Ray Animation
The original composer left 8 days before the screening. I wrote the disco-funk score from scratch and synced it to the final Howest DAE cinema cut.
Eight-Day Score Rescue
A stone giant wakes up in a cave and discovers dance. That's the film. The original composer left the project 8 days before the cinema screening, with no score material I could build from. I got the call and said yes.
Eight days. Full disco-funk score from scratch, all the sound design, final mix. I pulled the animatics into Pro Tools, placed sync markers by hand, and locked the key musical hits to Ray's movements. The tempo follows Ray's dancing instead of a fixed grid. Three rounds of feedback with the animation team tightened individual hits until the final cinema cut felt intentional, not rescued.
Howest DAE graduation film - full score, sound design, and mix in 8 days
Audio notes
Eight-Day Score Rescue. Eight days. Full disco-funk score from scratch, all the sound design, final mix. I pulled the animatics into Pro Tools, placed sync markers by hand, and locked the key musical hits to Ray's movements. The tempo follows Ray's dancing instead of a fixed grid. Three rounds of feedback with the animation team tightened individual hits until the final cinema cut felt intentional, not rescued.
Disco-Funk Cues Locked to Movement
Bass & Rhythm
Slap bass and electric drums. Inspired by Chic and Earth, Wind & Fire. But here's the thing - the key rhythmic hits are locked to Ray's dance moves. The music doesn't set the tempo. Ray does. When he stomps, the kick lands. When he grooves, the bass follows.
Brass, Sax & Mix
Brass carries the melody, sax fills out the warmth. DJ scratches between sections keep the energy moving. The mix runs through Waves J37 tape saturation for warmth.
Credits Version
Same theme, but bigger. Gospel organs, live-style drum programming, slap bass, brass stabs, and Omnisphere synth layers build the final cue into a full-band disco-funk ending.
Frame-by-Frame Sync and Cinema Delivery
8-Day Deadline
Day 1-2: theme sketches and sync markers. Day 3-5: full arrangement, all instruments tracked. Day 6-7: sound design and foley. Day 8: final mix and cinema delivery. No revision buffer.
Frame-by-Frame Sync
This score is tempo-mapped to Ray's animation instead of sitting on a fixed click. I placed markers by hand in Pro Tools and bent the tempo to match his movement. When he speeds up, the music speeds up. So when you watch it, the music feels like part of Ray, not something pasted on top.
Three Feedback Rounds
Three rounds with the animation team, each one tightening the timing and arrangement. By the third pass we were adjusting individual frames. Then we screened it at the cinema.