This short film was taken from the Sound Track Cologne 2016 competition and was provided mute. Naturally with this type of graphics animation movie, a number of different interpretations could be drawn as to the meaning and what the directors are trying to convey. I interpreted this film to be about how nature has taken back control from mankind by destroying the manmade structures that now blight the landscape and how this, perhaps, happens in cycles.

 

The film is in two parts; part one builds continuously from the beginning with small roots that gradually grow further and larger into leaves and then trees, taking over the whole city, before there is a moment of suspense and then part two begins with the destruction of the buildings. I wanted to create an arc over the film where at the beginning the sound design is dominant but then gradually the music interacts and finally takes over in part two and acts to serve as the sound design as well. I viewed this mentally as a kind of pendulum effect, where the pendulum starts on the sound design side and gradually swings across to the music side. I wanted my score to reflect this by also building gradually, adding more layers and interest over time. The pictures are surreal in nature but are not sinister in anyway, yet there is a feeling of growing anticipation. I therefore wanted to keep the music ambiguous and not give any indication of whether the vegetation spreading was an evil or a good thing or of what is about to happen in the second part. The piano is deliberately reverberant to add a feeling of space and movement. As the music progresses in part one I decided to gradually introduce small touches of “music” sound design, for example at 01:43 with the plant growing and at 02:28 during the moment of suspense, with the bell sounds as the flowers open up, to progressively give the feeling that the music is now becoming the dominant force in the movie.

 

Part two is the climax of the film and I interpreted this as a victorious moment for nature. The images are grand, powerful and sweeping and I wanted to reflect this in the score with the theme and also hit as accurately as possible the explosion points with the music, which is now acting as the sound design as well. 

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