CalMHSA - Finding the balance

The Creative Brief

For this project I was asked to write music for a long-form explainer video about County Behavioral Health services. The topic was dense with a lot of technical information and the director (Paula Chowles) wanted me to find the balance between something that was emotionally impactful and music that kept the pace moving throughout. The illustration style was soft, rendered in pastel hues and the music needed to honor that visual language as well. This was a project that required emotional sensitivity and a careful approach so as not come across as patronizing.

Developing the Concept

I knew right away when I saw the illustration style that I wanted the musical palette of this project to be soft, warm and inviting. My approach to the score was textural in the sense that I was looking for instruments, synthesizers and audio effects that would match not only the visual style but the soft delivery of the voice over. This led me to exploring a lot of different instruments and synthesized textures to include: acoustic piano, pizzicato cello, clarinet, flute, electric bass, analog modeled synthesizers and acoustic drum sounds. I kept the harmony and arrangements relatively sparse, while keeping the sound texturally dense with reverb and delay to fill in space. This allowed the voice over room to breath while supporting the story emotionally.

Iterating to Picture

The first draft that was written to picture ended up being fairly close to the final versions. The director liked the tone and pace of the cues. The primary feedback was that the technical sections of the film felt too long and drawn out and she wanted the music to help give those areas a bit more pace. The two tracks Details and Hope were reworked several times to give them more rhythmic movement so that they felt like they were moving along faster. The ending of the film was also revised a few times to add some additional string harmonies and help bring the story to a more satisfying emotional finish.

Takeaways

As someone with family members who have struggled with mental health challenges, I really felt like I wanted to do right by this project. These kinds of services are such a crucial part of our social safety net and yet they are mostly invisible to people who never need them. I wanted to make sure that the music for this project matched the care and attention to detail that mental health providers bring to people in need. By exploring texture and warm in my sound sources, I was able to write from a place of empathy and respect.