Written by Katrina Proctor, Content Manager at Midnight Music
If you’ve ever tried a film-scoring project in Soundtrap, you’ll know the slightly awkward part wasn’t usually the music. It was the video.
Students could create their soundtrack in Soundtrap, but then they had to export the audio and combine it with the picture in a separate video editor. It worked. But it also meant another program to explain, and another opportunity for everything to end up slightly out of sync, or to lose your students’ attention.
In August 2026, Soundtrap for Education announced that video scoring had been added directly inside the Studio. Students can watch a video as they compose, match musical events to particular moments and export the completed video and soundtrack together.
Much simpler.
What Is Soundtrap Video Scoring?
With Soundtrap video scoring, the video plays in a floating preview window while students work on the audio tracks underneath it.
They can add loops, software instruments, recorded performances, narration and sound effects, all while watching the picture. If the original video contains audio, Soundtrap places that audio on its own track. It can be muted, split, mixed or given effects just like other audio in the project.
Soundtrap isn’t trying to be a full video editor here. The useful bit is being able to compose against the picture without moving back and forth between two different programs. Once the project is finished, students can export the whole thing as an MP4.
If film scoring is new to you, this step-by-step film-scoring lesson for Soundtrap, BandLab and GarageBand will help with the teaching side of the project.
Students can line up music and sound effects with the video directly inside Soundtrap.
How to Start a Video-Scoring Project
Students can select a clip from Soundtrap’s built-in video library or import their own MP4 if their plan allows it. For a custom video, open the File menu in the Studio and select Import > Import video.
Then it works much like any other Soundtrap project. Students might search for loops, record an instrument, compose with a software instrument or add their own Foley and sound effects. I’d keep the first attempt short: around 30 to 60 seconds. Before anyone opens the loop library, ask students to identify three or four moments that need sound. Otherwise, the inevitable will happen. The browsing will take over, and the actual composing gets squeezed into the final five minutes.
This walkthrough with film-scoring professional Bradley Denniston demonstrates the complete process:
A Few Video-Scoring Ideas to Try
You don’t need to begin with a major film project. One short clip and a clear musical problem is enough.
- Score the same scene twice. Make one version peaceful and the other unsettling. This Midnight Music example shows just how differently one scene can feel with five different scores.
- Create a movie trailer. Students can map the important cuts, build tension and write a short character theme. The Composing a Movie Trailer lesson plan gives you a structure to work from.
- Try Foley and sound design. Record a pencil tap, zipper, closing door or piece of crumpled paper. Then add effects and see what else the sound can become. You’ll find more ideas in the Found Sound Challenge.
- Write a musical name tag. Students compose a short leitmotif for a character, play it for a classmate and revise it based on what the classmate hears in the music.
Planning to use your own footage? This collection of silent video clips for student film scoring may save you a last-minute search for something suitable.
Six Video-Scoring Projects, Already Planned
Soundtrap has done some of the planning for you too. Its collection of six free video-scoring projects is designed for students from elementary through secondary.
The collection includes Painting with Sound, One Sound, Four Worlds, Same Shot, Two Feelings, Decode the Score, The Musical Name Tag and The Trailer Cut.
Some focus on listening and describing mood. Others move into Foley, leitmotif composition or a complete trailer soundtrack. Printable handouts, teacher notes and a shared rubric are included, so you don’t need to build your first video-scoring unit from nothing.
Soundtrap’s six projects range from sound-description activities to a complete trailer soundtrack.
Check Your Soundtrap Plan First
Soundtrap’s current video-scoring information for teachers includes a few details worth knowing before you plan the lesson:
- Video scoring is included with every Soundtrap for Education plan and the free Education trial. It isn’t available through a personal Music Maker account.
- The trial includes Soundtrap’s built-in video library. Uploading your own video requires a paid Classroom, School or District plan.
- Custom videos must be MP4 files no longer than five minutes. If the import option is missing, an account administrator may need to turn it on.
- Trial users receive one SD export. Classroom and School plans export at 480p. District plans also offer 1080p.
- Students can use video scoring in a mobile web browser, but not in the Soundtrap mobile app. For a whole-class project, computers or Chromebooks are likely to be easier.
Because these details may change, it’s worth checking the official Soundtrap page before introducing the feature to a class.
If you’re still weighing up platforms, we’ve also put together a Soundtrap and BandLab comparison.
Want Some More Help With Soundtrap?
If you’d like a little more help getting started, take a look at the Soundtrap Video Scoring: Lesson Ideas and Tips for Success Webinar. It walks you through how the feature works and gives you real-life, lessons and must-have tips to try with your own students.
For more in depth composition instruction and advice, the GarageBand, Soundtrap and BandLab course takes you through music-production projects and classroom applications across all three platforms. It’s a good next step if you want more structured support rather than piecing everything together yourself.
For your first video-scoring lesson, though, keep it manageable. Pick one of Soundtrap’s built-in clips and give students a single task: change how the scene feels.
Then see what they come up with.
Want more resources for music tech teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my business Midnight Music. Yes – I’m a qualified teacher but I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through the Midnight Music Membership Community– a go-to online hub for tech-focussed professional development.
The Midnight Music Membership Community features:
- step-by-step training
- world-class online courses
- bite-sized learning through digital badges
- creative lesson ideas
It’s designed for teachers of all skill levels – from self-proclaimed ‘technophobes’ to intermediate and advanced tech users. You’ll learn how to integrate technology into your music teaching without the stress, so you can boost classroom outcomes, engage your students on a deeper level, and inspire a lifelong love of music!
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside the Midnight Music Community.
