SCOREcast 32: Tom Salta

Veteran video game composer Tom Salta stops by to chat with the boys about the art and business of scoring video games during SCOREcast’s 5th Anniversary episode.

SCOREcast 28: Richard Bellis

Emmy Award-winning composer Richard Bellis hangs out with SCOREcast for an in-depth look at the state of the film music business.

All Due Respect to The Maestro

I don’t know John, and he doesn’t know me. Which is good… I don’t want him to.

What’s Original?

There are 12 tones, and only so much you can do. Right, James Horner?

What Is Your Greatest Motivator?

“Motivation” is a strange thing. Be careful how you answer this one: We are certainly aware of the risk involved in even putting this question out there—we are inviting a deluge of the token “writing music is who I am” comments. Honestly, though, if you lost everyone and everything in your life tomorrow, we’d bet money that the least important “treasure” would be all of the shows you’ve worked on.

With that in perspective…. What is your greatest motivator?

Caveats of Convenience—Pt. 2

Part 2 of Deane’s provoking series on “lazy writing”.

Good Is the Enemy of Great

I am attending a film festival this week in LA to promote a film that I recently scored called “In the Eyes of a Killer” with my director Louis Mandylor. I have met a grip of great people at this fest and have seen many great films, all by talented filmmakers that at one time or another… needed film composers!! (Hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink… Get out there and network!!) In a conversation with a group of directors and producers yesterday, the talk turned to producing movies. One of them said, “Deane, why don’t you produce in addition to compose? You are a such a good producer… you should just do it as another…

Diverse Collaborators

Most of the time when talking about the topic of “diversification” as film composers, we are referring to the skills necessary to write for a variety of different mediums, genres, or projects. I’d like to talk about diversifying in a different light – being a diverse collaborator. Diverse collaboration to me means that in this process of filmmaking you are a solution, not a problem. It means possessing the skillset to creatively and intuitively behave your team out of the tight spots that others might have behaved your team in to. It doesn’t just mean that you can write great music for any number of situations or scenes, but also that you are solid in…

Silence is Golden

Why is music used here? and What is its function?

Before diving headlong into an analytical frenzy surrounding the functions of film music, I want to begin by establishing a frame of reference by which the very existence of film music centers. In doing that one must not immediately look at specific moments in film that are supported by music but rather moments which are not.

Brian Satterwhite: More On Procrastination

Deane just wrote an interesting article about procrastination that I think is a valuable lesson for anybody working under pressure deadline situations. I also agree that procrastination is erroneously looked upon as a negative thing nearly all the time. Even under the most common definitions I’m not too terribly guilty of procrastination or “wasting time.” That doesn’t mean I push things off or delay starts or anything like that. In fact, procrastination for me is a major step in the creative process. It’s the moment to cleanse the palette and purge the creative process of any undesirables. It’s a moment for planning and just keeping things fun. Eventually when the that phase is over you’ll…