -0400

Here’s something a little eclectic.

Several weeks ago I delivered one of the most interesting scoring projects I’ve had to date. Written for the moving and funny short film written and directed by Michael L. Schmidt, ‘American Wife’ represents a departure from my usual styles and therefore a great creative challenge. I was thrilled to work on the film and thoroughly enjoyed developing the indie, acoustic style that captured the spirit of the footage.

If you want to hear something more light-hearted and comedic from me then this is your chance!

American Wife (Original Score) by Mathazzar

Dual/Duel

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:10:00 -0400

I recently had fun participating in a Creative Media Challenge organized by Ryerson wherein participants were given 80 hours to completely produce a media project. I worked with the same team that brought you ‘Interception’ on a film called ‘Dual/Duel’.

The score — which I had about 3 hours to write and deliver thanks to the crazy timeline of the competition — is a bad-ass action offering with some orchestral flavour and a sweet piano tossed in. I had a lot of fun with it and it flowed out very freely.

You can check out the film itself in its entirety here (a quick 5 minutes), and you’re welcome to listen to the full score on its own right here:

Dual/Duel (Original Score) by Mathazzar

Here’s a cool Bond-inspired score I wrote for an...

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:19:23 -0400

Here’s a cool Bond-inspired score I wrote for an advertisement competition entry by the talented Olaf Blomerus!

Q & A (Original Score)

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:54:00 -0400

In keeping with my recent posting of the Interception score, I have recently put together a short album of music highlights from another that I scored not too long ago.

Q & A was an extremely compelling short thriller that I had the pleasure of scoring last year. It is the brainchild of director Olaf Blomerus and I highly encourage you to watch the film in its entirety here if you haven’t already.

The score is tense and dramatic, with synthetic and organic elements mingling together into a dark whole that surrounds the plaintive piano theme:

Q & A (Original Score) by Mathazzar

Interception

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:21:50 -0400

Now that the school year is starting up again, I figured I ought to share with you a project from earlier this calendar year. “Interception” is a festival-bound short film directed by Keith Hodder, a very talented student director and schoolmate of mine. It is a very cool spy thriller and manages to be gritty without going over the top. It was a fine film to work on and I’m very proud of the score. You can watch the teaser trailer on YouTube.

The score is dark and brooding, with industrial textures woven amongst orchestral elements and ambient stretches. Turn down the lights, trust no one, and enjoy!

Interception (Original Score) by Mathazzar

ComposerFocus & RyeStory

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:20:32 -0400

Now that I’m back from Romania, I have been gearing up for another fun winter of work, and among my developments has been a series of demos for Epic World, and Vir2 Violence (among other things).

But in addition to those, I was recently approached to write tutorial articles for a site called ComposerFocus — which I highly recommend you visit. The articles will primarily focus on teaching techniques and workflows to aspiring film/game composers, as well as comparing and showcasing some of the tools we use and discussing their relative merits.

My first article introduces and explores the usage of Convolution Reverb as a sound design tool for ambient effects and you can find it HERE. More will come soon, so keep an eye on the site for updates!

Meanwhile, musically I just recently finished a series of interview scores for an initiative from my university that seeks to make new students more comfortable by giving them an opportunity to tell the world about why they chose the school, what their aspirations are, etc. I had the opportunity to provide the subtle and ambient musical scores for the interview clips, and you can check out the videos on YouTube and the music on its own right here!

RyeStory Interviews by Mathazzar

Romania!

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 12:12:17 -0400

I’m off to Romania!

As is my custom during the summer months, I will be returning to my homeland — cloistering myself in the mountains of Transylvania — for the next two weeks. I will be back on the 22nd, but in the meantime I’m effectively off the map. Internet access will be spotty at best, so don’t expect to be able to reach me with any consistency. I will still periodically deal with emails though, so if you have need of my attention then please do feel free to send me a note, just don’t expect my usual promptness with responses.

I really ought to stop procrastinating with my packing, but somehow cookies, coffee, and social networking sound much more appealing than stuffing socks and charging cameras. The joys of traveling!

Thank you to all who have contributed to what was truly a wonderful year of music work.

Told you there’d be more updates soon! Now that YouTube...

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:50:58 -0400

Told you there’d be more updates soon!

Now that YouTube recently modified its policies to allow videos up to fifteen minutes in length as opposed to ten, I can finally put up what was easily one of my favourite little personal projects to work on this past year.

In 2009, I watched Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s magnificent documentary film, Home. I was moved by the strength of the narrative, by the staggeringly beautiful footage, and by the organic and appropriate musical score.

In 2010, as a composer seeking to respond to this creation, I decided to re-write the music as I might have done it. In the interest of brevity, I first re-edited the film into a briefer ten-minute version to keep it reasonably sized. Once that was done, I set out to write a new musical score for the cut — one that was wholly my own, yet influenced by Armand Amar’s original and by other stellar documentary composers like George Fenton.

I’ve left only the opening narration intact from the original to introduce the story — all other audio, including sound effects, is all produced by yours truly, and it is my pleasure to finally present you with the results!

BandCamp Update

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:24:00 -0400

So remember how I made a few of my tracks available for purchase via BandCamp not too long ago? Well it was a good test of the service and I’m quite happy with it, so I’ve decided to expand my catalogue a bit…

As of today, not only is my entire Demo Reel updated with some new tracks, but the whole thing is available for purchase on BandCamp — as an album or individually, whatever suits your fancy. Oh, and I lowered the prices. $0.70 per track or all twelve for $7.99.

Why the hell would you want to buy the music when you can listen to it for free on SoundCloud? Well, because you can take it with you wherever you go, you can support my work, and most importantly: you can get the tracks in whatever audio format you prefer — including fully lossless WAV if you want maximum fidelity.

Demo Reel: On BandCamp

Check it out if you like, and stay tuned for some more updates very soon!

Shadow Era

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:22:51 -0400

For the past week and a bit, I’ve been happily working on an absolutely beautiful new iPad/iPhone/Web title called Shadow Era. You can find more information about the game itself on the website, but I wanted to share the music that’s been written for the game so far since I’m very proud of it.

The player below will be updated to include all new tracks as I complete them. A Cry For War and Battle!, formerly orphaned tracks, have now found themselves a home on this score, which means more people get to enjoy them!

Shadow Era by Mathazzar

A Cry For War

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:51:58 -0400

It’s been a while since I’ve done a music post, and even though folks who keep tabs on my SoundCloud page will notice that I add things pretty consistently, I figured I’d share this one here too.

A Cry For War was written yesterday evening on a whim, and features some evocative vocal and percussion work. I’m extremely pleased with how it turned out and hope you all enjoy it too!

Cry for War by Mathazzar

Best of all, if you like it you’re welcome to download the Mp3 and enjoy it on the go!

Up and Running

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:20:30 -0400

Okay, sorry about that little outage back there. This is what I get for not having my domain registered and hosted in the same place. Must fix that.

Anyhow, with the site running again I thought I’d let everyone know that two short films I recently worked on are preparing to embark on the festival circuit, and I’m very proud to have been a part of both productions — they deserve all the attention and acclaim they can get. I hope to be able to share some more details of when and where you can see them soon.

Meanwhile, I’m happily writing demos, experimenting, and keeping an eye out for gigs down the road as well as working on some neat side-projects so I hope everyone’s summer is going as nicely as mine so far.

After Dante’s Inferno, my gaming life was briefly taken up by Final Fantasy XIII. I say briefly in lieu of the game’s enormous length because I did not survive the full ride. Expect details in my review. Thankfully, I’ve since moved on to something that’s much more fun: Lost Planet 2. Nothing quite like killing massive aliens to keep one’s mind fresh.

Happy Canada Day, everyone!