Return for the 30sec Christmas cue
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 11:09 am
My arrangement of Deck the Halls on my taxi page was returned for this listing. I'll admit, it stung a bit to open that email. When a return comes, and I get lots of 'em, I always let my self vent in private; let it sit for a few days and come back with better perspective. I'm still disappointed, but I have to say the reasons given were sound; and I agree with the screeners comments.
' I like the bells to add that distinct Christmas-y feel but I find that there in an overly assertive stop and start with too many contrasting rhythms which I worry detracts from the "warmth" requested and may be a little distracting against dialogue.' (I hope it's OK to share directly from a review)
I'd love to hear the pieces, if any, that were forwarded.
CHRISTMAS INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Supervisor for a Global Brand’s Holiday TV Commercials. They don’t have the spots produced yet, but the Supervisor is wisely starting his search early, knowing the type of music they typically use in their commercials. There are two ways to go with this: 1) Give them contemporary sounding Cues that will work in a commercial that features people/family gathered round for an evening of warm and fuzzy Christmas festivities with dialog from start to finish. Nearly all of their commercials end with a tongue-in-cheek “punch line” at the end. The dialog’s punch line should be accented with a funny, ironic buttoned/stinger ending, and your entire Cue should be 29.5 seconds long, including instrument and reverb ring out. They often use light tracks that feature pizzicato strings and other organic instruments, NOT electronic/synth-y stuff. We think that the Cues they’ll gravitate to will be a little quirky – like you might hear when somebody’s sneaking around – combined with some Holiday warmth that telegraphs something funny is about to happen, and ends with the punch line stinger that accentuates “the joke.” 2) Give them a well known, Public Domain Christmas Instrumental Cue that follows the same vibe as described in #1. Imagine a commercial with the family gathered round scenario and Silent Night (this could be a little fuller arrangement) is playing – warm and fuzzy to be sure, but end it with an ironic, funny button/stinger to accentuate the commercial’s punch line, as there will almost certainly be one! Here’s a list of Public Domain Christmas songs. Whichever way you go, you should include some Christmas-y bells or sleigh bells that indicate that it’s holiday time, but do NOT overdo it – use them judiciously! You’ll keep 100% ownership of the Composition and Master, but it’s a good guess that they’ll NOT want your piece running in any other Christmas spots this year, and you’ll be licensing your Track world-wide, for all forms of media. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine). If you submit a Public Domain piece, you’ll keep 100% of your Master Rights. You need to own or control 100% of your original compositions and masters if you submit a piece that’s your own original creation. If you submit a Public Domain piece, you need to own or control the Master Recording and your arrangement. Because it’s early in the process, there’s been no budget given yet, but we’ve been told the fees should be “ low-to-medium budget” so the Supervisor can get “easy approval.” Guesstimated translation, it will probably pay $1,000 - $5,000 depending on various factors. The Supervisor has asked us to only send him a “handful,” so the bar for this will be high. All Songs will be screened on a Yes/No basis. No full critiques. Please submit 1-3 songs no later than 4pm (PDT) on MONDAY, October 6th, 2014. TAXI #U141006XM
' I like the bells to add that distinct Christmas-y feel but I find that there in an overly assertive stop and start with too many contrasting rhythms which I worry detracts from the "warmth" requested and may be a little distracting against dialogue.' (I hope it's OK to share directly from a review)
I'd love to hear the pieces, if any, that were forwarded.
CHRISTMAS INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Music Supervisor for a Global Brand’s Holiday TV Commercials. They don’t have the spots produced yet, but the Supervisor is wisely starting his search early, knowing the type of music they typically use in their commercials. There are two ways to go with this: 1) Give them contemporary sounding Cues that will work in a commercial that features people/family gathered round for an evening of warm and fuzzy Christmas festivities with dialog from start to finish. Nearly all of their commercials end with a tongue-in-cheek “punch line” at the end. The dialog’s punch line should be accented with a funny, ironic buttoned/stinger ending, and your entire Cue should be 29.5 seconds long, including instrument and reverb ring out. They often use light tracks that feature pizzicato strings and other organic instruments, NOT electronic/synth-y stuff. We think that the Cues they’ll gravitate to will be a little quirky – like you might hear when somebody’s sneaking around – combined with some Holiday warmth that telegraphs something funny is about to happen, and ends with the punch line stinger that accentuates “the joke.” 2) Give them a well known, Public Domain Christmas Instrumental Cue that follows the same vibe as described in #1. Imagine a commercial with the family gathered round scenario and Silent Night (this could be a little fuller arrangement) is playing – warm and fuzzy to be sure, but end it with an ironic, funny button/stinger to accentuate the commercial’s punch line, as there will almost certainly be one! Here’s a list of Public Domain Christmas songs. Whichever way you go, you should include some Christmas-y bells or sleigh bells that indicate that it’s holiday time, but do NOT overdo it – use them judiciously! You’ll keep 100% ownership of the Composition and Master, but it’s a good guess that they’ll NOT want your piece running in any other Christmas spots this year, and you’ll be licensing your Track world-wide, for all forms of media. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine). If you submit a Public Domain piece, you’ll keep 100% of your Master Rights. You need to own or control 100% of your original compositions and masters if you submit a piece that’s your own original creation. If you submit a Public Domain piece, you need to own or control the Master Recording and your arrangement. Because it’s early in the process, there’s been no budget given yet, but we’ve been told the fees should be “ low-to-medium budget” so the Supervisor can get “easy approval.” Guesstimated translation, it will probably pay $1,000 - $5,000 depending on various factors. The Supervisor has asked us to only send him a “handful,” so the bar for this will be high. All Songs will be screened on a Yes/No basis. No full critiques. Please submit 1-3 songs no later than 4pm (PDT) on MONDAY, October 6th, 2014. TAXI #U141006XM
