I only changed 1 thing from my project prep: I used sounds I found online instead of sounds recorded by me to accompany the background music. This is because none of the recordings I took on my phone captured the sounds I had in mind. Instead, I found a royalty-free video on YouTube with river and bird noises. I ended up deciding to use this for the visuals and the sounds for the soundscape (cited below). I also put the audio and video together in DaVinci Resolve.
I made the background music using a piano VST in FL studio. The preset I used had a synth-choir sounding effect that I thought matched the theme of the soundscape; you can hear it after each note is played. I also made a separate track for tempo automation, allowing me to make dynamic changes to the tempo. The 2 main examples of this in the composition are right after the key change and at the crescendo around 2 minutes into the song, where I tried to emulate realistic piano runs.
For this project, I wanted to create something that I would listen to on my own. When I am doing homework or something I need to focus on, I like to listen to light instrumental music with busy melodies to keep my mind stimulated. I tried to incorporate that in the background music while leaving room for the other relaxing sounds of nature.
