Yulia Buras presses play. A character turns as his footsteps quicken and tension coils in the air. His hands wave around as piano notes intensify over the scene. Buras listens for the thumping of the walk, the pace of breath, and emotional temperature of the frame. Then the music and energy are locked in the same pulse with a calming chord.
It’s all in a day’s work for Buras, whose film composing sessions often include lots of musical experimentation. What we call the film score she calls her creative playground.
“Since I was a little girl, I liked fiddling with music, just sitting down at the piano and coming up with melodies,” she says. Today, those instincts live inside her digital audio work station, where she layers piano, ambiance, and texture to sculpt the emotional architecture of a film.
MELODIES IN THE MAKING
Originally from Samara, Russia, Buras began playing piano at six years old, taking special music education courses before eventually attending college for piano performance.
The signs were there early on. “I remember watching movies and going to my piano and trying to figure out how to play that song,” she recalls. She entered multiple music writing contests and found herself captivated by the act of creating rather than performing alone.
The “aha” moment for her came in 1990 when the movie The Maid was released, a film scored by Didier Vasser. “I liked the melodies and played it for others. That was the film that made me think, ‘I want to do that.’” She started writing music at 10 years old, and by 14, writing music for films became her north star.
Part of her journey in reaching it was pursuing deeper formal training at Berklee College of Music, where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Composition for Film, TV, and Video Games. There, the dream of film scoring met its technical reality.
“What surprised me the most was how much of a craft it is to score a film,” she says. “You don’t realize until you go into the details how much work is required to get the right tone, the right sound, and what the right tools are.”
Those tools can include Pro Tools and orchestral libraries like EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, Komplete by Native Instruments, Spitfire Audio, etc. And for a rich, truly organic performance, you can’t go wrong with live musicians, if budget allows. Buras herself has previously collaborated with multi-genre musicians and even recorded various production work with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra.
Whatever tools Buras uses, constant experimentation is part of the craft, consistently building and reshaping sound until it aligns with the emotional truth of a scene. Each project has its own set of variables: runtime, budget, director’s vision, narrative pacing, etc. Rarely is the work linear as creative blocks can occur.
“You can go completely blank,” she admits. When that happens, she leans into deeper collaboration, requesting additional guidance, creating temporary scores, or asking for shared references. “Sooner or later, you’ll hit the sweet spot.”
One of Buras’ major sweet spots was scoring the Mario DeAngelis-directed feature horror film, Limbo, for which she won the Best Horror Music Score award at the Horror Haven Film Expo in 2024.
NEW CHAPTER, NEW SOUNDSCAPE
Buras moved to Hawaiʻi with her family in 2022 and has since quickly expanded her footprint in the local film industry. She joined the Hawaiʻi Filmmakers Collective (HFC) and began working on local short films, many of which made waves in film festivals across the country and worldwide:
- Once In a Lifetime, a drama film (Dir. Rickey Brunty) that got accepted into the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival in 2024
- The Inherited, a horror film (Dir. Jennifer Varenchik) which won the Audience Award at the 2023 HFC 72-Hour Challenge and screened at the LA Skins Fest in 2024 at Hollywood’s famous TCL Chinese Theatre
- Down To Earth, a sci-fi drama film (Dir. Sho Araiba) that reached the People’s Choice Top 10 at the Brooklyn Sci-Fi Film Festival in 2025 and was accepted in the 2025 Art Giraffe International Film Festival in France
Her current projects are mainly centered around the horror, sci-fi, or drama genres, her favorites being piano-centered, ambient, and horror music with its range of sound effects. “It’s really moving, all of the epic scenes that make you cry, whether that includes a character death or a fight,” she says. “A lot of it is matched with really beautiful music.”
Her compass in choosing projects is rooted in values over technical aspects. “I go with my heart. [I ask myself] ‘Is it comfortable for you? Is it something you believe in? How great is the story?’” A big factor is how deep culture plays a part in the story. Buras, having been trained in the ethics of representation, knows when to step back. If the score requires culture knowledge she doesn’t hold, she prefers to collaborate or pass the work to someone with in-depth connection and expertise. “That’s the right thing to do. You don’t want to represent authentic music in an inauthentic way.”
For Buras, the real gem is the camaraderie. She says, “The local film community is absolutely amazing. I feel welcome. The spirit is really strong, and it’s easy to meet new people and collaborate.”
That sense of shared purpose is part of what fuels her work and her dedication to the local culture. “Everyone has lots of ideas, and they’re trying to keep the culture of the islands alive by showcasing stories of local people. When I’m included in those projects, it’s a huge honor. It means the world.”
That humility has earned her trust in the local scene. “I wasn’t born here or grew up here, but I’m happy to contribute in the way that I can to do my part in telling these stories,” she adds. “I’m truly humbled to be a small part of the local art community because I know how rich the culture is here.”
THE SOUND OF BECOMING
For Buras, success is defined in more ways than one. “If you’re not standing in front of a famous orchestra conducting the Star Wars score, it doesn’t mean you’re not successful,” she says. “Everybody finds it their own way. You are already very successful if you can keep doing your part.”
How do you find your way? Be patient, don’t compare yourself to others, hold on to positive moments, and keep believing in your path. “It’ll all come together, step by step,” she says.
Back at her work station, the scene ends as quickly as it began. Buras replays the moment she just scored, listening for the place where sound and story are aligned when suddenly, it all clicks. A private victory that no audience will see but will, one day, feel. The sweet spot. A moment every composer lives for. As more scenes come together, she embraces the work ahead, knowing every note can leave its mark.
