It’s rare when so many disparate occurrences coincide to create a singular, monumental event. The creation of life is a prime example of this.
But what if the end of a life could spark the chain of events that would lead toward an incredible new beginning?
Such is the case for ‘The Way Up,’ an animated short film in which its score gave Louisiana Scoring its first original film score debut in the cinematic world.
A Vision Brings Worlds Together:
For context, The Way Up is a film created by film maker Drew Garcia and was inspired by the now-famous angler fish that took the world by storm at the beginning of 2025 when it rose to the surface as it was nearing the end of its life. Drew quickly made a much shorter version with AI prompting alongside other software to see what was possible with this new technology. His initial viral success on social media inspired him to make a 3-minute short a few months later with a captivating voice over by Jane Merrow and an incredible score by Robin Hoffmann. Keep in mind that Robin is in Germany, while Drew is in Idaho.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Scoring had been testing its new studio for months – having practice sessions with various sections of the orchestra all while refining its workflow and recording methodology. However, the studio had yet to record a full orchestra and was scheduled to do so right around the time the score for ‘The Way Up’ needed to be recorded. Robin Birner, a mixing engineer from Germany who had been working with Louisiana Scoring, connected the studio with Robin Hoffmann, and the rest is history.
A Magical Recording Session:
Drew, wanting to share the magic of film scoring with his two sons, flew from Boise, Idaho all the way down to Lafayette, Louisiana to attend the scoring session. According to Drew, the performance made him “speechless,” going on to say “it was masterfully performed by the Louisiana Scoring Orchestra. Sharing the experience with my boys was the cherry on top.” That’s certainly the sort of experience we want everyone involved with Louisiana Scoring to have. Robin Hoffmann said, “it was an absolute pleasure working on this emotional film and bringing it to life with the spectacular performance of the Louisiana Scoring Orchestra, who poured their hearts and souls into performing the score.”
Reception and Future:
Since the scoring session, the film has debuted and gone viral on multiple social media platforms, has been received incredibly well by its audiences according to metrics, raved about in podcasts, and it has given life to the newly formed Louisiana Scoring studio. What a beginning to the story.
Watch The Way Up on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube! Follow Louisiana Scoring for our next adventure!
-David Boudreaux, Louisiana Scoring, Studio Program Manager
