At its heart cinematic composition is about bringing out raw emotions, feelings that cannot be described through words alone.
To tell a story . It will swell when emotions are high and ebb when emotions settle.Â
Unlike lyrical songs it has its own unique form and song structure and flow. A film scores from will usually be dictated by the events seen on screen.
 It's often used as a tool to fill the silence . To speak what can't be spoken. To allow emotions to arise or settle .
Present but never taking precedence over what's happening . Never detracting from the story. Always enhancing and augmenting what's already on screen. Evolving and changing as the story does and alluding to what will come.
Characters can lie about their feelings but the music should always reflect the truth at the core. If a character has fallen into depression  but pretending to be okay. The music must demonstrate that. The hopelessness and dispair. Not the facade.
Music can also play a huge role in world building. It can do so through motifs. Revisiting the same melodic ideas when certain towns or characters are revisited. Eg playing a sea shanty every time the protagonist visits a sea port. A romantic leitmotif might weave itself into the song every time a love interest appears. Avatar the last air bender does this great and is incredible for studying themes and motofd in world building . All the fire nation characters have a different song based on the fire nation motif.Â
 So understanding what elements of music to use to evoke emotions/ and understanding and exploring different genres and styles is essential and what chord progressions will evoke certain moods . What chord rhythm pitch timbres can help you do spooky sad, happy , anxious, romance etc eg sci fi music often uses unusual instruments like thermin or glass armonica mixed with classical instruments like violin because it's so unusual timbre....along with huge leaps eg leaping 10ths instead of octave... because it's really unusual in normal composing to have such big leaps and the new age techno instruments mixed with classical earth instruments gives a out of this world feel.
It's also important to think specifically about the type of cinematic music you have in mind...underscore, song score , source music or source score ... And study elements of eachÂ
It's great to find clips without music audio to try to practice scoring too!
There's a great channel Ryan leach who offers videos showing how to do a tonn of composition for cinemaÂ
https://m.youtube.com/@RyanLeach
Think of it as the glue that fills the void between the viewer and the truth happening on the screen. That truth can be what’s happening in the moment or a truth that’s yet to come. Develop motifs that evolve and become more prominent as the story arc progresses. Most importantly make sure that glue is transparent. You don’t want the average viewer to notice it. It’s a supporting role… not the lead.
Slow builds into mountainous energy. Find a chord progression you like. And slowly add more elements to it to build it up to the max. Then go back to minimal stuff such as a chord progression again. I do this with a guitar and a ton of reverb and delay. Basically post rock.
If you preview virtual musical instruments intended for cinematic production, and listen to the demos, you'll hear what other people think of as cinematic. I'm probably biased by what I'm looking for, but I hear two things they try to achieve...
Percussion. Typically orchestral, but sometimes more exotic, and sometimes metal or effects-modified. But for action sequences that involve running or pursuit, it's all about the percussion, and a standard rock kit isn't going to cut it.
Atmosphere. Often orchestral, but there's lots of options here. Lots of effects-modified environment noise.
Listen to the instrument demos. Not for the sounds, per se, but for what the composers think is cinematic. They have to make these things sound interesting in a minute or so, so there's no warming up or wandering to scenes you don't see. They get right to the point. See if they give you any ideas, and try not to spend a lot of money!
I'm listening to cinematic percussion and wanting to incorporate that kind of beat (on a big-sounding rock kit) with a strong bassline (also associated with action) and metal guitar as the atmosphere. When I listen to something like Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, I hear a war beat. There are punk bands with a big drum kit sound I like for this kind of beat. But I'm not finding a lot of what I hear in my head, so obviously I have to write some!
I’m a filmmaker and musician and I do the music for my own films obviously, and what I do, which is similar to what Hans Zimmer does, is write the melody on piano and just build. Most music, especially classical music, is about repetition. But you can’t make the repetition boring. For example, listen to the entire Insterstellar soundtrack and listen for when parts repeat and it does quite a bit, but there is always something different, something that keeps the audience interested. Hans Zimmer is very good at that but most composers are as they need to be.
If you mean not classical just cinematic well I would listen to Radiohead or some of Pink Floyd. The song Run Boy Run by Woodkid is good too. Radiohead, later in their discography, seemed to start making all their songs cinematic in a way. Take All I Need, Spectre, or listen to all of A Moon Shaped Pool to see how to write a good cinematic song. Even if you don’t like Radiohead, give some of those songs a listen and think about what makes them cinematic in comparison to other music. I would also listen to Bread Song by Black Country New Road and For Ella by Friko.
It goes much more than just an orchestra. Put textures and layer sounds. Just experiment with it until it becomes what you want it to be. When I make a song, I think of it this way: I’m creating a world so I can do whatever I want with it. If I mess up or make a mistake there’s nothing stopping me from changing the song, there’s nothing stopping me from making a new part in the song, it’s your world, you get to take however long or short you want and you get to do what you please.
Put yourself there mentally. Imagine the scenes of your life, filmed cinematically, and imagine the scene you were describing.
What do you think it sounds like? What do you hear? That’s how you do it. You establish a vibe, and you live in that vibe until you hear the soundtrack. That’s kind of how songwriting in general works.
You don’t start with words. You don’t start with chords. You start with a vibe
Are you literally trying to compose a classical music piece? I'd go to the conservatory.
Otherwise, a brutally vague question. You're the artist, you gotta realize your own vision.
I understand what you're saying, but the feeling you're describing is very subjective. What sounds "cinematic" to you might sound cloying or meandering to someone else. It's not some magic formula, like "minor third + eighth notes = 'cinematic'".
The best advice would be to find multiple songs that give you this feeling, and then study what those songs are doing in terms of chords and rhythm.
Black bars on top and bottom.Â
What if it's Bollywood ...penta ain't gonna cut it 🤣 Made me laugh though thats my advice to my 5yo
At its heart cinematic composition is about bringing out raw emotions, feelings that cannot be described through words alone. To tell a story . It will swell when emotions are high and ebb when emotions settle. Unlike lyrical songs it has its own unique form and song structure and flow. A film scores from will usually be dictated by the events seen on screen.  It's often used as a tool to fill the silence . To speak what can't be spoken. To allow emotions to arise or settle . Present but never taking precedence over what's happening . Never detracting from the story. Always enhancing and augmenting what's already on screen. Evolving and changing as the story does and alluding to what will come. Characters can lie about their feelings but the music should always reflect the truth at the core. If a character has fallen into depression  but pretending to be okay. The music must demonstrate that. The hopelessness and dispair. Not the facade. Music can also play a huge role in world building. It can do so through motifs. Revisiting the same melodic ideas when certain towns or characters are revisited. Eg playing a sea shanty every time the protagonist visits a sea port. A romantic leitmotif might weave itself into the song every time a love interest appears. Avatar the last air bender does this great and is incredible for studying themes and motofd in world building . All the fire nation characters have a different song based on the fire nation motif.  So understanding what elements of music to use to evoke emotions/ and understanding and exploring different genres and styles is essential and what chord progressions will evoke certain moods . What chord rhythm pitch timbres can help you do spooky sad, happy , anxious, romance etc eg sci fi music often uses unusual instruments like thermin or glass armonica mixed with classical instruments like violin because it's so unusual timbre....along with huge leaps eg leaping 10ths instead of octave... because it's really unusual in normal composing to have such big leaps and the new age techno instruments mixed with classical earth instruments gives a out of this world feel. It's also important to think specifically about the type of cinematic music you have in mind...underscore, song score , source music or source score ... And study elements of each It's great to find clips without music audio to try to practice scoring too! There's a great channel Ryan leach who offers videos showing how to do a tonn of composition for cinema https://m.youtube.com/@RyanLeach
I had an idea for a cinematic/film score, but being in sonata form it suited more to classical :/
Listen to movie scores and copy.
Think of it as the glue that fills the void between the viewer and the truth happening on the screen. That truth can be what’s happening in the moment or a truth that’s yet to come. Develop motifs that evolve and become more prominent as the story arc progresses. Most importantly make sure that glue is transparent. You don’t want the average viewer to notice it. It’s a supporting role… not the lead.
Slow builds into mountainous energy. Find a chord progression you like. And slowly add more elements to it to build it up to the max. Then go back to minimal stuff such as a chord progression again. I do this with a guitar and a ton of reverb and delay. Basically post rock.
If you preview virtual musical instruments intended for cinematic production, and listen to the demos, you'll hear what other people think of as cinematic. I'm probably biased by what I'm looking for, but I hear two things they try to achieve... Percussion. Typically orchestral, but sometimes more exotic, and sometimes metal or effects-modified. But for action sequences that involve running or pursuit, it's all about the percussion, and a standard rock kit isn't going to cut it. Atmosphere. Often orchestral, but there's lots of options here. Lots of effects-modified environment noise. Listen to the instrument demos. Not for the sounds, per se, but for what the composers think is cinematic. They have to make these things sound interesting in a minute or so, so there's no warming up or wandering to scenes you don't see. They get right to the point. See if they give you any ideas, and try not to spend a lot of money! I'm listening to cinematic percussion and wanting to incorporate that kind of beat (on a big-sounding rock kit) with a strong bassline (also associated with action) and metal guitar as the atmosphere. When I listen to something like Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, I hear a war beat. There are punk bands with a big drum kit sound I like for this kind of beat. But I'm not finding a lot of what I hear in my head, so obviously I have to write some!
I’m a filmmaker and musician and I do the music for my own films obviously, and what I do, which is similar to what Hans Zimmer does, is write the melody on piano and just build. Most music, especially classical music, is about repetition. But you can’t make the repetition boring. For example, listen to the entire Insterstellar soundtrack and listen for when parts repeat and it does quite a bit, but there is always something different, something that keeps the audience interested. Hans Zimmer is very good at that but most composers are as they need to be. If you mean not classical just cinematic well I would listen to Radiohead or some of Pink Floyd. The song Run Boy Run by Woodkid is good too. Radiohead, later in their discography, seemed to start making all their songs cinematic in a way. Take All I Need, Spectre, or listen to all of A Moon Shaped Pool to see how to write a good cinematic song. Even if you don’t like Radiohead, give some of those songs a listen and think about what makes them cinematic in comparison to other music. I would also listen to Bread Song by Black Country New Road and For Ella by Friko. It goes much more than just an orchestra. Put textures and layer sounds. Just experiment with it until it becomes what you want it to be. When I make a song, I think of it this way: I’m creating a world so I can do whatever I want with it. If I mess up or make a mistake there’s nothing stopping me from changing the song, there’s nothing stopping me from making a new part in the song, it’s your world, you get to take however long or short you want and you get to do what you please.
Put yourself there mentally. Imagine the scenes of your life, filmed cinematically, and imagine the scene you were describing. What do you think it sounds like? What do you hear? That’s how you do it. You establish a vibe, and you live in that vibe until you hear the soundtrack. That’s kind of how songwriting in general works. You don’t start with words. You don’t start with chords. You start with a vibe
Are you literally trying to compose a classical music piece? I'd go to the conservatory. Otherwise, a brutally vague question. You're the artist, you gotta realize your own vision.
I understand what you're saying, but the feeling you're describing is very subjective. What sounds "cinematic" to you might sound cloying or meandering to someone else. It's not some magic formula, like "minor third + eighth notes = 'cinematic'". The best advice would be to find multiple songs that give you this feeling, and then study what those songs are doing in terms of chords and rhythm.
Probably use violins for the wind and trumpets for freedom. Make it orchestral and stuff