I know, this looks like it’s becoming an obsession, but I have really had so much fun scoring the two Stranger Things key scenes picked by CSR’s Erik Woods that I decided to pick another one by myself. I had this scene (and the short one that follows) scored in about two hours, but it took me a few days of tweaking to feel okay with it. Mainly because there is a big potential for overscoring, and not having a director beside me means that I have got to restrain myself musically, and that’s not an easy task.
A few thoughts: The music starts with the kids’ theme as it represents the strong friendship that makes Mike consider jumping off for his friend. As he approaches the edge the music builds tension and becomes silent the moment he actually jumps. There’s a moment of unbelief afterwards before we see Mike floating in the air. I decided to go in here quite strong – quite the opposite from the original – by giving the music some angelic quality (notice the choir doubling the violins), keeping the wondrousness up until Mike returns to the ground again. Then Eleven comes in, pop-sound-like cool drums and synthesizers and all, the orchestra still playing the harmonic shift which is essentially her theme. If you listen again, you’ll find that the floating music also is derived from this theme. What can I say, I’m a theme junkie, and it’s all about Eleven. 🙂
So here it is, please take a listen. (I hope you don’t mind, that I had to turn up the volume of my score in order to not have the original music interfere). Enjoy!