Composing

I agree with Joel and Brian.

Some people have suggested looking at producers on IMDBA & contact them - or someone in their office.

I’ve contacted a lot of people on LinkedIn as well, esp people in Executive positions and other people making films / other composers. I have.a good repore’ w one lady who is a composer; some of these are good for helping them and sharing life experiences which is a win-win experience.

hustle hustle hustle...

Marsy Robinson - AI is a better Hustler tool

Van McCoy learned the hustle from me.

Marsy Robinson - I don’t move as fast, ha ha

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 Şumălan !

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 on the other platforms.I get having an opinion that his stuff isn’t your cup of tea, but to be so negative? The guy has done something right, obviously. Just be happy for him and the army of composers that he’s helped propel into their own careers!

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 music shine when it should and then gets out of the way. (Chef’s kiss)

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.spotify.com/episode/05eZADjof1FBFQK6XuYR9v?si=M5yQG8gHQyaff...

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 where it’s needed.

Hans did create an Environment for many scenes within this Genre. One piece of music I still remember, had a nice orchestrated piece of music along with Djembes in the background, made for a great fit between the two scenes. Djembes usually have a dry sound, so the music fit nicely within the Sand dunes / sand scenes.

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. There’s never been a “ side job or a plan b”. I have to wear a few hats and be able to switch gears and do it right now, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s music and no one gets hurt.

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

Linwood Bell , I hear you :)

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.

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

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

Linwood Bell - Hmm, Nestico ? By Sam ?

So, Equal Intervals life changer ?

Who is the other of this book?

A lot of pages ??

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 the books. so you can't just go out and buy them on Amazon. Lots of folks studied with Spud. Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Q, Gerald Wiggins, Bennie Maupin, Dave Blumberg, Dell Hake, etc. You've heard Spud your whole life....he did Three Blind Mice for The Three Stooges. :) He had a great harmonic sense and understanding of all things music. He did lots of movies back in the day that required a unique set of chops. Crazy good composer/arranger......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUhhKELUxB0

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 a groove learning my own way. I can keep up when looking at a score, but don’t ask me to analyze it with traditional terminology.

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 I'm writing, I think like you do, if I understand your style, no theory really needed or analyzing - as we go for how it works with the scene / film / short or long form. I don't absorb books like drinking water, lol :~) but I did read a lot of the Guerilla Film Scoring book in almost a year. Most chapters (near beg.) has a video on Vimeo - kind of nice to have access to some of this (general) information.

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 script and love it! But I won’t retain it. Chopping it up (digitally

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.

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!

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

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 excited and was asking “What’s that killer sound??? What did you do??”. And the momentary silence when I sent her a picture of the shovel and hammer from my garage! I live for those moments!

Cheers!

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?

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

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

Thanks for the tip!

Love to see it.

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.

Love the political support!

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, Navid Lancaster

Sure be nice if there was a S32 meetup here in Houston

So start one @joelirwin

Joel Irwin, happy to help you get one going in Houston! I host one here in Austin for the Austin and San Antonio creators.

ashley - there is already one very large film industry meetup group in Houston. Usually has has 50 to 100 attendees. Many are newbees. Perhaps that is all that is needed. I just thought that having one connected to stage 32 would be nice. Perhaps the best solution could be a inter-connection between the two. Love to find out more. wanna chat?

I'll reach out to you over email and we can set a time to connect, Joel Irwin!

My condolences to Dan Wallin's family, Navid Lancaster. He worked on big projects. Some of them classics.

Daniel Husbands sooooo true about emotional communication on screen and music - and when it’s baaaaaad, it’s painful.

Joel Irwin I check out your links - there was some awesome sound — not just music - but sound choices that really elevated the visuals. Thanks for sharing.

Emily J ,

You’re so right - I’m back from seeing

Dune 2 and Hans Zimmer did a great (art) work with all the scenes, and emotions going on throughout the movie.

I mentioned to someone who commented,

“ …

Yes, Hans Zimmer did a great work / orchestration and in some places great turnarounds and tucks into the next scene(s).

(Quiet scenes)

Yes - great plot too ! All the regular things one would like from Dune is wrapped within the power, religious, human relationships, and the love theme throughout.

I respectfully disagree - not on the movie (and the book). But I just saw Dune 2 and thought the music is full of effects, but nothing sticks in my mind. You could play me some parts and I could not recognize that it is out of Dune. In my understanding I want the film music to be more than illustrating the scenes and emphasize the emotions.

I do remember one scene where the music (orchestra) seemed more like music w Djembes in the background- quite nice.

Hi Elena

Great information!

What does “Time Keep” mean ?

Different music recorded during the recording ?

Thanks again for this Blog !

K. Kennard

-

- …have somebody who can be with you while you are recording, provide them with a breakdown of the session, so they can time keep for you, while you can stay completely focused on the session.

Thank you, Ashley Renee Smith :)

Kerry Kennard your recording time is strictly limited to the time you have booked, so when you plan your session you need to do a projection of how many minutes of music you can reasonably get recorded for every hour ( it may vary based on the type of music and if you are recording all together or you will need some extra time to record some instruments separately) . With a reasonable projection ( and this comes with experience), you go into the session knowing that to stay within the time frame of your booking you will have to record a certain amount of music per hour. For this purpose, it is good to have someone keeping track of the amount of music that is getting recorded in real time, so that, for example, if you ask for an extra take and there is not enough time for it, you are reminded you need to move on. Or, another example, if you would like one more pick up the person keeping time can tell you if you are on track and can go for it or not. I usually check in from time to time with the person who's taking care of time keeping, so that I know where I stand. It helps in balancing efficiency and quality of the recordings (and reduces the stress of "bringing the score home")

I'm late to the party, but...That was great Elena Maro ! Thanks much for sharing your experience with us here!

Thanks so much to you for reading , Linwood Bell :)

Hi, Amanda Toney. The list didn't show up.

I don't think the link you wanted to share was properly pasted, Amanda Toney. It disappeared on you.

I'd love to see this list, I wonder if Elmer Bernstein is on it. He did one of my favorites, Cecil B. DeMille's Ten Commandments (1956). Love that sound.