Creation of Music
For this short film, we have crafted a soundtrack inspired by the rich musical traditions and natural beauty of Scotland.
Drawing from elements such as Celtic melodies, traditional instruments such as fiddle and tin whistle, as well as the use of Gaelic vocals and folk motifs, the score reflects both the emotional depth and rugged landscape of the story.
Reference Tracks
Here you can listen​ to the reference tracks we all put together on a Spotify playlist to collate general ideas of what we wanted to go into our interpretation of the short film 'Spring'.
​
Before the first Zoom meeting a shared Spotify playlist was created to share ideas of potential sounds and ambiences of our interpretation of the film. It was also discussed that our interpretation of the film would be heavily influenced by Scottish music and Celtic culture.
​
​
Throughout the playlist you can hear various inspirations of traditional Celtic music, mystical undertones and ethereal ambiance.
​​
​
​
​
With creating this playlist we decided that we wanted to merge digital ambient music with live instrumentation.
Poems and Gaelic Translations
For vocals, we knew we wanted something in Gaelic to continue the theme of Scottish Celtic music, so Kirsty and Adam both created drafts of potential poems to be translated and used for vocal tracks.
Dàn an Earraich (Spring’s Poem)
​
​
Smaoineachadh, fideach, turas.
​
Feumaidh duine deuchainn na dhèanamh air na comhfhurtachdan aca gus fàs.
​
Crath do sgiathan, do dhuillegan agus do chinn sgìth
​
Oir ann an solas na grèine, ‘s e d’ àm a tha ann airson dannsa.
​
Fosgail do chluasan, leanaidh do shùilean gu cinnteach,
Èist ri òran an Earraich agus dùisg.
​
A Bhan-dia Mhàthair.
​​
​
​
(A thought, a suggestion, a journey.
​
One must question their comforts to grow.
​
Shake your wings, leaves and weary heads
​
In the suns spotlight, it’s your time to dance.
​
Open your ears, your eyes will surely follow,
​
​Listen to Spring’s song and wake up Mother Nature.)
​
​
​
By Adam Cudby (translated by Chris Burns)
Dàn a' Gheamhraidh (Winter’s Poem)
​
​
Tha thu a’ sireadh an Earraich a thoirt,
​
Airson an grèine a thogail os cionn nan gleann,
​
A’ cluinntinn ghuthan nan eòin os cionn na mòinteach.
​​
​
Na bha reòta uair,
​
Tha e a-nis air leaghadh.
​
Feumaidh na eigh-shruthan mòra
​
Sruthadh a-nis.
​
​
Thig an dorchadas air ais a-rithist.
​
Feumaidh a-huile ni dol sìos.
​
Faodaidh an solas gach ni a chòmhdach
​
Ma chuireas tu fuaim dheireannach.
​
​
(You seek to bring Spring,
​
To raise the sun above the valleys,
​
Hearing the voices of the birds above the moors.
​
What was once frozen,
​
Is now melted.
​
The great glaciers must Flow now.
​
The darkness will return again.
​
Everything must go down.
​
​The light can cover everything If you make a final sound.)
​
By Kirsty Quin (translated by Chris Burns)
Adam then asked Chris Burns, a contact of his, who was able to send us Gaelic translations of these poems - which you can see along with the poems above - with accurate pronunciation, which was helpful in the process of creating vocals for this project.
Writing two poems to be performed in Gaelic for this short film was both a creative and cultural journey. Each poem was crafted to reflect the tone and themes of the film, serving as both narrative anchors and emotional undercurrents.
​
Spring's poem reflecting the new beginnings of the season and blossoming positivity, and Winter's poem written as from the perspective of the creature, as if speaking to Spring (Girl).
Gaelic’s lyrical quality added a haunting beauty, enriching the atmosphere and grounding the story in its cultural roots. Balancing authenticity with accessibility, the poems became a vital part of the film’s storytelling, bridging past and present through language.​
Composition
For the composition, we found it to be most useful to split the film up into sections. While Adam worked on Spring and winter's themes, Kirsty worked on transitional sections and vocals.
With the initial influence of Celtic music as our guide we found it would be appropriate to include musical elements that would reflect such. For Adam the use of tin whistle, mandolin, and fiddle, and for Kirsty using a 'call and response' approach to vocal lines and stacking harmonies to create the effect of a choir.
​
With the use of our teams curated reference tracks, we were able to refer to music that would give us a guide toward creating something unique, helping the final score feel grounded, intentional, and emotionally connected to the film’s vision.
​
From the outset, the goal was to create a score that felt deeply rooted in Scottish identity, while still serving the emotional and narrative arc of the film.
Here is the final score of 'Spring' in Logic
Not as many electronic instrumentation was used, as we decided to utilise MIDI instruments along with live instrumentation instead.
Instead wanted to create surround sound effect from little sounds to ensure the foley work wouldn't be distracted on screen.
While the experience of using live instrumentation was mostly successful, Adam experimented with live tin whistle recordings but ended up not working due to the timbre of instrument and vocals ended up utilising the previous melody that was created for tin whistle in 'Spring's Song'.
Slideshow of Adam's home recording setup
After further development, one piece of transition music was intentionally left out to showcase the intricate work of the Foley team. After experimenting with fiddle instrumentation, once receiving the foley for the transition of 'Into the Dark' instead of filling the moment with a musical cue, the decision was made to let the natural, crafted sounds take center stage.
Slideshow of instruments used in Adam's home recording
The idea to have 'Spring's Song' in 3/4 was inspired by traditional Scottish waltzes This is also showcased in the poem where it’s Spring saying to Mother Nature ‘In the sun’s spotlight, it’s your time to dance.’ Spring’s purpose is to inspire Mother Nature to wake up from their slumber and flourish.
​
The decision to add an offset rhythm when the piano is introduced was included to give a more rhythmic feeling, and create more texture when everything combines to a climax.
​
Violins were used in a simplistic way in the composition to add frequency and texture.
Guitars were panned left and right, to create a lot of presence, with the addition of reverb. The violins were panned a little more central, and the mandolin slightly off center. Vocal stacks were surround sound to create a production where the vocals take over the space.
For 'Winter's Song', inspiration was based on a Jig which is a traditional Scottish dance. While starting in 6/8 compound time, the track would then end up developing more into a reel and later is in 4/4 time.
It is broken into three sections: section A as 'Winter's jig', Section b is 'Winter's song', and section C as 'Spring's Request'.
​
The guitar, is playing more traditionally electric style, while 'Spring's Song' is very open. The notes are rung out and then slowly built upon playing triplets to generate action to make it feel like it's building up heavily. The piano has an offbeat, Syncopated rhythm as it starts to build. This is to create texture and movement in the track. Adam also, faded in 'Winter's Song' with reverse low open e's on the bass and guitars. This was done to create a performative action sweep, such as a fade in.
​
​
Violins, similar to 'Spring's Song', are there mainly to fill up texture and frequency to make it feel more rounded, so the guitars are panned full left while violins are panned slightly central.
​
​​
As 'Spring's Return' being a reprise of 'Spring's song', there are a lot of sonic similarities. While using the octive rage of chords E, G, and C to have movement to lead back into it and go right to the load section rather than starting with section A.
Adam boosted the treble on most of the tracks, and recorded most of the instruments separately again during this process. So as much as the same theme, they've been recorded differently, and record them with more gain and more energy to represent an elation in the story.
In developing the vocals for 'Spring's Song', Enya’s distinctive approach to ethereal vocal layering and ambient production became a significant point of inspiration. Her ability to weave delicate vocal textures into rich, atmospheric soundscapes offered a guiding blueprint for crafting the film’s vocal atmosphere. This influence helped shape a vocal presence that feels both organic and otherworldly - softly echoing the seasonal shift portrayed in the narrative while deepening the emotional resonance of each scene.
​
When developing the vocals for 'Winter’s Song' in the short film Spring, Kirsty approached the arrangement with a focus on choral layering techniques that echoed the tonal richness of Celtic vocal traditions. Multiple vocal tracks were recorded in close harmony to create a sense of solemnity and ancient resonance.
Slideshow of Effects used for vocal tracks
For the transitional music in Spring titled 'Scurry', the primary inspiration came from Ben Howard’s introspective and richly textured guitar work. His signature fingerpicking, open tunings, and nuanced rhythmic phrasing guided the development of minimalist guitar passages that subtly connect scenes and montages. These cues were crafted to evoke a delicate sense of movement - capturing both the quiet progression of time and the gentle unfolding of the natural world.
​
Keeping the composition of this piece simplistic, with only a main guitar theme, layered guitar line, and echoey vocal harmonies was intentional to allow space, silence, and soft textures to reflect the natural rhythm of the film. In doing so, 'Scurry' became less about leading the narrative and more about gently supporting the sense of time passing and nature unfolding.
Using 'Esmerelda' by Ben Howard as a reference track for a transitional piece 'Scurry' here is an excerpt of the transition piece in development .
Overall the process of composing the music for our interpretation of this short film, although sometimes challenging, provided the team with the opportunity to develop our skills in a professional sense as a part of a team.
Any challenge we faced, we worked together to overcome and have a new appreciation for the work as a result.
In 'Spring', crafting the musical language meant tuning into the subtleties of movement, nature, and emotion. Whether through sweeping melodies or restrained interludes the goal was always to enhance the film’s atmosphere without overpowering it - letting the music become an invisible thread that ties it all together.
Below, Adam has provided playthoughs of 'Spring's Song' and 'Winter's Song' on Bass and Mandolin for you to see the full process. Enjoy.
Playthrough with mandolin for 'Spring's Song'
Playthrough of mandolin for 'Winter's Song'
Playthough of Bass for 'Spring's Song'
Playthrough of Bass for 'Winter's Song'
Final Recording Session
The final recording session for live instruments took place on the 11th of April in the UWS recording studios on Ayr campus. Recording from 10am until 5pm meant that we could record fiddle for transition pieces and guitar and mandolin for 'Spring's Song' and 'Winter's Song'.
For recording on this day, we were advised to use the Austrian Audio OC818 for instruments and the Aston Spirit for recording vocals.
​
We spent the day recording live instrumentation in the studio while Kirsty was able to take a the Aston Spirit home along with a MixPre - 6 audio interface to record vocal tracks at home.
Aston Spirit used for recording vocals.
MixPre-6 used for home recording
Austrian Audio OC818 set up in the recording session
Here is a video of the recording day, of some guitar, mandolin and fiddle by Adam and Kirsty recorded by Ellie.