VOLUME XXXIII NUMBER TWO SUMMER 2018
I N D U S T R Y T R E N D S
TV Pilots Then & Now: How the Pilot-Scoring Process Is Shaping the Future of TV By Kaya Savas We constantly hear the phrase “The Golden Age of Television,” and we mostly say that because we see a constantly growing amount of content in the TV industry. The real reason though is not just quantity, it’s quality. The quality of storytelling on television has never been better, and we are seeing networks embrace new voices to try and capture the attention of the millions of viewers out there. While many changes in the industry can be attributed to this rise in quality, one of these changes has been happening slowly over a period of years. To examine it, we need to take a look at the pilot process, and how music is now seen as a major asset of a series from the start. At this point in TV history, more pilots than ever are bringing a composer onboard to write a score instead of temping. What does this mean for composers? How is TV changing, and what part will creatives play in the new frontier of television? To really examine the changes that have been happening in the pilot process and what that means for television, it was integral to speak to some composers who have had experience with TV scoring in their careers. We spoke to Kurt Farquhar (Black Lightning, The King of Queens), Michael A. Levine (Siren, Cold Case), Blake Neely (Arrow, The Flash, Riverdale), Mac Quayle (American Horror Story, Mr. Robot, Feud), Jeff Russo (Star Trek: Discovery, Fargo, Power) and David Schwartz (Arrested Development, The Good Place). By talking with these composers who work on a variety of different shows, we can start to paint a picture of how music is becoming more valued in TV, is leading to better storytelling, and how the entire TV creative landscape is evolving.
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musical hook of a new sound or bold theme that can attract an audience into giving your show a
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elevision is a unique medium because of the canvas it grants the storytellers. We as an audience fall in love with the characters, and we genuinely care about how the story plays out. There’s something communal about television that rises above film and games. When a really popular series is on the air, we seem to watch it as a whole. We talk about it at work the next day, we discuss it with friends and loved ones. It becomes a weekly ritual in a sense. Most of that is changing with the Netflix and Amazon binge-watching model, but there is still this communal feel about television. The way it differs from film and gaming is that a television series can span years; we as an audience may dedicate a good portion of our life to a TV series we love. You can’t find that in film, even if one could argue that Marvel successfully translated the TV model of season-long arcs to the big screen. And the thing is, all this love and community has only
In many cases it’s the
grown more with the growth of streaming and subscription services like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO. All of this, all of what makes a TV series what it is, can be traced back to its origin, the pilot. The TV pilot; the first attempt at igniting a world of characters and stories that will hopefully live on for many years. The pilot of any show is of great significance, and to understand this shift in TV is to look at how the pilot process has changed, especially for composers. So, how is a TV show made? How is it born? Many hopeful writers and storytellers aim to have their show picked up by going through the pilot process. At around this time of year, keyboards are clicking furiously as scripts are being written with the hopes of being pitched. If a show is lucky enough to be pitched and gain the attention of a studio and network, then things move forward, and the show will begin to transform. The studios Continued on Page 18
chance.
C O N T E N T S
ASCAP EXPO 2018 5 Small Talk for Composers & Lyricists 7 New Gear 8 Tech Talk 9 Blake Neely: Making Music More Appreciated 12 Musical Shares 23
F R O M T H E E D I T O R ' S D E S K
It’s TV Time
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By Kaya Savas
President ASHLEY IRWIN Vice Presidents ARTHUR HAMILTON CHARLES BERNSTEIN Recording Secretary JONATHAN DAVID NEAL Treasurer/CFO CHRISTOPHER FARRELL COO LYNN KOWAL The SCORE KAYA SAVAS, Editor Advisory Board ALAN BERGMAN MARILYN BERGMAN CHARLES BERNSTEIN BILL CONTI CHARLES FOX JAMES NEWTON HOWARD QUINCY JONES ALAN MENKEN THOMAS NEWMAN LALO SCHIFRIN MARC SHAIMAN HOWARD SHORE ALAN SILVESTRI DIANE WARREN PATRICK WILLIAMS CHRISTOPHER YOUNG HANS ZIMMER In Memoriam Advisory Board Members ELMER BERNSTEIN JOHN CACAVAS JERRY GOLDSMITH MAURICE JARRE PETER MATZ DAVID RAKSIN Directors RAMÓN BALCÁZAR LORI BARTH FLETCHER BEASLEY RUSSELL BROWER DAVID DAS JOEL DOUEK IRA HEARSHEN MICHAEL LEHMANN BODDICKER MARK MCKENZIE HELENE MUDDIMAN GREG PLISKA MARK ROOS ELIZABETH ROSE ADRYAN RUSS GARRY SCHYMAN ELIZABETH SELLERS KUBILAY UNER Past Presidents JOHN ADDISON RICHARD BELLIS BRUCE BROUGHTON JAY CHATTAWAY RAY COLCORD JAMES DI PASQUALE DAN FOLIART ARTHUR HAMILTON MARK WATTERS
ummer is here, and that means warmer weather, kids are off from school, people are on vacation, and TV Upfronts have arrived! The major networks have announced what new series have been picked up and what series will be returning for the Fall. So, if TV Upfronts have come and gone that also means pilot season has wrapped for composers who have survived the often-grueling process. I just wanted to extend congratulations to all composers who went through the process earlier this year, and congratulations to all the new and returning series. This issue will shine a light on some changes we’ve seen in the industry of TV scoring, including getting insights from some of the top composers working in television today. The “Golden Age of Television” is an ever-growing frontier, and it’s always important to g take a step back and see how things are evolving. DIAMOND MEMBERS Kristen Anderson-Lopez Lori Barth Richard Bellis Alan & Marilyn Bergman Bruce Broughton Dennis C. Brown Carter Burwell
Jay Chattaway George Clinton Bill Conti James DiPasquale Clint Eastwood Dan Foliart Charles Fox
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Randy Newman Mike Post J. Peter Robinson Lalo Schifrin Richard Sherman David Shire Alan Silvestri
Mark Snow Dennis Spiegel Mike Stoller Mark Watters Patrick Williams John Williams Maury Yeston
DIAMOND SPONSORS / PATRONS Jay Cooper
PLATINUM MEMBERS Jack Allocco Marco Beltrami Amin Bhatia Steven Bramson Nicholas Britell Anthony Chue
Will Jennings Michael Levine Derek Machann John Massari Bear McCreary Peter Melnick
Alf Clausen Joseph Conlan Alexandre Desplat Kurt Farquhar Michael Giacchino Tira Harpaz
Mariella Nelson Thomas Newman Mark Petrie John Powell Damir Price Mac Quayle
David Schwartz Carlo Siliotto Edward Trybek Kubilay Uner Angela Rose White Austin Wintory
PLATINUM SPONSORS / PATRONS Bonnie Cacavas
Randy Gerston
Beth Krakower
GOLD MEMBERS Cato Michael Abels Josh Alexander Elik Alvarez Amy Andersson Neil Argo Tammy Ari Alexander Arntzen Sebastian Arocha Morton Spring Aspers Melissa Axel Ramon Balcazar Steve Barden Nathan Barr Joe Barrera Jr. John Beal Jeff Beal Jonathan Beard Joel Beckerman Arbel Bedak Charles Bernstein David Bertok Kevin Blumenfeld Peter Boyer Richard Bronskill Russell Brower Benedikt Brydern Kenneth Burgomaster Dennis Burke Byron Burton Jeff Cardoni Kristopher Carter Sacha Chaban Dongliang Chen Michael Choi Shawn Clement Elia Cmiral Kaveh Cohen Jerry Cohen Jim Cox Imre Czomba Mychael Danna
Jana Davidoff Tim Davies Alberto de la Rocha John Debney John DeFaria Arhynn Descy John Dickson Scott Doherty Joel Douek Dennis Dreith Bruce Dukov Robert Duncan Laura Dunn JC Dwyer Erich Einfalt Jarryd Elias Laura Engel Del Engen Joel Evans Evan Evans Shelley Fisher Pablo Flores Jared Forman Andy Forsberg Alexandre Fortuit Pam Gates Grant Geissman Scott Glasgow William Goldstein Joel Goodman Gordy Haab Eric Hachikian Christine Hals Wayne Hankin Bruce Healey Reinhold Heil Lee Holdridge Scott Holtzman Trevor Howard Russ Howard III Wei-San Hsu Frank Ilfman
Marco Valerio Antonini Barend Bendorf Todd Brabec Les Brockmann Jonathan Broxton Jon Burlingame
Savina Ciaramella Ray Costa Lisa Dondlinger Arlene Fishbach Scott Freiman Susan Friedman
ISSN 1066-5447 Society of Composers & Lyricists 8447 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 401 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 Ph (310) 281-2812 Office@thescl.com
Elliot Goldenthal Arthur Hamilton James Howard Mark Isham Robert Lopez Johnny Mandel Blake Neely
Asuka Ito Joel Iwataki Lynda Jacobs Ken Jacobsen Michael Jay Garrett Johnson Quincy Jones Federico Jusid Seth Kaplan Taisuke Kimura Dave Kinnoin Grant Kirkhope Christopher Klatman Jasha Klebe Kevin Kliesch Rebecca Kneubuhl Christopher Knight Lynn F. Kowal Raashi Kulkarni Michael A. Lang Didier Lean Rachou Michael Lehmann Boddicker Edie Lehmann Boddicker Christopher Lennertz Tori Letzler Paul Lipson Joseph LoDuca Charley Londono Sterling Maffe David Majzlin Tracey Marino Vance Marino Billy Martin Richard Marvin Benjamin Mason Arlene Matza-Jackson Michael McCuistion Joel McNeely Robert Messinger Jeffrey Michael Bryan Miller Bruce Miller
Tricia Minty Brian Moe Sandro Morales Helene Muddiman David Murillo R, Jonathan Neal Rhett Nelson David Newman Joey Newman Matt Novack Cindy O’Connor Greg O’Connor Anele Onyekwere John Ottman Nathan Pangrazio Isabel Pappani Hannah Parrott Carla Patullo Justin Paul Orlando Perez Rosso Mark Phillips Stu Phillips Art Phillips John Piscitello Kim Planert Judi Pulver Daniel Raijman J. Ralph Ron Ramin Nick Redman Trent Reznor Allan Rich Lolita Ritmanis Carlos Rivera Earl Rose Lior Rosner Atticus Ross William Ross Enis Rotthoff Adryan Russ Christine Russell Jeff Russo
Steven Saltzman Paula Salvatore Kaya Savas Jeremy Schieffelin Roxanne Seeman Elizabeth Sellers Batu Sener Rochelle Sharpe Ryan Shore Michael Silversher Helen Simmins-McMillin Mark Smythe Curt Sobel Arturo Solar Henry Stanny Sally Stevens Candace Stewart Karen Tanaka Dara Taylor Damon Tedesco John Tempereau Justin Timberlake Jeremy Tisser Pinar Toprak Tyler Traband John Traunwieser Vasi Vangelos Jake Versluis Genevieve Vincent Jack Wall Diane Warren Harold Wheeler Frederik Wiedmann Alan Williams David Williams Jonathan Wolff Gernot Wolfgang David Wood Catharine Wood Christopher Young Rendra Zawawi
GOLD SPONSORS / PATRONS Clark Germain Jeffrey Graubart Ken Helmer Shari Hoffman Sabrina Hutchinson Richard Kraft
Tom Lee Jehan Stefan Legros Patty Macmillan Chris McGeary Stacey Neisig Chandler Poling
Mark Robertson John Rodd Michael Ryan Jeffrey Sanderson Robert Townson Alexander Vangelos
P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S A G E
The Curse of the Blank Page By Ashley Irwin
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he office of SCL president brings with it a host of responsibilities, many of which, rightly, go unnoticed by the general membership. Conversely, one of the more regular and visible duties is writing the President’s Message every quarter in our Score magazine. It’s also the one task with which I seem to have the most difficulty, not because I’m averse to writing, but because when that deadline inevitably is upon me, I invariably feel I have nothing to say. Some would simply call it “writer’s block.” But I tend to have a more circumspect view, and it directly relates to the writing of music in an audio-visual environment. As a teenager, I was on my high school track team. As a short distance sprinter, I ran the second leg of the 4x100 meter relay, the leg customarily reserved for the slowest of the four runners: “the curve.” However, while the other three on my team could beat me over a straight 100 meter course, none of them could match me running the curve. In my final few years of track, my coach introduced me to the 110 meter hurdles, and in a surprisingly short time I was beating hurdlers who’d been at it for years. So why am I telling you this, and how does it relate to “writer’s block” or music? Simple. My coach had identified a particular trait in me that was common to the curve and the hurdles: I needed a visual challenge to produce my best. A flat, straight, unimpeded lane wasn’t a big enough conquest. So it’s hardly surprising that I ultimately gravitated to working in a facet of the business that requires writing music to picture. I needed those images to give me a purpose—a direction and reason to compose. I dare say that goes for the majority of music creators
working in the AV world. Otherwise, would we not be writing concert music or some other genre that does not rely on visual stimulation to motivate us? I don’t believe it’s a weakness to admit some of us need structure in order to create. “How much music do you need, and when do you need it?” is the question to which most of us regularly seek a response. We need the proverbial “curve”, the “hurdles” in order for us to produce. Without them, we tend to procrastinate and procrastination is the bane of the professional music creator. I remember attending a workshop, many years ago, led by the masterful Stephen Schwartz. While he imparted so much wisdom over the course of the event, the one piece of advice that has remained with me to this day was to not edit yourself too early in the process. Keep writing even if you feel you’re out of ideas. Waiting around for the “right” inspiration generally does you no service. Then, of course, there’s that innate tendency many of us have to second-guess ourselves—to question our initial musical response to a scene or a lyric. Over the years I’ve learned to suppress this urge because the vast majority of the time my initial musical response turns out to be the best one. I have one particular director with whom I’ve done several movies, who makes sure I have a very short delivery schedule precisely to prevent me from “over-thinking” things. He wants my visceral reaction to influence my musical choices. So, next time you’re confronted by a blank page, don’t fear it. Embrace the challenge and dive right in. You may find it yields someg thing you would never have expected.
I don’t believe it’s a weakness to admit some of us need structure in order to create. “How much music do you need, and when do you need it?” is the question to which most of us regularly seek a response.
ASCAP Columbia Film Scoring Workshop
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SCAP and Columbia University hosted The 2018 ASCAP Columbia University Film Scoring Workshop directed by Alex Steyermark. The workshop walks filmmakers through the process of looking at their film with music in mind, determining how they envision the music in their film, and making an appropriate selection of film composer. L-R: ASCAP’s Michael Todd, ASCAP’s Brian Reyes, Alex Symcox, Alex Steyermark, Mauricio Rivera Hoffman, and ASCAP’s Amanda Shoffner
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L-R: BMI’s Mike O’Neill, John Williams, and BMI’s Doreen Ringer-Ross
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L-R: BMI’s Mike Steinberg, BMI’s Doreen Ringer-Ross, Rick Baitz and BMI’s Ray Yee
The 34th Annual BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards
MI held its 34th annual Film, TV & Visual Media Awards on May 9th at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The ceremony was hosted by BMI’s Doreen Ringer-Ross and BMI’s Mike O’Neill, who honored prolific composer John Williams with the John Williams Award for his incomparable status as one of the greatest film and television composers of our time. BMI also awarded the Champion Award to Laura Karpman, Miriam Cutler, and Lolita Ritmanis for their commitment to supporting fellow women media composers through The Alliance of Women Film Composers, which they founded in 2014. Composer Rick Baitz was also presented with BMI’s Classic Contribution Award in appreciation for creating and leading BMI’s successful “Composing for the Screen” workshop for the past ten years. The evening saw many new and returning BMI Award winners join in to celebrate each other’s successes from g the past year.
L-R: BMI’s Doreen Ringer-Ross, Miriam Cutler, Lolita Ritmanis, Laura Karpman, BMI’s Ray Yee, and BMI’s Mike Steinberg
L-R: Tyler Bates, BMI’s Doreen RingerRoss, Jim Beanz, and Fil Eisler L-R: BMI’s Doreen Ringer-Ross and Ludwig Göransson L-R: James Newton Howard and Thomas Newman 4
E V E N T S
ASCAP EXPO 2018: Inspiration, Empowerment, and Individuality By Adryan Russ
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resident and Chairman of ASCAP Paul Williams opens the fairly early morning welcome to the ASCAP membership meeting by scanning the packed ballroom at Loew’s Hotel in Hollywood, California, and says, “I love the smell of hope in the morning.” With his talk on creativity, courage, and collaboration—all themes for ASCAP EXPO 2018—he inspires attendees to follow their dreams. His mention of the unanimous passing of the Music Modernization Act by the House of Representatives is cheered as he thanks those who traveled to Washington to fight for it, as well as those who signed petitions. Since the Act heads next to the Senate, he encourages everyone to text SONGS to 52886. He thanks the Board of Directors and songwriters for making ASCAP and the EXPO so successful in this, its lucky 13th year.
ASCAP President/Chairman Paul Williams
The EXPO features more sessions than anyone could possibly attend, but some common themes emerge during the threeday event. Also, songwriters are clear in what they value, and you’ll read some of their comments below. Billboard’s “We Create Music”. With panelists Jason Mraz, Claudia Brant, David Garcia, Junkie XL (Tom Holkenborg), and Melinda Newman moderating, these successful songwriters share their views on such topics as the importance of a title or an opening line, their first breaks, and what professional situations in their backgrounds got them to where they are today, as well as what skills that have nothing to do with music helped them achieve success—such as perseverance, feeling self-assured, needing to detach from rejection, going beyond the call
L-R: Junkie XL, Claudia Brand, and Jason Mraz
of duty, maintaining a strong work ethic and learning to develop a sense of what people want. They all say that because of their passion, they’ve never given up. “Writing Between the Lines” is introduced by ASCAP’s Mike Todd. Moderating is Michelle Lewis, with panelists Stephen Bray, Kay Hanley and Leland—all who started in one genre of music and evolved into others. These writers, Michelle says, are not only surviving, they are thriving. She asks, “Why did you change lanes, and how?” Leland took a job with little pay that wound up getting him projects for Saturday Night Live. When Kay became a mother, she had to stop touring, and it occurred to her that if she could write songs and get paid, she wouldn’t have to travel. Stephen was working on an animation project with Allee Willis and Brenda Russell when they were called to submit a song score for the musical The Color Purple. Says Stephen, “We went to a bookstore and found a book called How to Write A Musical,” which provokes laughter. “We had to learn how to go from Allee’s poetry to character songs. Also, most people we talked to who are concerned with story often use Shakespeare references, so we had to brush up. Plus,” he adds, “I watch a zillion old movies. Film people love when you can reference those.” Leland asked for a shot to score a film and got the job because they knew his songs. They all jumped into opportunities they’d never done before—and succeeded. Says Michelle, Executive Director of SONA and member of ASCAP’s Board of Directors: “Create your elevator pitch” but you still have to fulfill your creative ambition without it being about you.” It Takes a Village to Raise a Songwriter. This session hit on the importance of building
The EXPO features more sessions than anyone could possibly attend, but some common themes emerge during the three-day event.
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ASCAP EXPO 2018 Continued from Page 5
your team. Says songwriter Adam Sanders, “Find your champions!” He’s originally from a small town outside Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up in a poor family. “Music was my way out,” he says. He moved to Nashville, found co-writers, and went to work. “We just had a dream in our hearts.” Moderator Ryan Bruschel, Vice President of A&R for Warner-Chappell, was working for ASCAP at the time and decided to help him. Kevin Meads, an agent, heard the buzz about Adam, went to hear him perform, and knew he wanted to work with him. “Even with a buzz,” adds Tom Lord, Red Light Management, “Adam was young and inexperienced. We tried ‘shaking the tree’ to see what was possible. What you do as an artist,” Tom suggests, “is surround yourself with people you can trust—you create your own board of directors.” John Marks, with Spotify, was with Sirius XM at the time, and worked with Adam’s team for five or six years. What he liked most about Adam: “No matter what he achieves, he’s always looking to improve his craft.” Renaissance Women in Music. This seminar of women who have profound knowledge in more than one field include Gizzle, Jojo, Priscilla Renee, Lindsey Sterling, and Betty Who. Gizzle started rapping when she was very young. “The universe was pushing me hard to write songs for myself. Today’s music industry leaves a lot of room for individualism. People want diversity,” she says, which garners applause. Jojo claims she was a precocious girl—her first album came out when she was 12, her first single at 13. Starting that young, “everything prepared me for the long term. Fame is so weird,” she says. “Knowing what’s important can be challenging.” Priscilla Renee entered a competition, didn’t get in, but put her video on YouTube, and people started calling her, including Capitol Records. Her first release wasn’t a hit and Capitol didn’t ask her back. She was determined and kept putting her songs out there. Lindsey Sterling knew at a young age that she wanted to be a “dancing electronic violinist.” She was labeled “too different” when she
tried to get herself out there. She began putting up videos. “I was able to ride that wave of YouTube,” she says, where people found that her being different was a good thing. “Instead of listening to a record label, I listen to my fans and what they want to hear. I became a businesswoman, and got to pick my own dream team. I have no gatekeepers anymore, and I believe there’s room for everyone.” Betty Who learned to play cello at the age of four. She studied at Berklee, where she wound up meeting her team. “No one else sees what you see,” she says. “Now I can succeed or fail by my own hand. Being in charge of myself is very satisfying.” Unsung Heroes: Making It as a Music Director. As the panel blurb claims, behind every major concert tour, award show, opera, or musical, there’s a music director working behind the scenes (and sometimes under the stage). Paul Mirkovich, Greg Phillanganes, Kevin Teasley, and Marcus Miller all concur that they honor their commitments, but that almost every gig has a “yeah but.” They agree that they’re “never more a musician than a human being.” The issue came up that this profession is male-dominated. “All you have to do is be good,” they say. Says Kevin Teasley, implying that training needs to come first, “You cannot be a good leader until first you’re a good follower.” Marcus Miller adds, “Everyone has to use what they have to get what they want.” While they all admit they work with mostly men, they value musicianship and talent. They choose players who are the best, whether they are men or women. “Talent always commands respect,” says Paul Mirkovich. Live Multi-Genre Song Feedback Session with Darrell Brown. Darrell fills the room for a session he holds for almost five hours to listen to songs presented by attendees. He brings to the stage a songwriter, David, with a guide dog and helps the songwriter onstage to perform a new song. David sings and plays the guitar, and the room of songwriters suddenly becomes his backup percussion with finger snaps. Darrell invites other songwriters in the room to step up to the microphone and offer suggestions, each of which is wonderfully supportive and giving. When the line of songwriters is finished making suggestions, he makes a few
Darrell Brown’s Session: Writing Multi-Genre Songs
of his own. Then he chooses another songwriter. Every piece of advice is delivered with passion and inspiration. Ode to the Joystick. EXPO participants meet moderator Jason Hayes and composers Wilbert Roget II, Eímear Noone, Garry Schyman, Marco Beltrami, and Pinar Toprak, all writing for videogames. Discussing how they get inspired, Garry says, “Deadlines.” Eímear says deadlines make her hyperaware, and improvising around a chord progression gets her started. Wilbert carries a sketchbook, writes something every day to keep the juices flowing, and uses an app called Trello, which helps him organize plans and projects. He puts waterproof Post-It notes in his shower! Pinar detaches from music she doesn’t need to write and likes to go sailing. “Sailing brings me silence.” Garry starts with samples, then adjusts per the imagery he’s writing for. He likes to take a break, spend time with his family, then come back to work. “Today,” Garry says, “you can write in any style.” They all agree that story is primary, and persistence and teamwork are key. Evening Events. Meghan Trainor’s star power appearance on the last day reveals that the award-winning songwriter first attended ASCAP’s EXPO in 2010 as a 16-year-old unsigned artist. Grammy-winning Dan Wilson performs songs he’s written in collabora tion with Adele, Taylor Swift, and the Dixie Chicks. A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad and composer/ producer Adrian Younge discuss the soundtrack for the Emmy-winning Netflix series Luke Cage. The night ends with the traditional Writers Jam with Cassadee Pope, Prince Charlez, Andrea Martin, Ru Paul’s Drag Race composer Leland, and Kelly Clarkson collaborator Amy Kuney. Comments From EXPO Attendees. Lisa Aschmann says, “The conference Continued on Page 20
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S K I L L S O F T H E T R A D E
How to Meet People in a Relationship-Driven Business: Small Talk for Composers & Lyricists By Mark McKenzie
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any of us composers have spent thousands of hours alone studying, practicing, composing, arranging, orchestrating, reading manuals, and pushing faders in our studios. Left on our own, many of us tend to be introverts, a bit insecure, and awkward, or possibly we lean in the other direction of self-absorption, talking endlessly about how great we are. I’ll never forget attending an industry networking event and asking a stranger about his movie work. With bitterness in his voice he said, “It’s just all who you know, it’s not how good you are.” My response was, “Yes, exactly. It is who you know, and the question then is how can we become the sort of people others want to get to know and maybe work with too?” The question is how do you meet people in a relationship-driven business? After graduating with a bachelors, masters, and doctorate in music composition, I was book filled and social skills starved. I couldn’t carry on much of a conversation and would get nervous, especially around anyone who I thought could actually further my career. For some time, I orchestrated and left all the talking and schmoozing to successful composers. One day I faced the truth: if I was going to pursue my first love of composing, I needed vast improvement in my people skills. Browsing in a bookstore, I stumbled on a book that I was embarrassed to purchase but that interested me. It was The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debra Fine. For me it became one of the most important books of my career and helped change my life in a beautiful way. Debra Fine is a mechanical engineer and found she and her engineer friends were bright and had much to talk about but were truly horrible socially. She spoke of discovering that almost all people want to converse, but they avoid it, often feeling insecure, afraid, and incapable. Small talk is the answer to that problem. Small talk is the silence breaker, the nonthreatening, non-intimidating opening to a conversation. It breaks the ice and then allows the conversation to go deeper if you choose to let it. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” Our job, or better said, our fun, as creators is to meet those we didn’t know before, find the greatness in them, and share a bit of ourselves
in the process. Every conversation begins with someone breaking the silence: “How are you connected to this group?” “How do you know the host?” “Couldn’t help but notice your cool shoes….” “Wasn’t that a great film?” Or whatever comes to your mind at the moment. Then as in tennis, the ball has been served, you say something, they hit the ball back saying something and you return the ball either asking a question about what they just said, clarifying what they mean, or adding something. The key of course is to listen to what they say and let yourself honestly and empathetically engage. Then you can take the conversation as deep as you are willing to risk with transparency and inquisitiveness. At some point you extend your hand and say, “Hi, my name is Mark.” The deeper you go, the deeper the friendship level created. Practice! Practice small talk everywhere you go. Like playing an instrument you can only get good if you practice. The grocery store line, an elevator, the post office, the airport, or while you are washing your hands in a public restroom are all useful. If you screw up saying something stupid, it doesn’t matter; you’ll likely never see them again anyway. Interesting people are standing right next to us, but often we just ignore them. My girls are embarrassingly used to me introducing myself to strangers and then marvel when I tell them who they were. Practice has prepared me to converse at length and at ease with people like the greatest rock star of all time at Abbey Road, with whom in my earlier days I’d have been tongue-tied. Very rarely, at a party, I’ll meet someone who instantly decides I’m not worth talking to and ditch me somewhat awkwardly. That can be jarring, but remembering what people do and say just gives you information about them, their character, or current state of mind. They just missed the joy of getting to know you and it certainly wasn’t the right time for you to meet them. There may be an opportunity later if you want it. One obvious social climber came back to me minutes after ditching me at an SCL gathering and said, “Oh, I’m sorry…I didn’t realize who you were; I’m so happy to meet you!” and I was very happy to meet him too. We’re all learning and in process, aren’t we? Continued on Page 10
Our job, or better said, our fun, as creators is to meet those we didn’t know before, find the greatness in them, and share a bit of ourselves in the process.
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N E W G E A R
UVI USQ-1 and Antares Autotune Pro Reviews By Jack D. Elliot UVI USQ-1
Antares Auto-Tune Pro
USQ-1 is the latest from UVI. USQ-1 is modeled after the famous Ensoniq ESQ-1, a mega popular synth that was released in 1985. This synth was popular with John Carpenter, Yazz, Skinny Puppy, and Jean-Michel Jarre, just to name a few. It was one of the first affordable keyboards that combined digital and analog in multi-timbral workstations to create a hybrid synth. It featured an 8-track sequencer, three digital oscillators, 32 wave shapes, a Curtis resonant lowpass analog filter, and 15 routable modulation sources. The USQ-1 version comes with two oscillators, and the user can choose from an amazing 268 waveforms. The oscillators are passed through the typical envelope, filters, modulators, and FX. The library comes with 400 presets, and the modulation section is extremely versatile. The LFO can be assigned to the volume, pitch, and filter of each individual oscillator. It includes variable step modulators as well, which can be assigned to the same choices as the LFO. The FX section is great because you can use it within Thorus and Sparkverb, the two plugins that UVI sells separately. The interface is simple to use, and UVI provides a free update for the UVI Workstation 3 software engine that loads USQ-1 and others. The libraries will also load into Falcon v1.5 update if you own that as well. The sounds are great, with the presets sounding very analog and beefy—instantly you are sucked into the ’80s. I cannot compare this synth to the original because I do not have one in my studio. I used to use one, and for the purposes of this review I took the time to listen to a ton of audio examples to compare the USQ-1 to the original. I love UVI’s interpretation of vintage synths and the plug-in quality is exceptional, as they are with all UVI products. For all that this product comes with, you get such an amazing deal at only $79. Most plugins would be twice the price. An important side note: I’ve said it before—you really need to own an SSD drive to use these while you work so that the load times are faster. A standard hard drive’s load times would be very slow. I really enjoyed reviewing the USQ-1. I give it a 9/10.
Ah, Auto-Tune! Have you heard of this one? It was originally designed by Andy Hildebrand, an electrical engineer. He designed it to interpret seismic data, and then realized that the technology could also be used for pitch correction. Pretty insane! Do you think Cher was aware of this? Obviously, everyone and their grandma knows the Auto-Tune sound or has heard about it. Auto-Tune has been refined in multiple updates through the years. The new version is Auto-Tune Pro. There is a major update to the user interface, which I personally like better than the original. Antares has simplified the user interface so that users can learn the plug-in whether they are a beginner or a pro. Auto-Tune Pro is easier to learn and use in the automatic mode, and it now has two views: a basic view and an advanced view. The basic view has Retune Speed, Flex Tune, Humanize, and Natural Vibrato. The advanced view has all the other usual features, such as scale mode, bypass, or remove notes, etc. The main new feature that everyone wants to know about is that, in addition to a redesigned interface, Antares brought back the Auto-Tune 5 algorithms as an option. When you enable the Auto-Tune 5 feature it reverts back to Version 5, taking away some of the newer update features. Antares wanted to offer the original features, making it authentic to the original version, but this would not be my first choice. Why not have the extra bells and whistles so that you can still adjust more if you want to? You could just add another Auto-Tune plug-in after the Version 5 plugin for extra tweaking. You might be overdoing it, but you could be making an effect more than just tuning a vocal (unless this is what you want in your mix). This is a small con for me. Antares also added custom zoom states for graphic editing so that you can save specific and frequently used zooms without having to constantly adjust the plug-in. Another great addition is the capability to make the plug-in window larger, so 4K users like myself will be thrilled. I am a huge fan of Auto-Tune. The changes are cool, but not as much as I had hoped for. Regardless, this product still has amazing algorithms. I give it an 8/10.
8
I love UVI’s interpretation of vintage synths and the plug-in quality is exceptional, as they are with all UVI products.
T E C H T A L K
Assisted Mixing with iZotopedio By Fletcher Beasley
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hen I started out writing music for a living, I always assumed there would come a point where I would have an engineer who would mix all my music. I would sit back in the control room behind a large Neve console and say things like, “Can you make the strings sound silkier?” or “It seems like the low end isn’t very focused. Can you fix that?” While that happened on some projects, at a certain point I realized that there were many instances where it made more sense for me to mix them myself, be it for budget or practical reasons. At that point I got serious about mixing and decided to spend time mastering the most important tools like EQ and compression, so I could mix with confidence. Over time, I began to regard sound-sculpting and balancing as an integral part of the creative process—much in the way that orchestration is an important part of the composition process when writing for an orchestra. For the most part, experience and careful listening takes one much of the way to getting a good mix. But there are times when another set of ears lends a valuable perspective. Now, technology is starting to offer us the digital equivalent of those ears. Tools are being offered to mixers to supply visual feedback to get the best possible tonal balance, and iZotope is leading the way with the recent release of their Neutron 2 and Ozone 8 plugins. Neutron 2 is iZotope’s mixing assistant plugin, supplying an effects chain of a gate, equalizer, exciter, transient shaper, and two compressors within a single plugin for you to insert on a track. What makes Neutron 2 interesting is that it presents audio analysis and machine-learning tools to assist you in getting a better sound with your mix. Included tools such as Masking Meter, Visual Mixer, and Tonal Balance Control help the user visualize the way that different tracks interact with one another. These tools also assist in getting tracks to blend together. The Masking Meter is a tool built into Neutron 2 to help you tame frequencies that are competing with one another. With the EQ in Neutron 2 displayed, you click on the Masking button, which allows you to choose any other track that has Neutron 2 on it and display its EQ within the same window. Neutron 2’s EQ displays the frequency content of both tracks in real time and identifies areas of frequency masking. For tracks that aren’t
running Neutron 2, the included Mix Tap plugin can be used to reveal masking issues on those tracks within the Neutron 2 window. You can change the EQ of either track within the Neutron 2 window, regardless of which track’s instance of Neutron 2 is selected. The EQ also features a learn function to identify areas of interest, making a useful starting point if you are unsure of where the problematic frequencies are found. It can even be sidechained so that if, for example, you want a kick drum to trigger a low shelf EQ on a bass part whenever the kick hits that can easily be achieved.
What makes Neutron 2 interesting is that it presents audio analysis and machine learning tools to assist you in getting a better sound Another unique feature included with Neutron 2 is the Visual Mixer. Visual Mixer is inserted on the master bus and provides icons of all tracks in the session from which you can pan, affect level, and alter the stereo width of each track running Neutron 2 or Mix Tap from within Visual Mixer’s interface. Tracks that are running Neutron 2 show up automatically in the Visual Mixer, but those that aren’t can be affected in Visual Mixer if they run iZotope’s Mix Tap plugin, which is included with Neutron 2 Advanced. It’s a unique approach to pan and balance that has a ton of creative potential, and it allows for easy alternate mixes with its three snapshots that can be recalled with the click of a button. Another helpful tool in Neutron 2’s arsenal is Tonal Balance, which also works with iZotope’s Ozone 8 mastering suite. Tonal Balance is included with the advanced version of the plugins, and can be inserted on the master fader where it analyzes frequency content during playback as compared to thousands of other mixes in various genres. It is useful for getting a sense of how the tonal balance of the lows, mids, and highs compare with other mixes. This allows you to visually identify if your mix has too much, or too little frequency content in a given area. I found this
with your mix.
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Tech Talk Continued from Page 9
what sounds good, and that tools like this help give suggestions, but don’t replace our own aesthetic judgments.
to be helpful with dense mixes that had a lot of frequency content across a wide spectrum, but could be a little confusing when a mix didn’t fit into the Modern, Bass Heavy, and Orchestral categories that iZotope provides. Some of the music I was working on did not conform to those categories, and would seem to be lacking in some area according to Tonal Balance in spite of my ears telling me that everything sounded fine. iZotope provides the ability to create Tonal Balance presets from audio files or folders of audio files of your choosing to create custom presets. This is helpful, but I would like to see them expand on the presets they include to make this a more useable aspect of Neutron 2. It is a reminder that we must rely on our ears to tell us
Neutron 2 is designed to work in conjunction with Ozone 8, with the idea that many people will mix and master within the same session. I prefer to master music in a separate session from the mix. Ozone 8 is a great upgrade to an excellent mastering tool that works well whether you use it in a mastering-specific session or within a mix session. I should preface this by saying I hate mastering my own music, despite the fact that I sometimes have to do so due to the nature of the projects I’m working on. The challenge for me is that since I’ve mixed the music, I already like how it sounds, and I find it confusing and frustrating to try and improve on something I already like. Ozone 8 is extremely helpful in this
Small Talk Continued from Page 7
Recently I was on a dubbing date and a man walked in and stood a few feet from me ignoring me. I broke the silence and said, “Hi, how do you know the producer?” He said, “I’m marketing this film.” We talked about marketing, and by the end of the conversation, he knew I was a composer, and I had made a new friend. He ended up helping my daughter in her job search for a marketing position and is now a prolific producer of movies who has brought my name to directors on three occasions. Who would have thought a promotions guy would be my friend and end up making movies? Some time ago I was in a mix room with lots of people standing around awkwardly. I broke the silence with one guy and said, “Hi my name’s Mark…how are you connected to this movie? Turned out he wrote the script to the movie we were recording. “I love 10
your writing,” I said. I told him some specifics of what I liked, and before the conversation was over he wanted a copy of my most recent original score. I sent it to him and two years later he sent me an email saying, “I’ve worn out your CD, would you send me another copy, and do you have any other music?” Then he won an Academy Award on a timeless film, went on to produce a TV show, and asked if I’d be interested in composing it. I said, “No, I’m interested in feature films.” He said, OK someday we’ll do a film together. I recently got an email from him saying, “I’m close to getting my film off the ground.” One last example: I was at a party promoting a documentary, and I was standing alone with one of my daughters in a room filled with people and no one to talk to. Everyone was busy talking to someone else. It felt awkward and seemed like an eternity of standing alone. Then I saw another awkward-looking man about 15 feet
area, as I found when I went through this process on an album I was working on. The album didn’t have a big budget, so I thought I would see if Ozone 8 was up to the mastering task. Ozone 8 features a Master Assistant function that allows you to choose a track to analyze and use as a starting point. I loaded up some mastered tracks in a similar genre as a reference for Master Assistant for Ozone 8 to work from. Ozone 8 analyzed the tracks and applied mastering suggestions based on the tracks I had chosen. The results were amazing. Though I did a few tweaks, the basic starting point was very good. I was quickly able to get excellent masters that translated well on different systems. iZotope is on the cutting edge of using artificial intelligence to assist with the mix process. Neutron 2 and Ozone 8 are not substitutes for developing your ear and making your own mix decisions, but they can help identify problem areas and speed up the mix process. I am very impressed with the sound quality and the analysis value of these plugins. They are the start of a new wave of products that can help music creators get to their desired sonic results more quickly. And for composers working under fast-paced deadlines, that is music to our ears. g away standing alone with no one to talk to. I left my daughter standing, boldly walked up to him, extended my hand to shake and said, “Hi, I’m Mark; how are you connected to this party?” He looked relieved and said, “I’m the director.” I motioned for my daughter to join us and she went crazy because before we walked into the room she had said to me, “I’m passionate about this film’s subject matter. There’s nothing I’d like more that to meet the director of this documentary!” “Well ‘Beautiful’ (that’s what I call her), it’s a big party, we’ll see if that’s possible.” Small talk turned me into a hero in my daughter’s eyes. How cool is that? Go practice your small talk, and enjoy the magic of meeting wonderful people. g SCL Board Member Mark McKenzie (www. markmckenzie.org) has composed for numerous television series, 23 movies, and has orchestrated over 100 features. His 20 original soundtracks are available at most music outlets.
O
What’sHappening
n May 9th, composer Jack Wall performed live in concert at the CSUN Performing Arts Center. The concert program included pieces from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
Jack Wall conducting onstage
L-R: Dan Foliart, ASCAP’s Shawn LeMone, ASCAP’s Paul Williams, and David Vanacore
By Kaya Savas
L-R: BMI’s Doreen RingerRoss, USC’s Daniel Carlin, and Dennis Sands with the students participating in the workshop
On April 7th, BMI’s Sponsorship at ATMOS Studio continues for USC Thornton School of Music. Emmy/ Grammy-winner and four-time Oscarnominee Dennis Sands, who owns his own cutting-edge studio in Santa Barbara, taught students how to mix their scores via the use of Dolby Atmos. g g g
L-R: Anne Cecere and Joseph Stephens
BMI’s Anne Cecere with composer Joseph Stephens prior to the premiere of The Last O.G. at SXSW. g g g
L-R: Mateo Messina and John Cena
Composer Dan Foliart, ASCAP’s Shawn LeMone, ASCAP’s Paul Williams and composer David Vanacore enjoy their time at the 2018 ASCAP Golf Tournament. g g g
ASCAP’s 2018 Workshop for students of USC’s Thornton School of Music was held with composer Jeff Cardoni.
L-R: James Corden and Dominic Lewis
Composer Mateo Messina attends the premiere of Blockers with actor John Cena. g g g
Composer Dominic Lewis attends the premiere of Peter Rabbit with actor James Corden, who voiced the titular character.
L-R: Jeff Russo, Siddhartha Khosla, and Sean Callery
Jeff Cardoni with the students participating in the workshop
Composers Jeff Russo, Siddhartha Khosla, and Sean Callery are projected on the big screen as they participate in the “Behind Hollywood’s Hottest Heroes with TV and Film’s Top Creatives” panel at WonderCon. The Panel was held on March 25th, and these great composers joined other behind the camera talent to talk about all the creativity behind the scenes. 11
BLAKE NEELY Making Music More Appreciated
INTERVIEWED BY K A Y A S A V A S
Blake Neely’s versatility as a film and television composer has made him one of the busiest composers working in the industry. But a giant part of Neely’s career has been in television, where he has scored series such as Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale, The Mentalist, Brothers & Sisters, Everwood, and many more. Neely has followed in the footsteps of mentors such as Michael Kamen and Hans Zimmer to grow his own voice as a storyteller and build the career he has today. Neely’s path to becoming a composer spans from being rejected from the University of Texas’ music program to now helming nine series in one year. We dive in-depth into Neely’s process and approach to learn more about him as a storyteller.
old. I was kind of a classical music nerd as a kid and listened to a lot of my parents’ Bernstein records. I would conduct in front of the mirror in the privacy of my room. Then at eight years old, Star Wars came out, and I sat in the theater. As it was playing, I remember thinking, “Oh, I’ve never heard this music before,” having thought movie music was just classical music put in. So, if I’ve never heard of this, it must have been written for this movie, and if that’s the case, then that must be a job, so I want that job. That just started me on this path. However, I was sitting in a theater in Paris, Texas, a tiny little town in the days without the Internet, so I had no idea how I was going to get there. But that was what gave me my drive. Score: Did you go to school for music?
Score: To start off, I’d love to talk about your background. What was your path to finding music, and at what point in your life did you decide to make a career out of it? Blake: I think I decided to make it a career choice when I was eight years 12
Blake: I was doing piano lessons. I was also in the marching band until I realized that I wasn’t dating, so I stopped doing the marching band. I was pursuing lots of musical things, garage bands and things like that. Then I went off to the University of Texas in
Austin and auditioned for the music department. I received a letter from them saying that I was not accepted to music school, and should consider other career options. It was probably the best letter I ever received in my life, because it gave me this intense passion and drive to prove them wrong. Score: You definitely proved them wrong. Blake: It also taught me early on how to handle rejection, and as we all know in the SCL, handling rejection is a key thing to how we go about this business. It was a really great moment that felt tragic at the time, but when I look back on it, it’s probably the best thing that happened. Score: Looking at your career now and looking at the industry as a whole, how has the industry changed over the years from when you started to now in 2018? Blake: If I talk specifically about television, I’ve seen probably the biggest changes there. Most importantly is probably the cinematic quality of teleContinued on Next Page
vision. We’ve just gotten to a place where the storytelling is so deep, and the visual effects are so great, and the sound is amazing. Even where you watch TV has improved with technology. I think the real art form itself of television has vastly changed from the days when I was laying on the couch watching The Dick Van Dyke Show or Happy Days. I say that lovingly because I absolutely loved those shows. We’ve just changed as an industry, and we are able to tell bigger stories. With music, we’re also challenged as composers for television to raise our own bar and be at the same level as a film. I constantly remind myself that people these days aren’t necessarily watching movies in a theater. They might watch The Flash on the same screen and probably on the same speakers as they’ll watch The Avengers: Infinity War. I need to make sure that the music is of that quality, at least sonically if you know what I mean. Score: Absolutely. People keep calling it the “golden age of television,” but I do think it is the golden age of TV, not just because of quantity but also quality. I think a lot of the great storytellers have left feature films to really tell their stories in TV. Do you see that happening as well? Blake: Yes, that’s the other way it’s changing, there’s just so much content. It was four networks and a premium cable station when I was growing up. Now it’s tons of cable, online, and YouTube has their own channel, and Hulu, and Netflix. What’s great is you got access to all of these great stories. There are also so many more writers now, and producers and directors that create this huge quantity of projects that composers can now go after. It’s not like five people are writing television scores now, there are hundreds of us vying for the same jobs. In a way, it has made us less competitive with each other. I remember starting out early, you were very competitive with other composers. Some of them were your friends who were like, “Oh, I want that project.” Now there are all these opportunities, so we can actually be friends and celebrate each other’s achievements to where it’s, “That’s great that you’re doing that, I’m doing this.” Score: I never thought about that.
Blake: It really has opened up. It’s weird how that many opportunities have opened up in the industry, and how we relate to each other. Score: Looking at your process and your approach as a storyteller, where does the first note come from for you? Blake: The only time on a television series that I read the script, and not to be mean to the writers, but the only time I have time to read a script is the pilot. In 2012, Greg Berlanti said to me, “We’re going to try something different, we’re going to try to kickstart superheroes.” Little did I know it would turn into four series and a huge universe for DC. He gave me the script to Arrow, and the process became: I read it, I talk to him about what tone he’s looking for, and then basically go away for a week. I’d make my studio dark and comfortable and write before I have any picture. It’s really nice to write what you want, to write just musically, not being dictated by the scene or the pace of the cut. Just really focusing on the music. I surround myself with images that are inspirational, and it’s not always the character. I did have some images of Green Arrow from the comic books. Also, images of an island, he was deserted on an island. Things that would put me in a headspace of loneliness and solitude. I wanted to give him a certain strength through the music. I had a picture of the Parthenon, too, which to me symbolizes strength for some reason. I just write and then I develop some rules. What are my rules going to be for this show? Funny enough, on Arrow my rules were going to be that it had to be an instrument that was either bowed or strung. You get it, a bow and arrow? Now this is real geek stuff. I further limited myself to the keys of G and A for Green Arrow; really nerdy. It doesn’t make me think inside the box, it starts focusing in on a style, whether it’s a harmonic language or an instrumentation. So, out of that comes the first note. Then that first note can happen at a red light, it can happen in the shower, or it can happen in the Starbucks line. But that first note, it’s terrifying until it comes. You’re just like, “This is why I’m not going to make it, I’m just not going to have the idea this time.” And then it happens. Then it becomes this fluid writing process.
I did the same thing on The Flash, I surrounded myself with images of rockets, jet engines, and the comic book character. I was going for an idea of speed in the sound of the score. The next nerve-racking part is you finally get picture and you think, “I hope that my tone is going to match their tone.” So, you take the first scene and put this music up against it and sit back and say, “Does it work, or does it not work?” It’s really a magical moment when it works, and you say, “Okay, yeah, this is going to be the score.” Score: As a series goes through its first season and gets picked up and continues, are there growing pains in those first few episodes? Is everyone still trying to find that rhythm and find the pace? Blake: It depends on how the pilot process lands. The pilot process is a terrible process. If you got in early enough, and really designed the sound, and really could craft the pilot. You have generally about two weeks to come up with a sound, score it, conform to all these different edits, sell it, and battle temp. There are all these terrible things that are happening in too short a period of time. But if it went really well and you really nailed it, then you have a good template and roadmap for the series; you have some themes to turn to. If it was too rushed or it just wasn’t right, and time ran out, then you have the summer to redesign. I’ve had both experiences, where it wasn’t perfect but the pilot got picked up, and now it’s been the summer where I have two months to come up with a whole new score. If it really works, then let’s spend two months building templates and sound palettes that are like the suite that I wrote and the score that I did for the pilot. But growing pains are growing pains on any project, whether it’s a film or a series. Growing pains can shut you down, block you mentally or creatively. You think, “How am I going to do this?” But with the experience I have now, I kind of try to calm myself and say, “You’ve been through this many times. This will be fine, it’s just not the most pleasant part.” Score: So, you secure your pilot and you get hired as the composer for the series. Is there always a risk of being taken off the show? You see that some-
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Neely Interview Continued from Page 13
times where composers get taken off well into a series run. Does starting a series help your chances of staying with the show for its entire run, or is it always a gamble that you might be taken off later down the line? Blake: It’s an interesting question. It’s mostly up to you whether you keep the job or not; I truly think so. I’ve lost pilots while I was in the middle of doing them. I have successfully put a series on air only to find out I have been replaced. I’ve lost a series after four episodes where I’ve gotten replaced. And then I’ve been on series that keep going and going. I think the key is if you’re being honest as a person, you can look at where you failed. It’s really easy to say, “Oh, they just didn’t like me, oh, they didn’t like my music.” But if you really examine how you acted or what you wrote, it’s on you for whatever reason. It can just be the music they weren’t liking, it can be you weren’t delivering, or you came across as arrogant. Those are lessons. The other part of this gig is being a decent person and human, and getting them to trust you. It’s not just about them liking your music, they need to trust you. You have to have the confidence to pull this off for them in both film and TV, because music is the last thing they’re dealing with. It’s usually the one part of the process that the producer or director has no idea how to do. They love music, they appreciate music, they know they need music, but they don’t really know how to get there. So, you need to be a confident, decent, and calming person. I’ve been a therapist to clients, I’ve been all of these things, and then you write decent music. I think that’s your key to keeping it. I’m never surprised by the horror stories because there are no promises in this business. I’ve experienced them all. Score: You are one of the top composers working in television right now, and you have a lot of shows that are currently on the air. How many different shows are currently on the air that you’re scoring? Blake: This season I did nine series, which was ludicrous. 14
Score: Nine series? Blake: Nine series. Score: That’s amazing. Blake: With the nine series that I did this year, at the end of the season I’ll have worked on 185 episodes in one season. And that to me is exhausting just to think about. The other exhausting thing that happened in December, which was really fun. I passed my 1,000th episode of television. That was a huge milestone. Score: Congratulations, that’s amazing! Blake: Thank you! And I’ll tell you a short caveat side story. Two years ago, I saw Mike Post, one of my heroes at an awards event. I said to him, “Mike, how did you do it? I’m about to do a season where I have six shows, I don’t know how I’m going to do it.” He told me I’ll be fine, and to do this and do that. Then he gave me some advice and said, “But let me tell you something, one year I had nine.” So, this year I had nine. So now when I see him at the awards this year, I’m going to have to really say something to him, because he didn’t warn me enough. Score: How do you handle all that physically and mentally? How do you handle it in your brain, and how do you physically handle it as a human being? Blake: In my brain what I do is I compartmentalize, I’m very good at compartmentalizing and probably do it too much. For example, today I’m just going to focus on and think about one show. Not to say that I can score a show in a day, I’m just really going to focus on this one. It helps when you have different types of shows. I try to make sound palettes different, so that if I really want to work on Riverdale, it’s in its own sound world so my brain doesn’t get confused and suddenly start writing The Flash in Riverdale. The other thing that I started doing a while back once I passed having three shows, is finding additional help, additional composers, starting with my assistant. He began writing some cues, and then I found some outside additional composers. Last year, we moved that to an even better system, which is
co-credits. So, six of my shows have cocredits. I write with Nathanial Blume, Sherri Chung and Daniel James Chan. We’re all here in the same studio, and we’re working on these shows together. That’s been helpful because I can say, “Today I can’t even focus on Supergirl. So, if you’ll handle this and this, and then I’ll come back to it tomorrow. Today I’ve got to focus on Arrow.” That’s been helpful. Also, I wouldn’t be here without someone giving me a chance, and these guys are fantastic composers. To be able to get them the credit and the recognition that’s deserved has now just become part of my process. It’s great. Score: I love how open you are about that too. We know there is ghostwriting in the industry, and people are being kept in hiding. You, on the other hand, embrace your team, give all your team credit, and make it a team effort. I think that’s really special. Blake: I learned a lot from my mentors. This is how Mike Post did it, this is how Hans Zimmer does it. The transparency is nice, too, because once you’re transparent with your clients or producers, and thankfully almost all of my work is with one producer. But once you’re transparent, then you can say, “I’m writing every note on this one.” And they believe that. I had a meeting on a pilot, and the guy said, “How do you even have time for this? Are you going to farm this out?” I said, “No, I have time for this pilot, and I will do this 100%, but yes, I do have cowriters and help on other projects.” It’s easier to just come out of the closet and say, “This is how I do this.” No one on the planet would expect me to be able to write four and a half hours of music a week. Even though I don’t sleep, and I keep Starbucks in business, no one would believe it. So years ago I said, “Look, here’s how I do it.” That means that I still do write on every show. I haven’t gotten to the point where I feel comfortable with just walking away from a show. Also, I love all these shows, so it would be hard for me to hate one of my children and say, “You, I’m never going to talk to you again!” Score: You are also in a unique position because you do compose a lot of the DC shows, and every now and Continued on Next Page
Neely Interview Continued from Page 14
then you’ll have a crossover episode. What are the logistics in pulling that off musically? Blake: I just had no idea when we started Arrow that the show was going to be a success, but to be able to spinoff three more shows? We’re probably at 35 different superheroes that have been introduced. Greg had a vision and he said, “This year we’re going to introduce Flash on season two of Arrow and then it’s going to spinoff to its own series.” The next year we were going to start Supergirl, he said, “She’s going to have nothing to do with the Arrowverse.” And I thought, “Well, for now but maybe down the road.” In designing each of these shows’ scores, I always knew there was a possibility for a crossover. So I wanted to more or less cut them from the same cloth. I wanted to give them their own sound, but make it in a way that they could be crossed over and mashed up. I thought it’ll be a lot of fun if there was a crossover and to have everyone’s music working together. I didn’t design one as a jazz score and one as a country score. That would be really tough to comingle. I still had rules with each show. I had harmonic rules and lengths, specific style languages, instrumentation, but they could mashup. When we did the first crossover, it was so much fun to put Arrow’s and Flash’s themes together. They’re actually in this fight together and I did this big mashup of their themes. The next year, we did a crossover with all of them. Then this year, we had the biggest we’ve done, which was they combined all the shows into a four-part movie called Crisis on Earth-X. It was a two-night event, and it was just one after the next. We recorded with an orchestra. It was so much fun. There’s this one point where we got to a scene, and I think there are 18 iconic superheroes in this scene under this bridge. I sat down and thought, “Could I do it? Could I mashup all of their themes?” Then I thought, that’s just too much. Any chef would not put all the ingredients in the soup. It would have been just a musical soup, so I backed away. But I was able to combine the
show themes, so you get a little bit of Flash, a little bit of Arrow, a little bit of the Legends of Tomorrow all together. Those are my favorite episodes to work on. Score: You told me earlier that you don’t read any scripts because you don’t have time to. When you’re writing music, do you get the chance to kind of create season-long arcs? Do you know where the season is going, or do you just tackle one episode at a time? Blake: A long time ago I started a rule to make my producers promise not to tell me what was going to happen. Some people would think how would I create the arc over the season? There are several ways to do it. One reason I don’t want to know is that I’m a fan of the show I’m working on. I don’t want the spoiler of who’s going to die, who the villain is going to be, or who’s going to break up. However, the main reason is I think that I would probably drop hints in the music if I knew what was coming. This really came up on The Mentalist, and the big question of the series was who is Red John? I talked to Bruno Heller about it and I said, “Please don’t tell me.” Because I might put a Red John sound on that guy when he’s on screen, not even thinking about it or maybe even trying to. That really works to keep me interested in the show. There are some major arcs where we’ll tie it together. I mean, they have said before, “We need you to know that this person is going to die, we’re not going to tell you how but they’re going to die.” Or they’ll tell me who is going to be the big villain. They won’t tell me how it’s revealed, but that way I can establish something early. Score: That really makes sense because I remember Giacchino saying that’s how he scored LOST; he didn’t want to know what was going to happen. He scored it as he was reacting to it, as if he was in the audience watching. Blake: That’s a really good point, because that’s how I like to score. I like to score reactively instead of proactively. Score: Looking at your career up to this point and looking at what’s ahead,
do you give yourself a five-year plan? Do you have a list of what you want to accomplish, or is it more one day at a time? Blake: I do. It’s tough, and I think it’s more difficult for television composers because we don’t know when a certain series will end. It’s hard to say what I want to be doing in three years, because they might have spun off three more superhero shows that I just couldn’t say no to. Or they might have all been pulled off the air. It becomes very difficult to plan year by year. I go with bigger ideas, like the idea last year to get my amazing collaborators co-credits. Also last year there were some things I wanted to change about how contracts were done, and not for me but for the people behind me. Looking at how we get paid or the rights that we get to keep. That becomes a long-term plan. How we do get back some of the rights that we’ve given up over the years? How do we make the industry better? How do we make music more appreciated? I fight constantly for live scoring, and this year three of my series were live-scored shows. It makes it extremely more painful on a time basis, because you have to go orchestrate and record. But it’s important for the art form, it’s important that the producers and directors understand how vital music is, and they need to put money towards it. They need to set that budget aside. How do I use my voice with my experience, and the number of things I’ve done to do things that will help the industry and not hurt the industry? I was mentored, I wouldn’t be here without my mentor, Michael Kamen, so I feel like it’s my job to mentor. If it’s not directly with another composer, then it’s mentoring the industry in a way. That way we’re not fighting the same fights. Since I don’t know which shows I’m going to be doing in three years, maybe I’ll have made some changes to the industry in three years. But I have no plans on quitting anytime soon; I love the art form, and I love the craft, and I love music. Michael Kamen once said to me, “Never tell them that we’d still do this if they didn’t pay us.” Score: That’s such a great quote. Blake: And I love that.
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Front L-R: Hans Zimmer and Common Middle L-R: Benj Pasek, SCL Vice President and Oscar Reception Chair Charles Bernstein, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Taura Stinson, Diane Warren, and Robert Lopez Back L-R: Carter Burwell, Justin Paul, Alexandre Desplat, and SCL President Ashley Irwin
SCL Oscar Reception 2018
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he Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) hosted its annual Champagne Reception in association with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Music Branch of Governors, on March 3, 2018, at Eveleigh in West Hollywood, CA. The gathering celebrated the music nominees for this year’s Academy Awards.
L-R: Alexandre Desplat and SCL President Ashley Irwin L-R: SCL Vice President and Oscar Reception Chair Charles Bernstein and Jon Burlingame
L-R: J. Ralph, Carter Burwell, and Joel Beckerman
L-R: George S. Clinton, Lolita Ritmanis, Adryan Russ, and Tyler Traband
L-R: Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and SCL President Ashley Irwin 16
L-R: Greg O’Connor, Pam Gates, Mary J. Blige, and Dennis Spiegel
L-R: Lori Barth, Diane Warren, and Jack D. Elliot
L-R: Mac Quayle and Cat Deakins Quayle
L-R: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, SCL President Ashley Irwin, Common, and Diane Warren
L-R: SESAC’s Erin Collins, Pinar Toprak, and Katherine Liner
L-R: Hans Zimmer and Kaya Savas
L-R: Billy Martin, ASCAP’s Shawn LeMone, Benjamin Wallfisch, and Missy Wallfisch
L-R: Jeff Beal and Alexandre Desplat
L-R: Michael Silversher, Jonathon Schans, Dennis Spiegel, and Pam Gates
L-R: Jonathan David Neal, Joel Beckerman, Joel Douek, and Garry Schyman
L-R: Carter Burwell and SCL President Ashley Irwin
L-R: Taura Stinson and BMI’s Ray Yee 17
TV Pilots Then & Now Continued from Page 1
and networks will want to find a show that fits their brand and their audience, so some creative notes will be had. In the fall is when a network will make a pilot order, or in some cases a direct to series order. In mid-winter is when preproduction will take place if the pilot has gotten this far. The show needs a cast, a team, and these days they need a composer. When filming has completed sometime in early spring, this is when post-production kicks in and when it’s time for the series to find its voice through a composer. This pilot has now been on a journey that has seen tons of opinions, has been shaped and re-molded, and has the hopes and dreams of everyone involved baked in. Now it’s up to the composer to find the sound of this show that will hopefully span for years to come. No pressure.
Composer Jeff Russo
But what has changed? Why do we see more and more shows bringing a composer onboard to score the pilot, and what does that do for the series as a whole? Composer Jeff Russo says, “I think people are realizing that the way to create an identity for a show is to custom-score the pilot. There are many studios that don’t custom-score pilots and they don’t give it time to create an identity. Then the composer is stuck trying to beat the temp music, and the show never gets an identity.” Russo highlights the need to find the identity of the show, which is such an important thing right off the bat. Composer David Schwartz echoes that idea and says, “I think the studios want to see a fully developed musical concept before committing to a series.” Composer Kurt Farquhar also notes, “Production companies and networks are recognizing how sophisticated audi18
Composer Michael A. Levine
ences have become.” One might ask, hasn’t it always been important to find the identity of a show in the pilot? Of course you have to remember that television has never seen the output it’s currently seeing. According to The Hollywood Reporter, in 2018 we saw 76 new pilots picked up across the main networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, The CW, NBC). A handful of these greenlights were straightto-series pickups as well. This is not counting original programming from cable networks like HBO and FX or streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. This is a lot of content. Composer Michael A. Levine notes, “With nearly 500 scripted series on the air, a show needs everything it can to establish its unique identity as quickly as possible. I think television scores are less generic than they were when I was a kid.” Mac Quayle also shares the same view and points out, “There are so many shows being produced now that everyone is trying to do whatever they can to stand out.” Every show wants to break free from the mold, they want the next unique sound and aren’t afraid at looking outside the box to find
it. Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein being hired on Stranger Things is a perfect example of the quest to stand out. Composer Blake Neely also points out that the decision is not only a creative one, but a business one. Blake says, “When I started, pilots were being temped and tracked, and that’s how they sold them. There wasn’t this scare of them being leaked out on the internet or showing up somewhere. And that’s really the danger now, they want a composer to do it because they want to use these things at events like ComicCon and online. They want it to be license free. They don’t want to have a Thomas Newman score in their temp.” Blake highlighting the business benefit of this is a really important aspect. You usually always see the industry as business decisions competing with creative ones. Sure, everyone would love to record with a live orchestra, but sometimes there isn’t room in the budget for that. Now we are seeing a rare decision that is both beneficial creatively and financially. The network wins by being able to own everything within the pilot, and the show team wins by having a composer onboard to create the musical identity of their series from the start.
Composer Blake Neely
Composer Mac Quale
So, we have this great news that more and more pilots are bringing composers onboard with the idea that they will then be the composer if the show is picked up. What does that mean for composers? What is the key to getting hired and staying employed on a show? David Schwartz’s experience of getting hired actually comes from experience. Schwartz says, “Most of the time I get hired based on word of mouth and my past work. I also have fantastic representation at Kraft-Engel,
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TV Pilots Then & Now Continued from Page 18
and they are a huge help in finding new opportunities for me. Keeping a job is sometimes very different than getting it. Often, in the hiring process, producers and directors are looking for one type of music for the show. Once hired, that can change very quickly.”
Composer Kurt Farquhar
Composer David Schwartz
Jeff Russo notes that it’s important to know what the show is and to find the sound of that show. Russo says, “Having a clear creative vision for what the show should sound like is important, otherwise you’re throwing darts in the dark. The pilot is harder to score than the series because by the time you are scoring the series, you should know what the show sounds like. During the pilot you might rework the score five or six times before you find the sound of the show. You’re also limited on time, which adds to the challenge of scoring a pilot.” A TV pilot is indeed one of the more difficult musical puzzles to crack, and it’s amazing how little time there is for everything to come together. It’s also important to remember that the composer is there to service the picture. No matter what you’re doing, you’re trying to help tell the story but also giving the show and the creative minds behind it what they need. Kurt Farquhar highlights that by saying, “Show up on time or early, focus on the craft, and do your best. There’s nothing else about that challenge that you can do anything about! As for the challenge of keeping a job…I find that easy too, because I only work for Steven Spielberg. Whenever my show runner walks in the room (no matter who he or she is) I only see Steven Spielberg,
and I act accordingly!” That notion of treating your boss as the boss will definitely go a long way. But you also hope that your boss will value your opinions just as much as Spielberg values John Williams. So does this idea of original music from the start lead to better storytelling? Of course, the answer to that will be completely subjective, but one can’t deny the head start it gives a narrative. Once a show finds its groove, the end results down the line can lead to more memorable storytelling. Look at how Ramin Djawadi’s score to Game of Thrones has evolved throughout the series’ run. Look at what Michael Giacchino was able to do by having music be such an integral part of LOST’s storytelling for six seasons. However, LOST is a great example that great storytelling can happen even though the pilot was scored with temp music before being picked up. According to the liner notes of the season one soundtrack, Giacchino had to come in and replace a temp that included the likes of Bernard Herrman, Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, Thomas Newman, James Horner, Vangelis, John Carpenter and more. Of course, Giacchino had the added benefit of working under his long-time collaborator J.J. Abrams for that pilot. But in the end what is the best thing to come out of all of this? TV has existed for decades, and amazing shows are usually never defined in their first episodes or seasons. What all of this does point to is how TV is changing overall. Looking back at the business benefits of all of this, the biggest advantage to scoring a pilot are the chances it gives a show. Composers are now the unsung heroes of helping a series get picked up. Temps are necessary in this industry,
and they will never go away, but it’s a world of difference when you listen to something with temp music versus original. Even if you had no idea the music was temp, it wasn’t written for the picture and therefore isn’t doing the proper narrative work. Having a scored pilot can help the decision makers make the decision, because they are seeing a clearer picture. If a series is greenlit off of a temped pilot, things can change when a composer comes in to work their magic. Sometimes change is bad in the eyes of the decision makers. Everyone knows how the wrong people can fall in love with the temp. Now imagine network executives feeling irked because they greenlit a pilot that was temped only to be seeing something different once it was scored. Sure an original score can make it better, but sometimes people aren’t seeing that. They want what they initially bought. That is why when a network decides to greenlight a pilot that was originally scored, you have a better chance of not having buyer’s remorse down the road. It’s important to look at the world of digital streaming as well, and how that is shaping not just viewing habits but also the business. The way Netflix and Amazon mostly handle their series are by ordering full seasons, and then releasing all episodes at once. This is known as the “binge model.” Netflix and Amazon let the viewers decide what pace they will watch a season’s worth of television. Other streamingonly services like Hulu have stuck to the “watercooler model,” which is releasing once per week to allow TV to be a communal and shared experience amongst the public. However, it’s the binge model of TV production that really benefits from the shift of pilots being scored. In fact, Amazon’s pilot program is a prime example of showing how this scoring shift is changing the business model. Amazon started out their pilot program almost like it was a television program in itself. Amazon takes finished pilots, and then presents them for free to the public. The public then comments and rates the pilots, and seals their fates for either a series pickup or a hard pass. It’s definitely an interesting process, and it’s only possible if the pilot itself is scored. But now as binging becomes the norm, it’s the Continued on Page 22
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N O T E S F R O M N E W Y O R K
SCL New York Events Tribeca Film Festival Brunch Reception:
Spring 2018 Mentorship Program Events:
• Kickoff Party at Man Made Music • Composing for Music Libraries with Adonis Tsilimparis • Entertainment Law Workshop • Contracting Workshop with Kim Wertz • Tech Workshop with Anthony D’Erasmo
Presented by the SCL NY, White Bear PR, Alliance for Women Film Composers, and Found Objects Music. April 21, 2018. L-R: Mark Roos and White Bear PR’s Thomas Mikusz The Sinner Screening:
Presented by the SCL NY and followed by a Q&A with composer Ronit Kirchman and creator/showrunner Derek Simonds. May 14, 2018
L-R: Danny Gray, Jay Wadley, Ronit Kirchman, and Derek Simonds
ASCAP EXPO 2018 Continued from Page 6
is amazing. I’ve attended many. Claudia Brant is my new heroine. She has about 40 pressings per year—but her process is similar to mine. Her beautiful melodies, wonderful lyrics and great passion validate my process.” Says Matt Gray, “This is my first year. I won this badge through Songbird, who sponsored me to come out from Illinois. I’m beyond thrilled to be here, running into Lisa, whom I haven’t seen in years. We wrote a song together a few years ago, so it’s good to find each other and re-connect.” Stancia Harvey says she’s been songwriting since she was a child, but more professionally for about three years. “In this conference, I’ve gotten to meet many different artists, writers and publishers and make those connections.” Says Bobbi Lanea: “I like the energy of the conference. Each panel is inspiring. I encourage even people who don’t do music to come 20
here because it’s inspiring to pursue your passion, no matter what it is.” Omri Lahav says, “There are a lot of nuggets in every session—little quotes that I write down and carry with me. I still work with some of the people I met last year. One of the best things this year is I met one of my childhood heroes, Marcus Miller. I had studied everything he ever recorded, so it was inspiring to talk to him.” Catherine Joy reveals that her first EXPO was in 2010 when she decided to write music for media. “I met a group of composers, and we wound up spending time a couple of nights together, building a community— people who are still friends and collaborators of mine today. I learned so much, but also the people in the community sustain me.” Katrina Zemrak says her favorite panel was on social media. “They talked about YouTube and how to connect with viewers on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You want to market to a specific community and show them your human side as
L-R: The Spring 2018 Mentees and Anthony D’Erasmo
well as your music, so they can connect with you. I thought that was a great thing to know about.” Miguel Costa majored in journalism in college and decided to pursue a career in music. “I graduated from Musicians Institute, where Music Connection magazine was a big deal. I always wanted to write for it. I went to their offices, talked with their editor, and he gave me a shot. I’ve been writing for them for almost a year. ASCAP EXPO is networking heaven.” Says Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globewinning and Songwriter Hall of Fame’s Paul Williams: “You were put on this earth to make music. Music makes me feel we’re on the same planet, and helps us transcend what divides us.” Thanks, Paul. It’s good to be reminded. Adryan Russ is an SCL Board Member, heading up the SongArts Committee. She writes songs for film, television, theater, and recordings. She’d like to thank ASCAP for this inspiring annual event, and Shore Fire Media for their assistance.
SCL Events February 3—Sing Out L-R: Participants with Music Supervisors Garret McElver, Michelle Johnson, and SongArts Chair Adryan Russ February 6—Tunes for Toons Screening, Landmark Regent Theater L-R: Moderator Zach Laws, Composer/Songwriters Jake Monaco, Jim Lang, Lisa Loeb, Lisbeth Scott, and Music Supervisor Rossanna Wright
February 15—Scoring Documentaries Seminar, Mark Goodson Theater, AFI L-R: Seminar Chair/Moderator Fletcher Beasley, Composers Gary Lionelli, Catherine Joy, Miriam Cutler, Joel Goodman, and Jeff Beal
April 5—Tracking Your Music in the Digital Age Seminar, Mark Goodson Theater, AFI L-R: Adrian Morris, Dae Bogan, Dan Korobkin, and Music Rights Committee Chair/Moderator Garry Schyman April 24—Counterpart Screening, London Hotel Screening Room L-R: Executive Producer Jordan Horowitz, Composer Jeff Russo, Moderator Jon Burlingame, and Mark Smythe
March 8—Using Cubase & Nuendo Seminar, Ted Ashley Screening Room, AFI L-R: Seminar Chair Fletcher Beasley, Moderator Ken Jacobsen, Composers Gerard Marino, Sophia Morizet, and Danny Lux March 27— Songs for Satire, Parody & Humor Seminar, The Village L-R: Attorney Jay L. Cooper, SCL President Ashley Irwin, Composers Julie Bernstein and Steve Bernstein, SongArts Chair/ Moderator Adryan Russ, and Songwriter Randy Rogel
May 1 — Inside The Reel World with Jeff Rona Seminar, Mark Goodson Theater, AFI L-R: Seminar Chair Fletcher Beasley, and Composer Jeff Rona 21
TV Pilots Then & Now Continued from Page 19
binge model that may end up killing the pilot process altogether. Amazon is currently in the process of moving away from pilots. Last year, Amazon VP Roy Price spoke at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Deadline Hollywood reported him saying that pilots “sort of slow you down… It’s another 10 months. Between sitting at a table saying that’s an amazing idea for a TV show and having a TV show on the air, it’s normally 1218 months. But with a pilot it’s two years.” Price continued, “The reality of the marketplace is it’s competitive and often you just have to go to series, both from a timing point of view and from a competitive point of view…. We still have customer feedback, but will probably have fewer pilots for sure.” It means that networks are skipping pilots and going all-in. The days of 24-episode seasons are indeed dwindling. The network TV model is still there for the multi-cam sitcoms and single-camera dramas, but cable and streaming services are feeling a lot more comfortable in the 8 to 13 episode range for a single season. You can pace yourself and plan your route a lot better when you know where the finish line is. This is where the “golden age of television” truly comes into play, and why we are noticing better storytelling in television. A series like Jack Ryan for Amazon was greenlit straight to series as a complete first season. There was no pilot, no additional order, and no eventual pickup. The series was greenlit and designed as a tightly packed 8-episode season. Ramin Djawadi is onboard to score Jack Ryan and instead of having to tinker with a pilot first, then an additional order, he is able to work on the series and know where the finish line is right off the bat. In fact, you could even call this new model a “pilot season.” The TV pilot is indeed an ever-changing beast. It can be a hair-pulling process for a composer who is tasked at helping launch a new series. With music typically being the last part of postproduction, it can sometimes be the afterthought of a production. Thankfully though, TV is becoming a growing hotbed of creativity. We are seeing 22
amazing composer/showrunner relationships that are comparable to how directors and composers build relationships in film. Score is becoming a bigger part of TV narratives, and we are seeing more cases of composers getting to utilize the orchestra for TV scoring. In order to gain perspective, it’s usually a good idea to look at the starting point. Examining the TV pilot process and how music has become a growing part of it shows us how TV is changing both as a business and as a storytelling medium. We are seeing TV music playing a more active role in the storytelling. Showrunners are becoming more like filmmaking auteurs, and composers are sharing in that creative freedom. Music in television is comparable to music in feature films now. We are seeing amazing relationships blossom between showrunners and composers that result in career-long collaborations. We are also seeing a rise of TV music’s presence in pop culture. TV music concerts are on the rise as well. “With the rise of TV in general I feel there is more appreciation for television music,” says David Schwartz. Jeff Russo says, “TV score concerts are on the rise because composers are creating scores that lend themselves to being performed live. They’re more cinematic in nature and important to storytelling.” And in the end, that is what we can take away. TV music is more important than ever. TV music has always been important, but it has evolved and changed at such a rapid pace. While famous TV main title themes have always stolen the spotlight, it’s the entire musical body of a series that now attracts viewers. Viewers have now adapted to a world where a TV series can match the scope and grandeur of cinema, and that makes the world of television a constantly growing canvas for new voices. With each TV pilot, a new universe is pitched to the world. In many cases it’s the musical hook of a new sound or bold theme that can attract an audience into giving your show a chance. We are seeing this industry evolve constantly, and thankfully in this case, it’s for the better. Pilots being scored to sell a show may seem like a small move in the right direction, but the ripple of it shows a vast growth in the significance of television scores to both the industry g and the TV-viewing public.
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SCL AMBASSADORS BURT BACHARACH ALAN & MARILYN BERGMAN BRUCE BROUGHTON CARTER BURWELL GEORGE S. CLINTON RANDY EDELMAN CHARLES FOX ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL DAVE GRUSIN ARTHUR HAMILTON JAMES NEWTON HOWARD MARK ISHAM ROBERT LOPEZ & KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ JOHNNY MANDEL RANDY NEWMAN THOMAS NEWMAN MIKE POST LALO SCHIFRIN RICHARD SHERMAN
DAVID SHIRE ALAN SILVESTRI MARK SNOW MIKE STOLLER DIANE WARREN PATRICK WILLIAMS PAUL WILLIAMS MAURY YESTON
In Memoriam: VAN ALEXANDER RAY CHARLES HAL DAVID RAY EVANS EARLE HAGEN JACK HAYES JERRY LIEBER VIC MIZZY ROBERT SHERMAN
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD BILL CONTI
QUINCY JONES
PHILIP GLASS
GINNY MANCINI
HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERS JAY L. COOPER, ESQ. JIM DiPASQUALE
CLINT EASTWOOD
DENNIS SPIEGEL JOHN WILLIAMS
M U S I C A L S H A R E S
BY CHARLES BERNSTEIN
Film Music: How’s Your Career?
W
hat makes a career different from having a job? What is a career? Do you have one? Do you want one? There seems to be no hard line that separates work from career. It isn’t always easy to know what a career is, or when it actually kicks in. Some professions may have a wellworn career plan, a template, or a kind of roadmap that leads into the vocation. In medicine, for example, there is usually a path that begins in college with a pre-med program, followed by medical school, a residency, establishing a specialty, joining a practice, etc. There are various career paths for many other professions like law, finance, academia, and business. It’s no mystery how to become a lawyer: graduate college. Complete law school. Pass the bar. Maybe clerk for a judge or intern at a law firm. Pick a specialty. Apply to various firms or set up a practice. But, not all careers are so clear-cut. What about careers in entertainment or the arts? In these fields, a career can be difficult to define and even more difficult to pursue. The paths that lead people into show business or the arts can be rocky, random, or nonexistent. In these areas, miracles can still happen. A raw talent can still blaze a trail when none existed before, unlike more traditional vocations such as law or medicine. What about our own niche profession of film scoring? There was a time not long ago when the field of film scoring simply didn’t exist. Some composers in the 1930s saw it as a way to pick up some easy money while writing concert or ballet works. None of the original film composers of Hollywood’s Golden Era went to school specifically to learn the art and craft of film scoring. There were no books on the subject. When Max Steiner scored King Kong in 1933, he and other composers of the time—like Alfred Newman, Erich Korngold, Dimitri Tiomkin, Miklós Rózsa, or Franz Waxman—sort of invented the profession. It would be a while before we would see college programs devoted to training film composers as there are today. The careers that early movie composers each created for themselves had no proven path to follow, no specialized curricula to study, no training workshops, classes, or exams. Consequently, the first wave of Hollywood film composers included many concert composers, trained in Europe, who learned the craft of film scoring on the job or from each other. They more-or-less created and
defined their profession and their careers as they went along. Even the homegrown generation that followed the first film composers (who were also mostly the children of European immigrants) did not study film scoring as a career path. This group included such giants as Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith (and a young John Williams). They were all musicians, arrangers, or aspiring concert composers who trained and started out in other areas of music but eventually found employment composing for films. Again, they learned more or less from each other’s work and from the legacy of their predecessors. By this point, no matter where their paths began (and surprisingly often it seemed to be as draftees playing in or arranging for U.S. military bands), these composers soon gravitated to studio music departments as arrangers, orchestrators, or even musicians. We are now a few generations into the film scoring profession. Today a film composer’s career path looks a lot more formulaic (more like that of a doctor, lawyer, banker, or teacher). These days there are “programs” for those who seek a career in almost anything, including film scoring. Many of these programs are fantastic. At one time or another, most of us who work in film music have taught or lectured in these programs. But, unlike law and medicine, composers don’t need to be academically trained, licensed, or certified. They can still bypass the prescribed academic route and find careers the old fashioned way, the way our predecessors did, by forging their own path. Just as Hollywood was open to a wave of Europeans in the 1930s, the profession has been opening to a refreshingly wider and more diverse group of new talent, now including some amazing women. And many of these new voices continue to come from other countries and cultures. So, what does a career path for today’s film composers look like? It seems to be a mix of academic training combined with a sort of “guild apprentice” system. As we recall from Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger, the old guild system was a way of passing down skills and crafts in medieval Europe. In that process, there was a hierarchy of training consisting of masters, journeymen, and apprentices. In today’s terms, that might translate to working composers, assistants, and interns. The path
The fact is, a career is not just about finding work. It’s an identity, a calling. It must become a sustained and sustainable way of life.
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to a career in film scoring today may begin with a tailored college program including musical composition, studio electronics, and movie scoring techniques. From there, perhaps to a prestigious workshop, followed by a mentorship with a working composer, leading to some form of apprenticeship in the studio, followed by becoming an “assistant” or even a partner, and finally, a break to independent projects, festival exposure, followed by steady employment and bliss… (okay, not necessarily). This “ideal” career path may be mythical, but perhaps a happy reality for at least a precious few composers. Whatever the path, in the end a career isn’t something we “get.” We get a job, but we have to sustain a career. A career has to be established and then maintained over time. It usually doesn’t take effect until after some longevity in the profession has been attained. So, the important question regarding a career in film scoring isn’t about “how to get a career”; it’s more about, “how to continue a career.” To do that may re-
quire something that can’t be taught or bought. Something in addition to talent. Something invisible and yet essential to a career that propels and sustains it over time. We might call it fuel. A certain essential force that feeds, nourishes, and sustains a career. So, what is this fuel? Is it some strange mixture of propellants that we must put in our imaginary tanks? Is the fuel formula different for each individual? Whatever it is, we will need to nurture it, to be sure it’s renewable, and know where and how to get it. Some composers I know seem to run on solar or wind power. That is, they like to charge their batteries and fill their tanks by getting out in the sun regularly and perhaps sailing. For others, it might be a spiritual or inward practice, or a commitment to a higher power. There are many who draw energy and power from their childhoods: from past injustices, adversity and hardships, even from having overcome early abuse… or maybe they are buoyed by idyllic memories of an enchanted childhood. Some are fueled by fantasies of grandeur or perhaps by a deep fear of failure. Wherever that source of
energy comes from, careers take enormous resources and require continuous propellants in order not to sputter and decline. We should have no illusions about it. Creating and staying on a career path, especially in film music, takes commitment and uses lots of personal reserves. The fact is, a career is not just about finding work. It’s an identity, a calling. It must become a sustained and sustainable way of life. A career is not g just a gig. It’s a full-time job. © Charles Bernstein 2018 www.charlesbernstein.com
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