Scores and Soundtracks
Denise Santos earned a degree in Communications Technology Management from the Ateneo in 2010. Pursuing her passion for music and gaining advice from Nonong Buencamino, she got a certificate in Music Production from Berklee Online in 2012 and a certificate in Film Scoring from UCLA Extension in 2015.
Currently, she does some work at Bleeding Fingers which was co-founded by Sony/ATV Music and the award-winning film composer, Hans Zimmer. She has also played in various bands playing the keyboard. Her music has roots in pop, rock and orchestral music.
Santos has been scoring since 2011 when she worked for the music of Agos, together with Kai Honasan. The short documentary earned recognition locally and internationally. From there, she had her first feature project, Suntok sa Buwan, composed and scored for quite a number of movies including The Diplomat Hotel, Gaydar, Gemini, Mga Alaala ng Tag-ulan, and Mga Anino ng Kahapon. She also scored for different TV programs for GMA, CNN Philippines, FOX, and National Geographic.
Her most recent work is scoring for and composing the soundtrack of Baka Bukas. The film was directed by Samantha Lee, who also directed and wrote Agos. It is a story about a gay girl who is out to everyone except to the person she loves, her best friend. Denise Santos’ brilliant music and flawless scoring heightens emotions already prompted by the film. This audio performance allowed the film to win Best Sound in the 2016 Cinema One Originals Film Festival. The film’s soundtrack was solely composed by Santos with the exception of two tracks, Car Song and Masks, which she co-composed with BP Valenzuela.
Looking at the amount and quality of Santos’ pieces, it is disheartening that she, along with the many other film scorers, do not get the recognition and praise they deserve. Audiences tend to look past the effort that has been put into scoring and just focus on the visuals. One can hope that these people would be recognized through brilliant works by people like Denise Santos. Her growth as a scorer and composer throughout the years only proves a bright future ahead and it would be exciting to see and listen to her projects.
Photos taken from: https://soundcloud.com/denthantoth (Denise Santos' very own Soundcloud https://cdn3.clickthecity.com/images/movies/poster/600/15934.jpg http://images.gmanews.tv/webpics/2016/12/640_Denise_Santos_2016_12_09_11_24_31.JPG