Film Music

[johnclavin]

I just got a return from this listing.

Music Supervisor looking for SONGS and INSTRUMENTALS for a FEATURE FILM. Fees will be approx. $10,000 for Songs, and less for Instrumentals (all-in). The Supervisor needs music that creates Atmosphere, Texture, and Energy for the entire film. She's specifically looking for tracks that incorporate the inanimate FEEL of machines/computers in a MUSICAL WAY a la Moby's "The Broken Places" and "Isolate." She also referenced this track by Four Tet as an example of the sound she's looking for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOxudEvx ... =fvstSongs with vocals a la Radiohead's "Exit Music (for a Film)" are definitely welcome, as is music in the style of Fall On Your Sword. **BUT ABSOLUTELY NO THIRD-PARTY SAMPLES OF OTHER ARTIST'S VOCALS OR MUSIC.** And as ALWAYS, DO NOT copy or rip of the referenced artists or songs in any way, shape or form. Use them only as a guide for style, texture and vibe! Broadcast Quality and Top-Notch Vocal Performance (excellent home recordings are fine). You must own or control 100% of the Publishing and Master rights. This is DIRECT to the Music Supervisor, so you will KEEP 100% of the income-NO Publisher Splits! Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include LYRICS for songs with lyrics. ALL SUBMISSIONS will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS by the Music Supervisor HERSELF at the TAXI office, so NO FULL CRITIQUES on this listing. THE SUPERVISOR WILL CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY IF SHE IS INTERESTED. Submissions must be received no later than WEDNESDAY, AUGUST, 10th, 2011 at 10:00AM (PDT). TAXI # Y110810SI

I don't see how I could have missed the mark here.

"She's specifically looking for tracks that incorporate the inanimate FEEL of machines/computers in a MUSICAL WAY."

My song is "Midnight Paradigm" on my Taxi website.

[davewalton]

Hi John,

If you listen to the example video and A/B the overall sound and vibe of that track against yours, you'll hear that the two are very different. That video music is what they want to hear. It's got a very heavy beat, lots of low end and the "computer" sounds are part of the background soundscape rather than being part of the melody. Listen around the 4:30 mark... that's where I hear a lot of what she's probably considering to be "computer" sounds... reverse loops, static, etc. But the overall feel is pretty heavy even though it has a balled like tempo.

The other thing just generally speaking... your sound set (the sounds you're using) really need to be upgraded. They sound very dated and thin. For stuff like this, a copy of Omnisphere and Stylus would/could make a big difference. Overall though, the vibe and sound that the video has is the target and the track you submitted just doesn't match that vibe and sound.

One thing maybe to experiment with, try sandwiching a section of a track you're working on between to "ala" tracks in order to hear how well your track blends in. Send it to a few friends and if no one can tell which is you, you're on the right track! I did this a few years ago and saved this little clip...

http://www.davewaltonmusic.com/PrivateA ... IsDave.mp3

The middle one is me, the others were reference tracks. It's not bad but now I listen and I hear a lot of difference and I could probably do better, get closer to the other two. It just takes time.

Good luck on the next one!

Dave

PS - Anything that pays ten grand is going to be *very* high bar

[johnclavin]

The other thing just generally speaking... your sound set (the sounds you're using) really need to be upgraded. They sound very dated and thin. For stuff like this, a copy of Omnisphere and Stylus would/could make a big difference.

Hi Dave, you have mentioned my sounds before. I make all my synth sounds from scratch starting with sine waves. I thought the thin phasey sound was right for the part.

John

[treesbygb]

I agree with Dave and he's covered all the points very clearly. I would add that the clip they reference has a lot emotional depth which your piece lacks. If you'd had a beautiful atmospheric piano piece as the main theme and added your synth sound with lots of reverb on it at key moments, you might have had something.
I hope that helps as I'm a little wary about criticising other people's work, but think it's only fair if I'm going to ask for feedback.
All the best
Gary

[johnclavin]

I would add that the clip they reference has a lot emotional depth which your piece lacks.

The listing said: "She's specifically looking for tracks that incorporate the inanimate FEEL of machines/computers in a MUSICAL WAY."

in·an·i·mate
adj.
1. Not having the qualities associated with active, living organisms.


I was trying to specifically not have emotional depth with the instruments or the computer like playing of the instruments, but to let the percussion, harmony, and melody bring out some emotion.

[treesbygb]

A fair point, but she also said in-cor-por-ate, the inanimate feel.... I don't think I need to quote the dictionary definition as you did! This implies it should be used with something else and listening to the reference material, that would need to be a piece of music with some emotional depth, which provides a nice juxtaposition.

As I said, I'm always wary about giving feedback, but your initial post implied that you wanted to know why your piece didn't get forwarded and if someone kindly takes the time to listen to your music and pitch in ideas, then please take that in the spirit it's intended.

[Casey H]

Hey John
I agree with with treesbygb said. Both he and Dave offered you solid feedback on why your piece was not a fit for this listing. The best thing to do is learn from the experience and move on.

Most of the time, if you have to explain that hard what you were trying to do, it wasn't a fit. When it comes to Taxi listings, successful folks will tell you that the "a la" examples rule.

Best of luck to you!
Casey

[mazz]

John,

I hear where you are going with this piece and I also think that you adhered a bit too much to the letter of the listing and missed the spirit of it. I went too far, probably, in the other direction in that I used an existing, flowing emotional piece and tried to add industrial type, machine like sounds to it.

To my ears, with the listing in mind, your piece doesn't evolve emotionally and create a texture and an atmosphere, particularly in light of the a las mentioned. Your synth arpeggio/ostinato sets a mood but then remains static. It has the "computer" vibe but after a short time it ceases to be "musical" due to it's unwavering consistency in timbre. If the listing had said, "make it computerized as the main element", then your piece may have been closer to the mark, but as has been mentioned, the word incorporate is a huge key here. I would say (and again all of this is just my opinion, which I believe you asked for implicitly by posting here and stating that you don't see where you missed the mark) that you didn't incorporate the computer element but rather made that the focal point.

Just my 2c, take it or leave it. I got returned too: "Stylistically off target". I knew in my gut it was a long shot and as I mentioned, I think I went too far in the opposite direction, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about here, but I always learn from listening to others' music and it's always easier to hear "issues" with other folks' stuff than our own!

I wouldn't get too bent on this one, it was super high bar, the supervisor was screening, and it's always hard to interpret listings anyway. If you don't submit, you don't have the potential to get it, but at the same time, this is a batting average game, you will strike out more than you will hit. That's the way it is for all of us.

We're all trying to get better at reading the listings, and we can't count on the clients to learn how to write them better, because if they were musicians and could write the music themselves, then they wouldn't need us. We have to learn to understand them because they will never fully understand us and what we do.

Hang in there!

Mazz

[matto]

The listing said: "She's specifically looking for tracks that incorporate the inanimate FEEL of machines/computers in a MUSICAL WAY."

in·an·i·mate
adj.
1. Not having the qualities associated with active, living organisms.


I was trying to specifically not have emotional depth with the instruments or the computer like playing of the instruments, but to let the percussion, harmony, and melody bring out some emotion.

John,

As the famous saying goes, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture".

This is why "a la's" are of such paramount importance. When I try to understand the gist of a listing, I first seek out all the a la's given and listen to them carefully...then I re-read the listing and it usually becomes a *lot* clearer what the listing party is talking about.
If instead you pay little attention to the a la's and use Webster as your listing interpretation aid, then i think more often than not you'll be sending yourself off on a wild goose chase.

Just my personal experience...

matto