LAURENFMUSIC
LAUREN FINCH
COMPOSER
FILM TV MORE
IN MOTION APPLICATION: EXAMPLE WORK
As requested, please find below the two examples of my work. I have also included a supporting description of each track, which outlines their specific relevance to my application. You will note that both of these compositions are different in style. However, they have been picked as they were both created with experimentation and exploration in mind, thus relating to the approach which I outline in my application as important to my aim of finding my true creative identity as an artist.
EXAMPLE 1
"Leaving Earth" is a short extract of a longer composition that was created with the intention of experimenting specifically with strings. I set out to explore more "contemporary" orchestration, trying different string textures and articulations to create a dramatic composition which gradually unfolds.
Short on time? Skip to 0:45 onwards.
EXAMPLE 2
"Anomaly" was created through experimenting with different uses of piano (in my application, I note this as an area I like to explore), with an emphasis on layering and minimalism, centred around one melodic idea that builds. In this composition, I combine both real and virtual pianos (almost 10 different types in total) and apply various effects, plug-ins, and layering with other instruments/recordings (including recordings of my own vocals, as well as of me ice skating) to create a variety of different sounds. Fun fact: some of the sounds you might recognise as "other instruments" are actually processed pianos!
Short on time? Skip to 0:47 onwards.
MORE MUSIC
If you wish to hear more music with an emphasis on experimentation and exploration in mind, you are welcome to listen to this extended playlist.
"Lunar" was composed with the concept of "space" in mind (I mention in my application that I would potentially be interested in exploring a concept album).
"Solar" is created through experimenting with and processing vocal recordings. Their use dramatically changes throughout, resulting in a track that starts in a vastly different place from where it ends.
Please see the WORKS page for a wider range of music, which also includes my media projects and credits.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Biography
Lauren Finch is a composer who is based in the UK and has a Master’s in Professional Media Composition from the University of Chichester. Her experience spans a range of different forms and projects, from feature films, short films, TV, documentaries, theatre, sample library demos, to audio-visual exhibitions. In the last year alone, Lauren has worked on over 20 projects with some of her most recent credits including The Underdog (feature film, 2023), An Uncharted Desire (short film, 2023), and Monumental? (audio-visual exhibition, 2023). Lauren also has experience assisting on TV projects, such as the recently aired ITV documentary series The Playboy Bunny Murder and the award-winning BBC Documentary Silverback. She has also created content for and led the Introduction to Film Scoring online HyperTribe course (a music industry mentoring company) and is a member of AWFC (Alliance for Women Film Composers) and WFTV (Women in Film and Television UK).
Why I want to join the programme, and why now.
As a media composer, I spend a lot of time composing with limitations such as film genres, plot, and characterisation. I enjoy doing this, as it pushes me to compose in many different styles and ways of working. However, composing in this context serves a specific, narrow purpose: someone else’s vision for someone else’s project. Indeed, this is starkly different to the purpose of when I compose music for myself: for the love of creating music, to experiment and explore, to let the music take me wherever I wish it to, and to share with others the simple and profound joy of music. I absolutely love doing this when I have the time and have realised that I don’t only wish to do it more often, but also need to as a composer.
This is because I feel that I have been “pigeonholed” as only a media or film composer, but I really want to be able to just be a “composer” who creates their own music. Indeed, I am at the stage of my career where I will benefit from this change and know that now is the critical time for this. This is because, though I have learnt a great deal from composing for media, I have become creatively stifled, stagnant, and unfulfilled by constantly composing music for other people’s creative visions. I do feel that this is holding me back significantly in my wider development and progression as a composer because, looking back over the last few years, I simply haven’t creatively progressed as much as I would have liked to - and I don’t believe I will unless I explore the true extent of my creativity. This is especially the case, given that I wish to become a composer who releases their own music. I consequently feel that I need to “spread my wings” and escape from the metaphorical “pigeonhole” to explore. I know that In Motion is the perfect opportunity and environment for me to do this in, as I believe that I would finish the programme as a composer who is confident, assured, and fulfilled in their creative identity, having had the time, space, and scope in the programme to explore and find it: confidently becoming not just a “media/film composer”, but a “composer” in my own right who releases their own music independent of any media projects.
The key reason why this specific programme is a good fit for me lies in the keyword: “development”. Where residences and project grants are undoubtedly helpful for many composers, the support is often provided in the form of accessing facilities or money, often with a set of requirements or purpose that can be limiting. While there is nothing wrong with these, they are unlikely to aid my specific goals and desire for real development and true exploration. Contrastingly, In Motion appeals to me both because the support is in the form of coaching and mentoring, but in an environment that simultaneously does not limit creative freedom with specific requirements or predetermined outcomes. It is this provision of an environment that is supportive but freeing which I believe will enable me to learn how I, as a composer, can operate in new contexts, forms, and spaces. Furthermore, as someone who has mentored aspiring composers, I know the value that mentoring, coaching, and emphasis on development can bring and I know that I would, without doubt, benefit from this as I seek changes as a composer. This is also an appropriate place to highlight that I’m passionate about helping young composers, having created and led composing courses as well as other masterclasses targeted at aspiring composers. Therefore, the opportunity to support them in the In The Making programme also really appeals.
The change.
As aforementioned, at this stage, I am keen to specifically explore my identity and craft as a composer within the context of my own creative visions and projects, instead of other people’s. Though being a media composer means I am fortunate enough to have worked on a breadth of projects that have challenged and developed my skill set as a composer, it has been at the expense of developing my own creative identity. I now wish to be unlimited by external factors such as film genre, and director’s briefs, developing my own style and work. In doing this, it would not only be for myself as an artist but also for an audience that is entirely new for me: for those who would listen to my music for the music’s sake - versus for a film that merely happens to have music in it! Indeed, in this programme, I wish to explore different work, in a different context, for a very different audience - which would allow me to emerge from the programme as a truly developed composer and creatively satisfied in challenging myself in this way. As a result of this being such a radical and all-encompassing change for me, during this development process and programme, I think there are many consequent questions that I will have - both practical and more abstract. For example, some questions would be related to how to practically create a specific vision and plan for a project that is entirely your own, where you have complete creative freedom and choice. This is because I am so unused to this, as I am typically working within a specific set of restrictions and limitations (both practical and creative), so I would love to know how to balance this creative freedom with a sense of specific direction, that aids but does not limit. I’d also be intrigued about more abstract questions and topics, such as how to form an identity as a composer and stay true to it, while simultaneously expanding, exploring, and experimenting.
My creative ideas and project.
At this current stage, I do envision a long project in the form of an album would be appropriate and support my development in several ways. Firstly, it would allow me the time to explore my creative identity. Like many composers for media, I do often feel that I bounce from one project to another and from one tight deadline to another. Therefore, it would be really freeing to spend a longer amount of time focusing on one project: having both the creative space and scope to truly explore. Secondly, it would give me the freedom to try different approaches to achieve this. I’m open to many ways of approaching an album; however, I do currently have a few ideas. I love concept albums which have a unified idea, or specific instrument, that ties together all the compositions. For example, I thoroughly enjoy exploring all the different ways a piano can be used, layered, processed, and effected. That being said, I wish to explore a range of projects and a variety of approaches – and I am open to where the coaching and mentoring would take me, receptive to guidance and direction, to fully help realise my creative development to the best of my ability.
Other commitments.
While I would naturally have other composing projects that I would need to balance the programme alongside, I am used to balancing multiple projects as this is very much my day-to-day. Furthermore, as a freelancer, I am very fortunate to be in control of my workload and schedule. I can, therefore, be very flexible and would easily be able to dedicate the necessary time to the programme and attend any events.
