Screen Scoring Composers and CAS Journalism Director Collaborate on Award-Winning Documentary

Screen Scoring master's students Sophia Stone and Pierce Constanti (both MM 2021) have been hard at work scoring films during their time in the program and through what has been an unprecedented year for remote collaboration. The two composers met director Laura Zéphirin, a student at the NYU Journalism Institute, through the Screen Scoring program’s ongoing partnership with Marcia Rock’s CAS program in Broadcast Journalism. Upon their meeting, the duo teamed up to score Zéphirin’s thesis documentary, Making Waves.

Making Waves is a deep dive into the big ecological questions facing humanity as the world’s oceans are depleted of marine life. The documentary follows activist Lamya Essemlali, who is dedicated to protecting marine turtles from being poached in the Indian Ocean and Pilot Whales from being hunted in the North Atlantic.

The film has enjoyed wide viewership at festivals in the US and overseas and has garnered both a Special Jury Prize from the 2020 BAFTA Student Film Awards and a Bronze award from the 2020 Student Academy Awards. Sophia and Pierce’s music has also received specific attention, receiving a Nomination for Best Score from the 2021 Short and Sweet Film Festival.

Watch the trailer

Other NYU Journalism and Screen Scoring collaborations include Edward Underhill’s (MM 2011) score for To The Light directed by Yuanchen Liu, which won the 2011 Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award.