Whaddya think, what's this listing trying to say?

[kevinmathie]

Hi all!Well, with your encouragement on my last thread I started, I decided to keep plugging away at this Taxi thing, and am about to submit another instrumental cue for another listing.The problem is, I'm not totally sure what the listing is asking for. I think I know, but I'm not positive. So, I thought I'd better get your input, since you're undoubtedly much more experienced in interpreting these listings than I am.Here's the listing, in part:[q]"Moody, atmospheric" NEW AGE INSTRUMENTALS [no vocals] in all tempos sought by President of Music Library/Publishing Company for potential placement in "Reality Shows" on TV. Instrumentals with or without lead melody lines are OK. Tracks that drift into the "Muzak" territory may also be OK, but he's NOT seeking healing/meditation/nature/relaxation tracks -- he needs New Age with a bit of an edge. He said to "watch Survivor, The Apprentice, America's Next Top Model, and all the others from Network to Cable to PBS, and emulate and innovate what you hear."[/q]I have to admit to not being a huge fan of Reality TV, although I've watched some. What's confusing me a little is that the term "New Age", to me, conjures up images of Yanni or David Lanz or John Tesh -- which doesn't exactly corrolate to the terms "Moody, atmospheric" in my mind, nor to the requirement that the music must have a "bit of an edge." But, maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe I'm still thinking of mid-1990's New Age, and I have to catch up with the times.Anyway, I came up with something that seems "moody and atmospheric" to me, and something that seems to create a feeling of suspense.The composition definitely does not stand on it's own. But, I think it might be effective as underscoring that needs sustained suspense without really going anywhere particular (i.e.: ..."Is that your final answer?"... *long pause* ... "I think so...Let me take some more time to think about it... *long pause*...."Hmmm"... *pause*... "Yes, it's my final answer"...).But, I'd love your input. 1) Did I interpret the listing correctly? Does this music fit what you think the publisher might be looking for?2) Does it work as underscoring, or did I miss the boat, and is it just obnoxious to listen to?3) Any other suggestion/comment/insight, even if it's not related to #1 or #2, would also be appreciated.Thanks! Here's the track:(Link removed by Kevin, pending a major re-working of the piece. I'll repost a "before and after" link when I'm finished)Edited to add:This piece isn't totally finished. It's in an ABA form, but I think the second A section needs to be altered to maintain at least a little interest, even though a producer would probably edit this to be much shorter for a TV program. But, for now, I just repeated the A section exactly just to have something with which to get your input.

[matto]

Hi Kevin,I see two problems...The bell sound is really piercing and kinda obnoxious, I don't think this would work behind dialog. It would be better to use more organic textures like marimbas, xylophones or just a much more mellow bell sound.Second, the piece needs more layers and interest. Right now it basically sounds like one or two pads, a rhythm loop that's more or less static, and that simple and overly repetitive bell pattern. Now something very simple CAN sometimes work as underscore...but remember you first have to get your piece past the gate keepers, namely the Taxi screeners, the owner of the library, and ultimately the music supervisors/editors who would use the piece in a production. I think to do that you need something that has more layers, more textural variety...that's more "interesting" and "cooler sounding".If you'd like you can go listen to a couple "reality" tracks I wrote that I think are stylistically along the lines of what this guy is looking for, and they have actually been used on reality shows...so I guess they must work... Follow this link: http://www.mastersource.com/ms_index.html , then click on "search the catalog" to enter the search engine.Then type "Elimination Trepidation" or "Meet The Contestants" in the search field. Elimination Trepidation gets regular use on "America's Next Top Model", and the other one has been used on a couple cable programs.The sound quality of the mp3s is not the best, but I hope it suffices to give you a better idea. You'll find that compositionally, the pieces are VERY simple, but there's more going on texturally and productionwise.Good luck to you!matto

[kevinmathie]

Quote:If you'd like you can go listen to a couple "reality" tracks I wrote that I think are stylistically along the lines of what this guy is looking for, and they have actually been used on reality shows...so I guess they must work... Wow! Those are great tracks. After listening to them, I totally see how my track would never stack up the way it is. Thank you for sharing. Those two tracks are very informative. I'm going to revisit them a few more times during the week to study what you did. I hope you don't mind. When I hear those tracks in isolation (i.e., not trying to pick out what's going on in the music bed while at the same time trying to follow what's going on with the TV program), I see what you mean. There are several layers coming in and out of the mix that add a lot of interest -- even though a lot of those details must get lost when mixed low, and generally mangled by TV producers by the time it gets broadcast.And, I see exactly what you mean by the bells in my track being obnoxious. After playing my track immediately after listening to your track, I also see how they get boring very quickly.I really appreciate your input. This really helps alot. I'm going to work on it over the next couple days, incorporating your suggestions and post an updated version for you (and everyone else, of course) to critique, to see if I've been able to improve it.Thanks!Kevin

[matto]

Thanks Kevin,I'm glad you find it helpful.

[johnnydean1]

Quote:Hi Kevin,I see two problems...The bell sound is really piercing and kinda obnoxious, I don't think this would work behind dialog. It would be better to use more organic textures like marimbas, xylophones or just a much more mellow bell sound.Second, the piece needs more layers and interest. Right now it basically sounds like one or two pads, a rhythm loop that's more or less static, and that simple and overly repetitive bell pattern. Now something very simple CAN sometimes work as underscore...but remember you first have to get your piece past the gate keepers, namely the Taxi screeners, the owner of the library, and ultimately the music supervisors/editors who would use the piece in a production. I think to do that you need something that has more layers, more textural variety...that's more "interesting" and "cooler sounding".If you'd like you can go listen to a couple "reality" tracks I wrote that I think are stylistically along the lines of what this guy is looking for, and they have actually been used on reality shows...so I guess they must work... Follow this link: http://www.mastersource.com/ms_index.html , then click on "search the catalog" to enter the search engine.Then type "Elimination Trepidation" or "Meet The Contestants" in the search field. Elimination Trepidation gets regular use on "America's Next Top Model", and the other one has been used on a couple cable programs.The sound quality of the mp3s is not the best, but I hope it suffices to give you a better idea. You'll find that compositionally, the pieces are VERY simple, but there's more going on texturally and productionwise.Good luck to you!mattoMatto,did you write Elimination Trepidation for an Ad for hemorrhoids.J

[spariam]

There's a Survivor TV soundtrack from the first season...several tracks of varied moods, which gave me a little something to go on.