Recent Projects | Desert Veil

In November I had the pleasure of working on a short animation project called "Desert Veil" with a group of animators from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. As most of you know my creative muse leans towards the lyric and expressive, however as a film composer one has to be able to seamlessly write in a variety of genres.

This project was quite a fun deviation from my usual in that the producers and director wanted a soundscape score, that is, one that is devoid of overt expression and relies rather on effects (usually electronic) and ambience to create an atmosphere rather than any direct cause for emoting. I have to say the experience was both fun and rewarding in ways totally different from writing a symphonic score. Rather than carefully crafting melodies, I instead took stock of my libraries and experimented with different combinations of sounds - it was loads of fun.

Below is the entire three-minute score of Desert Veil. Due to festival constraints I am unable to post any footage, but I think you'll get a good idea of what is happening and recognize the unique soundscape elements. You may notice that there is in fact a melodic device that ties the whole score together, but the context is rather veiled (pun intended). Overall this was both a fun and fruitful exercise - a pleasure to work for such appreciative, organized, and talented students.

  The Desert Veil by Dave Volpe