Composing

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First up, in this video from the Writers Guild Foundation, acclaimed showrunner Glen Mazzara (THE ROCKIE, THE DARK TOWER) discusses the challenges of being a screenwriter, advice for new writers, and the importance of including fun in a spec script. It's great insight into what a showrunner looks for whe...

As a composer for Film and Television, you are probably used to working on your own in your studio most of the time, basically with the sole exception of meetings and recording sessions. Among composers, we always joke about our professional life “in isolation”. Well, 4 years ago, Covid happened, and, as of today, the composer job is still almost 100% remote. This has changed the workflow in many ways, making us switch to new strategies to communicate, meet, share… Here are some of my thoughts...

Want Success? Stop Listening to the Hollywood Narrative! Is it just me, or does it feel like Hollywood is set up to make you fail? Obstacle, after obstacle… Rejection, after rejection… It’s *almost* not even worth trying. And I can say ‘almost’ because those of us who still believe in the magic of our dreams, have a passion so strong that we are going to go for it, despite all of the hardships we hear about. If you are one of those people, like me, I want you to really listen to what...

I'm an experimenter who prefers to learn by doing. In the beginning, that meant significant errors in my recording process. Getting smart, I signed up for some audio engineering courses and learned a lot. I clicked and watched as what I recorded compressed, but not precisely in the way I imagined. And I forgot to save the original recording! My tendency to click and see what happens came back to bite me. Without fail, save your original recording in raw form. It's my number one audio engineeri...

No one likes to be manipulated—except when they do. And this is always true with entertainment and art. “Make me feel something” is the universal mandate for all content, across every genre, through all mediums. Music is a universal language that touches our deepest feelings to bring up powerful emotions. As in the very life of our bodies, its most basic elements are tension and release, just like breathing and heartbeats. No wonder it’s so powerful!     More Than A Feeling In visua...

These days there’s a pretty interesting battle raging between composers scoring films, and filmmakers using prerecorded tracks in their projects. Both can work, and either one can be cheaper, or easier to use. As a composer who makes tracks for music libraries, and scores films, I can give you some ideas about when and why you might use one versus the other.     1) Hiring A Composer Hiring a composer can be cheap or expensive, depending on their experience, business and artistic skil...

I have fulfilled a dream and it is something so wonderful, that I just had to share this with you all. For those who don’t know me, I’m a literary editor with my own business, but in my other life, I write poetry and song lyrics. Quick background, I’ve been writing for around 43 years. I’ve enjoyed lots of lovely achievements, including winning awards, writing lyrics for solo artists, school plays and musical theater projects. In 2019, after five years in the making, I published a poetry...

Hi, Stage 32 Community! Our Stage 32 Team has been working diligently to bring in as many new resources and opportunities as possible to enrich your experience here in our community in 2024! At Stage 32 you have direct access to industry professionals who’ve overseen the stunt performance, music supervision, written, produced, directed, developed, consulted on, and represented acclaimed projects like THE MEG, AQUAMAN, PLAYING FOR KEEPS, KONG SKULL ISLAND, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: SALAZAR’...

Happy New Year, Stage 32 Community! January is always an exciting time. As we step away from the warm afterglow of the holiday season, there’s an entire new year stretching out ahead of us with endless possibilities. With that in mind, our Stage 32 Education Team has worked hard to bring incredible education opportunities and resources to this fantastic community. This January, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, music supervisors, showrunner assistants, c...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? Or too busy enjoying the holidays? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices and nostalgia flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First up, in this video from Audiorama, actor and filmmaker Peter Billingsley relives his time starring as 'Ralphie' in the seasonal favorite, A CHRISTMAS STORY. In this hour-long storytime session, the actor goes through what it was like making the film a...