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Film Score and Sound Design for Animated Feature Film 'Manou the Swift'

What We Did

  • Film Score Composition (5.1-Surround)

  • Film Score Production (5.1-Surround)

  • Sound Design (5.1-Surround), incl. Preparation for Dolby-Atmos-Mix (3D)

  • Instrumental- & Vocal Recordings

  • Field Recordings

  • Musical Concept

  • Sound Concept

Awards

  • German Film Music Award" in the Category Best Music in Animation Feature", German Film Music Award, Germany

  • „Crystal Pine Award" for the Best Film Song in the Category „Best Original Song", International Sound & Film Music Festival, Croatia

  • Nomination for the „Crystal Pine Award" for the Best Film Score in the Category „Best Original Score, Feature", International Sound & Film Music Festival, Croatia

Credits

  • Directors: Andrea Block, Chris Haas

  • Production: LUXX Film

  • Film Score: Frank Schreiber

  • Additional Music: Piano Particles

  • Sound Design: Frank Schreiber

Links

In front of southern French city Nice, swifts and seagulls share a large rock on the seashore, where they live in together. A peaceful coexistence in the picturesque setting of the Côte d'Azur would be too nice, but there are different attitudes of both birds.

Above all, however, the resulting mutual prejudices always provide new conflicts. Not to mention the rats, which make life difficult for both species of birds, by always trying to plunder their nests.

The young swift Manou is born into this polarity, but after a drastic event he is raised by seagulls, and now he has to find his own way and maintain. This is the beginning of a turbulent, exciting and extremely entertaining story of tolerance, courage, friendship and the search for identity, staged by directors Andrea Block and Chris Haas and produced by LUXX-Film.

Film score with orchestral recording and other instrumental recordings

The film score of the animated feature film "Manou The Swift" has mostly been played by the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, conducted by Joris Bartsch Buhle and is as colorful and turbulent as the characters and developments of the movie itself. So the topics of the swifts are rather nimble and agile and with a focus on wood, percussion and guitars. The seagulls, on the other hand, are described by quieter, loftier sounds, especially with radiant brass and a majestic sound, that lives up to the lordly claim of the seagulls.

The rats in turn are dominated by harsh playing styles and percussion, while the music of the Swabian-Brazilian guinea fowl Parcival does justice to his exotic status, but also to its musical urge to move With mostly South American Sounds. 

Oscar winner Kate Winslet and Willem Dafoe are voice cast and Cassandra Steen lends her voice to the young swift Kalifa. Therefore, she also sings the song "Fly With Me", composed for the film, through which Kalifa conquers the hearts at a party of the swifts. The style of the song is stylistically based on the season of the film, namely in the 50s / 60s and is played in the film by a small swift band.

The percussions were mainly recorded by Markus Passlick, a permanent member of the Götz-Alsmann band, who has done a great job with countless percussion instruments on the many film music cues. Numerous exotic percussion instruments were used or alienated or completely redefined, e.g. when it came to the swift party, for creating a large ensemble out of several percussion parts.

A smaller part of the music was contributed by the Piano Particles, who arranged the mostly pre-existing pieces of their repertoire for the film, or partly composed new cues.

5.1-Surround Sound Design for 3D-Audio

The complex sound design was conceived and produced in great detail, which brings the film to life on audio. With regard to the Dolby-Atmos mix, additional layers have often been created in the sound design, to cope with the 3D audio situation.

As enrichment of the background sounds, audio recordings took place at the original locations of the Côte d'Azur, which gave the film the most authentic, Mediterranean flair on audio, also. Thus, you will find recordings of typical French local favorites, such as marketplaces, tower clocks, cafes, etc., but also nature didn't go short, by day and night, with swifts and seagulls, of course, right up to the typical, small bays of the Region.

The music, as well as the sound design of "Manou The Swift" have been produced in surround (5.1).

The nationwide theatrical release of "Manou - flieg' flink!" in Germany was on 28.2.2019, meanwhile the international exploitation takes place worldwide in more than 50 countries.

German Film Music Award and Crystal Pine Award for Manous Film Score

The film score of "Manou the Swift" is awarded the German Film Music Award 2019 in the Category "Best Music in Animation Feature".

The film song "Fly With Me" from "Manou the Swift" is awarded the "Crystal Pine Award 2020" in the category "Best Original Song".

The film score of "Manou the Swift" is nominated for the "Crystal Pine Award 2020" in the category "Best Original Score, Feature".

Soundtrack of Manou mostly on SoundCloud available

Most of the film score is available on SoundCloud, before the complete soundtrack will be released. More information about the soundtrack of "Manou The Swift" and its reservations are available via this link.