Miguelangel Garcia

“Jonas and The Sea” is a film directed by Marlies van der Wel.

It is a beautiful animated film with a unique style. Its story is simple but powerful: Jonas wants to be a part of the ocean, but unfortunately, he is not a fish, so he dedicates his life to finding a way to get into this underwater world.

This was my first-ever competition, and the music still appeals to me as if I wrote it yesterday. I created the music based on two themes—one for the water and one for the outside world—represented by two corresponding motives (I’m a highly motivic composer).

The music develops into dramatic moments, such as the storms that sweep by in the film. Finally, the last storm brings the resolution. (Spoiler alert) Jonas makes it into the ocean. Right before he enters, there is a big, triumphant orchestral moment. The moment Jonas enters the ocean, the final, developed theme for “Jonas and the Sea” is complete. In the end, Jonas was always meant for the ocean, and that’s how I wrote the music.

This is one of my favorite scores, and I am really proud of it

https://www.twine.net/signin

The Trail of Light is an experimental short film that explores the creation of the world based on the myths of some Native American tribes. I composed the music for the Berlin International Film Scoring Competition 2024. Based on the film’s concept, I studied Navajo Native American music to understand their traditions and instrumentation.

In this particular composition, I used the frame drum, an instrument commonly used in Native American music. I developed my thematic material from the note orders (or melodic patterns) I heard in the music I studied. I am really happy with what I wrote.

Listen to it here:

The Concept:

Over a couple of years, I composed this piece based on the concept of being dragged by a black hole, specifically Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. I wanted to capture the experience of first seeing that massive concentration of mass from afar and then being slowly, inexorably pulled toward it.

Thinking about the enormous space involved, I imagined the feeling of profound loneliness and the uncertainty of not knowing what would happen next (which would, most likely, be death). Who would come to mind at that moment? I answered that in the music: loved ones would likely be the people who fill those final thoughts.

Musical Structure and Performance

The composition is built on a combination of free timelines that are collected together to create a dense texture, all of which is controlled by the conductor. There is freedom in the way the musicians play, but a different director might evoke a completely different effect.

The music develops into a beautiful and big moment and then fades down to an almost waltz as it enters the “space” where the laws of physics get weird. The music follows the same path, becoming increasingly strange until the very end, where not even light can escape. The last photon is the final note, as the concertmaster fades out.

Listen to it here:

And here some samples:

https://play.reelcrafter.com/IAr5kLu3QuurBXAV7w8BLw