Arrangements 2: Journey to the Sun - Preparation

Preparation

I love interviews.

Any opportunity to know the inner workings of someone’s creative process is an instant delight. I have tried to find interviews for composers I admire or respect, a few of them having work in the anime sector. These small glimpses into the creative process of an Anime soundtrack has helped give me an idea of what mindset to roleplay in when thinking of how to approach Journey to the Sun.

I have had the opportunity to write for games and a film. Based on my experience, a big factor that differentiates anime (television programming) from games/film is:

1. Writing without a final/rough product

2. Writing music that can be re-used

I won’t have the opportunity to feel my piece in game, or sync my piece up to a moving picture. I’m literally going to be given a prompt, with maybe a manga to reference or concept sketches, and perhaps musical/mood audio references.

Here are a few interviews from anime composers that gave me a bit on insight:

• https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2017-10-04/interview-made-in-abyss-composer-kevin-penkin/.122246

• https://myanimelist.net/news/58353510

• https://atmafunomena.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/violet-evergarden-composer-interview-evan-call-from-berklee-to-leidenschaftlich/

• https://comicbook.com/anime/2018/07/27/my-hero-academia-composer-yuki-hayashi-interview-sdcc-anime/#2

I’ll be taking an approach similar to what many of the aforementioned composers mention. I’m not scoring to picture, but I will have descriptions, outlines, and “concept” images to spurn creativity.