The Professional Image

There’s a whole category of cliché that seems, at first glance, to revel in shallowness. “Fake it till you make it,” “image is everything,” “style over substance” and a bunch of others, all trumpeting the virtue of looking the part… to the detriment, one supposes, of actually being the part.

Our career, though, hinges on perception. In fact, film music could be said to be all about manipulating the perception of an audience (through music). So maybe there’s an argument to be made that these clichés, empty and soulless as they may seem, actually have some value for us in our day-to-day professional lives. More on image, and why it is actually important, after the jump.

Playing for Time

This weekend I’m once again consumed with work: finding it… doing it… following up afterwards. It reminds me that one sign of a real pro is that he or she is extremely careful with time. More on that after the jump.

It’s Never Over

This weekend’s post ties together a couple of the topics we’ve touched on during first year here at SCOREcast (has it really been almost a year… we ought to do something to celebrate! Hmm…): delivery and studio organization. The question, then:

Is a gig ever really over? Sometimes it’s clear when you’re finished (especially if things go, how you say, not so well). Other times, though, it seems that these ghosts of gigs past come back to haunt us over and over. More on all of this after the jump.

Delivery vs. Demo

Today’s Provocation strays ever so slightly off our April theme, but I hope you’ll follow along anyway. I’m going to lay out my some of my own ideas on turning delivered cues into demo cues. My overall opinion: if you want to put your best musical foot forward, there’s work to be done. Potentially lots of work.

Spotting Content

We’ve looked at the ins and outs of spotting in the last couple of weeks; now, after the jump, we’ll talk a bit about all the stuff in the middle. The content, in other words: What is this cue trying to achieve, and how should we approach that in a spotting session? How much to say; how to say it? The truth is that this part is simple, as long as you’re following a few guidelines. It’s not easy—you’re expected to be handing a number of different dynamics during a spotting session, after all—but it is simple. I’d start with this: Focus the conversation on dramatic needs. You want to avoid loading up on musical…

Getting Out

Last week’s discussion of spotting was all about entering a scene; now let’s take some time to consider how to exit (gracefully… or maybe not so gracefully!). More on “getting out,” after the jump.

Getting In

For the next few weeks I’m going to use this column to dig into the three primary technical aspects of spotting: entrances, exits and function. There are three Fridays left in the month, so I suppose it’s good I thought of doing this now! First up: getting in. Let’s start with when to enter a scene. And right up front, a disclaimer: none of this is comprehensive. I sort of think that it couldn’t be. Each film is a different animal, calling for a different set of tactics. And for every rule there’s a brilliant exception. There are, however, some things that I think you ought to consider pretty much every time out. One of the most…

Funny Looks and Spotting Jujitsu

People look at me funny all the time (I got that out of the way for you, just to save space in the comments!), but never more so than when I express my general philosophy about spotting films: I want to write the least amount of music possible for the project. Nowadays our up-front music budget seems to shrink with every new gig that hits our desk… so why would I take a wacky position like this? Why deny myself the (sometimes) glorious royalties that come from a wall-to-wall score? And doesn’t “writing as little music as possible” sound, well, kinda of lazy? My rationale, and more… after the jump. It’s simple, really: If my…

Getting a Little Queasy

Marc Shaiman will tell you that one of his best-known scores, for City Slickers, came into this world with more than its fair share of agony. One of the toughest parts to write was the famous cattle-rustling scene—Shaiman says he was scared out of his mind by the temp track. He felt like “the ghost of Copland was standing over [his] shoulder.” It’s something we’ve all faced. Not from Copland, and not always from the temp track, but there’s a sort of intimidation that hits us once we’ve landed a really good gig. Once in a while a project lands here at the Gulag that makes me sit up and take notice. Sure, I do my best work…

Too Much Competition?

We’ve been psyching ourselves up a competitive frenzy this month—so I thought I’d take a look around the edges and see if there are some areas where we shouldn’t be quite so, well, competitive. Where we might do better to unclench a bit. Go with the flow. Let it come to us, rather than launching ourselves at it all gung-ho and crazy-eyed. What I found, after the jump. First off, I find a lot of composers these days (particularly composers who are just getting started) with their fingers on the trigger of the spam cannon. They’re just blasting away, firing off demo packages to anyone and everyone who might have an active e-mail account. Filmmakers? Sure….

Shrinking Violets

This weekend’s question—just putting it out there for some discussion, so hit those comments: What if you don’t like competition? What if it turns you off, or gives you ulcers, or wrecks your sleep schedule? How do you reconcile that with this career? First off, I’m guessing most of you are comfortable taking chances. This career comes with high risk and zero promise of reward. So the fact that you’re interested in composing at all is a pretty reliable sign that you’re aware of the gamble. People who are risk-takers generally enjoy tough competition, as well. Generally… but not always. Risk and competition are different. Competition implies effort. A lottery ticket is a risk, not…

Shut Your Trap

From time to time it’s the case that I first meet a filmmaker in the context of trying to land their picture—as opposed to having met them in some other capacity beforehand (and thus already knowing them when it’s time to talk about their latest project). I’m reminded what a bad scenario the former case is. Far, far better to have some social interaction prior to that meeting in which you have to sell yourself. Either way, though, one thing I recommend avoiding at all costs is talking too much. I was up for a small picture a few years ago, and had to take a “cold” meeting with a pair of producers (I was…