Need some advice - feedback from library

[jessecarrigan]

I was going to post this in the success forum until last night. I recently got a forward for dubstep and almost immediately got contacted by the library for a full batch. It was incredibly exciting and I worked like mad on it all week through a computer crash and sick kids.

I delivered the tracks last night and got some feedback that they weren't quite right, from the groove and feel to the mastering. It was obviously disappointing and ego bruising, but I'm dispassionate enough to know if they aren't happy it ain't right.

The problem is that I now feel terribly out of my depth and I'm not sure how to fix them. If there's that much wrong it seems like maybe these just aren't the right tracks, but I have no idea if I can write enough to deliver. I don't want to lose the opportunity but I want to do the right thing and not damage the relationship. I really don't know what to do.

It's kind of like the worst success - you get forwarded, contacted, and then you can't deliver the full package. Have you had a similar situation and what would you do?

[DooWahDiddy]

I work in the Broadway industry, and this reminds me of when actors start to feel they aren't right for the role. They audition, do well, get a callback, do well again, get offered the part, and then get into rehearsals and start to wonder if they were miscast. To them, and to you, I say well, they obviously saw something in you to let you get this far! Are actors ever let go after they're cast? Sure. But they saw potential in those people to the point of calling off the search, hiring them, putting them on the payroll, and getting them into rehearsals. That takes time and money. So they believed they could, at the very least, mold them into what they wanted, eventually.

Same thing here; maybe this track of yours isn't perfect, but don't sell yourself short. They see potential in you and believe they can get what they need at some point. Don't "type yourself out", or take yourself out of the running for them, you dig? If they decide you aren't what they need after all, fine, that happens, but let them decide that for themselves. You just keep doing what you do and remember you got farther than a lot of other people. Good luck!

[hummingbird]

Jesse I would just take time here. It might be better to start new tracks with the information that they've provided and do a lot of A-ing and B-ing with the tracks they did like (your forwards) as well as the a la's that were in the listing. It's possible your rushing through everything with tech problems and work etc, just wasn't jiving, you know? Start fresh, and get feedback from a couple of people you trust (like from this forum) before sending anything in. I also have a habit of letting tracks lie for a day or two and coming back with fresh ears to listen again to the mix and the composition, before I submit.

I do understand how you feel. Having a track or tracks forwarded to a library is really cool. You know they passed the screener and if the library contacts you, they like your work. When composing new tracks to submit to that library... I always do feel a little bit like I'm stepping off a cliff. So I do the 'rest your ears and listen again' thing, I listen to mix in mono and stereo, and I listen to it on different devices and then I try to get feedback from at least one source I trust.

Hang in there. It's a great opportunity, trust yourself. Find a good MO and follow it. Take your time and submit when you feel ready.

[jessecarrigan]

I can't thank you guys enough for this. I was truly considering just calling and saying, "I'm not ready to do this yet and also I'm a total fraud" (ok, not that last part really, but the feelings were there). I think I needed to hear it from someone who has been there before and worked through the struggle. I think I have a way forward and I'm going to see where this goes.

[Kolstad]

Do you work from a template?

If not you may consider saving the project with the forward as a template, and import the tracks from the other projects to that, and get a similar vibe to the projects that way.

You may also ask them what they liked the best from the forwarded track, so you can acommodate them better with what they want.

Don't take it personal, that is unprofessional. Everyone learn as they go, and each project and request is different. Its a golden opportunity to find out what works and deliver consistantly. The library care enough to tell you, so you are still in the game. The determining factor is how you react to their feedback.

You can do it, proof is in the pudding with your forward, just solve the issue and you are good.

[Cruciform]

I was going to post this in the success forum until last night. I recently got a forward for dubstep and almost immediately got contacted by the library for a full batch. It was incredibly exciting and I worked like mad on it all week through a computer crash and sick kids.

Did you rush through the batch too quickly? It's easier to keep a cue in perspective when you write it over a few days, then put it aside before finishing the mixing. Then put it aside again before mastering. Don't rush it. Don't push it. Do it right. Speed will come with experience.

[jessecarrigan]

Did you rush through the batch too quickly? It's easier to keep a cue in perspective when you write it over a few days, then put it aside before finishing the mixing. Then put it aside again before mastering. Don't rush it. Don't push it. Do it right. Speed will come with experience.

I almost certainly did. I'm proceeding more slowly now, and I think the approach is yielding better results so far.

[jessecarrigan]

Do you work from a template?

If not you may consider saving the project with the forward as a template, and import the tracks from the other projects to that, and get a similar vibe to the projects that way.

I didn't initially but started to part way through and it helped. Great advice.

You may also ask them what they liked the best from the forwarded track, so you can acommodate them better with what they want.

They were pretty forthcoming with what they liked and didn't which was helpful. If they hadn't asking would have been smart.

Don't take it personal, that is unprofessional. Everyone learn as they go, and each project and request is different. Its a golden opportunity to find out what works and deliver consistantly. The library care enough to tell you, so you are still in the game. The determining factor is how you react to their feedback.

You can do it, proof is in the pudding with your forward, just solve the issue and you are good.

Great insight. Dileep Rao is an actor who has been in Avatar, Inception, and Drag Me to Hell and I heard him say on a podcast that if the casting director asks him to reread a scene during an audition he always believes he has a chance. I think that's apropos here too.

[jessecarrigan]

I posted a request for thoughts on my latest attempt in the Peer to Peer forum if anyone would be willing to take a listen (warning, dubstep ahead!).

[jessecarrigan]

Hi Jesse,
Something resonated with me when I read your post. It might help to check this out...
http://forums.taxi.com/impostor-syndrom ... 20syndrome
Its amazing how many of us get similar feelings from time to time, and perhaps it comes with the territory.
Even if it just doesn't work out this time, what's the worst that can happen?
You're still everything you ever were, and maybe a little more after this experience.
However, I'm sure with a bit of reflection on the situation you'll get things back in order.
Good luck!

Meant to say something about this - it's good to know that I'm not alone here. "What's the worst that can happen?" is a great question to ask at these times.