Tested recipe · Hybrid score

Title Theme Pitch Cue

A 90-second cinematic title theme good enough to win a pitch, cheap enough to make twenty of.

Model: Suno v5.5
Date tested: 2026-07-08
Tested by: Theo Andrade
Usable rate: 12 of 20 (60%)

The batch, run by run

Filled squares are usable takes. Reliability 4/5.

The exact prompt

[Cinematic score, 72 BPM, D minor] Slow string ostinato building from solo cello to full section, distant taiko pulse, sparse piano motif of four notes, restrained brass swell at the climax only, melancholic and vast, instrumental

Exclusions (load-bearing)

choir, epic trailer braams, electronic drums, major-key resolution

The evidence

Real Suno generations, matched to this recipe's genre and tempo. Each one links to its source.

keeper

Red Dust (Title Theme)

72 BPM · D min · 2:09

Winning cue · Pitch version. The shipped version was re-orchestrated with live strings.

usable

Satellite Grief

66 BPM · B min · 3:16

Fork result · Same recipe slowed to 66 BPM for a documentary pitch.

Known failure modes

Trailer braams appear despite exclusion when 'vast' and 'epic' co-occur
Piano motif changes between sections instead of repeating
Climax lands at 50 percent and the back half sags

The repair prompt

Same cue, but repeat the identical four-note piano motif throughout, hold the climax until the final third, and keep all brass out until that climax