Hi! I finally have gotten over the anxiety of making a showreel of some recent compositions. Dreading that I had to rearrange and putting all my pieces over to my newest template to make them sound "coherent", I just grabbed all the mp3s I could find and smashed them together in a new logic file.
As it is against the rule to self-promote in this forum, I am instead asking if there is anyone out there that wants to get back to me with comments.
Please PM me and I will send you the link to the reel as it is now.
Thank you,
Eirik B. Jensen
Here is a 'dissenting view' - I know the 'practice' for most composers is to take excerpts from various scores and put them together into a single MP3 that provides an 'overview' of the music. This approach is not just used by composers - for example, it is common practice for actors as well.
Well I am 'divided'. On one hand, I 'get' that people have short attention spans and our show reels, highlight reels, or whatever else they are called, provide a quick way to market our products and services. Sort of like getting someone interested in giving us an interview by spending 10 to 20 seconds looking at our resume.
So we put together a short MP3 and as you depict above, we need to try to find a way to make it impactful and coherent. But as we move on down the road and go further in our career, our portfolio increases and the decision as to what is fresh and what has been nominated/awarded and how to excerpt from the begins to become harder and harder. How do you say, make a 90 second to 2 minute MP3 of 15 to 20 years of music spanning say over 50 or 100 films? Do you put in variety? Do you show versatility? Do you add music that recognized by the listener? Some combination? I surely are not one who has the answers to this. I hope others chime in?
And then as I said above I am divided.... I am divided between give listeners a quick idea of my music but also just want to get my music heard. I am NOT concerned of copyright infringement issues - I am not concerned that if I put too much music online that someone will steal parts of my music and use it illegitimately.
So I do a little of everything. I have some 'compilations' which often are excerpts of opening scenes, final scenes, end title music and memorable hummable melodies. These compilations could be from music of the multiple films that may have shown at a single film festival (I had a four film compilation from the 2017 168 film festival last year), or perhaps excerpts from all the films I have scored in 2018 (I am working on my 6th film right now). But I also have tracks of complete scores for films available for people to listen. Akin to soundtrack albums, I have either a single track for the whole soundtrack or once this year I broke into 17 tracks.
So I often get the critique, I am losing money and should monetize my music. Perhaps... but 24 of my 25 IMDB films have been shorts. I am personally OK with just sharing my music and getting it listened to rather than make $20 here or $50 there. I am all about getting my music heard - getting paid is not my top priority at this time. Controversial? Yes.
So I do put together snipets, I put together compilations and I have whole tracks. All 135+ of them online currently in three different locations - soundcloud, reverbnation, and soundclick. And in addition, I have an 80 minute CD with 15 of those tracks - mostly and not only film music. And I put them in a paper sleeve with my business card and hand them out at mixers and other interactions with film people and even plain listeners. Not 2010s? Perhaps - flash drives are still pricey even in bulk (relative to making professional looking CDs) but most of my listeners still have CD players in their cars and they become captive audiences and listen to a significant amount of the CD while they drive. That is all I ask for - to get heard.
Thank you for a long and elaborate comment!
Well, all I want from this reel is to have something to show to in networking circumstances. In a way proving that I do more than "Casio Keyboard Demo Songs" if you know what I mean.
All that is said about getting jobs is networking-networking-networking and this is but a tool in that process.
As artists, we will be picky and very conscious about our works: how they are assembled and how they are perceived. I believe much more so than our 'fans' and potential customers. I believe that all we need is 'our sound' and something to hook our listeners. They will either like/love our music and want to collaborate or not. They won't be concerned (imho) too much if at all on how we assembled it or 'stiched' it together.
If you want samples of how to 'present' (and not so much of what your peers sound like), ask around and check out some of our presentations to get ideas. Mine for example are at www.soundcloud.com/joelirwin. I have all of the above - compilations, playlists, excerpts, and whole scores. I mix the sounds - classical, orchestral, small ensemble, solo instruments, jazz, pop, etc...... If we can, we want to provide real world examples of our past work in a film but we also want to demonstrate our versatility so the perspective filmmaker/customer is not let to believe we are a one horse show.
Yes, it’s a slippery slope this, that you have to both show your versatility and at the same time sticking to your ‘voice’, this one thing that you do, and (hopefully) better than others. To both claim that you can do John Williamish orchestral work, and at the same time be the best Vangelis/“Stranger Things” producer, I guess can be a though sell.