I chose to rework the sound and music of Medium’s trailer, is to demonstrate the close relationship between sound designer and composer. Many times facets of both roles bleed into one another, and if not careful, can compete or distract from each other’s purpose in helping to narrate the story.

What’s interesting is that many sound designers – at least at the independent level, and in gaming – are also composers, but don’t typically work in both roles. It seems like the language (the tone of the project) is the same, but the vocabulary is different. Explosions, zingers, ramp ups…even specific musical cues in the sound designer’s hands can be integrated into the composer’s workflow to create a seamless experience between the two.

In this example for Medium, many of the foley sounds and vocal cues help to also tell the musical story – such as the ticking of the clock or the crackling of the city coming apart. Both are involved in an interplay that intertwines the cues and propel’s the story without distracting the audience.

For the music, I opted for a mix of orchestral and ambient horror and pop music to help identify with the audience, but also melodically and lyrically help move the story in the trailer.