Composing

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Bring Your Questions: Join Us for the FREE Stage 32 Community Open House

Bring Your Questions: Join Us for the FREE Stage 32 Community Open House

Wednesday, September 23rd at 12:00pm PT

You have questions. You're curious about how to actually make the most of your time on Stage 32, how to use the resources here successfully, how to build genuine relationships that lead somewhere meaningful, and how to move forward with real intention. How to find the right collaborators, producers, financiers, reps, distributors, etc.

That's exactly what this FREE event is designed for.

Our Community Open House is a live, fully interactive conversation hosted by me, Ashley Smith, Head of Community here at Stage 32. It's a genuine gathering where you get to show up, share what you're working on, ask the questions that have been on your mind, and get direct guidance tailored to where you actually are in your journey.

Whether you've attended one before or this is your first, the conversation is different every single time. It's shaped by the members who take the time to join, be present, and bring their real questions to the table. Your voice, your goals, and your curiosity make each Open House uniquely valuable.

Free Registration: https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-september-2026-community-open-house-webcast

We'll cover the tools and features on Stage 32 that most consistently create momentum for members, and we'll talk about what's happening on the platform that you don't want to miss out on. September lands us in a genuinely exciting stretch of the year. We're coming off Venice and Toronto International, in the middle of New York Film Festival, heading into Austin Film Festival, and gearing up for our annual November Write Club campaign. There's real opportunity to position yourself for what's ahead, and we'll talk about how to do exactly that.

We'll close with a live Q&A focused entirely on you, your questions, your projects, and your next steps. And if you can't join us live, don't worry! Registering guarantees you the full recording so you can watch it anytime, from anywhere.

Come as you are. Bring your questions. Let's have a real conversation.


Liked by Harri-Pekka Virkki and 2 others

Kat Spencer
When Feedback Crosses a Line

Years ago, I used TAXI to get my music placed. They rarely forwarded my songs, and one critique I heard repeatedly was that they needed more repetition.

I understood the feedback. I just didn't agree. That WAS the song. It was done.

Ironically, the lack of repetition is something my listeners have tol...

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Sagar Jethani

When I was first starting out, I took feedback as gospel. I knew there was a lot I had to learn, so I never questioned it. After several years, I developed a more mature way to consider feedback. When...

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Maurice Vaughan

Hi, @Kat. I consider every note, but I don't use them all. If the note improves the story, I'll use it. I save the notes I don't use though in case I end up using them.

Colin Hussey
great moments in scoring: "Death Wish" (Herbie Hancock)

The 1974 Charles Bronson vehicle, "Death Wish," is one of those movies where the score, composed by Herbie Hancock (1940 - ), turns out to be the best thing about that project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvYLTaRMpDQ

It's another fine example of straight-ahead jazz being employed to set the tone...

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Carlo Tosini
Stepping up on carreer

Hello everyone, I have some question about carrer development. I collaborated with lot of indies and emerging directors but basically they only did that prject with me and nothing else even with different composers. So how you guys menage to get some proper jobs. They told me you need to grow with d...

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Ashley Renée Smith
What Song Would Score Your Life Right Now?

A joke in my family is that my theme songs are:

Caffeine by Jack Kays: https://www.youtube.com/w...

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Ashley Renée Smith

I love all of these shares! Thank you all for joining in and dropping your links!

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Ashley Renée Smith.

Jackie Letkowski

I would say, "My Way" by Frank Sinatra! I feel like I've been approaching and dealing with big life changes that others would shy away from, or deal with differently :)

Amanda Toney

Ashley Renée Smith - boy does your family know you with Caffine lol! Great songs.

Ashley Renée Smith

Hahahaha, Amanda Toney. It's like an Ashley and Jordan anthem.

Kat Spencer
Does Your Best Music Come From Chaos or Calm?

My first Stage 32 blog, The Creative Mind Is A Powerful Thing, is live!

Some of my largest bodies of music were created during some of the darkest years of my life. Music gave all that noise somewhere to go.

But as my life became calmer, something unexpected happened: my creativity didn't disappear. I...

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Colin Hussey

Artistry can come from both. I think of Shostakovich's output while Stalin was in power in the USSR. On the flip side, it was in the calm of Tao House that Eugene O'Neill poured out his guts on the page with "Long Day's Journey Into Night."

Sagar Jethani

Wonderful article, Kat Spencer.

The music I compose during the darkest moments of my life have a distinct character to them. Not angst-filled and tortured, like one might expect, but as if they were wr...

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Kat Spencer

Love the examples Colin!

Kat Spencer

Thanks for sharing Sagar!

Kat Spencer
What Happens When You Stop Trying to Be Good?

Some of my favorite creative moments happen when I stop thinking about whether something is "good" and simply follow where it wants to go.

Does worrying about the quality of your work ever get in the way of actually creating it?

Maurice Vaughan

Sometimes, @Kat. I'll remind myself to just write the scene and I can rewrite it later.

Kat Spencer

Maurice Vaughan Or not! Do you ever find that once you've stepped away, your nitpicking lessens? Or does it intensify for you when you have that space?...

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Colin Hussey
a composer to reference: Ruth Crawford Seeger

Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901 - 1953) is a recent discovery--I just heard her music, today, for the first time. She was among the American composers who were labled "ultramodernists" in the 1920s and early '30s. This particular style of composition would find its way in movie and TV scores conveying su...

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Amanda Toney

Thank you for sharing this wonderful reflection of Ruth, Colin Hussey !

David Obaniyi
Music Score for Independent Feature Film

Hello, everyone. So a while back I created the original music score for this feature film. Now it's behind a paywall, but if you have time to check this out and leave a review that would be greatly appreciated. But most of all....Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0H34LZY1V?ref_=atv_dp_sh...

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Presumption of Death
Presumption of Death
When Ana's husband abruptly ends their twelve-year marriage, her world collapses into rage and madness. But through heartbreak and despair, she discovers a profound rebirth - the freeing strength of self-love.
Colin Hussey
great moments in scoring: "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs" (Quincy Jones)

In the 1960s and '70s, jazz and R&B composers were getting tapped more in movie and TV scoring, including Quincy Jones (1933 - 2024). One of my favorite scores of his is from the Sidney Poitier vehicle, "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs". The catchy main title music is what I remember most about this movie: h...

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Wyman Brent
How do you do it?

Hey everyone,

I am curious regarding what is your process when it comes to writing a song? Do you feel there are rules and guidelines to follow? Are there restrictions? What makes up a good song?

Julien Clément
My visceral rescore of a famous TV commercials staring Johnny Depp

After composing a concept score for a future feature film of Sanja Zivic, I had the idea to adapt it on the famous Dior Sauvage TV commercial staring Johnny Depp, and here is the result!

Prince Kouadio
Rescoring a sad film scene

I rescored this emotional Spider‑Man scene to explore how music can shape what we feel. I wanted to dive into the sadness of the moment and see how a different musical approach could amplify its emotional weight. A small experiment in storytelling through sound.

Colin Hussey

The thought that occurs to me when listening to this is that the crescendo to fuller orchestra doesn't enhance the gravity of the scene, no matter how hard it tries. It may be my own taste, but I'd li...

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Prince Kouadio

Yeah i see! thank you for the observation!

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