Composing

I remember seeing Freddie once at a small club and the seats were like church pews. Sitting right in front of me was one of my trumpet playing buddies and with him was Johnny Coles. It was a blast talking with him and I got him to tell me about record Fat Albert Rotunda with Herbie and playing on Tell Me A Bedtime Story. What a great memory. On fender rhodes that night - George Cables.

This is just what i needed. Thank you Linwood Bell!

Andre Williams Glancing at them they look so simple, but dang.... :)

Linwood Bell I feel like Rick Beato has recommended him highly as well.

I'm sure he has.

Arhynn Descy Thank you for your answer. When I wrote piano I of course thought of a real piano not the one on the screen. Funny - I also hear the instruments in my head,.. I do this all the time even if I am not composing

Alexander Benra haha! That is funny - I just assumed that is what you meant.

Arhynn Descy thank you for this! What is the weirdest experience you have had with a filmmaker trying to communicate the emotion they want the music to express? Like "fuzzy" or "bubbly".

Andre Williams I don't know about weirdest, but the funniest was working with one director and he would sing what he meant to me....but he couldn't sing, so it would be this high pitched, half sung, half spoken, half noise effects instruction I'd get. He even did it in voice notes. It was really funny, but it actually worked.

Oh wow Arhynn! That is absolutely hilarious! Kudos to you for being able to make sense of everything! Clearly you must have created a working relationship that made the director feel safe to be vulnerable and transparent! Thanks for sharing!

You're a baby! I didn't get my first film credit on IMDB until I was 62! :) Try a competition where all the teams need (or should need) composers. My first two credits were 48 hour film competitions. It's a great way to practice and establish relationships for future non-competitive projects. The second 48 hour film I scored won 8 awards (including best music video) and went on to 'filmapalooza' to compete internationally against all the city winners - placing 2nd to Paris with 4 more awards. Participating has advantages but you also get to list wins and nominations in IMDB as well. Of the nine 48 films I scored "Elegantia" ( https://youtu.be/jXfajMVeT54 ) won (I got producer credit for paying the entry fee) and I also won once and was nominated once for best score. Currently IMDB win/nomination summaries don't differentiate between shorts and features.

Thank you Joanna and Joel. Some most helpful advice from both of you :-) I've joined up with Cue Tube (which I knew nothing of until your post, Joanna). It looks like it could be very useful. Any advice you could give me in getting the most from it would be gratefully received.

And, Joel, I'm 62 now so, perhaps not so much a baby as I'm still trying to get something going! But I do take your point. Well done for all your marvellous achievements. The score for the Elegantia film was justly rewarded :-).

Hello:

Congrats on the endeavor that blooms the depths that life never finalizes, no matter the ticks that you have found to be a part of.

Some composers that possibly could give some insights, if both parties are wanting and these individuals remain frequently utilizing the platform:

John Capo: https://www.stage32.com/johncapo

Aleksandar Zavisin: https://www.stage32.com/Zavisin

Christof Davis: https://www.stage32.com/profile/204329/about

Thankful for your roads.

God Bless,

John German

Welcome to Stage 32, Maurice and to the Film Scoring adventurers community! (I moved ot Los Angeles and started freelancing at 45 :) )

Hi Simon Marchant - it’s great to meet you here in the community!

I’m the Director of Education here at Stage 32. If I can ever recommend any of our education for you or be of any help on your Stage 32 journey please reach out to me directly at edu@stage32.com.

Also, here is a link to the Stage 32 education landing page so you can check out all of the webinars, classes and labs that are at your fingertips as a community member: https://www.stage32.com/education

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Linwood Bell and Maurice Vaughan!

Thank you all. I am glad the blog is helpful :)

You're welcome, Elena Maro.

This is an awesome blog, Elena Maro. I love how you stress communication and really understanding the character's and intended emotion. It is an amazing collaboration when done right.

Sam Sokolow , thank you so much. I have to confess. The happy feeling of making music for Film and Television ( and Theatre) for me comes 50 per cent from creating in my studio and 50 per cent from the collaboration. Nothing like sitting in a room (actual or virtual) and creating together.

Linwood Bell Would love to hear “The Asteroid Field” performed live!

Best I can do :)

Linwood Bell It’s perfect.

George Ioannidis There's too much me in here already. lol

Ok, great, George Ioannidis.

Would love to have a live orchestral recording one day.

David Obaniyi I have no doubt that you will have that opportunity.

Always a pleasure having real instruments recorded by professional musicians. Samples are great for layering but are still missing the wonderful and irreplaceable emotions.

Congratulations, Dara!! What a fun project to be a part of! I can't wait to see it and hear the score.

Congrats, Dara! Wishing you much success with this one. Looking forward to hearing it!

That is awesome! I already wanted to see the movie and now want to see it even more and will listen to the score even more closely knowing a Stage 32 community member made it happen. Huge congratulations, Dara!!!

Love Dara's work, congratulations to her!

Congrats Dara! Well done!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Scott

This is great, thanks for sharing Linwood Bell!

As a kid growing up I heard his music on all the Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes stuff. Amazing writing. Nice tip of the hat from Gordon.

What an interesting career. Had no idea. Thanks for sharing!

There are great CDs of Raymond Scott music for those who want to hear more. Also, the Carl Stalling Project CDs are terrific. Carl Stalling lifted "Powerhouse" for Warner Bros. cartoons, and these discs are full of Looney Tunes original soundtracks, sometimes with outtakes.

What was Dad's story? I'd totally score it if I had it together to make a doc.

Excellent advice, Fran Harris. Learning about composing (or any part of the industry) through articles, webinars, etc. is great, but mix those things with "hands on" learning, and you've got an advantage.

Sounds like great Advice, Fran !! Ed out in WA said to make your own videos for more examples of your work. Hope your Dad is still living - give him a hug!! My dad died back in '95. We don't know the hours and length of our lives; granted, there are signs at times. Yes, writing for mood is challenging, though not impossible. Lot of people like the one music from the girl / guy story I did during Michelle Lockey's course; it's on my YouTube and Website. If I had video, I think I would do this. Right now, I have a few Collabs going on and working, other .. yep plate full. Be Bless'd. K. Kennard

My condolences, Kerry Kennard.

Linwood Bell Sure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KTNNen0Iyw

I keep it unlisted because it's only for potential clients. I do plan on re-doing it with some newer tracks and re-do all the visuals using some AI stuff. But that's when I find some time.

Nathan Daniel This is great! I'm watching as I type. Sounds really nice and I love your graphics. Great demo!

Linwood Bell Thanks! It's worked out well for me. I used to have full tracks but I know how busy people are and with so many people trying to get your attention, I can't see how anyone would listen to my complete tracks. But thats just me.

I may have full short videos, though they're less than 2 mins. I prob. need to make a reel like Nathan mentioned ! Thank you Nathan Daniel . Now to find the time. I'm writing a few Collabs. as well as Copyright, my PT job, etc. The Brigerton 2 min sample is nice, though, prob. can be condensed to show the better emotional parts. Would delegating the task be worth the effort to make it a reality ?? Hmm - I've done pretty good with editing short videos. Good night - after midnight here, lol.

Joel Irwin Hi Joel, I loved “Kambuda”. There’s great talent on display. We are glad to have you sharing this in the community.

Joanna - its always beneficial to learn from the 'masters'. Last night I was flipping channels and ran across Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981). You don't have to listen to the score for the whole film to understand how the editors brilliantly mixed a full orchestra John Williams score (rather quietly I think). Watch from the opening through the plane takeoff after the rolling stone scene. The music is there and wonderful and emphatic but never in the way. As I recollect, the raiders score is discussed in an exhibit at the Academy Museum in LA (for those of you living in LA) and how it was created and mixed.

I’m with you, JK. The mix doesn’t enter my mind. I'm naive and figure it’s gonna be right. :) Of course that’s not always the case. As they say, stuff happens. But it’s only music and no one gets hurt. It’s easy to let things go and move on to that gig on your desk. I also like using live players, but many times there is no budget for live players it seems. I use to study with Dell Hake and while I was doing it he was on The Simpsons. Dell would conduct it, orchestrate, and write some of the cues. Kind of funny when you think about it. All the actors are fake, but all the musicians playing the score were real. They’d start writing on Monday and then record on Friday and the show aired Sunday. He did that every week for 25 years. Talent/Budget is King.

Thanks for this thoughtful and fascinating post, Joel Irwin. A lot of ideas and concepts here that are so important to consider. I wonder if this idea of where music can crescendo and where it can sit somewhat underneath the on-screen action is why filmmakers like Spielberg like to have their films scored in a studio while the film is playing. Am I a complete composing neophyte for asking that question or is there any merit to it? Would love your thoughts on that. Thanks!

JW doesn't use a click track all the time so he needs to see the film.

I would think the budget from them (producer) or the composer is the issue, Joel. Granted, the real instrument is probably stand out more than the MIDI / VST sounds, since warmer and real sounding. For a Cello, it might be hidden better with rest of the mix. My main Mastering guy really made a great point about using real players, saying it's worth it when it's the Solo instrument in the piece. This proj., we're doing a Collab. and I'm using MIDI Strings, and ... he's right. I think it's worth the extra performer, if affordable. The Embertone series does a great job - really like the more Wood sound than other ones. Hope this small post is not too off point from your question. Have a great week.

K. Kennard

- - -

. Do you discuss the pros/cons of using live performers (which are higher cost) for cues which are likely to mix very low?

Watching now - and pausing. I do see the Powerpoint in video; available as download ?

That is so wonderful Don! I'm so glad! :)

Hi Kerry! I don't believe so but you can screen shot each slide and the handout has lots of info!

Thank you - Michele - I’m enjoying the

Video so far as well.

That is so wonderful Kerry! I'm so glad!