Composer

You will need to submit a demo as per the detailed instructions below. Read carefully.

A talented composer for a short film expected to be around 20-25 minutes long, and will have around 10-15 minutes of music. The director is a classical Indian musician and a composer himself, and likes to collaborate closely with the composer (as well as the sound designer), and prefers to meet in person, however, if your portfolio and demo submission are impressive, can have meetings online and you can be based anywhere in the world. Currently at the pre-production stage (June to July), and expect production to take place in mid-late August.

Usually, the composer is selected at the post-production stage but in this case, are wanting to generate some ideas for a crucial scene in the film where music will play an important role so want to start inviting submissions early. The film is about two religious women; one is a talented singer (opera/classical style) and the other one is a dancer (ballet/contemporary). The film will have scenes where the singer will sing some classical parts (but this need not be original music, and can be part of her classical repertoire, but can also be original if we decide on that).

However, a turning point in the film for which the music will be crucial is a scene where the dancer who has reluctantly abandoned her passion for dance is in a hypnotic state during her therapy in the church and when the piano starts playing in the church, she slowly enters a state where she is unable to resist, and ends up dancing vigorously. This is the scene that we would like you to submit a demo for. We will choose the composer based on how good your demo is (as well as your portfolio in general).

Below are some pointers for your submission. 1) The film has religious themes and the setting is in a church so you can bear this in mind when composing (e.g., church bells or other subtle sound effects) 2) There will be piano being played in the scene so you can start the music slowly with the piano, and then add strings 3) Instrumentally, we can keep it on the minimal side, with just the piano and strings, and the strings can slowly take over as the tension builds 4) In total, this scene with the music will be around 60-80 seconds. Roughly, the first 10-15 seconds will be her slowly being tempted/aroused by the piano being played by the other actress. Then, we can slowly introduce the cello (or low viola or violins, as you see fit) for the next stage of her starting to move her hands and feet, for around 10 seconds or so, followed by her dramatically getting up and starting to dance. Slowly, the dance will get more vigorous as she is expressing a repressed energy that has for a long time been bottling up. The dance music itself (once she gets up and moving) can be around 30-40 seconds, followed by the piano stopping, reducing the energy slowly, with the strings lingering as she stops and walks back and sits down, and the music stops altogether. 5) In terms of the intensity/mood, we are looking at something melancholic (maybe Requiem for a Dream style) with some mystery elements 6) The music should be suitable for the dancer to be able to dance ballet/contemporary 7) For the demo submission, obviously we are not looking at a final polished version, and we will modify and adapt it, but if you could submit as clear a vision as possible that would be great 8) Feel free to submit a couple or even three options if you like 9) In total the demo for this scene should be between 60-80 seconds, and cover all the above stages as described 10) To get an idea of the overall surreal style and tone of the film, please watch the trailer and ideally the full short film that we produced a couple of years ago which is linked here on our Tabb profile 11) Include the demo(s) when you submit your application, and include a link to your previous work. 12) Take your time to make the demo(s) as polished and good as possible. For our previous film, we had dozens of high quality demos submitted so we expect a similar number of applications. The higher the quality of your demo(s), the better your chances of being shortlisted/selected. 13) While we hope to select the candidate around mid-late July, we expect that you will be available in late August - September to start composing the score so apply only if you are available then.