((( Scoring Commercials - Advice )))

Flipsid3 · 13th February 2008

Just wanted to know how composers / designers go about scoring a commercial.

When you receive the video what is the process until the audio and video become one seamless production?

Reason I ask is because I want to create a demo reel this year with about 5 commercials I have downloaded from post production websites. I will strip the audio from the video and create and design my own score.

Is this a good way of starting out? Or do you have any other suggestions to get this process going?
Please forgive me if this sounds a bit broad

Thank You for any information contributed.

soundfx · 13th February 2008

I suppose you could swipe spots from other websites and rescore them, so long as you make it abundantly clear that's what you did. Doing this with trailers from apple.com is another idea. Honestly, every story I've ever heard of people getting their start composing for TV includes word of mouth and serendipity. I got started because I was doing post-audio and my client needed some music...I happened to be available and ten years later we're still working together. That one moment blossomed into a decent amount of scoring work over the years. I can't imagine cold-calling. Bleh. Mandy.com and broadjam are other places to look for work, even if its freebies for a while to get you started.

As far as how the process works, I suppose that differs broadly as well. I've had the same clients forever, so they FTP some video my way and they may or may not have any suggestions about style or genre. They just hand it off and say "good luck". Of course, those are the most fun because there are fewer restrictions. When I'm finished, I'll just send the married file back to the client over FTP and voila. I'm not sure if that answers your question or if your question was of a more technical nature.

-S

Flipsid3 · 13th February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundfx

I suppose you could swipe spots from other websites and rescore them, so long as you make it abundantly clear that's what you did. Doing this with trailers from apple.com is another idea. Honestly, every story I've ever heard of people getting their start composing for TV includes word of mouth and serendipity. I got started because I was doing post-audio and my client needed some music...I happened to be available and ten years later we're still working together. That one moment blossomed into a decent amount of scoring work over the years. I can't imagine cold-calling. Bleh. Mandy.com and broadjam are other places to look for work, even if its freebies for a while to get you started.

As far as how the process works, I suppose that differs broadly as well. I've had the same clients forever, so they FTP some video my way and they may or may not have any suggestions about style or genre. They just hand it off and say "good luck". Of course, those are the most fun because there are fewer restrictions. When I'm finished, I'll just send the married file back to the client over FTP and voila. I'm not sure if that answers your question or if your question was of a more technical nature.

-S

Well from an overall perspective yes that answers my question. Thats gotta be real nice to work with the same clients over the years and complete the audio. I completely understand the FTP process. Its great that you can work in the studio and simply transfer files to the client.

Thanks for the tips with Mandy and broadjam. I haven't had any success with mandy though because all they want is interns and I can't afford not to make money since I have a lot of responsibilities as is. I will definitely check out broadjam and see whats going on.

Thanks

As for the technical standpoint it would be nice to know what the frame rate should be and if I should keep a metronome locked into the original audio. So this way I know my score will be on time with the video. Good idea or no? And is this process correct if I use Cubase SX to score my audio then marry the video and audio with Vegas....

I don't have Pro Tools

I will make it clear to others that I ripped the video to create my own demo though... this way I can show my skills instead of being an intern at a post house running getting coffee without really doing anything....LOL!

Ultimately I just want to put a demo together and possibly get freelance work.
MY DREAM

But I'll keep your "word of mouth and serendipity" in mind.

Thanks sir

eric maltz · 14th February 2008

a lot of times editors will cut picture to music, and the person who wrote the music composed to the cuts ( chicken and egg sort of thing) so using the same tempo as the original music is not a bad idea, as all your "hits" will line up with the spot. as far as frame rate, i feel like 29.97 is pretty standard, most audio programs seem to like dv's. another web site to check out is wheresspot.com. also doing music for student films is another way to get experience scoring to picture, and make a little cash while your learning

. good luck!

E Baxter Put · 15th February 2008

I have also met with editors/ videographers that sometimes do small projects and use canned music. I can offer custom composed music for a specific project at rates that are competitive to stock music rates.

You can also make a compilation of your original music to use as a demo. I have had clients that do not want to deal with having to work with a composer, so I will give them some tracks that I have done in the past that they can purchase for their project.

Start building your own music library!

soundslikejoe · 15th February 2008

There's a few things you need to do if composing to video; spotting, tempo, conceptualize.

You need to watch the video and drop markers at every cut/disolve. Also drop markers at key points of action. Go back and tighten the markers up since its not likely you can drop them correctly in time.

After that you turn on the click track and find a tempo that fits the markers using the grid. Try to hit strong beats (1,3) with markers. You also imagine the musical content and that's the trick; only certain music will fit the emotional content and tempo map.

Then make it happen.

13th February 2008	#1
Flipsid3 Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 18 Thread Starter	((( Scoring Commercials - Advice ))) Just wanted to know how composers / designers go about scoring a commercial. When you receive the video what is the process until the audio and video become one seamless production? Reason I ask is because I want to create a demo reel this year with about 5 commercials I have downloaded from post production websites. I will strip the audio from the video and create and design my own score. Is this a good way of starting out? Or do you have any other suggestions to get this process going? Please forgive me if this sounds a bit broad Thank You for any information contributed. __________________ Pentium 4/2 gig RAM / Motu 2408 / UAD Cards x 2 / Access Virus Polar / Sherman Filter Bank 2 / Waldorf Q / Jomox Airbase / DynAudio BM5A / Yamaha NS10s

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13th February 2008	#2
soundfx Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 345	I suppose you could swipe spots from other websites and rescore them, so long as you make it abundantly clear that's what you did. Doing this with trailers from apple.com is another idea. Honestly, every story I've ever heard of people getting their start composing for TV includes word of mouth and serendipity. I got started because I was doing post-audio and my client needed some music...I happened to be available and ten years later we're still working together. That one moment blossomed into a decent amount of scoring work over the years. I can't imagine cold-calling. Bleh. Mandy.com and broadjam are other places to look for work, even if its freebies for a while to get you started. As far as how the process works, I suppose that differs broadly as well. I've had the same clients forever, so they FTP some video my way and they may or may not have any suggestions about style or genre. They just hand it off and say "good luck". Of course, those are the most fun because there are fewer restrictions. When I'm finished, I'll just send the married file back to the client over FTP and voila. I'm not sure if that answers your question or if your question was of a more technical nature. -S

14th February 2008	#4
eric maltz Gear interested Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 21	a lot of times editors will cut picture to music, and the person who wrote the music composed to the cuts ( chicken and egg sort of thing) so using the same tempo as the original music is not a bad idea, as all your "hits" will line up with the spot. as far as frame rate, i feel like 29.97 is pretty standard, most audio programs seem to like dv's. another web site to check out is wheresspot.com. also doing music for student films is another way to get experience scoring to picture, and make a little cash while your learning . good luck!

15th February 2008	#5
E Baxter Put Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 102	I have also met with editors/ videographers that sometimes do small projects and use canned music. I can offer custom composed music for a specific project at rates that are competitive to stock music rates. You can also make a compilation of your original music to use as a demo. I have had clients that do not want to deal with having to work with a composer, so I will give them some tracks that I have done in the past that they can purchase for their project. Start building your own music library!

15th February 2008	#6
soundslikejoe Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Carolina Guy Posts: 719	There's a few things you need to do if composing to video; spotting, tempo, conceptualize. You need to watch the video and drop markers at every cut/disolve. Also drop markers at key points of action. Go back and tighten the markers up since its not likely you can drop them correctly in time. After that you turn on the click track and find a tempo that fits the markers using the grid. Try to hit strong beats (1,3) with markers. You also imagine the musical content and that's the trick; only certain music will fit the emotional content and tempo map. Then make it happen.