Score a silent film
Published October 2026
A silent film was never silent: a pianist or a pit orchestra played every scene, catching the gags and the chases as they happened. Pick the silent-film sound and the composer does that job: wall-to-wall music that follows every cut, plays the moods and catches the action, for a restoration, a screening or a public-domain classic on your channel.
What a silent-film score needs
- Wall to wall. No gaps: the silent sound sets the coverage to wall to wall.
- Catch the action. Every cut is found to the frame, and the pratfalls, doors and chases are hit on the beat.
- The right forces. From solo piano to a small orchestra; say which in the direction ("piano and violin only", "a 1920s pit orchestra").
- Title cards breathe. The music carries across intertitles instead of stopping at them.
Public-domain films
Many films from before 1931 are in the public domain in the United States, and archives hold good transfers. Check the status of the copy you use: a restoration can carry rights of its own, and an archive upload often has a modern soundtrack added that is not public domain. Scoring replaces that soundtrack, but start from a clean copy where you can.
What you get back
- The scored film: your picture, copied untouched, with the new soundtrack (MP4 with AAC 320k, or a MOV with 24-bit PCM if that is what you sent).
- The printmaster: the whole mix as a 24-bit, 48 kHz WAV, normalized to the delivery loudness you pick (web −16, streaming −14 or broadcast −23 LUFS) with the true peak under the limit.
- An M&E: music and effects without the dialogue, for a dub or a trailer.
- Dialogue, music and effects stems, when your film had a soundtrack of its own.
- Every cue's mix and every part as its own stem, with the notes it played, on a timeline you can keep editing.
- A Logic Pro or Ableton Live project of the whole score, one button from the studio.
What it costs
Watching the film, mixing and delivery are free. The performances use credits, like any render on Doseedo: 10 credits for every 30 seconds of music for each group of up to six parts, and a flat 20 to split the film's own soundtrack. A one-minute scene with a mid-size orchestra is usually 60 to 140 credits; the panel shows the estimate for your film before you start, beside what you have left.
A free account comes with 120 credits a month. Pro is $12 a month with 2,000. You own what you make, to the extent the law allows (Terms §6.3).
Score a silent film
Drop the film, pick Silent film, and get it back with a score that plays every scene.
Open the scoring studio →FAQ
How do I add a score to a silent film?
Upload it to the scoring studio, pick the Silent film sound and press Score it. The film comes back with a wall-to-wall score timed to its cuts.
Can it be just piano?
Yes. Ask for it in the direction ("solo piano") and the composer writes for piano alone.
Are silent films public domain?
In the United States, films published before 1931 are in the public domain as of 2026. A modern restoration or an added soundtrack can carry rights of its own, so check the copy you use.
How long can the film be?
Up to 2 GB per upload; a long film is scored in up to eight cues per pass, and you can ask for more.
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