Tom Holkenborg a.k.a. Junkie XL has called for another #NowScoreThis composing challenge. This time the task is to come up with a theme for a particular incarnation of Lara Croft.
I searched the internet for different looks and styles of Lara and this one I liked instantly. She’s surrounded by jungle-wilderness and looking tough but also very female and sexy. The scene is not dark, but adventurous, so I decided to go against the tide and compose not some tragic material, but a melodic theme for her. In the first half of the track the theme is played on top of a Lost World-kind of pattern, in which the root doesn’t change. In the second half the theme is repeated, carried by strings and fleshed out harmonically with some chord progressions that add substance to it.
I hope it’s enjoyable – it definitely was fun for me! Don’t forget to let me know what you think, here in the comments or on Twitter!
I really enjoyed your take on a Tomb Raider theme, very excellent compositon!
Thank you for your kind comment! May be some time in the future I’ll expand on it. I think it’s more versatile than I originally planned.
I came across one of your posts in response to Paul on the VSL forums. I have been researching various composers techniques on using VE and VIPro features, in particular Velocity Crossfade. I am preparing to mix and master my first symphony and it is a large and daunting project. I am finding it difficult to choose how best to make use of my mod and pitch wheels to control velocity xf, slot xf and expression. I, too, do not yet have an orchestra to hand my works to and realism is top priority to me. I enjoyed your Lara Croft piece. If you have any thoughts or insights you would share on the topic of cc controls and getting the best out of this great library and software, I would love to hear them.
Kind regards,
Sam Haines
Thanks, Sam, for dropping by here. Sorry for the late reply, my wordpress doesn’t seem to notify me by e-mail. Anyway – I can tell you as much: My hardware setup is somewhat slim. I have a Novation Impulse 61 keyboard which has a modwheel and I use it for expression only. Only some instrument tracks are programmed for velocity x-fade, in that case the modwheel controls vel-xf only. I’m going to address both controllers – expression and velocity x-fade – in the future with separate faders. I think it will add some more depth and variety to the sound, but you can get pretty far with one of those (see my Ladyhawke composition). I advise to use the modwheel while you record the instruments and not later on. This way it will become a natural controller for you (like a pedal for a piano player) and using it alongside recording the notes adds greatly to dynamics and expression. Hope that helps! All the best for your symphony!