Original scores and sound design for documentary film.
Score and Sound Design
Directed by Yuta Okamura · 2026
Earlier ‘darker’ cue: traditional, studio-tracked guitar and violin performance
Ending ‘cathartic’ cue: fully transitioned to modern, orchestral instrumentation
The film
A short documentary about Shoji Oda, a 98-year-old wood carving artist and survivor of the Japanese American concentration camps during WWII. The film traces his life, voice and creative resilience.
Director
Yuta Okamura
Year
2026
Runtime
16 min
Role
Score and sound design
Co-composer
Matthew Torres
Violinist
Angela Hsieh
The brief
“I’m imagining something very intimate, thinking acoustic or Spanish guitar, expressing rhythm, space, and reflection of memories. Music is a key element of this film, it leads the story in some scenes while responding to Shoji’s emotions. Bring your own background to the film.”
Approach
Sparse guitar and violin tracks were written and live tracked for the earlier sections, mirroring the story’s darker and somber themes.
These gradually transition into modern, fuller orchestral pieces as the story progresses, culminating in a final cathartic impact.
The score draws on my experience blending piano and acoustic instruments with modern sound libraries and synthesizers.
Score and Sound Design
Directed by Jason Krangel · 2026
Ambient Intro: Analog synthesis driven movement and texture
Transition: Modern production, bell and kalimba textures
Title Card: Organic and eclectic beat, acoustic and sampled elements
The film
Alon is an Amsterdam pickle-maker rebuilding himself after a long burnout. A close, patient, handmade portrait of an invisible process, fermentation and a man changing alongside it.
Director
Jason Krangel
Year
2026
Runtime
12 min
Role
Score and sound design
The brief
The director requested a modern score that provided engaging and interesting music, without overshadowing the narrative and emotional elements of the dialogue. Ambient pieces were to be created for nature sequences, with more eclectic productions for transitions.
Approach
Moving ‘organic’ patches were created on my analogue synths as the foundation for ambient sections.
Beat-driven transitions and energized moments use digital synthesis, layered with sampled bells and kalimba sounds complementing the wind and nature focused sound design.
Cues were arranged and rewritten to engage the audience at key moments, while otherwise moving into the background with intention and direction.
Score and Sound Design
Directed by Violet Flippo · 2026
Nature Sequence: Live tracked synthesizer swells
Emotional Finale: Orchestral pieces layering strings, voice, and synths
The film
Within every person lies a wondrous world filled with ideas, images, and possibilities. Like a silverfish that occasionally reveals itself at the edge of our perception, Frank’s inner world, too, sometimes rises to the surface.
Director
Violet Flippo
Year
2026
Runtime
8 min
Role
Score and sound design
Guitarist
Matthew Torres
The brief
Music was highlighted as a tool to both draw the audience into nature sequences, and provide an energizing force complementing Frank’s voice over and creative processes.
Approach
Emotion driven pieces were first composed on piano and then arranged for strings, voice, and synthesizer layers.
Nature sequences were recorded by playing and tweaking synthesizers live, creating organic swells and dispersions.
Blending virtual instruments such as cello with live tracked guitar and voice maximizes my production abilities without extending budget.
Score and Sound Design
Directed by Toshikazu Hosoki and Michael Williams · 2026
Trailer
The film
For nearly a decade, Paul Crowell has walked San Francisco’s streets pulling a cart of food and medicine for the dogs of homeless guardians, driven by empathy born from his own difficult past.
Directors
Toshikazu Hosoki, Michael Williams
Year
2026
Runtime
25 min
Role
Score and sound design
Co-composer
Matthew Torres
The brief
Directors drafted a sheet of cues, each with their own set of emotions to express and reference tracks. Tracks were to complement the mood and direction of the story, without leading. Instrumentation was open.
Approach
Utilizing felt piano and virtual string libraries, pieces were written to convey a sense of beauty in contrast to the grayer, harder cityscape cinematography.
Slow moving string pieces use delicately mapped expression, enabling simplicity in form with dynamic and engaging results.
Piano solo pieces were layered with analog synthesizers emulating pipe organs to provide warmth, while maintaining a modern aesthetic.