You may or may not have seen the latest YouTube phenomenon, known as COW. It’s a staged documentary produced by the Gwent Police, a small division based in Cwmbrân, near Wales. The video depicts a graphic automobile crash, the result of texting while driving, and its ensuing emotional trauma. Only recently did I happen across information regarding the composer behind the short film, as the above video is only a shorter clip of the 30-minute runtime. Stuart Fox, a UK composer for TV and film, was in charge of creating transparent music that would heighten the onscreen action without going overboard, produced the music entirely out of his home studio. Poking around his site, I’ve found the most relevant quote was concerning what he tools he considers ‘effective’ for modern day multimedia composers: “the combination of Vienna Symphonic Libraries for melodic, natural and real sounding orchestral work, Omnisphere for warped, edgy but organic sounds and Play Libraries is the ultimate for producing modern TV scores.” Individual MP3 tracks from the YouTube video are available for download off the VSL site. It’s a real eye-opener for how simple, calculated music can infuse an otherwise emotionally-detached sequence of events with a frightening sense of reality.
Read on…
- Official page with video from the Gwent Police
- Interview with Stuart Fox on the Vienna Symphonic Library
- Stuart Fox’s official website