My first feature-length film score. Valkaama, directed by Tim Baumann is based on the novel Valkama written by Hendrik Behnisch. It is set in Sweden and Finland and tells the story of four characters as they journey towards Valkaama, a mysterious place in northern Finland.
“Lasse has travelled the world for years. His heart knows no home except Valkaama revealed to him in a childhood prophecy. Lasse has always longed to settle there one day, along with Ari, despite never having been there. Recently he has been living with Runa who has regarded Lasse only as a friend. But as he suddenly leaves on his final journey, she becomes overwhelmed by deep-set emotions.
Magnus is a prisoner of his own miserable world in which he helps the hopeless take their own lives. Eventually one of his victims offers him the chance to change his life for good and soon he is venturing northwards, together with Lasse and the dark secret of his past.
Meanwhile, Runa tries to solve the puzzle of Lasse’s past and she also finds herself heading north. Hence the prophecy is finally fulfilled, but in a way none of the three could ever have predicted. A few fateful hours in the Finnish wilderness change the lives of three forever.”
some scenes from the film
Magnus and Ari are planning their first face to face meeting. A fairly heavy distorted beat overlayed with melancholic pads reflects the conflict between the reality of Magnus’ life with how he attempts to justify it to himself.
Ari and Magnus. Piano and strings suggest tension and sadness for the scene.
Lasse, Runa and Magnus by the lake. Sparse but dramatic pad to highlight their final decisions. I tried to use music that would allow the viewer to decide on the mood.
For more audioscapist tracks from the film go here.
To download the film click here.
Valkaama is a collaborative open source movie project. It used drama school students and amateurs from, and around Krakow, Poland. Its intent was to allow the completion of post-production for a full feature movie to be done publicly with the help of volunteers, both amateur and professional. There are three separate soundtracks for the film, mine being one of them, which the viewer can choose when they watch the film. The project was started in November 2006 and published as Open Source in October 2008. Open Source and Open Content movies are still a rarity in the Internet. Valkaama is one of the first movies not only to be distributed freely but also to guarantee free access to all source data used and created during the production process. The use of CC by-sa 3.0 licenses for the movie and its sources guarantees a very flexible use and reuse of the produced material. For more information go to the Valkaama website.
