SOCAN Foundation and SOCAN together presented the first-ever edition of a Scoring Retreat for screen composers, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, 2019, at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta. The goal of was to provide young composers with an optimal framework to stimulate their creativity in actual work conditions, in the company of two mentors: one screen director and one screen composer.
The composer was the President of the SOCAN Board of Directors, Marc Ouellette, while the director was Michel Poulette. The latter brought two film excerpts from two different movies (Maina and Louis 19), each of about five minutes; after choosing which one they wanted to work with, each of the eight participants created accompanying music. Each one spent the two-and-a-half days individually writing that music, and each benefitted from three 30-minute sessions with both Ouellette and Poulette – one with each of them separately on the first day, and one with the two of them together on the second day.
On the last day, each composer spent 30 minutes in the studio to mixing their piece with an audio engineer, Ouellette and Poulette, after which their final clip was screened in the same studio. At the end of the retreat, each presented what they’d completed to the entire group
The participants were:
- Madhav Ayachit
- Michael Kim-Sheng
- Léa Dupuis
- Matthieu Nantel
- Sasha Leger
- Della Orrey
- Mason Tikl
- Deanna H. Choi
In an anonymous survey, one of the participants said, “I think everything was great. To me, the one-on-one was the best part. I think I’m going back home with more confidence. I’ve learned that I can trust myself more, and that my instincts are good.”
Attending for SOCAN Foundation were Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director, and Julien Boumard Coallier, Administrator of Programs. Attending for SOCAN was Michael McCarty, Chief Membership and Business Development Officer.
See photos in the slideshow below…