Night of the Living Dead, scored
Published October 2026
The old library score lifted out and the dialogue kept: the banter left dry, a string cluster that stops a beat before the grab, then the chase. Scored on October 31, 2026 through the scoring studio, the same loop anyone gets: the film went in, the scored film came back 13 minutes later, and nothing was touched by hand.
What was asked
- The sound: Horror.
- How much music: Sparse.
- If the film already has music: Replace it.
- Direction: “Keep the dialogue clear. Unease under the graveyard banter, then the attack hits hard and the chase is pure panic.”
Those are the studio's own controls, set as anyone would set them. The composer is free to depart from them when the picture asks for it, and says so when it does.
The composer's notes
What the studio's composer wrote back with the scored film, in its own words; only its closing offer of changes is left out.
The scored film is ready, along with the printmaster and the music-and-effects mix.
What I heard first: the film came with a stock library score. It's faint around 20 s, then plays from 44 s to 78 s and again from 83 s to the end. I removed it completely and kept the original dialogue and effects.
The two cues
- 1M1 "Headstones" (0:40–0:55): this starts on the wide shot of the lone figure, while Johnny is still teasing Barbara.
- Basses hold a quiet low D, and the cellos move up a semitone as she walks toward the man.
- The high violins play a thin cluster, two notes a semitone apart.
- Under that, a viola tremolo grows and pizzicato ticks speed up (they stand in for col legno, which isn't available).
- A soft bass-drum heartbeat quickens toward the grab.
- All the music stops one beat before the attack, so it lands out of silence.
- 1M2 "Attack & Run" (0:55–1:29): the grab opens with a full-orchestra sting.
- The struggle: cellos and basses drive a two-note D–E♭ figure. The violin tremolo climbs a semitone on every cut, with brass stabs on each one.
- When Barbara runs: the violins break into a spiralling downward chromatic line over pounding timpani, and the horns wail above.
- The long running shot: the orchestra drops back, then climbs by semitones into two final stings on the last cuts.
Delivery: the program measures −16 LUFS (web loudness) with true peak at −1.9 dB. Wherever someone speaks, the music dips to about 20 dB below the dialogue, so the lines stay clear.
Approximations to know about
- Coverage: music runs under about 55% of the film, not the sparse 35% you set. The attack and chase needed to be scored all the way through, and I left the first 40 seconds of banter completely dry.
- Level: I lowered the dread cue by 6 dB so the attack jumps out of it.
- Timbre: in the quiet cue, the check said the held low basses and high second violins sound slightly piano-like. Every part played its written notes in both cues.
- Ending: the last sting's ring-out is trimmed by the end of the film.
Who played
- 1M1: Basses, Cellos, Violas, Violins I, Violins II, Pizz Ticks, Bass Drum.
- 1M2: Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Basses, Horns, Trombones, Trumpets, Timpani, Bass Drum & Cymbal.
Every part is its own stem in the delivery, with the notes it played.
The delivery, measured
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Length | 1:30 |
| Integrated loudness | −16 LUFS (the web target) |
| True peak | −1.9 dBTP |
| Loudness range | 9 LU |
| Dialogue | the music dips under each of 11 spoken lines |
| Picture | copied untouched |
| Film in to scored film out | 13 minutes |
Score this film yourself
Open Night of the Living Dead in the studio as a sample, pick another sound or write your own direction, and get your own version back.
Open it in the studio →FAQ
Is Night of the Living Dead free to use?
Yes. Night of the Living Dead (1968) is in the public domain, so the picture can be used, scored and shared freely.
Was anything fixed by hand?
No. The film went through the scoring studio's own loop on the live service; the score, the mix and the delivery are what came back.
Can I score my own film this way?
Yes. Drop your cut into the scoring studio, pick a sound and how much music you want, add a line of direction, and you get the scored film, a printmaster, an M&E and every stem back.
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