Assassin's Creed Unity

This video has a lot going on, and it will be fun to score. I would put a little more thought into your objectives and timeline for the piece. It will make it easier to compose a cohesive score if you have a clear backbone for your project. Please continue to post process updates.

You should mark all the exact timings, parts, things to synchronize with music, in Logic as I it is explained here below. I recommend to compose something simple at the beginning (just the main instrument melody, the leitmotifs, and drums and so on), and then think what you would expect to listen apart from that, as background: a bass line? Some string chords? Other melody (countermelody) to accompany nicely the main one in a different instrument? You decide. Listen to music similar to the style you want to use (NOT THE ORIGINAL ONE!) and listen to its instrumentation and rest of characteristics to create your own piece with your own decisions, with your own taste.

Here some general ideas to help you build the music: Think of the functions of the music for audiovisuals that we studied at class and also the composition concepts. Start with analyzing the video more precisely and setting its parts and the mood and characteristics of the music for each part. Plan your instruments. Remember that to make a crescendo you can add instruments apart to make them play louder and vice-versa with decrescendo. Select a good tempo that goes well with the images (beat per minute), though you might change it in some section if you think it is going to fit better. To open the video in Logic: File-Movie-Open Movie. Then mark the sections of it in the next way: Logic Pro-Preferences-Advanced Tools and activate all except for Control Surfaces and Surround (and score if you are not going to use it). Then Track-Show Global Tracks and in the Arrangement Track you can establish the sections, for example:
- Introduction: objectives (mood to set, things to remark with music...), Function/s of the music in this section (set the mood, present the main character (you can create a leitmotif for it), place the viewer in the physical place where the action is (country, region, etc.), underline the time the action takes place...), Composition concepts to get the objectives and music functions: crescendo to begin, tempo that fits, kind of music to set the mood, instrumentation that fits with the place and time,...
- And something similar to the other sections.
Also in the markers track you can put markers to synchronize important moments in the scene to synchronize with the music, example: evil monster appears suddenly (remark with its leitmotif or with some low tones, or drums, etc)
The process should be that: set the objectives, set the music function/s, set the composition concepts to get them, compose the music starting from something simple, just the melodies, leitmotifs, etc. and then "decorate" it with the rest of elements and instrumentation you think that fits (it might be string/brass chords, bass line, drums, other melodies with other instruments...)

Hi Dan! I think the video you chose to score is really interesting and there's some super cool action sequences going on that would make for some pretty cool scores. But overall, I can't really tell what you're going for, since you didn't write much about your plans. You mentioned some noises that appear in the beginning of the video, but I'm not sure what they're supposed to mean. It would be great if you could clarify that. But I'm excited to see how your project turns out!

I don't really know that much about this game, but just from watching the video I can tell that there is a lot of potential for action in this piece. The beginning seems to start in slow motion with very focused zooms- it seems like you were thinking about incorporating some sound effects into your piece from what you have in the description.
You might want to think more about making a continuous melody and building up the action through the actual melody/tools instead of just adding sound effects, but that being said it could be cool to turn some of those sound effects into the instrument. (For example, how we turned sounds into instruments). Good luck!

The imagery of the video imply a lot of sound (there are crowds of people that all seem to be shouting, and things are breaking etc.). I would say to be careful to make sure to not make the cinematic seem "empty" by not providing a ton of sound (or if you do make it feel empty, that you're doing that on purpose).

I think this project turned out really cool! I like the buildup you created at the beginning of the piece and how it slowly grew faster and more intense as the action sequences continued to pick up. I also really loved how it grew fast right at 0:22, right when all the assassins jumped on those soldiers in a line. The energetic atmosphere that you created works perfectly in showcasing the action-y nature of your original source of inspiration. Furthermore, I really like how you made the notes sound almost clipped and jagged; it makes the music feel more exciting and action-packed.

One thing that I might want to add is that at the beginning, when the mother is pushed down and then you see the child crying, the music gets faster and more high-pitched. And while I do think that making the music faster is a great way to show the emotional aspect of the scene, I'm wondering if the high pitch almost makes it seem less serious or sad. Maybe if you went with fast, low notes it would make the whole situation appear more saddening.

I also really like that at the end, when we see the soldiers in a line again, the music changes back to what it was near the beginning of the piece. I think that was a really great way of having the piece come full circle. It also worked really well in signaling to the audience that the piece was coming to a close. Overall, I think you did a great job!

I found this composition to be very interesting! I really like how you build up the energy every time there's a conflict in the video. When the soldier swings the sword at the assassin, the strong bass line that appears made my heart pumping. As the clip goes on to show the assassins jumping around, the energy in the music feels very powerful. I like how you repeated a motif over and over again, building up as the video goes; it gives me something to expect and ties the whole music together.

I do also feel that the crescendo at the beginning with the woman getting hit is a little distracting. I feel the scene is rather sombre and is very contrasting with the rest of the video. I think it would be better if the mood at that point is sadness and despair, and then changes to the energetic feeling of revolution later. I also think you can do something with the music when the soldier shoots into the crowd. The music kind of just continues on like before at that point, but I feel like that is one of the biggest climaxes in the video. I also suggest looking into the ending of the music. The fading feels a little obvious to me.

I think there are a lot of very good elements in your composition, and I really enjoy the music as a whole. The motif works really well at getting stuck in my head!