Devin Belanger’s Cinematic Nebula: Sculpting Movie Scores with BEAM & CUBE

The myth of the cinematic synth score often conjures images of cavernous studios, walls lined with analog giants, and a price tag that could fund a small film. Devin Belanger, however, invites us to dissolve that illusion. In his latest exploration, he reveals that the nebula of cinematic sound need not be built from rarefied hardware, but can be summoned from the digital ether with just a few carefully chosen VSTs.

This approach is not about limitation, but liberation. By focusing on the expressive potential of software instruments, Devin demonstrates that the emotional weight and grandeur of a Hans Zimmer or Stranger Things score is within reach for anyone willing to listen deeply and sculpt with intention. The room becomes infinite, the palette boundless, as we learn to drift inside the sound rather than merely play it.

Lunacy Audio’s BEAM and CUBE are not mere tools—they are portals to other sonic dimensions. Devin begins by feeding organic guitar through BEAM, transforming it with granular and time-warping modules. The result is a sound that shimmers and fractures, like light diffracted through morning fog. With just a few clicks, the guitar dissolves into a spectral playground, its edges blurred and reimagined.

CUBE enters as the architect of atmosphere, layering pads and keys that evoke the nostalgia of 80s and 90s romplers, yet with a crystalline fidelity that feels utterly modern. Each preset is a new landscape, a shifting aurora of timbre and resonance. Devin’s hands glide through these textures, letting the instruments breathe and bloom, showing us how even the simplest sound can become cinematic when treated as narrative material.

A cinematic score is not a single brushstroke, but a tapestry woven from countless threads. Devin underscores the importance of layering—drones, pulses, and textural fragments—each one a ghost in the machine, anchoring the composition and giving it magnetic depth. The drone, in particular, becomes the gravitational center, its pulse shaping the emotional tide of the piece.

BEAM and CUBE reveal their true power in this context: their sounds are designed to coexist, to stack without suffocating each other. Devin demonstrates how subtle tweaks and intuitive controls allow for endless combinations, each new layer adding dimension without clutter. The result is a soundscape that feels alive, immersive, and cinematic—a sonic world that invites us to step inside and lose ourselves.

No cinematic journey is complete without a heartbeat. Devin turns his attention to bass, seeking not just subsonic weight, but a moment of emotional arrival—a swell that signals the climax of the story. The bass is chosen for its character, neither too pure nor too complex, and is woven seamlessly into the tapestry, grounding the swirling textures above.

Melody, in this world, is often a ghost—suggested rather than declared. Devin crafts arpeggiated lines that float atop the drones, sometimes barely perceptible, yet always guiding the listener’s emotional arc. The interplay of bass and melody transforms the score from a static landscape into a living narrative, each note a ripple in the cinematic current.