Brad Sayles music for Echoes of Innocence is a lesson in just how much a good score can raise the overall quality of a film. While the producers of the film were the victims of some very bad timing (Joan of Arc being a much used theme at the moment), there are skills here in the photography and editing that simply need to be honed. If anything, the film is an example of just how careful one must be in selecting a story that is suitable for a screenplay. Writing a good screenplay is disastrously hard work. The vision necessary to execute it into a cohesive film is another skill set altogether. It is clear in this effort that too much was done by too few people.
Sayles talent is evident in the weaving of atmosphere, tension, thought, and love into an original score of depth and content. He possesses the gift that too few composers have at present: the ability to use startling silence in a musical context. The film would be very valuable as a lab piece for aspiring film/video composers.
As to the movie as a whole, I've seen far worse, presented by bigger studios with 100 times the budget. This is an encouraging first effort. The producers simply need greater exposure to a wider variety of environments, film styles, and a much more worldly approach to their work.
Sayles talent is evident in the weaving of atmosphere, tension, thought, and love into an original score of depth and content. He possesses the gift that too few composers have at present: the ability to use startling silence in a musical context. The film would be very valuable as a lab piece for aspiring film/video composers.
As to the movie as a whole, I've seen far worse, presented by bigger studios with 100 times the budget. This is an encouraging first effort. The producers simply need greater exposure to a wider variety of environments, film styles, and a much more worldly approach to their work.
