Ideas for Music for an action short film?

T

ThisIsMe

Member
I'm in the process of editing together a five minute action short film I've done with a a few people on virtually no money (all the money having gone into props, catering & a rig for my camera).

Me & the Co-Producer were about to hire a composer to do the score, and though he was heavily booked & quite expensive he was willing to give us a discount & shuffle around his schedule to fit us in before our deadline, if we were willing to pay the minimum he would need for it to be worth his time. We ended up coming the conclusion that it was just too expensive (when we can use the money for more equipment, etc). Or at least, it's too difficult to tell at the moment whether or not this short was worth spending so much on the music alone.

We've made the decision to either look for copyright free music, royalty free music or contacting small bands via bandcamp or soundcloud and asking permission to use their music. Worst case scenario, we'll just use copyrighted music & forget any chance to make money.

It's hard to tell what sort of music we're exactly after to a degree. I imagine music similar to that used in the trailer for the Raid, music in the Matrix (e.g. Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan) or music used by FreddieW on YouTube.

We need some tension building music of decent length & then generic music as a man arrives at a safehouse, contacts an associate & such. Then we need sharp, fast action music as men arrive to attack the protagonist and he fights them off. Then we need music that's calm, but then the protagonist stumbles into another 'baddie' and devises a plan to bait & kill him.

The action is serious & though it contains a fight sequence consisting of Wing-Chun & other basic fighting, it's not martial arts film.

Any ideas whatsoever? I've spent hours scouring the internet for music and haven't come up with much. I have got to have a nearly completely finished short by the 11th, with the 25th of this month being the ABSOLUTE latest.

It's hugely appreciated if anyone can offer help, or point me in the right direction, or whatever!
 
Check out the royalty-free library of music offered by Smartsound. Also their SonicFire PRo software for scoring the track using their music.
 
Music for your film

Music for your film

Hi,

I'd be potentially interested in writing some bespoke tracks for your film. I'm a London-based composer and recent music graduate looking for ways to gain more experience writing to picture. Most of my credits so far have been casual video games and library music so I'd love to get involved in something a bit larger. I've also put together a playlist of some of my existing cinematic action-style tracks:

http://soundcloud.com/vince-webb/sets/film-music-examples/s-BvSrN

I'm pretty new to this forum so I hope its OK to post my services like this :) If you like what you hear you can reach me at info@vincewebb.co.uk

Thanks!

Vince

www.vincewebb.com
 
Just like using stock footage, using stock music will never give you anything memorable when you're finished, and in fact, may sound a lot like other short action films.

If this is just a fun project that doesn't matter (given your budget) then who cares I guess.
 
What area are you in? Is there a decent music scene there? Start researching bands in your area through some of the Indie music sites. That's what I like doing. Approach the bands whose music you think you would like to use. Explain to them what you want to do. Don't over sell your project, nor under sell it. Just be honest and ask for non-exclusive rights to use that song/music. And then give them credit in your film and invite them to the premiere. If you plan on posting it online, make sure to embed a link in the film for the band's website. Ask that the band cross promote your film on their site.

You might be surprised with the responses you get. That's what I like doing. Gives your film another local connection, and fan base. The band gets further exposure and can say they have music in a film.

Hey Vince, I am going to check your stuff out. I am actually looking for something myself.
 
You can get production music to work, it's done al the time or there wouldn't be a market. For something like a feature your going to be hard pressed to "score" the film that way but on a 5 min short/ trailer it's doable.

Since your asking (and not the sound person) I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess you didn't have someone do sound post. On an action film that is probably a bigger problem than not having a composer. Action is a genre that is really hurt by not having a good sound track (I'm talking sound not music). The usual no budget "fix" is to slather music all over the place. If you watch and listen to an action film you will notice that there is never (or very close to never) a time where you are music only. Having stretches of only music is a dead giveaway that it was done by an inexperienced director.

That may not apply to your film but it is something to keep in mind if that was the direction you were going in.

If you can find some Digital Juice "StackTraxx" in the epic movie styles they can be pretty good and you can pull the layers apart so you can change it up. They aren't selling them anymore so it would be an eBay thing probably.
 
Thought I would also add a bit about the composer VS buying equipment balance. Creative people bring creativity and add that to your film. Equipment doesn't add anything but the possibility for a creative person to use it creatively.

The point is that saving that money for some possible future purchase adds nothing to your film. If the aim is to make the best film you can then you should focus on that and not on things you might want to buy if you make another film some day.
That said not knowing the people involved it's possible that THAT composer wasn't the right choice either. But make the decision about making the best film you can not how can I get by with the minimum so I can buy XYZ for my next film.

The old saying is "your only as good as your last film", not "your only as good as your next one".
 
^Very true.

I'll update for everyone, I was actually contacted by a composer and have been in correspondence with him & he's going to provide music for the short.

Noiz2 said:
Since your asking (and not the sound person) I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess you didn't have someone do sound post. On an action film that is probably a bigger problem than not having a composer. Action is a genre that is really hurt by not having a good sound track (I'm talking sound not music). The usual no budget "fix" is to slather music all over the place. If you watch and listen to an action film you will notice that there is never (or very close to never) a time where you are music only. Having stretches of only music is a dead giveaway that it was done by an inexperienced director.

That may not apply to your film but it is something to keep in mind if that was the direction you were going in.
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It's not a large film by any means, it's very small. I've spent most of this year watching a wide variety of tips, tutorials & other short action films, learning the in's & out's as best as I can. The film was actually shot with NO SOUND, so it's all being done in post (there's no proper dialogue). That could bite us in the ass, though I don't think it's showing a sign of doing quite that yet.

I've been slowly picking away at the sound myself, trying my best to learn effective ways to build the sound design of the film. It's definitely an interesting process, and really has made me appreciate how much talent a sound engineer on any official film really has. We had considered taking the film to an actual sound production company that we had visited a while back, but ultimately we felt that it would be a good learning process to do it ourselves, as well as we just don't have the budget for it.
 
ThisIsMe said:
I'll update for everyone, I was actually contacted by a composer and have been in correspondence with him & he's going to provide music for the short.
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Yup, I'm on the job. I just wrapped a feature and have a little break before the next big thing so was happy to do a good deal on this short to keep busy! It'll be a fun one.
 
ThisIsMe said:
It's not a large film by any means, it's very small. I've spent most of this year watching a wide variety of tips, tutorials & other short action films, learning the in's & out's as best as I can. The film was actually shot with NO SOUND, so it's all being done in post (there's no proper dialogue). That could bite us in the ass, though I don't think it's showing a sign of doing quite that yet.

I've been slowly picking away at the sound myself, trying my best to learn effective ways to build the sound design of the film. It's definitely an interesting process, and really has made me appreciate how much talent a sound engineer on any official film really has. We had considered taking the film to an actual sound production company that we had visited a while back, but ultimately we felt that it would be a good learning process to do it ourselves, as well as we just don't have the budget for it.
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Let me be clear. A "learning experience" is just that and if you manage to pick up some awards great. BUT if you are aiming at a serious career film then you should be working with a team. Film is a team sport.

And I don't want you to get the wrong twist on this. It is great that you are doing the post and learning about sound. But It's important to realize that once you get past the learning phase you will be working with a crew and the more you work that way from the get go the better of you end up.

Basically the point is IF you have a DP you should have a sound supervisor. If your doing it all your self then that is a special case and it's cool.

There is something that a light designer friend of mine says that applies here. "If you can't fix it make it a design choice".

You shot with no sound. Make that a choice and go with it.
 
Noiz2 said:
Let me be clear. A "learning experience" is just that and if you manage to pick up some awards great. BUT if you are aiming at a serious career film then you should be working with a team. Film is a team sport.

And I don't want you to get the wrong twist on this. It is great that you are doing the post and learning about sound. But It's important to realize that once you get past the learning phase you will be working with a crew and the more you work that way from the get go the better of you end up.

Basically the point is IF you have a DP you should have a sound supervisor. If your doing it all your self then that is a special case and it's cool.

There is something that a light designer friend of mine says that applies here. "If you can't fix it make it a design choice".

You shot with no sound. Make that a choice and go with it.
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I have no ambition to only make films by myself, I did have a few people on board giving a helping hand. While shooting, I was the DP, and I had someone help with lighting, my Co-Producer, was directing & we also had a professional Wing-Chun trainer choreograph the fighting. In Pre-Production, it was mostly myself & the Co-Producer, but as well an Executive Producer who's much more experienced than myself (having given me a few jobs which has had my work showcased on national tv) who assisted a hell of a lot with writing (and is again giving feedback on the edit). Now we're in post, and I'm focusing on editing & sound, while my Co-Producer is on VFX/GFX. I also have someone assisting with sound recording.

If I could, I would LOVE to work with more people, especially as far as writing/directing/producing goes. I find those three especially difficult and very tiring. Though I know several people into with film-making experience, their professionalism lacks & they don't have a very sustaining passion for other people's work, generally, so I find it frustrating working with them.

As far as the sound decision goes, it very much was a creative decision. We slowly removed dialogue & other aspects in that direction, so we could shorten the length & take as much emphasis off of the actors and more into our creative efforts behind the camera.
 
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Just an update, working with Randin, we got some great music for the short which REALLY boosts it a hell of a lot more than any royalty free music could of, I'm sure. If anyone is tossing up whether it's worth their money to get a composer, rather than scouring for free/cheap royalty free music (or just break copyright), DEFINITELY go for a composer! You won't regret it because your short will be a hell of a lot better off for it having music to the beat/feel. Plus you won't have to worry about having some music that's also in hundreds/thousands of other shorts! How painful is it when you hear the same old music in a bunch of different shorts?!

Having a score that's specific & to the cut is so immensely useful & so much more effective, the music helped emphasize certain parts and really bounce off of the action of the short quite perfectly. It adds to the overall production values of the short, which can be quite important.

The very idea of scouring the internet for decent royalty free music and trying my best to make it work gives me a head ache! It would definitely give a much more generic feel to it.
 
ThisIsMe said:
Just an update, working with Randin, we got some great music for the short which REALLY boosts it a hell of a lot more than any royalty free music could of, I'm sure. If anyone is tossing up whether it's worth their money to get a composer, rather than scouring for free/cheap royalty free music (or just break copyright), DEFINITELY go for a composer! You won't regret it because your short will be a hell of a lot better off for it having music to the beat/feel. Plus you won't have to worry about having some music that's also in hundreds/thousands of other shorts! How painful is it when you hear the same old music in a bunch of different shorts?!

Having a score that's specific & to the cut is so immensely useful & so much more effective, the music helped emphasize certain parts and really bounce off of the action of the short quite perfectly. It adds to the overall production values of the short, which can be quite important.

The very idea of scouring the internet for decent royalty free music and trying my best to make it work gives me a head ache! It would definitely give a much more generic feel to it.
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I agree.

But I would also add that if you have a decent sound editor then they will not be just dropping some found music in and calling it good. Even with composed pieces I'm often doing a lot of editing to make it fit better or to fix a cue that was composed to an earlier cut.
The best combo for a low budget that I have come across is to use the composer for score and find the "songs" you need, unless the composer is good at some of those genres. So for instance the "music" that plays in elevators, out of radios, in clubs, stores, etc. Is often better to find than have a composer spend a lot of time trying to mimic a style they may not be good at and is going to be way in the BG anyway. I will usually in these cases find some stuff that seems like it's about right and send copies off to the director and composer. When they decide what works for them I will cut it to fit.

And the other point is that you don't actually need to use music at all. That choice is pretty film specific but many films will play just fine with out score IF your sound editor has done a good job with the soundtrack.

Congrats on getting a composer though.
 
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