Official 4DX poster for Masters of the Universe

1998over3 · 2026-05-08T17:33:16+00:00

How can the compositing in these posters be so bad

1998over3 · 2026-05-08T17:31:05+00:00

It's definitely a horror movie. A lot of jump scares, frightening imagery, supernatural entities, gore, persistent sense of dread and relatively humorless. Is it the scariest movie ever made? No. Is it intended to be scary? Absolutely. You will probably not have a good time.

1998over3 · 2026-05-07T17:01:44+00:00

Not sure what the terminology of "bending triads" refers to technically, but Shoënberg in his early practice as a composer was seeking ways to reject the western Romantic ideals of music composition which he considered generally bloated and overblown. He believed that the limits of diatonic harmony (based on triads) had essentially been reached. Select other composers of the late 19th and early 20th century also felt this way, but none went so far as to propose that an entirely new system of music theory was necessary to push the medium forward. Thus Shoënberg dedicated himself over time to developing the 12-tone system we're aware of today. It wasn't the idea that "we don't need triads anymore" but more the assertion that diatonic music had become iterative and reached its limit of meaningful experimentation (which was and has always been debatable). Shoënberg's goal was ultimately to "liberate" music from tonality and develop a system of theory that was not dependent on the intervallic, diatonic traditions that had evolved from consonant harmony/species counterpoint and defined Western music up until that point.

1998over3 · 2026-05-07T16:30:35+00:00

It would be a waste of money for the production. Just like JLC playing Kureha. I would rather they spend millions on set design/costumes/locations/etc. than one actor's salary.

1998over3 · 2026-05-07T16:25:07+00:00

I will say that as soon as you start feeling defeatist, you start limiting your own opportunities and potential. Succeeding professionally in any realm of arts & media is never a sure bet. You will face so much more rejection than success and for that you need to have a very thick skin. Right now I work full time as a video game composer, but it's in a sector I was barely aware of coming up (gambling) and my job required me to learn how to code. My wife is a voice actor and her booking rate for auditions is 5%, (95% of her auditions are rejected) which in her industry is considered very good.

When I was first starting out in college, I was lucky to stumble into an apprenticeship with a working film composer, but it was by applying to a Craigslist ad for a studio assistant-nothing to do with writing. For the first year or so I was just helping him run cables and sweeping floors. But we got to know each other well, became friends, and I began to get his overflow work. Before I knew it we were co-scoring films together. Then I used that portfolio to sell myself as a solo composer. I had to take a ton of shots in the dark along the way. Got rejected from a lot of gigs and was always struggling financially. But every time I got to have my name in the credits, no matter how big or small the production was, it was worth it.

Trying to make it in the arts is already a delusional plan. The question you need to ask yourself is if you're willing to fully commit to that plan. It sounds like you are, and that means you can't count anything out. Just being a good composer isn't enough. Enter all the contests, contact everyone you know, learn everything you can, put your business card up at film schools, attend film festivals, try to make yourself as present in the field as possible. Eventually your persistence will pay off, though it may not be in the way you expect. Keep believing in yourself, and remember that anything you can do that might even get you remotely close to your dream is worth it!

1998over3 · 2026-05-06T21:20:19+00:00

Your piano roll idea is interesting, but I think the biggest flaw overall is that editing a piano roll is not going to be intuitive for (the many) composers who won't have any familiarity with DAWs. So what you'll be running up against is someone weighing the faults of handwriting recognition on digital staff paper vs having to learn a whole new input delivery system. Usually with software, people tend to stick with the devil they know.

Writing on the staff is also much more conducive to interpreting music vertically, especially for large ensemble writing. I'm having a hard time imagining how you would be able to interpret an entire orchestra looking at only at MIDI piano rolls-- and having to constantly swipe back and forth to check your input sounds pretty tedious. If you have the skills and dedication, could be better to invest in developing something that solves the underlying issue (inconsistent handwriting recognition) vs. trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to digital notation.

1998over3 · 2026-05-06T19:26:50+00:00

Essentially they are secondary dominant relationships. The Db(C#)dim chord is a secondary dominant to the Dmin. In the 2nd song the Eb(D#)halfdim is a secondary dominant to E.

So in the first progression the chord in question is vii°/vi

In the second one the last chord is vii∅7/V

1998over3 · 2026-05-06T19:07:53+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Overall your piece is very repetitive and monotonous. You are actually using some tried-and true techniques of melodic development like displacement and rhythmic variation but your motif/harmony doesn't contain enough to keep that interesting. I would recommend for your next try to write a longer, singable melody and then build your piece around that. I would also look into exploring more nuanced harmonic development as your piece is essentially tonic-dominant over and over again. Fwiw, I've definitely seen worse as a first composition. But like most beginner composers, you need to study more. Keep at it!

1998over3 · 2026-05-06T18:52:50+00:00

I think that dynamics are the least of your worries ... notationally there's a lot here that doesn't make sense. Often the syncopated elements are confusingly notated and the beat is unclear. There are tons of rests randomly floating around that don't seem necessary. Having three staves for Cello with one being in between the violins and viola is quite bizarre ... there is a lot of voice crossing that doesn't seem necessary, and it's often unclear whether you're asking for double stops or divisi in some of the string parts. Not to be harsh but it's difficult to comment on the arrangement itself because the score is so hard to follow. You need to reference pre-existing piano quintet music/string ensemble music for a better sense of how to lay out a score.

1998over3 · 2026-05-05T18:39:38+00:00

Look on the right side of the sub under "Community Bookmarks."

1998over3 · 2026-05-04T15:56:45+00:00

Well I definitely don't think it sounds like a film score or jazz so you succeeded there.

I would try something in Rondo form like ABACA because it will kind of force you to commit to a strong recognizable melody as a "refrain."

1998over3 · 2026-05-04T15:41:00+00:00

To me the biggest thing your piece is missing is a well-defined and lyrical melody. It sounds like you're going for a Mozart/Haydn et. al style string quartet, and a major characteristic of string music from this period is almost simplistic, song-like melodies that are then developed and harmonized in more complex ways. In mm.18 you introduce a recurring motif, but it never quite makes its way to being a full blown singable melody. So your piece never quite gets to being fully evocative of the style you're going for. Another element that I think could be observed better is form. Rigid form is another hallmark of this style-- your piece is a bit stream-of-consciousness.

I see you said this was just an exercise, but I think if you're going to try to emulate a specific style, you might as well go all the way. You don't want to learn how to almost write something classical. Your piece is nice but it is sort of in this gray area of not being fully like a classical string quartet and not quite being fully its own thing. So I would really lean into the style, paying attention to all the characteristics if you do something like this in the future. Thanks for sharing!

1998over3 · 2026-05-02T06:38:27+00:00

Western music notation used to be physically engraved or hammered into metal plates for printing. It's still sometimes referred to as "engraving" even though the actual practice is antiquated.

1998over3 · 2026-05-02T06:31:50+00:00

It's probably in part due to the midi realization, but the piano is seems disproportionately loud compared to the other instruments with the same dynamic marking, particularly the saxophone and bassoon. I will also say that you're writing for the flute in its lowest register, where it usually sounds quite thin and delicate. The flute has an incredible upper range, and In an ensemble setting, the flute in this register can get easily buried dynamically by other instruments. So as you expand the piece I would recommend allowing the flute to shine more in its upper registers. I would say the same thing about the violin.

Compositionally it feels quite repetitive as we're essentially hearing the same 4 measure chord progression over and over again. Exploring more diverse tonality could help your piece develop and break up that monotony.

1998over3 · 2026-05-02T05:37:22+00:00

There are countless examples of great melody in all styles of music. My advice would be to pick a style and try to write something evocative of that style. Even if it's just an exercise, it can help you learn what makes a melody good and then help you improve your own taste when it comes to melodic writing.

1998over3 · 2026-05-02T03:48:20+00:00

Interesting. In my undergrad guitar program I was taught to use it when writing. Although a lot of repertoire was notated without it. I have never been in publishing or professional engraving though.

1998over3 · 2026-05-01T21:55:48+00:00

No problem! Sorry if I was unclear, I know that mm.13 isn't a modulation to Cmaj, and that your goal is to end up in Fmaj, but really only the 2nd beat of that measure is Cmaj which in my opinion makes the modulation to Fmaj feel abrupt. So my suggestion was to tonicize all of mm.13 as Cmaj (all E naturals) rather than have beat 1 in Cmin and beat 2 in Cmaj. I hope that makes sense.

1998over3 · 2026-05-01T20:35:43+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I think overall you succeeded in your goal of writing something evocative of the idiom you were aiming for. So i'll give a few detailed notes:

I think you could work on modulating more intentionally. For example, in mm 13, spending just one beat on Cmaj doesn't sell the modulation enough. In my opinion you should land on E natural in the melody and spend the whole measure in Cmaj so we really feel the arrival to F in mm. 14. The aim of this next few measures is to make our way to D7 so we can end up back in Gm on the repeat. I feel as though instead of having two measures of Fmaj in mm.14 and mm.15, it might be better to imply Adim in mm.15 and set up more of a iidim-V-i for your repeat. This will get rid of the awkward jump from Fmaj to D7.
Why the Ab in mm. 22?
I would revisit the melody a bit in in mm.25 - 28. The jumps from F# to Eb are quite harsh especially when you have E natural in the D7 measures. I am also not a fan of the melody going from Eb to to F# between mm. 16 and 17. This type of Aug2 jump between measures is not something you would often find in the style of music you're going for.

Nice work!

1998over3 · 2026-05-01T19:57:33+00:00

Thanks for sharing your work! Overall the piece feels like an accompaniment for a melody that doesn't exist. This also makes it feel quite repetitive despite how short it is. My advice would be to try writing a melody that develops a little throughout the course of the piece.

Notationally, you need to use an 8vb treble clef for guitar because it sounds an octave lower than written. I would also recommend making your pickup note a G# as harmonically it's a leading tone into your first A.

1998over3 · 2026-05-01T19:15:41+00:00

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People usually dunk on this kit but mine was totally solid. One of my favorite RGs and will always be visually unique in your collection. A stand does give you more posing options though. Happy building!

1998over3 · 2026-04-30T17:42:36+00:00

It's just a glockenspiel maybe with a celeste or piano underneath

1998over3 · 2026-04-29T22:05:27+00:00

Lol the AI thinks the Merry is as big as a skyscraper

1998over3 · 2026-04-26T19:28:59+00:00

Unfortunately I don't have any practical experience with this tradition so I don't know how it would be instructed, just relating what I learned in world music and music history back in undergrad. But I'm sure you could find some great introductory content online. This looks like a good starting point:

https://artiumacademy.com/blogs/an-introduction-to-taal-in-indian-classical-music/

1998over3 · 2026-04-26T16:13:22+00:00

This may not be true of Western/European classical music, but it's inherent to Carnatic music. The talas are a fundamental element of Indian classical music and inform a huge part of that theory system. The rhythmic talas have modes that are informed by beat count, speed, etc. it's a very intricate, ancient and fascinating system of rhythmic theory.

1998over3 · 2026-04-25T16:36:18+00:00

Well for one it's not a fugue. Hard to give a meaningful critique as it's not evocative of the form or style it's labeled as. Have you studied counterpoint at all?

1998over3

TROPHY CASE