This commercial for the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) makes it clear that UTA is changing for the better. With a heavy dose of cinemagraphs, “Passengers” shows the many ways UTA is putting its passengers first. For the music, I initially set out to create a chill, low key vibe - something snowboarders might listen to while hitting the slopes in Park City. But, as a frequent passenger on UTA, I also wanted to capture the bustling sound of MY city (SLC). To pull it off, I whipped out some old school, hip-hop sampling techniques to create a “lo-fi” beat and then layered in glitched up vocal loops to add a human element. For a final splash of realism, I strategically added sound effects recorded while riding UTA into the final mix. A better today for a better tomorrow - I’ll raise a low-point beer to that!

In this commercial series for Pluralsight, different characters working at the same company explain the benefits of a cool and useful feature (Pluralsight IQ) before meeting up in the final scene. Each commercial highlights a different character, so I had the opportunity to write a different theme to represent each one. Every theme has an upbeat tempo to give the series a cohesive feel, but each track has its own unique flavor to give more personality to each character. This video is part 1, but you can check out parts 2 and 3 down below!

Produced for BYU TV, each episode of Turning Point tells an emotional, yet uplifting story of someone who has “turned their life around” to accomplish amazing things. When beginning to produce the 5th season, the director was looking to capture a slightly different vibe than they had achieved in the past; so, they requested I write them an inspiring piece of music for their new title sequence. Considering Turning Point’s primary audience, I decided to go with a more organic sound with a few modern (but subtle) elements thrown in the mix. My intention for this track was to give viewers a taste of the inspirational journey the show was about to take them on. Many of the people’s stories featured in Turning Point come down to one, pivotal moment that changed everything. I wanted to represent that with a simple theme that continues to build upon itself with each new repetition. I composed the track using guitars, piano, bells, live drums, synths, and a chorus of female vocalists - all of which build upon each other until they reach the final crescendo. If you’re looking for inspirational stories, it’s a must watch!

UTA (Utah Transit Authority) doesn’t just carry passengers - they move countless stories forward everyday. As part of a campaign to spread this message, this commercial lets Utahns know that UTA isn’t just about busses and trains - they’re about moving people to where they need to go. When composing the music for this spot, I wanted the audience to feel the soul of UTA. To get this effect, I started with a southern gospel vocal and a piano riff that seems to say “we’re going places”. Then, I layered in stomps, claps, and the sounds of heavy machinery for percussion. Finally, I threw in a few transportation sound effects to glue the music to the final video cut. UTA has moved my story forward countless times throughout my life in Salt Lake City. I was happy to return the favor!

In this commercial series for Pluralsight, different characters working at the same company explain the benefits of a cool and useful feature (Pluralsight IQ) before meeting up in the final scene. Each commercial highlights a different character, so I had the opportunity to write a different theme to represent each one. Every theme has an upbeat tempo to give the series a cohesive feel, but each track has its own unique flavor to give more personality to each character. This video is part 2, but you can check out part 1 above and part 3 below!

Greg Kiefer is an amazingly talented director and photographer! He owns Cosmic Pictures (a full service film company) but also runs a blog called Curious Humanography where he documents several of the fascinating humans he meets. For one of his content pieces, he created a short video for Instagram called “Reinvent Yourself” and asked me to score it. The video features Dylan Freed, a personal trainer and fitness guru, doing a pretty impressive workout routine with Charles Bukowski’s “No Leaders Please” as a voiceover. Greg requested I write something ambient and motivational with a tinge of struggle. I composed this piece primarily for piano, viola, and cello, but I had a bit of fun manipulating the string sounds to create some ambient pads. I added acoustic drums and timed foley sounds to get an interesting percussion section and then topped it off with a female vocal that helps capture the emotion of the piece and carry it through each transition in the music.

In this “cinemagraph” TV spot for the Utah Transit Authority (UTA), they got to debut their new vision for the future of transportation in Utah. Air quality is a huge issue in Salt Lake City, but this commercial emphasizes how UTA helps keep cars off the roads and utilizes energy efficient vehicles so Utahns can breathe a little easier. I wanted the music for this piece to instantly connect with the viewer and really send the message that UTA is people centered. The voiceover says “there’s more that connects us than ever before…” so I played with that concept. I constructed the instrumental mostly from vocal samples and loops to give the music a sense of “humanness”. But, I manipulated, pitched, and digitized the vocals to create a chorus of very different voices that come together for a common purpose. As a Utahn, I share UTA’s view on wanting to be better today than we were yesterday. Let’s keep moving forward, together!

In this commercial series for Pluralsight, different characters working at the same company explain the benefits of a cool and useful feature (Pluralsight IQ) before meeting up in the final scene. Each commercial highlights a different character, so I had the opportunity to write a different theme to represent each one. Every theme has an upbeat tempo to give the series a cohesive feel, but each track has its own unique flavor to give more personality to each character. This video is part 3, but you can check out parts 1 and 2 above!