Start Scoring Now: The Only Tools You Need to Write for Film, Trailers, and Ads
So you’ve picked your DAW—whether it’s Logic, Ableton, Cubase, FL Studio, or Reaper. That’s your workspace. But your DAW alone isn’t going to get you the sounds or flexibility you need to compete in film, trailer, or production music.
Once you’ve got your DAW locked in, your next move is picking two foundational tools: a pro-level synth and a proper sampler. These are the go-to instruments the best of the best use to shape the sound of modern media music. Here’s where to start.
1. Your Synth: Serum by Xfer Records
If there’s one synth that can cover everything from cinematic atmospheres to aggressive trailer drops, it’s Serum. This isn’t just a dance music tool. It’s one of the most advanced, cleanest-sounding, and most flexible synths available. You can use it for gritty pulses, evolving textures, modern bass, soft plucks, anything.
Now with the launch of Serum 2, it’s even more powerful. The upgrade includes new features and improvements across the board, and it’s completely free for anyone who already owns Serum 1.
Serum is used every day in trailers, ads, and game scores because:
It sounds incredible out of the box
It’s highly visual and intuitive to use
It has deep modulation and routing options
Unlock your potential with Echelon
Want to save time and get trailer-ready sounds without building from scratch? Grab our Echelon pack for Serum Built for movies and trailers, fully tweakable, and designed to cut through in high-pressure mixes.
Echelon was created by our team at Rareform Audio—the same team behind some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster trailer campaigns—to give composers access to the kind of sounds that actually make it to screen. The reason this matters: if you want your music placed in trailers, ads, or other media, the quality of your sounds is everything. It’s not just about what you write, but what tools you use to build your tracks with.
2. Your Sampler: Kontakt (with Free Pro-Level Libraries)
With Serum as your main synth, Kontakt is your sound engine for everything else. It’s the industry standard for sampled instruments, from cinematic pianos to hybrid percussion and layered textures. The best part? You can get started with Kontakt Player, the free version, and expand your palette right away with Komplete Start—a free collection from Native Instruments that includes instruments, effects, and over 2,000 sounds to get you up and running fast. Just install it, load up the libraries, and you’re ready to start composing with pro-level sounds from day one.
Here’s a curated set of high-quality free Kontakt libraries to kickstart your toolkit.
Synth: Wavesynth EP Glow
A modern blend of electric piano and wavetable synth. Rich, expressive, and perfect for retro-future vibes or moody underscore. Sampled from the Prophet 6 and shaped into something uniquely cinematic.
Vocal: Jacob Collier Audience Choir
Captured from Jacob Collier’s global tour, this choir lets you play with real audience samples. It’s an organic way to bring human texture into your scores, with tools for harmony, vowel morphing, and motion control.
Piano: Foundations Piano
A soft grand piano built for cinematic use. The subtle dynamics and ambient layers give you instant emotional weight—perfect for introspective cues or delicate moments in a score.
Piano: The Felt Seiler
Warm and intimate, this upright piano has a felt-damped tone and subtle synth layers you can blend and reverse. It’s great for emotional cues, ambient scores, or anything that needs a personal feel.
Percussion: Taiko
Hard-hitting and cinematic. This free Taiko instrument gives you big, bold drum sounds with built-in FX controls—perfect for action cues and high-energy trailers.
Percussion: Heritage Percussion
Hand percussion sampled with care and character. Includes djembe, rattles, clavs, and more—ideal for layering organic rhythm into your productions.
Bottom Line
Once your DAW is in place, it’s not about collecting plugins. It’s about locking in the two tools that will do 90% of the heavy lifting: a pro-level synth and a solid sampler.
That’s what the top trailer and production composers are using—day in and day out.
Start with:
Serum (and our Echelon pack if you want to really unlock your potential)
Kontakt 8 or Kontakt Player loaded with these cinematic-quality free libraries
From there, it’s about creating. And sounding like you belong in the room.
Let’s Collaborate!
Need help building the tone for your production? Hit us up – the Rareform Audio team would love to help you create the perfect soundtrack that speaks to your audience and enhances the power of your visual storytelling to new heights!
Rareform Highlights
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