seems like less is more is what is getting synced

[BrianSteel]

I get what your saying although I don't know if it was in reference to my song.

More of a general tip really but can apply to a lot of stuff

Anyway, Lego blocks in terms of being able to cut it up for their purposes? is that what your mean.

Yes , if you think of it in terms of smaller pieces/chunks that are inter-changeable. So that might be 4 bar blocks that can be stacked but are still usable if you remove certain parts and easy to reassemble into a new shape ( to fit the scene )

I am really trying but I know in the end I am the only one with the drink in the hand at the end of the night with no payout. ce la vie. I am learning.

Every day's a school day ! ...at least you have a drink

Thanks cosmicdolphin,

I am understanding this more. I don't want to complain but I think that the clients really know what they want but they give roundabout examples that are close to what they want but not the exact reference track and unfortunately they are probably
not musicians. Case in point I have come to realize that the string pizzicato that was requested in a prior brief is nothing more than It's always sunny in Philadelphia. Well, kick me in the ass for not knowing that was what they were looking for as it wasn't mentioned in the brief. This is all assumption on my part but I can't think of another show that emphasized pizzicato strings that that one. And that was a stretch for the production when they went for that music. I would bet that that music is what the library had in mind but they gave examples which have pizzicato strings but not like the music from the show - only comes slightly close. Having said that, I am learning how to deal with this and I am learning that you probably have to dig deeper than what's provided in the brief. Is there a reason why they can't simply come out and say we are looking for strings like what was on this show?

[superblonde]

There are several clinics/panels where music supervisors or their library musicians admit that often they do NOT know what they are looking for. So they make a brief and dig up some examples in the ballpark of their assumed "mood" yet at the end of the day there seems to be some chance they might completely change their perspective. It seems kind of like the popular credit card commercial which keeps airing over and over about the woman choosing a paint color for a wall in her house so she is shown with separate off-white streaks of 50 different shades of off-white and then she says "oh yes, definitely, 'tiny baby dolphin'", the twist on the cliche stereotype story is sometimes given where a cool guy walks in and says, "oh, the pink, now that's IT!" So suddenly instead of white, the chosen color becomes pink... That is the confusing part of all this, where a brief can be written to, but maybe it is not what was meant, or maybe they changed their taste along the way..


still your link didnt work so can't listen to your track.

It seems the secret-not-so-secret of cue writing is that an entire cue is 3 or 4 sections of a musical {A} section. Although many videos explain "there's A and a contrasting B" or variations of description, it actually is A, A', A'', A'''. (I believe those explaining "There needs to be a contrasting B section" are actually talking about the need for a consequent, or for a slight melodic variation, that should be called lowercase b, not {B}.) The main variation used to differentiate the sections is thinner or thicker texture. So yeah, 90 seconds to 120 seconds of a repeating section of {A}, sure is "less is more".


note I only used curly brackets {A} because I think the forum wont allow use of square brackets, normally music descriptions should use square brackets.

[Casey H]

Keep in mind that there are 2 gates to getting an actual placement. The first is a cue having enough potential for the sup or library to hold on to it (sign it in the case of a library) because it may work in the right situation. The 2nd, more challenging gate is when a sup is working with the actual video and dialog and trying to pick a cue that works best for that scene or part of a scene. So you can do all the so called "right things" and still not get your cue used.

For example, I have around 50 vocal songs in that "critical" Taxi-friendly library. They were all good enough to pass that library's high bar for acceptance. Maybe around 5-6 have had placements. Some rarely get pitched because the right opportunity doesn't arise. Some have been pitched dozens and dozens of times with no placement. The right song has to hit the right opp at the right moment.

So write the best you can following reasonable advice norms. But there is a point of diminishing returns with overthinking. Write more, submit more, both for Taxi listings and for library contacts you develop. Also, don't get so focused on any one listing, especially with a relatively high bar, to the point of ignoring other listings and opportunities. For example, trailer listings are usually among the highest bar ones. If you've never signed a cue yet with a library at all, you may want to seek out opps for more general purpose cues. The $$ successful Taxi members I know started by signing hundreds of reality TV cues to libraries that specialize in that.

Just my humble thoughts and opinions.
Casey

[cosmicdolphin]

it actually is A, A', A'', A'''.

Yes, it has been said many times around these forums

That is the confusing part of all this, where a brief can be written to, but maybe it is not what was meant, or maybe they changed their taste along the way.

Understand that music is always the last thing to get locked. And sure ..things can change all the time , there's just too many variables.

A scene can develop a different way in the edit...or can get cut altogether...nobody really knows 100% what will work until they hear it to picture...then it might just be nope - nope- next next..bam - that one works ..and hey it's not even what we intially thought.

In this game you're mostly writing things to sit in a catalogue that might not get used for several years - if ever, you're not usually writing a specific track for a specific usage unless it's a listing for an Ad or an Artist pitch.

[superblonde]

it actually is A, A', A'', A'''.

Yes, it has been said many times around these forums

what is said on these forums is vague, what is in the briefs is vague to near meaningless and highly subjective, what is NOT said are the rigorous details about what to compose although it could easily be said.

Here's a Verizon ad and maybe it is the one mentioned in the original post. Those with placement success should break it down in real terms.


https://youtu.be/xr459jQLH5w

or maybe it is this "Song Cue" which has simple strummy guitar, it's a "Re-imagined" song isn't it? I'm not sure.

https://youtu.be/MWAGNisWvFc

[cosmicdolphin]

what is said on these forums is vague

Not if you've been around long enough and know where to look

post570745.html?hilit=structure#p570745

[cosmicdolphin]

or maybe it is this "Song Cue" which has simple strummy guitar, it's a "Re-imagined" song isn't it? I'm not sure.

https://youtu.be/MWAGNisWvFc

Sounds like a remix of this...vocals are the same

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzEzIBHuUmU

[Telefunkin]

what is said on these forums is vague, what is in the briefs is vague to near meaningless and highly subjective, what is NOT said are the rigorous details about what to compose although it could easily be said.

Easily? Once again, it seems you're looking for some secret magic formula when there is no such thing, only guiding principles. This is NOT an exact science (and neither is quantum physics). Vague, meaningless and subjective is about as good as it gets. Do you want to know what notes to play and the order too?

Here's a Verizon ad and maybe it is the one mentioned in the original post. Those with placement success should break it down in real terms.

Should? People here generously offer their help and advice freely based on their own hard-earned experiences, but only because they choose to do so. Besides, what worked for them is not necessarily going to work for anyone else with a uniquely different combination of skill set, knowledge, experience, taste, equipment, opportunities and contacts, and some years later when everything has changed. We all have to find our own answers. There's no point demanding to know how to surf the wave that's already hit the shore. We have to fathom out how to ride the next one, and the best way to do that is by getting wet rather than hoping to read the instructions.

Just my 2c (i.e. subjective, but probably also vague and meaningless).

[superblonde]

I don't know what a more ideal brief would look like but it should probably contain more usable keywords. That is the issue at hand. Music supervisors say they want to match a mood, yet give only 3 vague words for the mood, leading to the problem of trying to interpret what the mood is from references which might have been arbitrarily chosen to begin with. Less is more because the cue is striving to be one and only one mood/vibe. It's easy to see why even successful cue producers have a forward rate of 50% and placement rate of 20%.

I argue the same type of thing with music professors so in a way, this is all not a big deal, it's a lost cause to insist upon.. I say, "we should present the intention of our scores first, and then have the listening session, so the jury can rate the piece based on how well it matched the intention, the intended mood. That's how to judge the effectiveness of a score and grade it." To which they say, ridiculously imho, "well maybe the listener wants a different intention than the composer, or the listener has their own imagination, so all music is subjective, and all music pieces submitted by students are equally good." wut. all pieces are equally good? gimmie a break.

[superblonde]

Should?

Steve Barden did it, in his newest book. Which as far as I know is the only book on cues which shows actual music and discusses the actual ingredients used.