Conducting for the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, senior Sean Sumwalt said he heard exactly what he wanted.
Sumwalt conducted some of his original music for a recording session Sunday including chamber orchestra members as well as Ball State students and faculty from the music department.
"It was perfect," he said. "I was slightly nervous before it happened. But there were no butterflies once I heard it. I was like, ‘holy crap, that's awesome.'"
It cost about $3,500 for the contracting fee and travel expenses of the performers. The fee was covered by contributions from various Ball State departments.
Sumwalt's music will be used in an animated film directed by graduate student Paul Symons for his thesis project in digital storytelling.
Symons described it as "not unlike a Pixar short film."
The movie, "Two Life," features the love story of two mannequins and highlights 200 years of American history while telling the tale of the inanimate objects brought to life.
Symons said the film will be released later this month just in time to be submitted for an Academy Award in animation.
He said the film will be about 10 minutes long, but the group of about 50 students who are involved have logged more than 7,000 hours in creating it. It started as a summer immersion project that spanned two summer sessions plus the fall semester.
Sumwalt said he likes writing music to evoke emotion. His favorite part from his score goes along with a scene where the mannequins get hit by a truck after escaping from a burning building they had been in for 60 years, and then sharing a kiss.
"It was so powerful," he said. "I told [the group Sunday] this is my favorite part. Every time they played it, I almost teared up."
Sumwalt said there was one hiccup in the recording session, a technical difficulty with a quick track, or series of clicks, that was supposed to be incorporated with the music.
"It was going to take two hours to set up, and for 15 minutes, I didn't know what to do," he said. "It felt like the floor came out from under me. I kept thinking, ‘I have 38 people in front of me, and I'm wasting money.'"
In the end, he was able to conduct from the score on his laptop.
Mary Kothman, an adjunct music professor who was among the ensemble, said she was impressed with Sumwalt's orchestration.
"He's very good," she said. "He's very clear."
Leah Wooden, a sophomore music education major, said playing in a recording session with professionals has made her rethink her career path as a teacher.
"I love it," she said. "I never played his music before. It has its moments, climactic moments that [bring]out the fun in music."
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