Brian Lyster

Sound for Vision: The Music of After Judgment Part 1

// January 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Projects // Projects

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!: As some of you might already know, I compose the music for the Web Series “After Judgment”, it’s sister companion series “Before Judgment” and most recently the sci-fi comedy “Hurtling Through Space at an Alarming Rate” On the flip side, I also work on Film/TV/New Media projects as a location sound mixer, sound designer, dialog editor, foley artist and mixer. The title of this blog: “Sound for Vision” will reflect on these different areas of audio from time to time.

That being said, I thought I’d start the inaugural blog off with my involvement as the music composer for “After Judgment”

If you haven’t checked out the show yet, here’s a little background:

“Judgment Day has come and gone. Most of the world’s population and all the children have simply vanished. Those remaining cannot die, and do not age. They exist on an Earth frozen in time, where all sources of power and energy have ceased; a world where daylight never ends, nothing works, and the ocean is poisonous.”

If I tell you anymore, I’d be giving too much away, so go check it out!

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The first cue I wrote for the series shows up in what eventually became Episode 3 “Time Has No Meaning” (Originally this was intended to be the first episode that would be aired, more on that in a future blog) We’re introduced to the world of After Judgment with a conversation between “The Crazy Lady” (Played by Beth Fisher) and her imaginary cell phone as Steven (Joel Bryant) lies on his bed staring at the ceiling from inside his apartment.

I approached this cue wanting to put the viewer into a world that was both strange and a bit unnerving. Musically., I wanted to compliment what was happening on screen yet not distract from it. The show takes place 100 years in the future yet ones first impression of the environment is very primitive, so I used a combination of traditional percussion with a spacey synth playing a spooky melody.

At this time I had no idea that this melody would become such an important contribution to the rest of season 1 and has in a way become the After Judgment theme.

steven3

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After being teased with a bizarre flashback 100 years in the past to the event that is referred to as “The Day” Steven begins to do some reflecting. I went more melancholy with this cue, giving the scene a sad yet hopeful feeling. He is the Hero after all, we’re supposed to cheer for him! This theme would show up again in Season 1 in Episode 14: “Time Waits for No One” This had nothing to do with the title of the episode, but if you watch the scene it reflects a similar emotion.

stevensun

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And finally, another cue that turned into what I’m calling the “Love Theme” of sorts for After Judgment. It makes it first appearance in Episode 4: “My Life For One Star” with Steven again reflecting on the past. This is our first clue that the sun never sets in this world, or hasn’t in a long time. This theme would appear again next in Episode 7: “Sunset and the Afterglow” as Steven and his new “friend” Michelle (Taryn O’Neill) as they reflect on a few subjects strange and not so strange in the land of After Judgment. It’s final appearance in Season 1 would be in Episode 13 “Sins of Our Father” in a similar post reflection/yet romantic situation.

So that’s it for Part 1. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to blog about or just want to say hello, you can contact me here.

Cheers,

Brian

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Before Judgment Episode 12: The Stranger Part 2

// January 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Projects // Projects

Tim Halling is back as The Stranger! Find out more about this mysterious character’s dark past and his knowledge of the approaching apocalypse.

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The Music of After Judgment

// January 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Projects // Projects

For your listening pleasure, A selection of cues from Season 1 of “After Judgment”

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After Judgment makes the Best of Clicker 2009 list!

// January 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Projects // Projects

After Judgment made Clicker’s “best of 2009″ list in the Original Web Drama category. Check out the full list of nominees and winners here

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After Judgment’s “Attend the Streamys with us!” Contest.

// January 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // Projects // Projects

There are nine more days left to vote for Streamy nominations and we want you the fans to help us get recognized again this year. To get a nomination we need you, our fans to vote and since we value your time, we are sweetening the deal.

We are launching our official “After Judgment Streamy Contest” that gives you the opportunity to win a ticket to attend the 2010 Streamy Awards event with the cast and crew in LA. www.streamys.org

Yes you, our top fan will walk the red carpet and attend the show as a valued member of the After Judgment team.

You need to prove you voted the most times for After Judgment in any or all of the categories below:

Best Drama Web Series

Best Directing for a Drama Web Series – Michael Davies

Best Writing for a Drama Web Series – Michael Davies

Best Cinematography – Christopher Wedding

Best Original Score – Brian Lyster

Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series

Be creative! Figure out how to vote as many times as you can, figure out how to prove it. Think pictures, screen captures, and twitter and bonus points will be given for recruiting people to our Facebook Fan page.

What happens if we don’t get a nomination? The person that proves they voted the most wins a 16GB Zune. If we do get a nomination the winner gets it too. There will be runner up prizes of course. So get to it, make sure you subscribe on the site and send all your “proof” to thecreator@afterjudgment.com.

Spread the word…Prevent the End

Streamy Awards Photo by the Bui Brothers

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Before Judgment Episode 11: Lisa

// January 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Projects // Projects

Lisa is back…more footage of the saavy newsreporter covering the events surrounding ‘The Day’ has been unearthed, restored and is now available to view HERE