I love a good prompt! I’ve long thought that I might enjoy composing music for film, and this year I got a chance to try my hand. For those unfamiliar, 48 Hours is a global event that happens in more than 100 cities. In each city local Film Teams—from beginners to pro’s–compete to make a short film in only a weekend. It begins with a Friday night Kickoff event where competing teams draw genres out of a hat and receive “required elements” for the film. Then it is off to the races—writing, shooting and editing and doing whatever it takes to submit your short film by Sunday night.
Sound engineer Matthew Shepherd and I led a small team of musicians through a weekend of composing, arranging, editing, and tight turnarounds for a team called “Whangarei Mushroom Enjoyers.”
Music Team: Maggie Cocco, Matthew Shepherd, Micky Nogher, Lewis de Jong, James Timperley (not pictured)
Team members see only parts of the film relevant to their role, so while I’ve seen a lot of the film already I am excited to see the final edit tonight when every film submitted in our region will screen. Watch with me at the link above! Listen for two main character themes with variations to underscore the film’s action and a studio ghibli inspired song to end. We kept everything during the action of the film in the same key and bpm for easy transitions. Themes were composed to be stand alone or to overlap as desired, which really came in handy when there turned out to be multiple chase scenes.
After the screening there will be a city awards event – date TBA – to announce the winning films as determined by local judges. More than a dozen awards are given—from Best Acting to Best Directing to the top prize: Best Film. Our score is in the running for a couple of these, so wish us luck! I hope you enjoy ‘Manu and the Runaways’.
UPDATE:
WE WON AUDIENCE CHOICE FOR OUR HEAT! Thenew made it as far as the city finals! The music itself was a finalist for Best Score. We didn’t take the top prize in the end, but not bad results for a first time composing for film! Hoping to do more of this in future. Thanks to those who tuned in and voted for us! The watch link is now perpetually live. I hope your enjoy Maunu and the Runaways!
Upcoming Events:
June 21st: Maggie Cocco Acoustic at The Urban Winery, Napier
June 22nd: Drum and Bass Party – with live vocals! – at The Cabana, Napier
June 23rd: Maggie Cocco’s Science for Sociopaths at The Cabana, Napier
June 26th: Maggie Cocco Music Workshops, The Stomach, Palmerston North LOTS OF TICKETS LEFT! TELL YOUR NAPIER BASED HUMANS!
July 1st – 31st: Wellington Residency! Thanks to patrons Bevan & Anne, Maggie Cocco’s Science for Sociopaths will be spending July working on Wellington based projects and collaborations! Stay tuned!
July 8th – 13th: To The Front Poneke 2024
July/Aug (Date TBA): Science for Sociopaths Multimedia Performance & Exhibition at The Orphic Gallery, Whanganui
Project Updates:
Like A Moth Album Physical & Digital Release –
Global delays in music product manufacturing has put us about 3 months behind schedule with our vinyl & CD order through Diggers Factory . Still better than the two year waitlist we were orignally quoted! I’ve been advised that our order is on deck and that once things start happening – within the next week or so – they will happen quickly!
Music videos! I have teamed up with Cadby Kong and Utopian Propaganda to create 10 music videos – one for each song in Like A Moth – that can be watched separately or together as a 45 minute movie. This is no small feat, and I am in the midst of applying for grant funding to cover the assosicated costs. We are looking at a budget of $13000 for 10 music videos which we will be recording with a team of 4-5 people. This is an ambitious approach, but with proper planning we’re feeling like it’s not only possible, but possibly brilliant and in thorough keeping the project. Wish us luck!
Student Sponsors Needed:
Maggie Cocco Music has two differently abled adult students with limited income that would benefot from sponsorship. Tony and Joey both have a strong baritone voices and natural musicianship. Tony studies with Maggie Cocco Music for two hours each week, and Joey studies with me for one hour each week. Tony’s goal is to sing at the local music clubs, and after working with me to put out three albums of cover songs, Joey is putting together his first album of original music. Subsidizing needs for Tony are $60/week, and for Joey is $30/week.
Finances should not be a barrier to living your best life! Maggie Cocco Music services are Pay What You Can so that persons who mightn’t otherwise be able to afford them have access to quality music education and services. Support Maggie Cocco Music in this mission by giving a one-time gift (Zelle or PayPal to maggiecocco@hotmail.com) or becoming a sustainer on Patreon 🤍