Russo Sound Notes

Infomercial Scoring - an Industry Standard

2008-09-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

Infomercial marketing, an effective form of commercial advertisement, presents a significant amount of factual or manufactured information, film footage, plot or storyline in an attempt to persuade consumers to buy products or services.

Scoring Info-mercials is an ever expanding industry. The demands made on the composer are challenging: The music has to be tightly aligned with the existing film script. Here is an example.

Vincent Russo's composition adheres strictly to the various progressive "chapters/stages" of this 5 minute documentary shoot. The score is designed to subconsciously instill the thrill of curiosity in the viewer, culminating in his/her ultimate desire to purchase the product(s) showcased in the final screens.

The copyright of this film clip resides with Waterford Crystal™ and with D.F. Wilkins, Producer

Commenting on this assignment, Russo said: "I use a theme in the Baroque style to introduce the long-standing tradition, craftsmanship and elegance of Waterford Crystal™. The factory scenes are set in a more contemporary idiom, using instruments often associated with the 'Celtic sound.' These instruments include the Irish whistle and Irish harp, dulcimer, Uillean pipes and the Bodhran (traditional Irish drum). Except for one moment in the score, the music is not overtly Celtic in style, but it is suggestive of it. Waterford Crystal, afterall, is a proud Irish tradition which is reflected in my score."

This video was supplied by the Berklee College of Music for a class assignment.
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Creating Soundscapes

2008-09-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Composer Vincent Russo custom-tailored all the sounds for this short clip by using various synthesizers. A synthesizer is an electronic instrument, controlled with a piano-style keyboard. It produces a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies and offers unlimited sonic possibilities.

The image sequencing was generated with Adobe Photoshop and was provided by the Berklee Music College for use in their Sound Design classes.

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Russo Scoring Demo: Sci Fi Animation

2008-09-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

Æon Flux is an avant garde American science fiction animated television series created by Korean American animator Peter Chung. It premiered on MTV in 1991.
Æon Flux is set in a bizarre, dystopian future world. The title character is a tall, bondage gear-clad secret agent from Monica, a dynamic anarchist society, skilled in assassination and acrobatics.

The score Vincent Russo composed for this clip is in a traditional orchestral style. Aeon's theme is naturally very energetic and heroic, while the brief bee sequence is agitated and edgy. Russo also designed and added the sound effects and the dialogue.

This video was supplied by the Berklee College online division for a class assignment.

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Welcome to the website of Vincent Russo

2008-08-27T01:24:00.000-07:00

Vincent Russo is an Arranger, Composer, Orchestrator and Conductor originally from New York City, now living in San Francisco.

His genres span Classical, Jazz, Broadway, Fusion, Sound Design and Media Scoring. His orchestral arrangements have been performed by orchestras around the country and abroad.

Russo has a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting and a Bachelor Degree in Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master's Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Southern Methodist University. He has recently earned a Specialist Certificate in Composition and Production for New Media from the Berklee College of Music as well as having won their prestigious Glenn Ballard Celebrity Online Scholarship. He is currently working toward a Professional Certificate in Sound Design and Electronic Music Production with the Berklee College online division and is enrolled in the Music for the Media film scoring program with Hollywood composer Milton Nelson as his teacher.