Any Theme Composers?

[mazz]

You've got to watch the show.

[lboogie77]

I tivo'd the show yesterday. Didn't really hear much promo stuff, it was sort of a solemn show about this crazy recession.Some light piano cues, and Only one orchestral/perc type thing as the show was coming on. Not much to go on. Why don't we bounce some ideas off each other? I have a tune on my page. Subtle mood, I guess its theme-ish.Any thoughts?Regardswww.taxi.com/lkeys

[slideboardouts]

Jun 19, 2009, 5:52am, lboogie77 wrote:I tivo'd the show yesterday. Didn't really hear much promo stuff, it was sort of a solemn show about this crazy recession.Some light piano cues, and Only one orchestral/perc type thing as the show was coming on. Not much to go on. Why don't we bounce some ideas off each other? I have a tune on my page. Subtle mood, I guess its theme-ish.Any thoughts?Regardswww.taxi.com/lkeys Its a nice piece that would probably work on the show, but for this I think you want to focus a little more on theme song type pieces...like the opener and closer of a show. I'd stick with something upbeat and catchy. Don't go too over the top though, keep it simple but make sure that it builds properly. If it just repeats the same thing over and over again then it won't go over too well. They like really simple, catchy numbers and tend to like staccato strings. What I would probably do is submit one simple, catchy theme song type piece and one big orchestral promo type piece that builds nice and is full of emotion. That way hopefully you are covering your bases.HTHSteve

[lboogie77]

Thanks Steve!

[didger]

Hi all,I'm new 'round these parts and have been waiting a few days for my account to be approved so I could post this. Now, it's a bit too late, but I'm wondering if anyone (obviously Steve or Mazz in particular!) is on now and would comment on four candidates I've got for this listing. I've renamed them all to start with "Promo" on my taxi page (linked in my sig) so they're easy to find.Basically, my question is whether they're too complicated, too dramatic, etc. I'm thinking of removing the lead guitar on "Promo - Happy Family" to make it better for background to voiceovers. And I wonder if "Promo - Feeling Fine & Funky" is just too busy for this sort of thing. Same with the orchestral cue.Again, sorry for a needy first post, but if anybody's on and has the time, it'd be appreciated!

[stevebarden]

Jun 23, 2009, 10:42am, didger wrote:Hi all,I'm new 'round these parts and have been waiting a few days for my account to be approved so I could post this. Now, it's a bit too late, but I'm wondering if anyone (obviously Steve or Mazz in particular!) is on now and would comment on four candidates I've got for this listing. I've renamed them all to start with "Promo" on my taxi page (linked in my sig) so they're easy to find.Basically, my question is whether they're too complicated, too dramatic, etc. I'm thinking of removing the lead guitar on "Promo - Happy Family" to make it better for background to voiceovers. And I wonder if "Promo - Feeling Fine & Funky" is just too busy for this sort of thing. Same with the orchestral cue.Again, sorry for a needy first post, but if anybody's on and has the time, it'd be appreciated!Hey Randin, cool tracks. Mazz is really the expert here since he's doing this work regularly, but I'll give you my two cents. Of the ones featuring guitar I would just pull the lead guitar out completely and have it more of a groove kind of bed. The guitar part is a featured soloist that will probably work against the promo (the promos will feature some kind of dialog).The orchestral piece is nice but sounds more like a film trailer. That's not to say that it won't work, it all depends on what it's being used for. Again, Mazz is going to be the guy to give you a more definitive assessment.I hope this helps. Best of luck to you!Steve

[didger]

Thanks for the reply. I did just slightly remix and remove the lead from the mellower guitar track. I've gotta run out briefly now, but will see how the bluesier one works without the lead if I have time. I still think it might be too busy, too noisy for this sort of thing. So I'm just trying to decide between the "Promo - Piano Drama" track and the "Promo - Feeling Fine & Funky" minus lead.I agree on the orchestra piece, but might give it a go. I was really surprised when I saw an ad online for the big giveaway or whatever they call it that had really over the top orchestral action music... but maybe not quite as over the top as this one I've got. We'll see.Incidentally, slideboardouts seems to be another Steve who's doing this gig. I dub this the land of many Steves.

[slideboardouts]

Jun 23, 2009, 10:42am, didger wrote:Hi all,I'm new 'round these parts and have been waiting a few days for my account to be approved so I could post this. Now, it's a bit too late, but I'm wondering if anyone (obviously Steve or Mazz in particular!) is on now and would comment on four candidates I've got for this listing. I've renamed them all to start with "Promo" on my taxi page (linked in my sig) so they're easy to find.Basically, my question is whether they're too complicated, too dramatic, etc. I'm thinking of removing the lead guitar on "Promo - Happy Family" to make it better for background to voiceovers. And I wonder if "Promo - Feeling Fine & Funky" is just too busy for this sort of thing. Same with the orchestral cue.Again, sorry for a needy first post, but if anybody's on and has the time, it'd be appreciated!Well, I can't help you with orchestral stuff as i don't do that genre yet (thats definitely Mazz territory), but I think I can help you with the theme part which, as I understand it, is going to be fairly important. Keep in mind that anything I write on here is based on my personal experience and interpretation of the listing. I could be dead on or I could be dead wrong. First off, I think that all of them were nice pieces. My favorite is "Happy Family," and IMHO that cue is right down this particular shows alley. It could be used in certain types of promos too IMO. One thing that I would change about "Happy Family" is the ending...I would make it a little more definitive ending with the tonic. I would probably keep it exactly how it is and just add on the root chord/note with the guitar, piano, and bass at the end. A little reverse cymbal bringing the piece to an end would probably sound good too. Right now the ending has a great bumper feel...like the show is going to commercials and you're leaving the audience hanging. I think its a cool way to end but for this application I would probably stick with that strong, definitive ending.Of all the pieces, I don't really hear one that stands out as a theme song though. When doing a theme piece I think its VERY important to build it around a super catchy, simple tag/ID. An example of a tag/ID is the little NBC jingle. When you hear that jingle, no matter how they doctor it up you know EXACTLY what channel you are watching without even having to look at the TV.Another good example I think is "The Office" theme song. That might not be the feel you want to go for for this listing, but its a good example of starting with a catchy one instrument melody and building. As far as themes go, I think that is what they will be looking for. Start with a simple, one instrument melody (the tag or ID), and then continue to build the arrangement. Thats all I've got, Hope that helps.Good LuckSteve

[didger]

Great post, Steve - even if it came in right about as the submission was due! I wish it hadn't taken so long to get approved as a newbie on this forum and I (all of us!) could have had your response days ago. I definitely was confused about the theme element, as when I watched the show Friday and Monday, there didn't seem to be any of what you describe. It was all very much background music, very low in the mix behind the dialogue (okay, mostly monologue ). So I figured they didn't want the music too attention-getting. Hence, the Happy Family cue started out with a catchy synth lead, then had a guitar lead, and now has nothing. I'll see about adding the resolution you suggest tonight or tomorrow morning and uploading it before it gets reviewed. Probably can't keep it within the ol' 29.5 seconds though, without a bit of speed up which would change the feel.I did the big piano drama cue before reading the hints here about what show it is. I figured the sort of backbeat in 3/4 might catch attention due to the focus on percussion in the listing. But if you think it's totally wrong for this job, I might see if I can hastily come up with a simple theme piece tomorrow AM and slip it in its place!Thanks much. On one hand, I hope some of us are successful in this, on the other, I hope this doesn't mean taking work away from you!

[lboogie77]

0 for 2 Anybody get the nod? 77