Hi all, I have started composing orchestral music and want to produce an album of 10 songs. I have finished 2 songs with Cubase 15 Pro, the EastWestwood library (with Beyond the Storm template), and used plugins like Neutron, Ozone and Aurora reverb to create the modern trailer sound. I heard that my song sounded very orchestral, which is good, but I wanted to make it more "modern trailer like". However, I realized that this is hard and I have no experience as music engineer. So I need advice on how the setup all the usually plug ins, so that I can focus on "composing music", which is my strength and less on "mixing", which just is not my focus. I saw that Alex is offering a template for Cubase 14, which has all the plugins established. Is this template like very well organized so that I can focus on composing music, or is it a start and it would need a lot of tweaking per song? Would the plug ins from the template work with my available tools? Thanks a lot. Luka

I want to give you a quick recap of what we have covered in our live coaching call, so you can get the key insights even if you couldn't make it. Think of these posts as your cheat sheet for each session. Let me know in the comments if you find this helpful! If you're not part of Audio Artist Rise yet and posts like this make you curious about what we do in the live calls, check out the program. We do multiple live coaching sessions every week covering everything from trailer music production to game music careers, business strategy, and more. You can find all the details on the Audio Artist Rise page. Now let's get into it! 🎬 MUSIC PRODUCTION FEEDBACK, AI IN MUSIC, AND CLIENT WORK STRATEGIES This call covered a wide range of topics, from detailed track feedback on hero trailer music and fantasy scores, to practical demo reel optimization, the role of AI in the music industry, setting up professional domains, and how to price your first paid game music gig. Here is everything broken down. 🎛️ MIXING AND MASTERING: CONTEXT MATTERS Different genres and use cases demand different mastering approaches. A trailer track might sound "hot" to one listener and perfectly punchy to another. The key is understanding your target context. General guidelines: - Trailer music can sit around minus 8 to minus 10 LUFS, with peaks hitting harder in finale sections - Game music, especially ambient or in game tracks, should focus on balance and consistency over raw loudness - When a track sounds "too hot," it often means the limiting or clipping is too aggressive, making the sound indirect and fatiguing - Always compare your master to reference tracks in the same genre before making final decisions 🎨 DEMO REEL AND PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION Your demo reel is your first impression, and small details make a huge difference when sending applications to companies. Profile and branding tips: - Your profile picture should match your target genre. If you are pitching epic trailer music, a photo with an acoustic guitar sends the wrong signal. Use something that looks cinematic or production focused