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How do you think is it possible to get in touch with production companies, directors, and so on if someone is interested in giving it a shot for composing music for movies.
We all know that many great composers were found by chance or by medium contacts…and I don’t think it’s feasable to just go and knock on each company’s door just like that.
Have you got an interesting solution?
Aah, yes… I seem to remember Danny scoring a movie about that.
>¦:op
The JHey Jalal,
First off I’ll give you a quote I always tell people looking to get into film composition:
“If there is ANYTHING that you can see yourself doing besides scoring films, do it.”
The reason for that is that this (as you may know) is a really hard buisness to break into, and even harder to stay in. The demands on a film composer are really harsh (like writing a feature score in 30 days). On top of all this, unless you are already rich, you will need to get a side job to pay the bills because the introductory work you will get will not pay very much. However, if this is all you want to do, and can’t live unless you do it, lets move onto step 2.
STUDIO – I can’t stress this one enough. The first jobs you will get will not be able to hire an orchestra to perform the score (no room in the budget) so you have to have the means to do a “mock-up” that is pretty darn close to it. For this you will need a fairly good computer running a high-end sequencer, sampler, and professional mixing/mastering software. There are a couple different routes for this, so I suggest you look into Gigastudio, HALion, or Kontakt for the sampler, Cakewalk SONAR, or Steinburg Cubase for the sequencer, and since there are too many audio editing programs out there I just suggest Adobe Audition since it is the best I have yet to use. After you look around a bit you will notice that this stuff costs quite a bit, but that isn’t the hard part. You will also need Multi-sample libraries for your samplers, and these little suckers are REALLY expensive. Expect to be willing to shell out alot of money to get yourself started. Ok, step 3.
STARTING OUT – I am not sure where you heard about a composer being found by chance but that usually never happens. We have to work are way up. First and formost, see if your local college / university has a film program, and if so, find out who is making a film. Get in touch with him and offer to score it for CHEAP (I will never say for free because people love to take advantage of people), like $50 or something. If he moans that he could get someone else to do it for free, don’t forget to mention your studio which probably cost more than his film.
Ok, this part is big: WRITE A CONTRACT. God knows how many times I have seen people get ripped off because they didn’t do this. Get a contract that clearly says that you own the performing rights royalties for the music you write, whether the director gets the publishing rights or not. Also make sure you have a part like this:“Single Card Credit in the Main title of the picture on a separate card to read:
Music By
____________
Size and placement at the Producer’s discretion, however size to be no less favorable than that afforded the Director or Writer.”If you want to get more work, then people will have to know who wrote the music for what. Another key factor: Find out where the film is going. If it WILL hit the film festivals, then great, that is your foot in the door. If not, don’t do it, because it will probably just sit unused in the director’s house collecting dust. Even though that director may go on to do bigger projects, it’s not likely. It’s just as hard to get into film direction as it is to get into composition, and even harder if no one ever sees your work. Onto what…where are we…oh yeah Step 4.
CONTACTS – After you have scored a few low-budget indie films, you can then contact a few production companies, unless you live in California. So look around the web and see what production companies there are in your area (state film commission websites are great for that) and try to get an appointment with someone just to see what is currently going on and if they might need a composer in the near future. Keep on top of what is happening where you live. Try to meet as many directors as possible (and producers and music supervisors). In any case, good luck.
Knight (Who will now go back to sleep)
Thank you Knight.
Actually the recording stage does not cause me any trouble because I kinda own my own home studio. And I already use softwares like Cakewalk and Pro Tools with the Korg Triton keyboard and I already got lots of good soundfonts.
As for the backup job. Yes of course I know such a career is very risky and its continuity is even more risky. That is why I’m studying Mechanical engineering. But as soon as I might get the chance to get involved in the film industry, I won’t hesitate about it.
Thank you for the information about the processes inside the industry (I’m not that knowledgable about those, the reason I’m here in this forum is because I just love Elfman’s music lol)
As for the production companies in my area…well I live in Lebanon (the country) and Lebanese movies tend to be more European rather than Hollywood type by direction and production. But I have an uncle who is Californian, so he can manage the search by himself
Soundfonts and the Triton are garbage for trying to sound like a real orchestra. You’re gonna need somehting better.
While what choco said is a bit harsh, it is true. Look into the samplers I mentioned and the sample libraries you can get for them. You will notice a BIG difference. As for the local films, start there if you can. The main point is to get some films under your belt so you can show directors and producers that you can do it. Anything is better than nothic (unless it is a crappy film, do NOT do those). As for your uncle, wait until you have done ALOT of movies before you contact him to get some people interested. You have to understand that there are a TON of composers living in California and they all need work so it is really hard to land projects. Good luck.
Knight (I have seen some awesome Euro films, so I’m not sure what the problem is…)
Obviously you have to have the passion for it over anything else – without that, it is hard to deal with small time directors who aren’t paying you a dime and wish their budget was as big as their ego. Those are the people you most likely have to deal with in order to get a reel of your work.
A thick skin is also important (something I am working on) when it comes to your music. The people who seem to have the money are usually the very same people who know nothing about music and people are cruel, especially in Hollywood (and Abroad in the industry). It is tough to take rejection from someone who obviously doesn’t know their arse from a whole in the ground.
I do everything MIDI right now due to lack of budgets on the films I do work on. There are plenty of good sample library’s out there – I usually use the Mirolslav Vitous Orchestral library and while the sounds are good – it seems to be how they are played that makes it sound synth. For some reason if you play a chord it almost always comes out sounding like a synth but if you play the chord, 1 inst at a time on 3 tracks for some reason it sounds a little bit more legit. That is my opinion anyway.
What sucks is I can labor over an orchestral score, for weeks and weeks and not make a dime but I can do 1 mins worth of “high energy” music for a commercial and make $1000 or more. For me, I am about to quit my decent paying day job and move out west to do commercial work. While I despise that end of music and the music I write for those is not even something I would want my name attached to – it is a way to make a living doing something that I enjoy (music obviously) so I can pick the films I want to work on and do it for art and not have to worry about a paycheck (although that is nice and not willing to do too many now for free unless they are friends!). I decided that while I want to score films, I do not want to be a film composer – to me scoring is sacred and would not want to taint that with having to work with bad directors. Have had a couple of bad experiences and it robs you of any confidence that you have. (I don’t have much to begin with).
The biggest thing is to not listen to anyone else including myself or anyone on the board. If you are sticking with what you love then you know what to do instinctively. http://www.mandy.com is a good place to look for people needing a composer – worldwide.
Good luck and stick with it – it is such a great feeling to make it through a score and is highly addictive!
>it is hard to deal with small time directors who aren’t paying you a dime and wish their budget was as big as their ego.
nicely put & very true.
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