Where to start?

[bwgray]

Hi Everyone,

Like many of you, the prospect of writing for Film & TV is quite enticing, but I'm really confused on just how to start. I'm confused on what it is I should be writing - a full song (words & music), just music, 30 seconds of music, other? I understand it should be specific to listing that I would be sending it to, but at the same time I would like to prepare more prior to jumping into the game. <-- Does that approach make sense?

Can anyone shoot me some recommended resources & links on the basics I should be reading? I wanted to pick up Robin Frederic's book, but can't seem to find an option to purchase an e-copy of it anywhere. =(

Additionally I'm not yet a Taxi member. I think when I'm armed with the right information, and have done my prepwork and homework, then I would sign up as I would think at that point I would get the most bang for the buck.

Thanks for your help - much appreciated!
Brad

http://www.reverbnation.com/bradgray

[eeoo]

Hi there and welcome!

A few generalizations: For songs with lyrics and vocals you should shoot for 3:00 to 3:30. A little shorter or a little longer is generally fine though. For film/tv pitches you'll almost always want universal lyrics, nothing too specific as far as names, places, dates, any kind of really specific details should be avoided. Where that line is you have to decide for yourself. It's generally wise to stick to simple arrangements as well, you don't want anything competing with dialogue that might be happening while your song is playing. Always have an instrumental version of the song available and do this by muting your vocal tracks, leave everything else exactly the same.

For instrumental tracks around 2:00 minutes is generally okay. Again it's usually wise to avoid anything that sticks out too much in the mix and can get in the way of dialogue.

These are of course generalizations and there will be exceptions. Much of it is genre specific and making your tracks sound like certain "ala's" .

Just a few pointers to get you going in the right direction. i don't have Robin's book but I hear it's great, you should get it.

Good luck!

eo

[coachdebra]

Hi Everyone,

Like many of you, the prospect of writing for Film & TV is quite enticing, but I'm really confused on just how to start. I'm confused on what it is I should be writing - a full song (words & music), just music, 30 seconds of music, other? I understand it should be specific to listing that I would be sending it to, but at the same time I would like to prepare more prior to jumping into the game. <-- Does that approach make sense?

Can anyone shoot me some recommended resources & links on the basics I should be reading? I wanted to pick up Robin Frederic's book, but can't seem to find an option to purchase an e-copy of it anywhere. =(

Additionally I'm not yet a Taxi member. I think when I'm armed with the right information, and have done my prepwork and homework, then I would sign up as I would think at that point I would get the most bang for the buck.

Thanks for your help - much appreciated!
Brad

http://www.reverbnation.com/bradgray

I don't think there is any one "right" answer to this question - it so much depends on what you want to be, what kind of career you want and where you think your core skills lie. I do think it's a good idea to pick one genre/style to focus on and master, rather than dabbling in many.

Having said that - one of the best ways to jump in is to start writing to listings and post them in the peer-to-peer for review and feedback. And to participate in the peer-to-peer for others as well - you can learn a lot by participating in those discussions both as a composer, as well as an observer.

And think of this as a process, a journey. You will not hit a point of finality where you will be "ready". Dive in. Play hard. Listen, learn and then do it all again.

[Russell Landwehr]

Heya, Brad. Welcome to the Forums. It's good to see you here. You've already found the best resource: forums.taxi.com

Ethan and Debra have some very good points.

Really, these Forums (and specially the Peer-to-Peer portion) are an Excellent tool. And the best thing I could advise you to do is to just jump in there and do it. Like Gilli Moon says... "Just Get Out There." (hehe, Debra said it too)

Don't think about it, don't analyze it, just do something... anything. Sitting back and trying to get your "ducks in a row" only leads to procrastination (I speak from experience). When you jump in and just do it, things happen. If something doesn't work, try something else. I bet you already know what you are drawn to, so do it.

As far as the length of tracks and all that stuff we worry about, Ethan gave you some really excellent pointers to get you in the ballpark. But don't fret it too much. Like he indicated, there is certainly a lot of wiggle room. Jump in there.

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with.

Regards,
Russell

[davewalton]

Hi Everyone,

Like many of you, the prospect of writing for Film & TV is quite enticing, but I'm really confused on just how to start. I'm confused on what it is I should be writing - a full song (words & music), just music, 30 seconds of music, other? I understand it should be specific to listing that I would be sending it to, but at the same time I would like to prepare more prior to jumping into the game. <-- Does that approach make sense?

Can anyone shoot me some recommended resources & links on the basics I should be reading? I wanted to pick up Robin Frederic's book, but can't seem to find an option to purchase an e-copy of it anywhere. =(

Additionally I'm not yet a Taxi member. I think when I'm armed with the right information, and have done my prepwork and homework, then I would sign up as I would think at that point I would get the most bang for the buck.

Thanks for your help - much appreciated!
Brad

http://www.reverbnation.com/bradgray

This is one of more thought out approaches I've seen in a while and believe me, it'll serve you well. For the most part, nothing really happens fast so you might as well take the time to build the right foundation. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone just jump in with the three songs they wrote that their friends love to listen to while drinking and, upon finding out that they get returned for one reason or another, storm out of the forum in a huge flaming ball of self-importance.

So in addition to things like Robin Frederick's book, I think a great place to start is to post up a track or two that you might target to a specific listing. There's lots of good, successful writer/musicians here and getting feedback on your tracks is a great first step. And a free first step I might add.

The one thing about the Taxi listings is that a lot of us found ourselves writing music styles for a specific listing that we never really considered before. This is all about hitting the target. A listing calling for "Out-of-tune grade school band performance recordings wanted..." needs music that really doesn't sound very good.

You'll see some of the members post up music that got forwarded (or a deal) for one thing or another. Listen to what is getting forwarded or a deal with the listing in mind. It'll help to focus your efforts and you'll have a yardstick, so to speak, to compare to.

[andygabrys]

hey Brad,

you have got lots of good info above.

I assume that you have already signed up to get the TAXI listings (I believe you can do this without being a member) and / or perusing them on a monthly basis to see what TAXI is looking for?

Look for the intersection of your likes and talents and the opportunities. For example, your vocal songs might fit in a narrow stylistic range, but you can handily come up with instrumentals in a wider range. Might as well do both!

Something that is very important is getting the quality of your recordings to sound like something you could find on a commercially available CD - in whatever style you are interested in.

So I would start listening to the "a la" artists in some of the TAXI listings that interest you and making a study of those tracks. What kinds of instruments, what kinds of vocals, how tight the instrumental parts fit together, what grooves, what doesn't, does it sound live or put together one track at a time, and mix wise - how loud stuff is, how it seems to be processed, where things are panned, what kinds of things are in mono, what are in stereo, what kind of polish is applied to the production as a whole.

everybody starts out at some place on the idea and production curve, and pursuing a "broadcast" quality recording takes good ideas and writing AND good packaging.

good luck!