Composing

Discuss, share content, offer tips and advice on hardware, software, style, strategies, process, work-flow and the business of scoring a film, video or theater production

Liked by Kerry Kennard

Navid Lancaster
AI is Doomed to Fail the Musical Turing Test

I agree with what is being said in this video. AI generated music is here and it's going to stay. It's good for some things and not good for others. Look at the video and let's discuss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8NyEjB_XeA...

Expand post

Liked by Navid Lancaster and 2 others

Kerry Kennard
New Dashboard at BMI

Any other composers/Songwriters see the new Dashboard at BMI ?

It’s really nice !

I went to BMI to write down other Metadata info this week.

Here’s the article; there’s a video how to use when you login to the new portal.

Navid Lancaster

Will check it out later today

Navid Lancaster

Okay just did it. Wow this is really different. Much easier to read and the Royalty Dashboard is very informative

Liked by Harri-Pekka Virkki and 3 others

Brian Gunter
Linked In…Yay, or Nay?

Hey all! I’m new to Stage 32 and I’m looking forward to chatting with your all and getting to know you! I wanted to get a quick poll and take the repertoire on whether working composers find LinkedIn to be a valuable resource I’ve seen other positions from he film industry, but mostly executives and...

Expand post

Brian Gunter

Linwood Bell that's hillarious, and rad!

Brian Gunter

Kerry Kennard hadn't considered IMDB Pro as a potential source for cold contact. Thanks for the suggestion!

Marsy Robinson

what i mean by hustle, hustle, hustle is just that you have to work hard to make and maintain relationships with people - gotta be in it to win it kind of thing.... linkedin is an important tool that matters to many executives and helps build your presence.

Brian Gunter

Thank you Marsy Robinson! I totally get it, and appreciate your clarifying your comment. Thank you for your perspective!

Cheers!

Julian Blackmore

Hey Brian, I find it useful as a research and networking tool - finding potential collaborators and learning about them, and maintaining relationships in a fairly low key way. Any jobs that do get pos...

Expand comment
Jeff Goldsmith
Hey!!

Hi Everyone! Want to chime in here quick and say hello. I’m a fairly new composer in the industry (3-4 years) and I’m looking forward to connecting and hopefully learning from you all!

Kerry Kennard

Have a great week ! - Kerry Kennard

Jeff Goldsmith

Hey Kerry! Good question. I use both- tonal and non-tonal. Often times my samples will start off as non-tonal—then through processing and manipulation—I will end up with tonal sounds-or vice versa.

In...

Expand comment
Daniel Husbands

Welcome Jeff Goldsmith You'll meet a lot of great people in the community. Be sure to drop a hello in the Introduce Yourself lounge as well.

Kerry Kennard

Jeff Goldsmith , I understand. The sound palette will differ depending on the scenes and the period set in the Film. Your ideas seem to be a little like.Hans Zimmer ! I saw Dune 2 about 2 weeks ago an...

Expand comment
Amanda Toney

Glad to have you here Jeff! Here’s a blog about composing you might like on Stage 32: https://www.stage32.com/blog/3343

Amanda Toney
12 great original film scores from rock musicians who became composers

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ fantastic Challengers score is the latest to demonstrate the magic that can happen when rockers go Hollywood

https://www.avclub.com/best-film-scores-rock-musicians-1851439236

12 great original film scores from rock musicians who became composers
12 great original film scores from rock musicians who became composers
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' fantastic Challengers score is the latest to demonstrate the magic that can happen when rockers go Hollywood
Maurice Vaughan
4 Ways Video Games Shaped My Approach To Composing

Shanika Freeman (music composer, playwright, and screenwriter) talks about four ways video games shaped his approach to composing in today’s blog.

www.stage32.com/blog/4-ways-video-games-shaped-my-approach-to-composing-......

Expand post

Florin Şumălan
HANS ZIMMER - COMPOSER - Team Deakins Podcast

"Composer Hans Zimmer (DUNE, INTERSTELLAR, THE LION KING) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Hans takes us back to his early career working the espresso machine for composer Stanley Myers and later making runs for director Bernardo Bertolucci on THE LAST EMPEROR before reflecting...

Expand post

HANS ZIMMER - Composer
HANS ZIMMER - Composer
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 85 - HANS ZIMMER - COMPOSER Composer Hans Zimmer (DUNE, INTERSTELLAR, THE LION KING) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast.
Elena Maro

There is not a single sound coming from Hans Zimmer creative space that doesn't work magnificently to the picture, and this is one of the reasons why, I think. Thank you so much for sharing, Florin Şu...

Expand comment
Brian Gunter

I absolutely adore Hans Zimmers work, and his whole collaborative way he and his trusted artists pull such passionate and moving works out of even the simplest forms!

Always bugs me when HZ gets hate o Expand comment
Brian Gunter

Amanda Toney Yes! He’s showing off a little, because he’s having a ball! But he absolutely creates space, collaborates with the filmmakers because they just love the stories so much, and lets the musi...

Expand comment
Brian Gunter

Just happened across this one today. Speaks with Zimmer’s primary sound designers and talks about the process of building the sound palette he has in his head BEFORE composing anything.

https://open.s...

Expand comment
Kerry Kennard

I saw Dune 2 a few weeks ago and saw Hans Wrote the music for the film. I replied in another post about this, and one person said there were a lot of Fx going on - and of course there were many scenes...

Expand comment
Amanda Toney
Composer Chat: Can You Make a Living as a Composer?

It's a question many musicians want to know. Can they make a living writing music? Whether that's scoring films, writing music for video games, composing for TV the question is much the same. Guy Michelmore has been doing just that for over thirty years so here is his take on this question. IN the v...

Expand post

Linwood Bell

I always enjoy Guy’s videos on music and new sample libraries that I might be interested in. Making a living as a composer isn’t easy, but it’s doable. I’ve never done anything but music all my life....

Expand comment
Elena Maro

Another great one from Guy Michelmore, thank you so much fro sharing, Amanda Toney!

Linwood Bell , I hear you :)...

Expand comment
Brian Gunter

Love Guy’s videos. For me, making a living and working with people who love the process as much as I do for the rest of my life would be the most rewarding thing! I’m not a public person so the Hollywood “fortune and glory” doesn’t appeal to me.

Arhynn Descy

I’m one of the tutors at Thinkspace Education. It’s a fantastic and very positive organisation.

Brian Gunter

Arhynn Descy awesome! Glad to hear good things from the inside!

Kerry Kennard
Learning composing from Books

Which books have you used in your Composing career ? I use “On the Track” for reference now.

Guerrilla Film scoring … I’ve read almost all the way through.

I recently Learned of “creative strategies in film Scoring”, by Ben Newhouse.

I know it’s Better to do,and make music, though thought I would ask...

Expand post

Kerry Kennard

Linwood Bell - Hmm, Nestico ? By Sam ?

So, Equal Intervals life changer ?

Who is the other of this book?

A lot of pages ??

Linwood Bell

The Complete Arranger by Sammy Nestico. Great book and I still reference it. The Equal Interval books were written by Spud Murphy. There are 12 of them. You have to study the course in order to get th...

Expand comment
Brian Gunter

I still try to learn from books as much as I can, but my brand of neuro-spicy makes it tough. I’m just a little bit jealous of those who absorb books like drinking water. Makes theory tough too, found...

Expand comment
Kerry Kennard

Brian, I hear you !! Neuro- Spicy ... ohh nice ! We all have our own writing styles. [from this one collab., we have been calling it, Neo-Classical (Piano) and Contemporary / percussion.

Sometimes when...

Expand comment
Brian Gunter

Kerry Kennard nice! Haha. I think I’ve heard of the “Guerilla Film Scoring Book”. May have to check it out! I like to read, but apparently my “style” is retention adverse to the page.

Like I’ll read a...

Expand comment
Amanda Toney
Oscars 2024 Q&A: Composer Laura Karpman talks scoring for film ‘American Fiction’

This was one of my favorite films up for an Oscar this year: https://dailybruin.com/2024/02/21/oscars-2024-qamerican-fiction

Oscars 2024 Q&A: Composer Laura Karpman talks scoring for film 'American Fiction' - Daily Bruin
Oscars 2024 Q&A: Composer Laura Karpman talks scoring for film 'American Fiction' - Daily Bruin
This post was updated March 10 at 8:21 p.m. Unlike Thelonious Ellison, Laura Karpman wants to be recognized for her acclaimed composition. The composer, who was previously a lecturer at the UCLA Schoo…
Maurice Vaughan

Great Q&A, Amanda Toney! Daily Bruin asked Laura Karpman "How do different instruments represent different characters in “American Fiction?" That's an interesting way of looking at music and character...

Expand comment
Ashley Renee Smith

What a cool lady! I love her approach to starting with piano as the backbone of her composition based on the main character's name!

Brian Gunter

Ashley Renee Smith I absolutely LOVE that kind of creative thinking! Thanks for sharing that!

Brian Gunter

Amanda Toney Love it! Thanks for posting!

I had a director recently who was amenable to me coloring a bit outside the lines, and it’s so much fun! When she heard the cue for the first time she got all...

Expand comment
Pamela Jaye Smith
Movie scores and interviews with composers on KPFK radio --

CinemaScore with John Santana

John Santana presents orchestral music from Hollywood film scores and interviews with the composers.

https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/schedule/

Schedule
Schedule
KPFK Pacifica Radio for Los Angeles, Southern California and the World
Kerry Kennard

Hi Pamela,

Is John Santana’s Orchestra music in this list ?

Is it near the top or bottom? Is there a certain date to look for?

Pamela Jaye Smith

Not sure about that, Kerry. I've not explored the whole site but I do enjoy listening to the show on KPFK.

Miquiel Banks

Thanks for posting PJ Smith (working on your new nickname)!!!!

Brian Gunter

Thanks for the tip!

Navid Lancaster
Article from the SCL (Socitety of Composers and Lyricists)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF INTRODUCES SCL-ENDORSED GENERATIVE AI COPYRIGHT DISCLOSURE ACT BILL

https://thescl.com/news/rep-adam-schiff-introduces-scl-endorsed-generati......

Expand post

Rep. Adam Schiff Introduces SCL-Endorsed Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act Bill - The Society of Composers and Lyricists
Rep. Adam Schiff Introduces SCL-Endorsed Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act Bill - The Society of Composers and Lyricists
The SCL thanks Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) for his introduction of the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act bill. This legislation is the result of discussions with creators, labor unions, technology...
Richard "RB" Botto

Love to see it.

Maurice Vaughan

I definitely think this bill is needed, Navid Lancaster. We can't wait until later to do something. Later will be too late. Thanks for sharing.

Amanda Toney

Love the political support!

Elena Maro

SCL board members have been working hard back and forth from LA to Washington in the past few months, they are really serving our community. A great organization to be part of. Thanks you for sharing,...

Expand comment
register for stage 32 Register / Log In