Film Scoring Update: "Charlie To The Rescue"

Filming "Backyard Gothic" is a slow and tedious task, between getting people together and working on the right dialogue, but as a labour of love, I'll get there by hook or crook.

I would consider myself a competent composer, who enjoys leitmotifs. Leitmotifs, I suppose are a character theme. As ambient soundtracks take hold - themes hold less weight. It's now more about atmosphere and sound fx. Which I've no qualms with. There are some truly wonderful examples of it out there. But for my little short film, I wanted it to be a throwback to the John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein sound. You know the 80's / 90's BIG sound with leitmotifs galore?

Now, I am not comparing myself to these guys, I am not anywhere near that level but as a reference, there are none better. I also want to use as little hybrid sound as possible. Keeping the electronic sound from the orchestral. I am employing at points but for a retro sound, they are kept to the bare minimum.

I uploaded a version of "Charlie To The Rescue" a little while back and surprise, surprise.....it was missing something. The entire scene is basically child vs The Big, Bad Wolf and it needed more "Oomph!". I added some trumpet triplets and the ominous bad guy motif at the start, with some marching snares deep, but noticeable, in the mix. It's a piece I'm very proud of. And I can't wait to start editing it into the scene.

BACKYARD GOTHIC

Growing up, most people would have been aware of their local "haunted house" in the neighbourhood.

As a young child in what was then, a very different Jobstown in Tallaght back in the late 80's - early 90's. There was Wolfy's house. It was the house of a man that went mad, turned into a wolf and killed his family. It was said on nights of the full moon, you could hear him scarpering around the rooftops in search of his next victim.

Of course, as a child - the original story was much more convoluted and scary. Mainly due to my older sister's gift for embellishing upon it.

However it was a story that always stayed with me and recently, it resurfaced. My music has been coming to the fore in various places so why not take it to the next level? Why not create a short movie inspired by the above story, that will engage the viewer and I can add my own sonic touch to it? It's not hard to make a film, with a slight bit of know how and understanding of the various techniques, all learned through trial and error over the years - I'm confident. Not overly so. It's a low to no budget movie which will be heavily dependent on quite a bit of charity and goodwill but if I get my passion across (and guilt several family members) it is entirely possible. Full credit to family and friends, they are always game for my mad creative tangents. The star will be my young nephew, Paul. Who's cheeky, a lunatic and most important for the role -  has a big, huge heart. The premise is a well used one, hopefully with a fresh take: "What if your neighbour was a werewolf and, nobody believed you?" I'm feeling a fun Goonies meets Fright Night (the original) vibe

 I have fleshed out the story over the bones of the last year and created a poster along with soundtrack leifmotifs for the various characters. I'm looking forward to filming over the next month or so. Laois is an actual goldmine of beautiful and interesting locations that will be well suited to the story so am genuinely excited about getting this up and running.


HERE'S THE POSTER I CREATED, MAINLY FOR MY AMUSEMENT FEATURING OUR HERO IN A NO NONSENSE POSE,  CREEPILY WATCHED BY THE ANTAGONIST........

TOP TEN Result: The International Horror Hotel Film Festival Scoring Competition.

Celebrating a little victory is important!

1. It makes you feel happy.
2. It gives you motivation to keep going.
3. It builds your confidence.

And boy, is this true! To be specific, I came 9th (yet to be officially revealed) but judging by the number of last years highly commended numbering 20 outside of the top ten, I am gonna celebrate this like I made it to the podium!

I generally suffer from extreme self doubt when it comes to my work (I'm not complaining, I believe it helps me improve  every day) and this was a welcome and timely email to my inbox at a time when I'd been feeling a little jaded as regards to where I am and where I'm progressing - i.e work.

I actually submitted the work last year and immediately doubted the mix after sending it (I was right, I'm never happy) and kept half an eye on proceedings and then slowly..... forgot about it.

I received the email yesterday morning and scared my wife by almost somersaulting out of bed - she forgave me, don't worry. I'll post a link to the video here:Phil McClean - Horror Hotel Scoring 2019. 

Granted the awards presentation and subsequent screening is in Ohio, so unless I can grow money, I'll be celebrating in the Old World with a certificate and a tasty drop of whiskey come Friday when my next day off arrives. Until then I'll be grinding my teeth in retail hell and and cleaning up the loose ends for "The Last Illusion".

Thanks for reading. And more importantly, thanks for listening.

P.S. The above picture was taken by my favourite human, once upon a time in Vegas. In it I'm drinking the most expensive Jameson I ever paid for. It was the last time I felt this rich, albeit more for achievement than cash - but I'll take that anytime!

Cheers.

TECH NOIR update

                                                                                                                                       

So am currently hard at work on Tech Noir's final track and to say I'm sorry I started it would be a lie but to say I'm sorry I announced it before finishing it, would be the truth! This e.p. is a world away from "Heresy", which was pretty much an all organic musical affair (guitar, bass, mandolin) bar drum machine and a (now defunct / well retired) Yamaha keyboard.

The focus on this was more on technology driven music without losing the human heart of it. Recent listening forays into synthwave and electropop have been a major influence. Also the subject matter ranges from loss of human connection by technology and fun instrumental asides to pure, insane obsession. With a tasty amount of swearing. I'm such a rebel. Looking to having it finished by the end of March. Anybody with a passing interest can send an email to philmcclean@hotmail.com or find me on Facebook and send me a pm. Thanks for reading and more importantly, thanks for listening,

Phil.

Track Listing (subject to change)

I.   WE ARE AT WAR
II.  GOT NO TIME
III. I'VE MET MORE MONSTERS THAN I HAVE MET HEROES
IV. TECH NOIR: A THEME FOR KEN COLTON
V.   LOVE LETTERS FROM A CRAZED EX
VI. PULL ME APART (GENERATION CYBERBULLY)

Big year, big plans!

So, first of all, happy new year to anyone reading this. It's been a while since I've been on here. A big 2018, gives way to the promise of 2019 and I assure you that behind the scenes, I've been working feverishly as ever.

Having gotten hold of some quality synths, I've been experimenting no end this January, rediscovering my love for Vangelis and Heavy Metal (eclectic, I know) along the way. The first piece, albeit rehashed, of the year has been thrown out there "A Theme For Ken Colton". A tongue in cheek tribute to a colleague and friend of mine. But this is only the tip of the iceberg and I have my fingers in quite a few pies!

Speaking of fingers, I've been blighted by pain in both hands which is quite severe at times, particularly in the cold. I'm not one to self diagnose but it could be a touch of arthritis. It's affected my guitar playing quite a bit but due to the miracle of programming and copy and paste, it's next to unnoticeable. Just a case of looking after myself more as regards to diet etc (fish oils, ugh).

For now, I'm back and more inspired than ever, thanks for reading and more so - thanks for listening.
Take care and a very happy new year,

Phil.

2018 - Plots and plans.

A very happy new year to you all! I've been pretty busy musically. Personally too - and this will take precedent over the next couple of months as plans come to fruition so expect my musical output to be significantly less during this time.

I've signed up for an international trailer scoring competition, which I have completed over the Christmas but the final judging takes place in April, so I must keep the piece to myself before then. Anyone who is curious or willing to take part can find the details at HORRORHOTEL.NET.

I've reviewed the previous competition winners and it does seem pretty competitive and high quality. I'm also happy with my own efforts and quite confident in my ability, as one would need to be. It involves scoring a trailer (provided) which is shorn of the original music.

The trailer is of the film "The City Of The Dead" renamed "Horror Hotel" for American audiences. It features Christopher Lee in a Hammer-esque role typical of his career at the time c.1960.

It provides pure gold in terms of theme and timing and I think I may be on to a good thing with what I have created. Watch this space and thanks for reading.

THE BATMAN

Here we go again, you're saying! Yep, here we go again. This piece has been a long time in the making. Over two years in fact. I produced more imperfect ideas of it but being limited as regards to my instrumental pallet, I was never truly happy with it. 

I originally had a different idea, utilising my nephew's vocals to produce a piece more in line with an early Danny Elfman sound. But over time, his voice started to break and it was obviously no longer possible to use it. I worked on other things in the background but this was a distraction and a half. It was always that piece I couldn't finish. 

So I decided to revisit it and work on it until my ears and fingers bled. It is now practically unrecognisable to the original demo idea scraped together, which I uploaded almost a year ago, having exhausted all avenues to find a replacement for my nephew's voice, which I obviously didn't. You can watch it here.

Between the instruments and the massive learning curve a year gave me, I think the resulting pieces are an interesting study between themselves. Some ideas were kept and embellished upon, others were dumped entirely. Suffice to say, I'm very pleased with "The Batman" and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Bechstein Debauchery & An Ode To Danny Elfman

I recently acquired a Bechstein D 280 concert grand piano. Well the sound samples of one anyway! My dream piano, and unfortunately, I don't possess the fortune or solid gold bank account to buy one.

Eastwest QL pianos have a collection of 4 pianos: Steinway, Bosendorfer , Yamaha and Bechstein. A very expensive collection but upon investigation I discovered that I could buy just one of the models, thus saving a fortune and the Bechstein tone won it out for me.

Having a tinkle on the (plastic) ivories today, I tested the dynamic of the touch sensitivity by playing the opening chords to Danny Elfman's "Beetlejuice" and it struck me that I'd never really paid tribute to the man who is by far one of my biggest influences. So I utilised the driving hammered piano style and added trombone, french horn, 3 part choir (men and women in stereo, boys in mono), some deep staccato brass ensemble and some cheeky organ. I finished with celesta, boys choir, some flautando strings and the oboe. I'm very pleased with it and named it "Oiche Shamhna" as it is that time of year!

I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed creating it. You can listen to it HERE.

For The Love Of Woodwinds.

The venerable Woodwind section. I've never really used it in my pieces, but I do love listening to them. Especially when they are used well. Media-wise Ennio Morricone and Jerry Goldsmith do them the most justice. It takes a certain talent and subtlety to bring them to the fore (and well) but being I do love a good brass section, I've overlooked them.

Let's be honest, a loud enough brass instrument on it's own could probably demolish and entire orchestra, and seeing as I don't do "subtle" well, it's been a learning curve both writing and producing a piece which utilises two woodwind instruments as the lead. Namely the Oboe and the Flute.

I've actually employed an older piece (Magpies & Rockstars Pt. I) to create this piece and I've kept it true to the original but I've replaced the guitars with Violas & Violins and the two above instruments. I didn't want to copy it exactly as regards melody and the two Woodwinds both compete and harmonise with each other throughout the piece, but never impeding each other. I hope. I through in a restrained trumpet duo just to add a little "ooomph" in the final third. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed producing it. Thanks for listening.

Opus Pica Pica: An Insight

This piece of music is split into three sections and it is an aural study of the relationship I have with my better half. The first piece was originally written for a film I was in talks to score. This fell through, not through animosity - more so lack of communication. I hope the film makers in question treat those who choose to work with them in a more respectful way than ignoring them completely as they wont be going too far in the industry based on what I've experienced.... Rant Over.

I was thrilled with this piece of music. I was also afraid it would never see the light of day in context to the above. It was written to convey fear, dissolution but ultimately, hope. I realised it was merely a reflection of everyone's journey and it was only the beginning......

My wife is a fantastic muse - so much personality, so much passion. She fuels almost everything I do, musically. So I took the first peace and rejigged it a little bit. This is the first instrumental track in which I've not used any synth sounds to stay true to a more classical sound.

Part I: Ups & Downs. The story of how the road in life is never straight for us or indeed anyone.

Part II: Silver Linings. This is signalled by a playful bass line and grows into a choir led crescendo with flutes and some unexpected glass armonium.

Part III: When We Soar. Violas and Violins duel in opposing but complementary melodies while accompanied by big drum ensembles in stereo which grow in intensity towards the end whilst the glass armonium returns in a more rhythmic, less chaotic fashion this time.

For the curious "Pica Pica" is the latin for the Eurasian Magpie. "Magpie" is a playful name I call my wife for how easily distracted she is. Like a magpie to a shiny object....

HADES THEME Part I: Through The Valley Of The Kings

The sands of Cairo carry a massive host in the distance, which moves forward - as though sailing through the parched earth. The shape grows bigger and bigger as it approaches the pyramids. The behemoth object ceases to be a mirage and reveals itself through the wavering heatwaves as a gigantic schooner ship, but she is no ordinary schooner....

The ship carries the stench of death on her. Made of burnt black wood and rusting steel, she almost resembles a boat built around a gigantic rib cage. But even more curious, is the way she makes her way through the sands....

Thousands of men, or what once were men, carry the ship on their shoulders. They carry the rot of a thousand years and more on their bodies. Each one guilty of crimes against humanity so great, they were personally selected for this particular task. Rapists, murderers, the treasonous, the dictators. Each one retrieved from the darkest, vilest corners of history.

On the deck, stands a tall dark figure. With the horns and face of a goat, leering into the distance. The schooner is flanked by two horses on either side, carrying ghostly riders. These are named Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. The sun seems to grow dimmer, casting a deep orange glow over the procession.

Back on the deck, the goat figure swings a whip towards a captive man on the boat, contained by huge chains. He screams in pain and spreads a blood spattered pair of wings. The captive is Gabriel, who struggles to his feet, lifts a giant golden horn and blows. The noise is both deafening and terrifying. As the boat nears the city boundary, her name comes into view. It reads "Hades".

(THE MUSIC IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND WILL BE UPLOADED THIS WEEKEND. I WILL NOT UPLOAD IT, UNTIL I AM 100 % HAPPY WITH IT. BUT THE SECOND PART OF THE STORY HAS BEGUN AND "HERESY" WILL FINALLY REACH IT'S CONCLUSION.)

The Standing Stone.

Quite some time ago, a great friend of mine mentioned the possibility of me composing a short composition to accompany some podcasts he was looking towards producing for his website - THESTANDINGSTONE.IE, Naturally I was intrigued and jumped at the chance. Tom is very passionate about history and to watch him find even the most obscure, tiny, off the beaten path site is akin to watching a child on Christmas morning and it's highly infectious.

I naturally wanted to produce something that he would approve of, so when I asked what "sound" he was looking for, I was informed a "from the mists of time" sound would be sufficient. I know this guy pretty well, so I knew this advice was far from blase. Tom's a musician himself. He'd expect more than a drone and a few pipes. But I was also aware that it might be a good place to start and he generally lets me run wild, musically, when I'm producing something!

I produced a demo and he liked it. Phew! The blueprint was laid. So I set to work on a professional version and it sounded....shit. I tried again, no joy. I couldn't define what was wrong. It just didn't sound right. So I buried it and began my "GUNSLINGER" journey, all the while being tormented by my inability to complete "The Standing Stone".

Coming into Easter is a pretty special time to be Irish, as regards to the 1916 rising and the centenary has awakened a wonderful sense of pride in many Irish people, myself included. The old songs are being played again and have heavily inspired me lately. So I revisited the piece that I'd long promised my old friend and it still sounded....shit! The difference this time was I stuck at it. I added brass - French horns, trumpets - "Sounds promising, Phil". Uilleann pipes..... nope, bad idea - reverse! And then I added the marching snares and bass drum. Finally, it sounded .... grand. He seemed genuinely pleased with the result, though my ears hear all that's wrong. Sure, it'll pass. One day I'll pat myself on the back and say I did a good job. And never compose again!!

Some day soon, it will hopefully accompany one of Dr Nelligan's podcasts - but for now, here it is in all it's glory (or lack of). I give you THE STANDING STONE:

The Gunslinger (A Suite)

So I've finished "The Gunslinger" suite and I'm pretty damn happy with it!

Thematically, the pieces are similar as well as melodically, without being repetitive. Which is a big plus for me. It's the first time I've employed a brass section and am quite happy with it. I always envisioned a big brass "Old West" sound for this story, with a few little oddities - given it's otherworldly status.

Part I - Lots of fun!
 Big, golden era trumpet driven intro followed by a big driving rhythm courtesy of some celli, synth drums and 6 (!) French horns. I sprinkled on a little sequencer bass to add a modern edge towards the end.

Part II - Rather unexpected.
I originally wanted write a piece inspired by the Man in Black but straight in, I knew this was to be Jake's theme. Between the flautando violins, legato violas and the boys choir, it would only ever be Jake's. The choir was a big challenge as I wanted one to play off against the other without them actually fighting each other. Thankfully, it sounds well. The French horn immediately presents the piece as a direct descendant to Part I, along with the melody.

Part III - Difficult. 

I knew the Man in Black needed to be represented, as he is the first character mentioned in the book, though he doesn't make a hugely significant contribution until the later books. Is he an immortal wizard, is he a God, is he the Devil?? What is his game? And why is Roland determined to catch him? The piece, like him is hard to label. Hard driven sequencer with percussive bass, guitar, quanun, duduk and some brass, again to link it with the original piece. I wanted it to be mysterious, more than pursuit driven and hopefully I succeeded.

The Gunslinger

So have started on a new piece.

 I'm very inspired lately, as is quite obvious, and have to decided to strike while the iron is still hot. I've decided to create a piece inspired by Stephen King's "The Gunslinger".

Back in school, I borrowed the particular book on the promise from my good friend, Tom, that I would love it. He was right, I did! So much I read the entire saga that was borne from the original story and was hooked.

 I am aware (and very excited) for the forthcoming "Dark Tower" offering featuring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. As such, I have avoided any so called soundtrack snippets to the degree that I have no idea who the actual composer is and I don't want to absorb any thematic ideas from it, subconsciously or otherwise.

At the moment, I am approaching it as a standard western, but obviously - it's far from a standard western. I've earmarked a couple of instruments that I am looking at utilising, guitar with spring reverb - an old school western staple, muted trumpets and maybe a little choir thrown into the mix with some nice percussion.

The real work starts tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to starting such a DIFFERENT piece. Keep your ears peeled.

The Dark Knight Returns: A Trilogy.

3 pieces that I've written in tribute to Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel. To be totally honest, I'm not particularly gone on the "Batman" theme as I had recently gotten hold of some new sample software and completely over produced and rushed it, completely ignoring the "less is more" aesthetic. Not that I really follow it. Regardless, I will be revisiting this piece in the future. Personally, the "Superman" theme is my favourite. My first stab at the "BIG" Hollywood sound.

All music is strictly copyrighted to me and my production studio - SHAP Sound.

Books Of Blood (Ode To Clive Barker)

This piece was written and recorded over the last two days. It came together very quickly and I am as pleased as I can be, when I don't hear it's little sonic imperfections jump out at me. So I try to listen to it as a nonchalant listener would and appreciate it for what it is. But you want hear the back story, right?

When I was a teenager, I found the graphic novel of "The Yattering & Jack" by Clive Barker in the local library. I fell in love with it immediately. The premise was simple but fun. Idiotic man, Jack Polo (a gherkin salesman, how colourful) is tormented by a demon. Said man is too stupid (or is he) to recognise there is a malevolent presence in his house and this leads to the demon being pushed to the edge of it's own sanity. No spoilers, I promise! But I noted the piece came from "Books Of Blood" and added it to my must read list. Long list that it is.

I've always admired Barker's work be it writing, films or art. There's a beauty to it. In a brutal way, but it's always there beneath the visceral, sexual imagery. It's rooted in the Gothic style but it's equal parts fantasy as well as horror. "Hellraiser" is probably his best known film. But there are many others based on his short stories. "The Forbidden" became "Candyman" for example. Back to the point though. Speed forward a couple of years, I secured a copy of "The Hellbound Heart" and "Books Of  Blood 1-3" from a guy in my local. True story. It's had several name changes over the years, I believe it's now called "The Funky Monkey". (One used to be able to smoke weed without bother in the smoking area. But that was a long time ago, not that I'd know...)

I fell in love with the books, I kept them for a long time. But eventually returned them, it broke my heart. A few years ahead and I met my beautiful soulmate. We would occasionally take random day trips, mostly to Dublin. We still do. But we love to take random shops, think old vinyl and books, the smell alone is perfect. Old paper. (Some people get it, some people don't). I approached a corner in one of these shops and there it was: "Books Of Blood 1-3". It was almost smiling at me. I snatched it up and ran. Well, after paying for it. 

I love this book. It helped me grow up. This piece is inspired by my 3 favourite stories: "The Yattering & Jack", "New Murders In The Rue Morgue" and "Skins Of The Fathers". I called on a few influences for this - Stravinsky, Jarre and Elfman are the most obvious ones. I worked my arse off to get this piece perfect. I'm rightly proud of it and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed writing and producing it. Thanks for reading. For any music tech heads, I'll write how I did it in my next blog.

Moonlight, Murder and Roses Part. I: Gypsy's Kiss

A man sits in an old burlesque gentleman's club. He watches a woman perform for him. She has a shock of red hair, pale skin and green eyes. The lingerie she wears is an unusual mix of burgundy red and green.

He knows the woman. Her name is Selena and she is born of a gypsy linage. Unknown to the punters around him, the man is a priest. And he is in love with the gypsy girl. What's more - she is in love with him. The man is drowsy on whiskey. His eyes grow heavy.

Selena leans in for a forbidden kiss when suddenly the priest finds himself awake in a hall of mirrors. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles, the frame of the hall resembles the inside of an animal's ribcage. Every so often flashes of the dead appear clawing at the mirrors from the opposite side. Then he spots one with Selena. She appears stuck in the very second their lips were about to  meet. He approaches the mirror. Suddenly she begins to move. Her hands reach up to meet her face. She places a finger in either side of her mouth and proceeds to tear her mouth into a grotesque, bloody smile. She then smashes her hands through the mirror, grabbing his face and plunging her thumbs into his eye sockets....

He awakes outside the club. Dazed, soaked, confused and terrified. His only comfort is the sound of the rain in the night as a vixen screams in the distance.

Moonlight, Murder and Roses Part. I: Gypsy's Kiss

Gypsy's Kiss

So am prepping myself into jumping headlong into my upcoming sound and production course by making myself familiar with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), namely REAPER. Pro Tools is the industry standard, but I'm not rich.

It's pretty much how all music is produced these days and it's about time I got with the programme.
I've learned how to employ virtual instrument plugins and am therefore able to create pieces of music by playing my midi keyboard and using the sampled instruments on EASTWEST Quantum Leap Gypsy & Silk. I've not done anything too extreme to begin with as I've started learning the basics such as panning, reverb and track reversal, but here is a new piece to keep me ticking over. It's made entirely using sampled instruments from EW Gypsy and edited and published through Reaper.

1. Percussion
2. Flamenco Guitar
3. Lead Violin
4. Dulcimer (listed as Cimbalom, but I'm too used to the other word)

I reversed the track halfway to give it a creepy, dreamy feel and segued back in to give it a measured ending.

Click here for a listen -> GYPSY'S KISS  

Thanks for listening.

Old Path, New Journey.

Wow, been away from here for a while! Well it's been a whirlwind few months with weddings, honeymoons and the like. But this is a music blog and as such, this is my main topic.

A while ago, I announced a sequel / prequel / unsure to "HERESY" and then unceremoniously postponed it on account of being in the wrong frame of mind and so damn busy. The problem was I was also far too happy, I still am by the way. But the world isn't.

 Yesterday I was pottering around with my sitar FX pedal and played around with an old theme that I had come up with about 12 years ago whilst in the young, creative duo (The FOG) who were still learning how to tune a guitar, never mind how to play one. It was called "The Witching Hour". It was essentially me trying to be a guitar hero. Essentially a showpiece for me to show off (to myself, it impressed nobody else) and I recently found The Fog's first CD which contains this treasure. It may sound a little childish and was clearly recorded in our best amateur capacity, but those songs laid the foundations into what I do now. Also, they were a lot of fun to record. But I found this piece on it and thought "This needs an airing."

So recently, I managed to get Quantum Leap "Silk" in working order. This is a collection of studio sampled instruments from the fabled Silk Road (China, India, Persian Empire) which the user can employ to their liking with the aid of a midi keyboard. I love the Persian string orchestra, so imposing and dramatic. And of course, the duduk. It sounds great and I don't have to spend hours positioning a microphone to get the ambiance I want. Don't worry, technology has not completely distracted me. I have created a new piece using both organic and tech driven instruments that will be the opening to "Faith". The title is "END OF DAYS Part I - The Witching Hour". I know, understated as always. I will be uploading it in the next day or so for your critique. I'm genuinely thrilled with it's progress and I hope it's as pleasing to your ears as it is to mine. The above picture hints at what this story will tell so plenty to mull over there. Thanks for reading.

GOTHAMITE Part II: Rebirth

So, I'm back. I've been very busy with part 3 over the last couple of days that I almost forgot to upload this. It's mainly driven by violins, a pinch of piano and a high frequency bass, which is not programmed but was recorded note for note on the keyboard, which I sped up in time with the music. It owes a lot to modern film music due to this but I don't deny it. It adds momentum and tension. Which is exactly what I was aiming for.

0.00 The Wayne's funeral. Stuttering violins portray the difficulty of the boy as he follows his parent's coffins towards the family crypt which has not been opened for many years.

0.11 A large crowd follows, signifying how popular the family are. Alfred places a supportive hand on the child's shoulder before he heads to open the crypt.

0.31 The crypt is opened and a huge swarm of bats fly out, people scream and bat at the air or cover their faces, except Bruce. He is paralysed with shock.....or awe..... His heart beats and his mind races.