✅ Join the Dark Cinematic Music Contest (Nov 2019)

Join the Composer Contest in November 2019: “Dark Cinematic Music”.
You can win prizes, level up your skills, and have fun making music! :slight_smile:
All Top Entries will get Live Feedback in Live Stream after the contest ended.

Check out my Dark Music course here, if you want to Learn More on this genre.

Here are the contest rules & conditions:

  • Compose a NEW track (no old tracks are allowed)
  • Submit your track as a New Topic here (YouTube or Soundcloud link)

Prizes for the Winner:

How to Win?

  • You must be highly active as a member in the forum during this month, and earn at least 20 hearts from creating new topics, replying in threads, being helpful, supportive etc.
  • The winner will be decided by voting in the community after the contest ended

PS. Special Thanks to Wavesfactory for sponsoring this contest.

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To give you some Motivation & Inspiration, here are 2 tracks I composed that are “Dark Cinematic Music”. Both in very different overall styles.

Dark Cinematic Music - Action & Energy

Dark Cinematic Music - Ominous & Atmospheric

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Really liking your second example, @Mikael! Makes me think of some of the darker sections of the old Return to Castle Wolfenstein game - which in turn, gives me some ideas… Might make something pure orchestral. Haven’t done that in a good while. (Not much time, though, as I’m busy with NaSoAlMo, trying to write half an hour of EDM this month.)

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Thanks David, I actually think Vento would be perfect for this challenge to be honest. “pure” orchestral, as in not hybrid?

PS. Low wind instruments always strike me as very ominous and creepy, as they “struggle” and become a low boosted whisper almost, compared to low strings that sounds bold and powerful in the low range.

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Hmm… Well, I was thinking realistic traditional orchestra (and there are some pretty ominous woodwinds in the Ark libs, BTW), but then again… :slight_smile:

Might grab Vento on the intro either way, though, as I can imagine that kind of sound in various contexts - maybe even these EDM tracks I’m working on. (There are some dark dubstep and synthwave influences, and sometimes, plain synths just aren’t dark enough…)

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I really like Escape the silence too. Does have a game sound track feel like David said. Ok as I’m relatively new to all of this and theForum was wondering can the track be hybrid or even just electronic. Feel like I still haven’t got my head round orchestration but there again perhaps I should give it a go.

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I tend to prefer to keep the “rainbow” of styles wide, to not lock people into a specific mindset. I think it is more enjoyable for everyone if we get huge variation! :smiley:

So basically…would you be able to use the “Dark Cinematic Music” label? Then go ahead…orchestral, electronic, hybrid, ambient…whatever you feel like! :wink:

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Awesome! I feel like I joined this forum right on time to be able to participate in this.

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Looking forward to hear what you come up with Mirza! :slight_smile:

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yeah , great here comes the dark force of music
let go to the cave and compose a dark cinematic music for this new great contest
thanks mikael

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wow awsome, inceredible track, i prefer the second, i think is more darker than your first track, thanks a lot giving us the opportunity to listen to your track as example and very good example
so now let’s go to compose dark score

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Thank you Florent, yes the first one is more “powerful action darkness” a bit similar to Darth Vader in overall style, with that military vibe combined with dissonant harmonies. Whereas the other one is more ambience, suitable for empty caverns or monsters lurking in shadows kind of vibe. :slight_smile:

Looking forward to hear what you come up with Florent, let’s go over to the dark side! :wink:

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i will compose a dark track, i have an old track and i would like to know if it possible to know if it could be considered as dark or not by just post here the link to it, thanks

Honestly I believe you should be the judge of that Florent. :slight_smile:

Just go with the flow, anything with tension will work.

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“Escape the silence” is my idea of dark cinematic music, but that’s just my opinion. The selection for this competition is very good, but, I have to admit at this point, I have to show my bad side again. I’ll need a few days to find out how evil the score will sound. Till then happy composing.
Greetings
Klaus Ferretti

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Haha, go over to the dark side Klaus. Looking forward to hear the result you get! :slight_smile:

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Nice tracks! The second sounds more dark to me, it just puts you into a dark place. I just started playing world of warcraft recently (again, although I know it is sucker of time, I never learn my lesson) and honestly this track just makes me want to play more :face_with_hand_over_mouth: This kind of music is so much my cup of coffee :slight_smile:

But on the other hand I love the playfulness in the first one, I can see the evil hellish bad guy laughing over some poor victims :smiling_imp:

Inspiring, really! I’ll join if some miraculous wave of inspiration hits me and I will overcome my wow addiction… dark music is gorgeous!

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