I just wanted to say how useful and beneficial I am finding Dispatch. Not only do I seem to get more submission opportunities here but the tight deadlines are doing wonders for my output as I am such a perfectionist who can sit and noddle over the most trivial aspects of a production for weeks. Heck my latest piece took almost a year after endless tweaks and revisions. Only because of a Dispatch deadline that I had to rush to meet did I finish and commit to v66 otherwise I'd be on v67 now and analysing that one to death.

Thanks guys!
Michael Dodds

I've found that Dispatch more closely matches the "real world" aspect of being a professional composer. Becoming faster at making musical decisions is a good skill to develop if you want to be a professional composer, and it looks like you're finding that out!

Of course, there's nothing like really digging into something, and one can still do that, but the quick turnaround is good training nonetheless.

Cool!

Mazz

Totally agree...matter of fact, TAXI in general has done wonders for my output!
I think musicians tend to bear done and "get 'er done" when faced with a deadline.

I was the kid who waited until the night before to do my book report!

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to say that I LOVE Dispatch! For me, it's much, much closer in feel to actual deadlines. It makes me work harder, yet forces me to let go off all the little nitpicky details that frankly no one else but me will probably care about. Remember Mickey, the coach in Rocky? I think of him calling out to me whenever I'm writing for a Dispatch listing, telling me to work harder: "you know what you are? You're a tomato!"

As many have said here, I too, used to opine over the third oboe dynamics and the accordion mid EQ, etc, etc. But truly, working faster I'm letting go of a lot of that, and I've gotten more used to "cutting the right corners", as they say. Now when I compose I always think: "What's more important? Getting the ultimate mix or getting a good piece of music DONE?" As I look back over the past three years at my TAXI submissions, the ones that got through (as others have noted) were almost never the tracks I was the most confident about, and often ones that only took a short time to create. Sometimes I think we get hung up on our music for all the wrong reasons.

The only benefit of having a longer deadline in my opinion is that you have more opportunity to let your music "cool" -- that is, let it alone and take your ears off of it for a while, then come back and hear all of the flaws. Objectivity is a good thing! That said, it's sure to be the case that if you spend days writing the average cue, it's sure to become stale, or "glazed over" if you will. I really believe there is a sweet spot in time vs. composing, and it's sure to vary among folks, but eventually you have to let it go and render that darn file! Plus, I can't imagine anyone making a decent living spending multiple days on a single cue, every time. Dispatch has helped me realize this.

Nowadays if I pursue a non-Dispatch listing (say, one with a 3 week deadline) I approach it on a Dispatch schedule... or even as an Agency listing if I can, which is insane but really exciting! Painful yet exhilarating... and what a way to build up your chops.

Mickey said it perfectly: "You're gonna eat lightning and crap thunder!"

...Oh yes, should also mention my first TAXI composing deal was through Dispatch. If I hadn't signed up I would have missed out!

This one has to be my favorite:
"You're gonna eat lightning and crap thunder!"