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Hey not sure if this is the right place for my question anyway here goes. Library contacted me through e-mail they need a minimum of 4 versions of the song. THEY ARE Beginnings and endings. Television producers are looking for tracks with definite and often obvious beginnings and endings. Fade ins/outs and audio ‘chops‘ can be done themselves and are therefore of little use. An alternative needs to be a piece within itself, ready to use ‘out of the box‘; with no editing required.



2) Track/File length. 30 second and 60 second versions need to come to that length. A 32 second track is of little use to a producer creating a 30 second advert! 29 or 59 second files are ok though. A 30 second track can, however, by way of example, have its last chord struck at the 27 second mark with a couple of seconds to die away. You can be creative with these things, but please be aware of being strict with the track‘s length.



3) Soundbeds. The best way to achieve a good soundbed is to firstly remove/mute all the melody lines, and any counter melodies. Then, if in doubt, strip it out!. This version is meant to be a soundbed version of the track, linked to its original for identifiable consistency, but with nothing to conflict (pull focus) with a voice over. Sparse works! Do not physically change a track‘s volume for an underscore, or any other alternative.



4) Stings. Nice and concise and about 5 seconds. Short is better than long if in doubt here. If you have ever watched the popular series ‘Friends‘, the short bits of music that happen during the programme are great reference points for a concise sting. FOR YOU PROS HOW DO I DO THIS ? DO I WRITE ALL ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS BASED ON THE ORIGINAL? OR JUST CUT AND PASTE FROM THE ORIGINAL HELP PLEASE also what does CAE STAND FOR THEY WANT MY PRO AND THEN MY CAE THE LIBRARY IS IN THE UK IS THE CAE THE SAME AS MY IP #?

I create all of my alt mixes from the existing session. It just takes judicious editing to make it sound natural but I haven't gotten stumped yet! Sometimes I will wait a few measures after the ending ring out and hit the tonic chord/note/hit again in order to have a super easy stinger to edit.

These are standard edits required by some music libraries. It's a good idea to create the edits when you are satisfied the piece is done. Sometimes it can be a bit of a job to get the ending just right, etc. Alt mixes like no lead, or no percussion, etc, are also asked for in some cases.

Yes, these are pretty common required edits for libraries though I've seen variations in requirements for bumpers and stingers as far as suggested length. As you noted (1) shorter is probably better and (2) For a stinger, it is best if it is a single musical phrase that makes sense.

Sometimes just that final end chord with ring out is the best for a stinger. Other times a short phrase ending with the ring out.

When not sure, always ask the library. Even give them 2 versions of the stinger (You're in the edit mode anyway) and see what they prefer.

Here is a stinger of mine on "Toddlers And Tiaras" (quality TV programming!) a few years back. The stinger runs from about 00:02 to 00:08 in this clip: https://youtu.be/dOomorOoOoc

Best, CONGRATS!!, GOOD LUCK!!
Casey

thanks guys very helpful

Ron

Ron,

I create all my alternates in the DAW using the original performances which I edit by massive deletions to get the desired result while still sounding like a real song and not something chopped up. Then I render that. This makes the alternates sound more natural and it is also why this library is saying "Fade ins/outs and audio ‘chops‘ can be done themselves and are therefore of little use." Which is what you would get if you just took your rendered master version and edited it.

By the wording of what you pasted, "Beginnings and Endings" is not an alternate mix, just them describing to you what they want your music to have in the beginning and end. "tracks with definite and often obvious beginnings and endings"

So for this library, you would be best to have

1. Original piece
2. Soundbed or "stripped" version
3. 29.5 second version
4. 59.5 second version
5. Stinger
6. Stinger 2 (if they accept multiple stingers)

Even though they say at least 4 versions, it's nice to get all these in there for them.

Regards
Russell Landwehr

thanks Russell that was very helpful
Ron

Russell Landwehr wrote:Ron,

I create all my alternates in the DAW using the original performances which I edit by massive deletions to get the desired result while still sounding like a real song and not something chopped up. Then I render that. This makes the alternates sound more natural and it is also why this library is saying "Fade ins/outs and audio ‘chops‘ can be done themselves and are therefore of little use." Which is what you would get if you just took your rendered master version and edited it.

By the wording of what you pasted, "Beginnings and Endings" is not an alternate mix, just them describing to you what they want your music to have in the beginning and end. "tracks with definite and often obvious beginnings and endings"

So for this library, you would be best to have

1. Original piece
2. Soundbed or "stripped" version
3. 29.5 second version
4. 59.5 second version
5. Stinger
6. Stinger 2 (if they accept multiple stingers)

Even though they say at least 4 versions, it's nice to get all these in there for them.

Regards
Russell Landwehr

Think I got contacted by the same library too. Great info Russ.!

DT

Hey Ron, first off, HUGE CONGRATS on getting signed to a library! That's a major step, amigo! (Congrats to you too, DT, as I see you got the same deal. Nice!

Alternate mixes are easy... just mute certain elements and bounce the file again. Rarely do you want to tweak volumes or "re-mix" the alternate version... but occasionally a tambourine or hi-hat sticks out like a sore thumb when it's sitting more naked in the mix, in which case you could lower the volume on that track by a tad. But in most cases, you'll leave ALL volume & FX sends exactly as they were set on the full mix. So just press mute, and you're most likely done!

As for cut-downs, sounds like I make mine differently than the fellas above me... I actually chop them up using the master stereo track only, and not the entire session. I just drag the stereo track into a new Pro Tools session, then chop it up and make the various lengths the library asks for.

Works for me, anyway.

P.S. your IPI number is a unique identifying number associated with your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, etc). It's kind of like a social security number for music tracking.

~~Matt

Thanks Matt!

Just finished my edits & did a stinger so I think I'm good to go. Next on to submitting the formats/versions to them.

Thanks for the info my friend.

DT