A dash of style, a sprinkle of sophistication, and just the right hint of guilty pleasure – that’s the essence the music captures in the explosive, mouth-watering finale of the Cookie Courier commercial. For this project, we were working with a track called Odyssey by an artist called Roary. It’s a great piece of music and tonally worked perfectly for the film – but it needed refining to fit seamlessly with our sound design and work better with the picture edit. We only had a full mix to work with in this instance as stems were not available, but despite that, there were still plenty of possibilities to get the musical ingredients to taste just right. Here’s the work our composer and music editor, Jack, did to enhance the ‘Cookie Courier’ commercial…
Refine the Storytelling
The first task was refining the placement of the music to enhance the story. After a purposefully boring and static opening (see Sound of Boredom blog) we finally see the star of the show – the cookies. Bringing the music in here marks a dramatic shift in the story. It signals to the audience that something exciting is happening; the main event has arrived, demanding attention and setting the stage for what’s to come.
Tension and Release
In the initial edit we received, the fullest section of the music hit as everyone grabbed the cookies. While impactful, we saw an opportunity to raise the stakes further and make the payoff even sweeter. We wanted to increase the tension, only giving you the release once we bit into the cookie and were transported to the brand new world of this taste sensation.
The music build-up follows the camera upwards, leading to the precise moment before the main character takes a bite. The release comes as the track bursts into its main section, perfectly synchronised with the leap into a world of exquisite taste. This approach not only enhanced the character’s journey but also drew the audience into their experience, making the transition all the more immersive.
Editing the track, moving the ‘drop’ backwards through precise editing to hit the right beat of the film.
Working With Sound
With the track hitting all the right places, it was time to get it working better with Jake’s sound design. The commercial is split into two contrasting worlds: the mundane monotony of life before cookies and the following exhilarating transformation. The synchronisation of music and sound in the film’s second half played a key role in intensifying the sensory experience, making it feel like you could almost taste the cookies.
“For a commercial of this length, with striking visuals and fast pacing, pinpoint accuracy in the soundtrack is key for making every moment count.”
A key part of our process – whether composing a bespoke score or, as in this case, working with existing music, is sharing tempo maps and click tracks with Jake, our sound designer. He can use these assets to time his sound effects to the music, using the grid provided by Jack – a great way of synchronising music and sound with pinpoint accuracy.
Here, Jake aligned the sounds of the cookie pulling apart, the crunchy bite, and the firework bang to the music’s tempo, adding a polished, satisfying touch to the vibrant world of the second half. This synchronisation heightens the excitement of the cookie’s transformative power while emphasising the stark contrast with the unstructured, lifeless opening sequence. Jake’s meticulous sound design brings both worlds to life with remarkable precision.
Tempo Map (blue line and dots), click track (Green CLX Track), Offline Edit Sound Effects (Red Tracks), Jake Sound Design WIP (Light Blue Tracks), Additional Musical Elements (Purple Tracks).
For a commercial of this length, with striking visuals and fast pacing, pinpoint accuracy in the soundtrack is key for making every moment count. With a carefully curated music edit that resonates perfectly with the sound design, we aimed to not only improve the storytelling but also create a deliciously immersive experience for an audience.
