Tears of Steel, scored
Published October 2026
Two cues for a hybrid orchestra: a brass menace motif over a cold synth pulse as the robots take the tower, then a hero theme that breaks into D major on the wide shot. Scored on October 31, 2026 through the scoring studio, the same loop anyone gets: the film went in, the scored film came back 15 minutes later, and nothing was touched by hand.
What was asked
- The sound: sci-fi.
- How much music: Balanced.
- If the film already has music: Replace it.
- Direction: “A battle with giant robots in a ruined church: big and relentless, with a heroic lift when they fight back.”
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 film is scored from the first frame to the last. The scored video, printmaster and M&E stem are in the studio, mastered to −16 LUFS for web with a true peak of −3 dBTP.
What I found: the clip has no audio at all, so there was no music to replace and no dialogue to work around. Because the score is the only sound in the film, I scored all of it instead of the 55% you asked for.
1M1 "The Assault" (0:00–0:31). This covers the robots on the tower and the kids arming up.
- It opens on a cold open-fifth drone, with a synth pulse ticking underneath and a low trombone and tuba menace motif (D–E♭–D–A).
- The tower reveal lands on a bar line with a full brass, bass drum and cymbal hit.
- From there a 16th-note cello ostinato keeps driving, and the harmony darkens toward E♭ at the cut inside.
- Horns and violins pick up the motif and climb to a dominant chord that lands exactly on the cut into 1M2.
1M2 "They Fight Back" (0:31–1:13). This is the turn.
- The horns introduce a hero theme in minor while the ostinato keeps going.
- Through the run of fast cuts (0:49–0:58) the whole brass section and percussion hit every cut. Seven of the eight cuts land exactly on the beat.
- The music climbs B♭ → C and breaks into D major at the 1:00 wide shot. Horns, trumpets and violins play the theme in full and end on a held high A.
- A timpani roll and a final button close it just before the last frame.
Instrumentation: strings (6 violins, 4 violas, 5 cellos, 3 basses), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, concert bass drum and clash cymbals. A cold synth pulse and a wide synth pad sit under the orchestra. Both cues are mixed as an epic hybrid in a 2.3 s hall.
Worth knowing:
- Every orchestral part played its written notes.
- The tuba in 1M1 sounds a bit like a bass, but it's buried under the trombones.
- The automatic check heard none of the 1M1 synth pulse notes, and the 1M2 pulse couldn't be checked at all. The pulse plays from a sampler that fires every written note, so I expect it's fine, but give it a listen.
- The 1M2 reverb tail is trimmed by about 3 s at the film's end. The final hit lands before the last frame.
Who played
- 1M1: Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses, Horns, Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Synth Pulse, Synth Pad.
- 1M2: Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses, Horns, Trumpets, Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Bass Drum, Cymbals, Synth Pulse, Synth Pad.
Every part is its own stem in the delivery, with the notes it played.
The delivery, measured
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Length | 1:13 |
| Integrated loudness | −16 LUFS (the web target) |
| True peak | −3 dBTP |
| Loudness range | 4.4 LU |
| Picture | copied untouched |
| Film in to scored film out | 15 minutes |
Score this film yourself
Open Tears of Steel 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 Tears of Steel free to use?
Yes, under CC BY 3.0: use it, score it and share it, with the credit "(CC) Blender Foundation, mango.blender.org" and the licence named.
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.
AI film scoring · an original score for your cut
- For editorsa score cut to your edit
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- For composersyour parts, played
- For creatorsan original score, not stock
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- Score a silent filmwall to wall
- With your own AI agentthe same loop over MCP
- The demo reelone film per genre
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