Got together with Scott Howard Saturday night. I’ve been really hung up on the ending of the battle sequence. For months, I’ve been trying different ideas, finding nothing that worked for me. Scott nudged me in a new and different direction, and suddenly, it was like the scales falling from my eyes (or ears). Here was a new idea, different from the approach I’d been taking, but one that worked just as well and was much easier to pull off.

Musically, I split episode 3 into two parts. Each part is about half of the total episode. My goal for the last six months or more has been to create the core music for Part 1 from beginning to end, even if it’s not totally fleshed out. Now, I can finally say that I’ve accomplished that goal. All that’s left for Part 1 is to flesh out transitions, fill in some of the thinner passages, etc. — all quite easy, compared to facing the initial “blank slate,” or – even worse – facing down passages that just aren’t working out, deciding what to keep and what to throw away.

As for Part 2, I have music from other musicians that I’ve already plugged in to key passages. I’d say Part 2 is about halfway done, and it won’t be nearly as huge an effort as Part 1.

In fact, let me make a commitment to everyone – staff and fans – right here. I’ll have all the music for Episode 3 ready to lay into the master project by March 2. That’s two Saturdays from now. I know Garth already has most of the SFX done, so this means Ep 3 could be “in the can” in just a few weeks.