Composers and scoring competitions

The year 2020 has been very peculiar so far. It changed forever the life of many and it made others re-evaluate their values and connections. Professionals from most fields have been impacted by the event related to the Covid-19 outbreak and the entertainment industry is seeing a major shift to say the very least. 2020 has also been the year of the most discussed/popular online scoring competition to date: the Westworld Scoring Competition by Spitfire Audio. More than 11,000 entries were sent and I had the unique opportunity to chat with the competition winner David Kudell. I think reading about our conversation and David’s insightful tips could be very beneficial to many film music professionals out there, so here it is:

A conversation with the Westword Scoring Competition winner

Hi David, welcome to Film Scoring Tips. 

Thanks!

How did it feel finding out you had won the most popular scoring competition of the year? 

When I heard there were 11,000 entries I was pretty blown away. I knew the odds were low. At the announcement when Paul said “we haven’t yet notified the winner” all 11,000 of us probably felt a tinge of excitement. When he said my name it was surreal. My wife and family were travelling in the car at the time and they called and we were all screaming! It took a few days for the magnitude of it all to settle in.

What are the biggest takeaways that participants of similar competitions can get by taking part? 

I made a video about my approach to the scene – if folks are interested they can check that out here: https://youtu.be/YxC4xkivWjg.

My perspective on it was, hey, this is going to be a fun experience getting to score a scene from Westworld, a show I was a fan of. What was exciting was just the opportunity to have my music heard by fellow composers who were entering, along with Ramin Djawadi, Jonathan Nolan, JJ Abrams, and Lisa Joy.

I knew the odds were low so I never looked at it as “I’ve got to win this.” It was more about the experience, plus the challenge of the scene – looking at what the producers did musically in the aired version, and how I can take this scene and make it sure I hit every beat. 

I guess the takeaway is to think of the scene from the filmmakers’ perspective. The scene was not just a literal journey but an emotional one – the drama is about building up to something. I thought, “if I were directing this, I’d want a huge musical finale for the ending.”

What impact has winning had on your career? 

Composing music has been a passion of mine for many years, but I regret not pursuing it fully as a career back when I was scoring student films 22 years ago on my trusty Roland XP-50’s built-in sequencer! 

I still enjoy making videos – I have a video production business – but winning the competition solidified that music composing is my passion.

Plus, the videos I do take on will be focused more on music clients – I got to do a video interview of Harry Gregson-Williams, which was so exciting. So, along with composing, I plan on doing more videos with composers and sample library developers. I feel so inspired being around fellow musicians, learning from them, collaborating with them – it feeds my musical brain and helps so much when I sit down to write my own music. 

Upon the announcement of your victory there was a group of people that displayed unhealthy antisocial behavior online. Do you have any tips for fellow professionals dealing with trolls on socials? 

I was on Cloud 9 after I won, so by the time I started to come back to earth, amazing composers like Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe were posting words of encouragement. The folks at Spitfire – Paul, Christian, and the team – were a class act and totally supportive in the face of some unfair criticism since the winner was selected by Ramin Djawadi and the show creators.

It was a bit surreal to be in the eye of that hurricane, but in these crazy times I feel like the only way we’re going to improve the discourse online is to start with ourselves, be positive, and the positivity will spread from there.

Perhaps the biggest benefit the experience had for me was to unlock a new level of creative freedom. Once you realize that you can’t please everyone, you allow yourself to take more risks, ignore someone else’s “rules,” and just create the music you enjoy. 

On the other end of the spectrum you were praised by quite a few incredible people, among them Hans Zimmer and Richard Kraft. Can you share some of the most heartwarming responses you got? 

That was just amazing. I was flattered to receive so many messages of support and encouragement, and I’m very grateful. 

To anyone disappointed in the reaction after the competition, let me assure you the amount of love and compassion I witnessed has left me proud to a part of this community of music makers.

Thank you so much for this insightful chat!

Thanks!

About David Kudell

David Kudell is a Los Angeles-based music composer and video producer. In addition to composing music, his company Rimrock Creative Media (rimrockcreativemedia.com) creates commercial videos in a variety of industries, including music, resort & casinos, and tech. He has worked in the sound department as an assistant sound editor on over 30 films including Black Hawk Down, The Matrix Reloaded, Mi:3, and Kill Bill. A SoCal native, David holds a Master’s degree in Film, TV, & New Media Production from San Diego State University.