Thinking Cinematic/Sound Design with Songs

[Anderton]

At this year's main seminar I'm doing on "How to Create Compelling Mixes," I talk quite a bit about adding a cinematic element to songs - basically, sound design. It always goes over well, so here's a really good example of what I'm talking about if you want to pursue this kind of thing. Listen to the songs in "The Greatest Showman" (which many critics didn't like, but then again, one of its sub-plots is that critics are joyless drones). There's a lot of use of sound effects, dramatic pauses, backwards sounds, and the like, but integrated totally with the music as well as the visuals. It's a cool way to add drama, a good use of electronics, and underscores the creative options for musicians who want to go beyond "normal" arranging. It doesn't hurt that the songwriters are good, but the additional layers of ear candy are quite wonderful.