Anything knows software that makes mood music by itself?
You set the mood, adjust tempo, set performers type and adjust all this (or switch to any rpeset with soft transition) in realtime looking on actual footage.
I want something like it :-)

@zareone Re your last sentence about blockbuster soundtracks, I think it's just that most people don't think too hard, and that music is just "stuff" you slap over the top of pictures. But you know that and I know that...!

Making music is a valuable thing to do because it forces you to think about sequences in time (being a time-based medium) just like video is. I have a theory from a lot of the video I'm seeing since the start of the DSLR revolution, that because some DSLR users are stills photographers who've come over to the dark side, they tend to think in static images rather than sequences (ie, the shots themselves are important, rather than the relationship between shots and the flow of the edit). Just a personal observation but if it's true, then these same people may think of music as a "statement" rather than as a process in time. Then they discover that by putting music over a series of disconnected shots, it somehow ties it together into a coherent whole. Except, of course, it doesn't, it's just bad video with inappropriate music and no relationship between the two - the shots are not informed by the music or vice versa. You can see how it happens, and it has a horrible sort of car-crash inevitability to it, but it still gets my goat. Rant over!!

@Mark_the_Harp, thanks for the heads up! I didn't know the existence of Trope and Thumbjam.

Regarding the harp, I love it! It's one of the main instruments I used here:
(the film is not mine, I just made the "music" for a local soundtrack contest)

The repetitive nature of the "music" is because the repetitive nature of the film itself (and maybe because of the influence of electronic music in my life, hehehe)

I'm sure you, as a harp player, could make a real sounding harp mockup using samples, because you know how it's played. I just throw the notes I want it to play, but it sounds really mechanic.

I'm planning on making a short film. The story is kinda a horror / thriller one. Of course I'll make the "music" / sound design myself. And, of course, it will surely be a piece of shit. But hey, it's just a matter of keeping trying and improving. And one day, something good could arrive ;-)

I prefer the collaborative or DIY approaches to "library" or stock music. I'm tired of hearing Inception and TRON Legacy soundtracks even on TV realities. Most of the time, the music has NOTHING to do with what's happening in the program. I think it's simply that the music editor likes that theme, and uses it. Seems like everything has to be mixed with epic music. Even if you're seeing some childs playing in the beach, they put the latest epic blockbuster soundtrack to the images... WTF!??

@zareone A lot of wisdom there and I totally agree on the quality of music for images -it doesn't have to be a stand-alone masterpiece because its job is to support, not distract. Although I can play the harp and do so professionally, it probably wouldn't be appropriate (except as a random texture, perhaps) to support a scene in a video. However, I've done a huge amount of music for radio drama and live theatre, and to be honest, I reckon now the technology is good enough for anyone to have a go and explore (just as we are doing with pictures). You can do some amazing stuff just using an iPod app like Trope. Thumbjam (also iPod) is an amazing interface whether you're a musician or not, and the sample quality is wonderful. I've even used it to contol PC music sequencing via wifi MIDI.

Simple is often good. I find it disappointing to see music used in a really arbitrary way in too many videos, and that's lazy and a missed opportunity. Often it's used instead of really nicely recorded commentary / location sound. But if you really believe music is the answer, I would urge anyone to make your own. That scene with a small child running around could have happy or sinister music, and it would change the meaning of what you see. It's another way of creating an emotional response.

Don't touch to Days of Heaven. I'm shooting a tribute to Malick/Almendros work (another way - artistic way!- to say "don't have bucks to add extra lights").

- Shallow dof : check (kinda : no money for the Nokton)
- hand-held shake : check ! (well... neither for steady/rig/tripod of course).
- my secret weapon : only use the unfocused part of your footage. If someone ask : it's a good trick to smooth the motion. Real reason : do you think I saved some for an EVF with peaking feature ?
- Finally, I'm launching a sound dogma : artificial, sophisticated, "clean" sound from hollywood and all other motherfuckers wannabe artist is a crime against any serious kind of creation. The creation process have to appear in some way for the public (cause he's not dumb) : so in camera sound always used to hear the talent AND the crew (hum... myself) working to achieve a masterpiece. Yeah, right, no money for that...

I mark your words Chris... ah fortune!...

In fact I can think of lots of "famous" films that can't be any good. They don't use shallow DOF, underexposure, hand-held shake, or any other technique that defines competence according to what I read today. These idiots relied on lighting and composition - what a joke! Clearly you could make a fortune improving these films - like Beauty and the Beast by Cocteau, Metropolis, Gone with the Wind, Apocalypse Now, everything in Psycho except the shower scene, anything by Kubrick or Scorsese - the list goes on and on.

You may think I'm kidding - but your kids won't see a joke anywhere in there - mark my words.

Chris

...hey - and use stock pictures too :-)

Just kidding...

@zareone +1

I agree (but then I would, as a musician)! Make your own pictures. Make your own music. Why do one, and not the other? Do both!

You can great a great license for music from Magnatune--inexpensive, hassle free, thousands of titles.
http://www.googleplus1app.com/underdog-indie-label-outranks-music-industry-giants-magnatune-captures-number-one-google-spot-over-sony-ascap-and-bmi

If politicians continue their current course I think that best investment will be to get collection like this
http://www.akeron-lich.narod.ru/magic/music/Funeral.htm
Will be suitable for so many cases...