Film · Short film
So Long
Queena Liu
Apr 18, 2023
Short drama
Composer · Sound designer · Mixing engineer
In this short drama student film, a routine visit to a convenience store turns into a poignant reunion when a man unexpectedly encounters his childhood best friend, now in the midst of a robbery.
Music and film reelProject overview
This drama explores themes of lost innocence, passage of time, and divergence of life based on our decisions. I was given the task of composing a score for one of the more climactic scenes in the film.
Read about the process
The scene involves a grocery store robbery making contact with a close friend from the past. In the heat of the moment, the protagonist goes through a wide range of emotions, memories, and thoughts. It was my job to convey the complex nature of this scene through melodic structure, space, and ominous resonances.
Roles
- Composer
- Sound designer
- Mixing engineer
Technical skills
- signal flow understanding
- audio cleanup
- balancing
- equalization
- compression & limiting
- automation
- critical listening skills
Creative skills
- instrumental arrangement
- sound synthesis
- modulation
- effect processing
- adaptability based on visual source
Outcome and impact
I deeply enjoyed the process of making this score. Where my job ordinarily revolves around using my ears, I really had to rely on my eyes and find a way to connect the mediums to faithfully depict what was happening on screen.
More about the experience
They say if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million. So I used that to my strengths, and as a result, the process of complementing it with a soundscape was built up pretty fluidly. All I had to do was engage and connect to the piece.
Hover Dash
Games · Rami Al-Balawi
Let’s make something worth hearing.
Feel free to get in touch. I'm always open to collaborating on projects of all kinds.
ramialbalawi@gmail.com