Please help me understand what's needed

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nlamont
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Please help me understand what's needed

Post by nlamont » Thu Jan 19, 2017 3:16 pm

I'm interested in atmospheric cues. I submitted to this opportunity some time ago.
AMBIENT UNDERSCORE INSTRUMENTAL CUES. Give them subdued, dynamic, ambient underscore with "textural" instruments and sounds that blend in and out of each other to create a solid piece of engaging music. You'd be wise to stick to a singular mood throughout the entire Cue so your submission conveys a single mood/emotion from top to bottom, whether it's exploratory, mysterious, wondrous, dangerous, etc
The track I submitted was 'Searching By Torchlight' on this page:

http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.p ... rmanlamont

The feedback I got was this:
Cue is one-dimensional in structure and lacks a central melodic theme that would set it apart and attract attention from editors/listeners.

What puzzles me is that I thought for things like this you wanted minimal melody and I thought I'd provided that with my tuned drum. The same track got a forward earlier for
MYSTERIOUS, AMBIENT SOUNDSCAPE INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Library with a long list of great placements in TV, Film, and Commercials. They're turning over lots of stones to find some fresh, compelling Underscore Instrumental Cues. soundscapes that effectively deliver a moody, mysterious, and ominous feeling, with instruments that bleed and blend in and out of each other to create a compelling piece of underscore. You'd be wise to stick to a singular motif throughout the entire Cue so your submission is cohesive, and single-minded throughout. In other words, give them Cues that will work for one scene because it sticks to one musical idea
I'm not disputing the second reviewer, just trying to work out if the key differences in the requirement and what would have made the difference?

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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by hummingbird » Thu Jan 19, 2017 3:38 pm

Any chance you could post the entire listing for both opps? Like to see the a la's and all the text. Thanks!
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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by nlamont » Fri Jan 20, 2017 1:12 am

Hi hummingbird

The returned one was
AMBIENT UNDERSCORE INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a NON-Exclusive Film/TV Music Library supplying music directly to a very popular HBO TV Show. Give them subdued, dynamic, ambient underscore with "textural" instruments and sounds that blend in and out of each other to create a solid piece of engaging music. You'd be wise to stick to a singular mood throughout the entire Cue so your submission conveys a single mood/emotion from top to bottom, whether it's exploratory, mysterious, wondrous, dangerous, etc. All submissions should be at least 2 minutes in length. Broadcast quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine). This company offers a NON-EXCLUSIVE, 50/50 split. You'll get 100% of the Writer's share. The Publisher will get 100% of the Publisher's share. You must own or control your Master and Copyright to submit for this pitch. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis - No full critiques. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59PM (PDT), on Friday, September 9th, 2016. TAXI #Y160909AU
The forwarded one was
Y160624AS

MYSTERIOUS, AMBIENT SOUNDSCAPE INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Library with a long list of great placements in TV, Film, and Commercials. They're turning over lots of stones to find some fresh, compelling Underscore Instrumental Cues that are in the general stylistic range of what you'd hear from composers like Hans Zimmer, Charlie Clouser, Atticus Ross, etc., etc., etc. Take a listen to the following references to get an idea of what would fall into the range of what they need: "S.T.A.Y." by Hans Zimmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x3zAMfmpAM "Peretta Pod" by Charlie Clouser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmTj1NdoLXc "What Have We Done to Each Other?" by Atticus Ross: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4wSJMorYK8 Less is definitely more with this pitch! Give them soundscapes that effectively deliver a moody, mysterious, and ominous feeling, with instruments that bleed and blend in and out of each other to create a compelling piece of underscore. You'd be wise to stick to a singular motif throughout the entire Cue so your submission is cohesive, and single-minded throughout. In other words, give them Cues that will work for one scene because it sticks to one musical idea. All submissions should be at least 2 minutes long, with non-faded endings with a natural decay/ring out are recommended. Do NOT copy or rip off the referenced music in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a guide for texture, tone, and vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed (Great sounding home recordings are fine). This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal. You'll split all upfront sync fees 50/50, (which can be very substantial for Trailer Music). The Publisher will get 100% of the Publisher's share, and you'll get 100% of the Writer's share. You must own or control your Master and Composition rights. Since this is an Exclusive deal, please be sure your material is NOT already signed with any other Libraries or Catalogs. Please submit one to three Instrumentals online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis - No full critiques. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59PM (PST), on Friday, June 24th, 2016. TAXI #Y160624AS

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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by Onaginoffegin » Wed Jan 25, 2017 7:32 pm

I didn't see in the listing you posted that the cue asked for a central melodic theme, but if it did, those three words have probably tripped-up more TAXI members than any other words.
As far as being one-dimensional in structure, I actually enjoyed the track but feel it could have been further develop[ed by adding some more — and different — textures as the piece progressed. Maybe even a build of some kind.
If you listen to the track in the beginning and at the end, it sounds pretty much the same.
At least for me.
Another way to make a cue less one-dimensional is to incorporate changes in dynamics.
Just my two cents.


...Henry

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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by nlamont » Thu Jan 26, 2017 2:16 am

Thanks Henry

Point taken about textures. If the end sounds like the beginning, that's a good tell.

Like you I didn't think they were looking for melody.

I'll so some more on this and repost. It's not that I'm going to spend hours matching an old listing, but I want to learn from the comments and make a better piece of music, and emply principles I can use for the next cue.

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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by nlamont » Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:36 am

Hi

I've worked on this track to try to give it some development in terms of texture. There's also a little dynamics added, to make it a bit claustrophobic towards the end.

Any feedback would be welcome. Again it's no longer about the particular listing, just whether this is a good cue likely to be acceptable to future underscore/ambient listings.

https://soundcloud.com/normanlamont/sea ... 03/s-mP9rr

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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by Onaginoffegin » Sat Jan 28, 2017 3:24 pm

Yeah I liked this. Nice use of sounds.
I'm going to make one suggestion:
I've submitted a lot of cues in this genre, and most listings ask for a cue length of about two minutes.
Your track is 3:20.

If this were my piece, I'd shorten it to two minutes — there's even a good place to end at about 2:10, or so.
This would not only place your cue within the "about two minutes" limit, it would — in my opinion — make the piece more interesting by being less musically redundant.

And if it were me, I would slightly increase the BPM until the piece ends at exactly two minutes. A couple of reasons for this:
Some listings say "from 60 seconds to two minutes." I had a cue forwarded for a listing like this, but the screener told me he almost returned it because it was 2:01 in length.

The other reason is purely my opinion which I cannot back up factually.
My cue lengths used to be haphazard — 2:04, 2:13, 1:58, etc.
Now all my cue lengths are exactly 2:00. I feel it just looks more professional.


...Henry

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Re: Please help me understand what's needed

Post by nlamont » Sat Jan 28, 2017 4:59 pm

Thanks Henry, I'll do that. I too have had a cue returned because it was a few seconds over the specified time.

Norman

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