Members HORSE Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 I'm a budding musician and I'd love to be able to compose for an entire orchestra and create the music that is the backdrop to a movie. Does anyone here compose film music themselves or know anyone who does? I'm specifically interested in what I can do now to increase my chances of being a successful film scorer. I'm 17 and have one year of high school left before I'm off to college. My main instrument was bass and then guitar, but if I worked my butt off, I could probably get into college to study piano. Would this be a smart choice if I want to score for films? Any help or comments would be appreciated. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Talent Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by HORSE I'm a budding musician and I'd love to be able to compose for an entire orchestra and create the music that is the backdrop to a movie. Does anyone here compose film music themselves or know anyone who does? I'm specifically interested in what I can do now to increase my chances of being a successful film scorer. I'm 17 and have one year of high school left before I'm off to college. My main instrument was bass and then guitar, but if I worked my butt off, I could probably get into college to study piano. Would this be a smart choice if I want to score for films? Any help or comments would be appreciated. thanks. I scored music for couple independent films, and student films.. I'll tell you straight up.. If you want ANY credibility as a composer you need to have the ability to read and write notation for specific instrumentation, a BS or Masters Degree in Music would'nt hurt... Also you gotta have the ability to look at the dailies and come up with several ideas that the director might pick 1 of that works for him.. Often you don't get to see {censored} beforehand.. just a bunch of back an forth emailing or voicemails saying to do this or that to your song. SO you have to be flexible, you need the ability to arrange music to video with frame accuracy to go with the editing, etc.. I did most of that recording and scoring for a film that placed in the top 5 at the Central Florida Film Festival in 1993, called La Luz. And a couple othe things.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P80 Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Mr. Talent how much did you get paid for scoring that film? How does that kind of small-scale film scoring pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SomeGuyNamedRob Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by P80 Mr. Talent how much did you get paid for scoring that film? How does that kind of small-scale film scoring pay? Don't count on making any money initially. You first few are going to be less about money, and much more about padding your portfolio and making a name for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Talent Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by P80 Mr. Talent how much did you get paid for scoring that film? How does that kind of small-scale film scoring pay? It really wasn't about the money.. I did it mainly for the experience.. I got paid, but not nearly what would've been appropriate for the services I provided.. as I did ALL the location recording, posting, editing, ADR, foley, Synclavier sound effects, in addition to half the music scoring (cause the music provided by the original people they hired wasn't appropriate)..months of prep.. 3 day location shooting in St. Augustine, Florida and 4 months of post production..Keep in mind this was a student film project that ended up with a cast and crew of over 40 people, and costing about $80,000 to produce!!! The project grew so big that Full Sail tried to pull the plug on it and actually worked against us by sabotaging our efforts and locking us out of the post production studios. So I mostly posted it in my apartment on my own equipment. Though I was also a student there, I was not in the class the produced the film. I read the script and volunteered to be a part of it a year before shooting began. That experience helped me get work for another film composer as his assistant engineer doing audio post for National Geographic, Discovery Communications, BBC, NASA, TLC, etc.. when I moved back to Maryland. Your first films won't pay very well, maybe enough to cover your expences, etc.. Film schools are a good place to start to get experience.. Good luck man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P80 Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Thanks Mr. Talent (Mr. Talent) That experience helped me get work for another film composer as his assistant engineer doing audio post for National Geographic, Discovery Communications, BBC, NASA, TLC, etc.. when I moved back to Maryland. 1. What does "audio post" actually mean? Another Q: I've been doing some composing at home with a piano and I'll maybe buy a synth and sampler later but I have a fear that if I start doing music for a couple of films for free and then I get a chance for a bigger movie, I run out of inspiration. I've never had a synthesizer before so I don't know though... Maybe it could inspire me to write some cool songs, dunno. Do you think I should save my "better" compositions for the (possible) bigger movie projects or... ? How about composing for ads; do you know anything about that? Seems like it would be easier to write music for TV ads because they are short and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SomeGuyNamedRob Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by P80 Thanks Mr. Talent 1. What does "audio post" actually mean? Another Q: I've been doing some composing at home with a piano and I'll maybe buy a synth and sampler later but I have a fear that if I start doing music for a couple of films for free and then I get a chance for a bigger movie, I run out of inspiration. I've never had a synthesizer before so I don't know though... Maybe it could inspire me to write some cool songs, dunno. Do you think I should save my "better" compositions for the (possible) bigger movie projects or... ? How about composing for ads; do you know anything about that? Seems like it would be easier to write music for TV ads because they are short and stuff. I'm by no means a professional, but I say write, record, and release your songs as they come to you. You can always stick a copy of each song/CD/whatever into a portfolio of sorts to show people what you can do. Waiting for the right project to come along is never a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P80 Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Waiting for the right project to come along is never a good idea. Why is that? Even if I have a "killer" song and I've already copyrighted it? Another Q: When I think about it, isn't most of the film scoring sort of ambient, background, slow and dwelling kind of music? The kind of music that "sets the mood" for the movie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Talent Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by P80 Thanks Mr. Talent 1. What does "audio post" actually mean? Another Q: I've been doing some composing at home with a piano and I'll maybe buy a synth and sampler later but I have a fear that if I start doing music for a couple of films for free and then I get a chance for a bigger movie, I run out of inspiration. I've never had a synthesizer before so I don't know though... Maybe it could inspire me to write some cool songs, dunno. Do you think I should save my "better" compositions for the (possible) bigger movie projects or... ? How about composing for ads; do you know anything about that? Seems like it would be easier to write music for TV ads because they are short and stuff. Audio post-production... can include the editing and mixing of the final product, mastering, layback to video, etc.. Just having songs isn't enough.. Most stuff is a work-for-hire situation where your off the shelf stuff will get you noticed but you'll be hired to compose something on the spot for a particular client.. your clients will most certainly direct you through most of the work.. Your working for them and you write what they want you to write.. If your LUCKY they my just want to buy the rights to use your existing song(s) but they'll want to chop em up to fit their vision. Yes we did national and international ads and films, many of which you may have seen. The National Geographic 10th Aniversery Special, BBC 4 part series - The Great Conquerors, American Express, Chevrolet -"did somebody say deal?", Bank of Bermuda, Carnival Cruises, C-Span announcements, and many corporate training videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Talent Posted June 18, 2002 Members Share Posted June 18, 2002 Originally posted by P80 Why is that? Even if I have a "killer" song and I've already copyrighted it?Another Q: When I think about it, isn't most of the film scoring sort of ambient, background, slow and dwelling kind of music? The kind of music that "sets the mood" for the movie? Like I said.. just having good songs is not enough.. And yes, ambient music and sound effects is part of it, though you may be hired to do only certain parts of the project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Talent Posted June 21, 2002 Members Share Posted June 21, 2002 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EerieDreamZ Posted July 2, 2002 Members Share Posted July 2, 2002 more bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted July 3, 2002 Members Share Posted July 3, 2002 Hey here's a broad question. I want to score music for video games. what do i do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EerieDreamZ Posted July 3, 2002 Members Share Posted July 3, 2002 Originally posted by veil Hey here's a broad question. I want to score music for video games. what do i do? Hey there Veil, First: go back and reread this entire thread and you'll find most of the essential info on how to get into scoring. Another way is to create a demo disc of what your good at, and send it to the companies that create the games. Its a longshot, but better than nothing. Perhaps the power of prayer will help as well? (you can laugh with me now;) ) Seriously though, get out there, make the music and send it to the peoples that will possibly hear it.One poster here wrote about writing "Jingles" as a good starter (which it is). Keep composing stuff even when you arent working and save it all. You never know when that happy lil tune you wrote 5 years ago will suddenly have new life for that Subaru commercial;) Doing so will increase your music stock to peruse through, improve your chops, and pass the time between jobs. I dont know if anyone has simply jumped right into scoring for video games (but I could be wrong). You have to get yourself established. Start small, but think BIG. My two cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SirGarrote Posted July 6, 2002 Members Share Posted July 6, 2002 Hey there. I'm currently studying music composition at the University of Michigan. I'll tell you right now, you will get NOWHERE in the film-scoring business if you do not know the correct notation for ALL of the orchestral instruments. So yes, I would say that getting a BM in theory or composition would be a great idea. I also agree that it is never wise to save your best ideas for later use. You just never know whats going to come up and what songs of yours are going to get noticed. And if you want to study at the college level, start writing now. The wider variety of music within your portfolio the better. Nowadays, the admissions boards even like seeing an electronic piece along with "classical" material. As far as the "getting paid" goes...don't expect much at all at the beginning. A reputation comes WAY before the money. And unfortunately, the only way to build a reputation comes from doing low-paying (if at ALL paying) jobs. You just have to start somewhere though.Hope this helps! -Garrett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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