Making surfy soundtacks

Samurai

Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2283
Kiev, Ukraine
Ukraine

Posted on Apr 24 2025 11:42 AM

Anyone has experience in writing soundtracks for movies or series? I just had a first one for my twin girls who are shooting mystical mini series) Had a lot of fun with it!

—

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

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revmike

Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3852
North Atlantic
Canada

Posted on Apr 24 2025 01:40 PM

I have.

The first soundtrack I did with Urban Surf Kings was in 2000 for the feature film Beefcake. This was in the days before owning a computer so it was all written to a VHS tape of the movie, and demoed on a cassette 4-track. We then went to a studio that has done a lot of movie work, and recorded the final tracks to picture there. I won the Atlantic Film Festival Award for soundtrack of the year, and was nominated for Canadian soundtrack of the year for it. Pretty good start.

Since then I have written small bits for movies and series. Mostly we have had our recordings licensed for tv (15 Love, Teen Mom, Ridiculousness), movie (The Making of the Snow Walker, 3 Needles, Cloudburst), the web (Vans), commercials (VW), etc. There are more. We just placed a song in an upcoming film last month.

I am also the music composer for A'nó:wara Dance Theatre (my sister's dance company), have composed/recorded a lot of non-surf music for their productions tv and touring productions.

It is much easier with a computer and DAW (I use Logic) than the first one with a VHS player and 4 track cassette, though one of the 4 track cassette recordings actual ended up in the film, rather than the studio recording. It just has a better vibe.

Rev

—

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

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revmike

Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3852
North Atlantic
Canada

Posted on Apr 24 2025 01:41 PM

Cool work on your girls' mini-series. It is a lot of fun to do, especially if deadlines are flexible.

Rev

—

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 13:42:02

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Samurai

Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2283
Kiev, Ukraine
Ukraine

Posted on Apr 24 2025 02:03 PM

revmike wrote:

Cool work on your girls' mini-series. It is a lot of fun to do, especially if deadlines are flexible.

Rev

Deadline was pretty tight so I have managed to do it in 30 minutes)

—

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 14:03:59

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revmike

Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3852
North Atlantic
Canada

Posted on Apr 24 2025 02:28 PM

Samurai wrote:

revmike wrote:

Cool work on your girls' mini-series. It is a lot of fun to do, especially if deadlines are flexible.

Rev

Deadline was pretty tight so I have managed to do it in 30 minutes)

And I bet the clients were not flexable lol

—

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 14:28:32

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remora1

Joined: Jan 04, 2008
Posts: 1278
San Pedro, CA
United States

Posted on Apr 24 2025 02:32 PM

That's awesome that you're helping your girls with their show!

Back in the 80's my band did a lot of low-budget soundtrack work for a friend making surf/skate/snowboard videos. We contributed to several videos and got to do the entire soundtrack for this one -

We recorded it all on a Yamaha 4-track cassette using an old Roland drum machine, guitars, and bass plus a little synth one one track.
We got to play around with different styles depending on what he wanted for each segment which was cool. We a lot of fun doing it which is good because we got paid in t-shirts and tennis shoes LOL

—

Bill S._______

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synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4544
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Apr 24 2025 07:29 PM

Not sure what was happening there, but it looked interesting and it’s always enjoyable to see kids doing something creative. Nice work on the soundtrack.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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Samurai

Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2283
Kiev, Ukraine
Ukraine

Posted on Apr 25 2025 12:17 AM

synchro wrote:

Not sure what was happening there, but it looked interesting and it’s always enjoyable to see kids doing something creative. Nice work on the soundtrack.

My elder daughter makes cover arts for my albums, creative kids they are!

—

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Top

synchro

Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4544
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
United States

Posted on Apr 25 2025 01:38 AM

Samurai wrote:

synchro wrote:

Not sure what was happening there, but it looked interesting and it’s always enjoyable to see kids doing something creative. Nice work on the soundtrack.

My elder daughter makes cover arts for my albums, creative kids they are!

That’s great. They look like nice kids.

—

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 12:20:03

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Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2283 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Apr 24 2025 11:42 AM Anyone has experience in writing soundtracks for movies or series? I just had a first one for my twin girls who are shooting mystical mini series) Had a lot of fun with it! — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
revmike Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3852 North Atlantic	Posted on Apr 24 2025 01:40 PM I have. The first soundtrack I did with Urban Surf Kings was in 2000 for the feature film Beefcake. This was in the days before owning a computer so it was all written to a VHS tape of the movie, and demoed on a cassette 4-track. We then went to a studio that has done a lot of movie work, and recorded the final tracks to picture there. I won the Atlantic Film Festival Award for soundtrack of the year, and was nominated for Canadian soundtrack of the year for it. Pretty good start. Since then I have written small bits for movies and series. Mostly we have had our recordings licensed for tv (15 Love, Teen Mom, Ridiculousness), movie (The Making of the Snow Walker, 3 Needles, Cloudburst), the web (Vans), commercials (VW), etc. There are more. We just placed a song in an upcoming film last month. I am also the music composer for A'nó:wara Dance Theatre (my sister's dance company), have composed/recorded a lot of non-surf music for their productions tv and touring productions. It is much easier with a computer and DAW (I use Logic) than the first one with a VHS player and 4 track cassette, though one of the 4 track cassette recordings actual ended up in the film, rather than the studio recording. It just has a better vibe. Rev — Canadian Surf http://www.urbansurfkings.com/ Top
revmike Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3852 North Atlantic	Posted on Apr 24 2025 01:41 PM Cool work on your girls' mini-series. It is a lot of fun to do, especially if deadlines are flexible. Rev — Canadian Surf http://www.urbansurfkings.com/ Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 13:42:02 Top
Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2283 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Apr 24 2025 02:03 PM revmike wrote: Cool work on your girls' mini-series. It is a lot of fun to do, especially if deadlines are flexible. Rev Deadline was pretty tight so I have managed to do it in 30 minutes) — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 14:03:59 Top
revmike Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3852 North Atlantic	Posted on Apr 24 2025 02:28 PM Samurai wrote: revmike wrote: Cool work on your girls' mini-series. It is a lot of fun to do, especially if deadlines are flexible. Rev Deadline was pretty tight so I have managed to do it in 30 minutes) And I bet the clients were not flexable lol — Canadian Surf http://www.urbansurfkings.com/ Last edited: Apr 24, 2025 14:28:32 Top
remora1 Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1278 San Pedro, CA	Posted on Apr 24 2025 02:32 PM That's awesome that you're helping your girls with their show! Back in the 80's my band did a lot of low-budget soundtrack work for a friend making surf/skate/snowboard videos. We contributed to several videos and got to do the entire soundtrack for this one - We recorded it all on a Yamaha 4-track cassette using an old Roland drum machine, guitars, and bass plus a little synth one one track. We got to play around with different styles depending on what he wanted for each segment which was cool. We a lot of fun doing it which is good because we got paid in t-shirts and tennis shoes LOL — Bill S._______ Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4544 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Apr 24 2025 07:29 PM Not sure what was happening there, but it looked interesting and it’s always enjoyable to see kids doing something creative. Nice work on the soundtrack. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Top
Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2283 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Apr 25 2025 12:17 AM synchro wrote: Not sure what was happening there, but it looked interesting and it’s always enjoyable to see kids doing something creative. Nice work on the soundtrack. My elder daughter makes cover arts for my albums, creative kids they are! — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
synchro Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4544 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.	Posted on Apr 25 2025 01:38 AM Samurai wrote: synchro wrote: Not sure what was happening there, but it looked interesting and it’s always enjoyable to see kids doing something creative. Nice work on the soundtrack. My elder daughter makes cover arts for my albums, creative kids they are! That’s great. They look like nice kids. — The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Last edited: Apr 25, 2025 12:20:03 Top

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Making surfy soundtacks