Modern Courting is a dating and texting advice brand. I direct their Shorts, which go out daily on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and handle the voiceover, score and sound design: I cast the narrator, write, direct and produce the narration, cut a score to it for every episode, built the house set of interface sounds, and deliver a final mix tuned for phone speakers.
Director and sound lead, 2026 to present
Modern Courting, 30 s ShortMusic direction and mix
Cue map against the narration: full at stage one, thinner at every stage, almost silent under “Delivered”, warmth back on “But”, and a major chord landing on “Saturday”, the last word.
Built in the edit from three takes, every cut on a note onset, set about 24 LU under the voice.
Modern Courting, 55 s ShortMusic direction and mix
Sparse struck chords under the setup, a build from the problem line, the peak under the worst moment, then a cut to silence in a tenth of a second before the turn.
A lighter release on “But” that closes on “goes”, the last story word, with the voice band carved out under the key lines.
Modern Courting, 20 s ShortMusic direction and mix
Tension from the first frame, the ensemble stops for the held breath before “but he waits”, a brighter lift under the fix, and the final chord lands on “minutes”.
Three sections of one piece joined on short crossfades, so its own ending lands on the last word.
Modern Courting, 56 s ShortMusic direction and mix
Solo piano under the hook, strings building through each setback to the peak, near silence before the turn, then a warmer major-key section that resolves on “place”.
Chord attacks softened so nothing lands loud on a key word; remixed 4 dB lower after review.
Modern Courting, 20 s ShortSound design and mix
Effects only on events that matter: a message arrives, a highlight draws on, the number lands, the scene changes.
Second pass: seven quieter sounds instead of nine, about 5 dB further under the voice, with the keyboard kept at its earlier level because it read better.
Modern Courting, every chat videoSound design
Seven sounds, one per recurring event: her message, his message, a card, a highlight, a number, a scene change, the last line.
Levelled to the same peak, tuned to one key and panned slightly with the picture, so a cue list needs no gains.
Modern Courting, 20 s ShortVoice direction and edit
Narration shaped to one arc: hook, problem, a held breath, the fix, the payoff.
The turn line, “but he waits”, read softest; pauses placed by plan instead of trimmed.
Modern Courting, 55 s ShortVoice direction and edit
A 1.2 s pause before “But that night”, and “wait, are you nervous?” read as the slowest, softest line of the take.
Script and timing locked before the music, so the cue map could follow the voice.