ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop 2012 (Garth Neustadter, composer)

At TED2005, James Horner gave a talk on composing film scores — an unusual art form where one artist works in service of another’s vision. Horner died on June 22, 2015, and while TED has never been able to share his full 15-minute talk because it contains film clips that require rights clearance , we wanted to share this portion of it.  Read more on the TED Blog :  http://wp.me/p10512-pSW Related articles 14 New Year's Resolutions Movie Studios Need To Make In 2017 Audible Channels Launches 'Sincerely, X' Series With TED A new museum 14 meters under the sea, a dance that draws on fiction, and other news from TED speakers The Quiet Revolution With Susan Cain - This Week's Six Pixels Of Separation Podcast Data rock star, statistician, visionary Dr. Hans Rosling, 'antidote to pessimism' dies at 68. 'He made data sing' Cross-party elitism has infected Canadian politics, too Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited: Which Is Bes...

I'm always asked, "How do you do so much?"  Of course, my first answer is that I'm an insomniac, but seriously, being able to accomplish my goals can be daunting. Right now I am finishing my second sci-fi novel, am in preproduction for a video game opera, am working on a short animated film , all while homeschooling our young daughter, teaching online humanities courses, and freelancing. I'm in a film club, writer's club, and am active in our church. And yeah, I manage a social life, or as much as one any parent can muster. So how do I do it? Here are my Top 5 Crazy Easy Tips for Making Time for Your Music, Art, Film, and Writing 1. Avoid Screentime Seriously, you need to do this. What's more important? Binging on Netflix or banging out the next set of lyrics for your song? The average American watches 4-6 hours of TV a day . That's almost a full-time job...just watching TV (not to mention Facebook , Tweeting, surfing Youtube ). So the TV ...

Download the Royalty Free Soundtrack 50% off using the code "indiefilm"  at: https://sabrinapenayoung.bandcamp.com/track/scifi-digital-goblin-royalty-free Cinematic music for Film, TV, Video Games, Apps, Business, and Youtube. Includes a collection of original science fiction soundtracks, horror music, dramatic songs, and more.  Created by award-winning composer and filmmaker Sabrina Pena Young. Combining science fiction and fantasy in "epic" musical soundtracks and film, Young's works have been showcased throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas at the Beijing Conservatory, the Holland Animation Film Festival, Miramax's Project Greenlight, the NY International Independent Film Festival, Art Miami, Art Basil Miami, and more.  Related articles Mikael Tariverdiev: Film Music (Review) Film, music, theatre and art worlds unite to battle PP's tax on tickets Music Marketing Secrets: How to Use Twitter, Youtube, Social Media - S P....

Composing for Tape/Multimedia and Live Musicians Composing for tape, media, and live performers is closely related to composing film music. Just like a live orchestra must have a score perfectly synced to what is happening in the film, a score for multimedia and live performers has to be perfectly timed and in sync for the performance to succeed. This usually means: 1) Including Time Code in the score 2) Including audio and/or visual cues in the score 3) Many hours syncing up measures and notes with time code 4) For rehearsal (and possibly concert purposes), a practice CD or DVD with a click track for each performer and the conductor 5) Neat, legible, and professional quality music scores 6) As much communication as possible between composer and the ensemble during the creative process 7) It is up to the composer, not the ensemble, to make the entire composition understandable and performable by providing clear instructions, legible scores, and playable music. A not...

Image via Wikipedia Some Contemporary Classical Terms The last half of the twentieth century to present day has been affected immensely by technology and globalization. In other words, the clearer definitions of the terms "classical music", "world music", "electronic music", "popular music", and "western music" have been blurred immensely. Typically, in the US at least, classical composers can usually be distinguished by their training and the medium they compose for the most. Here are some different terms: Contemporary classical music: Art music (of any country) that uses compositional practices from the last few decades New Music : Art music from living composers Electronic music : Any music using electronics (can be popular or classical music) Electroacoustic music : Typically art music including electronic and live components Film music : Music composed for film Soundscape: Typically electronic music which imitates a sp...

Cover via Amazon Wagner made several contributions to classical composition, the most important of which were the leitmotif and his use of dissonance. In a nutshell, the leitmotif essentially gives each and every character in Wagner's opera their own specific musical motif, or theme music . Wagner's concept of the leitmotif has translated well into modern film composition. In fact, every film composer knows that he or she must devise a theme (or leitmotif) for the protagonist and antagonist of the film. This musical cue gives the audience an aural "heads up" that a specific character is about to enter the scene or plays an important part. For example, in the movie Jaws , John Williams assigns a particular motif based on minor seconds to the shark. Every time one hears this motif, the audience knows that the shark is out there, somewhere. Stephen Spielberg and John Williams (as well as Tim Burton and Danny Elfman ) have a very unique director/composer relati...

When producing music, whether for a band, a film, an album, or an instrumental ensemble, musicians have a tendency to stick with what they know. And while sticking to a particular genre will help you develop your distinct musical style, branching out to styles you are unfamiliar with will not only expand your horizons, but also will make you more marketable.  When working on a new project, I always ask myself what kind of style would work best? In 2002 I wrote some music for up and coming director Kalup Linzy 's film series  "All My Churen ". He wanted a dance music score. I didn't have much experience in dance music, besides some fiddling with a synth in class. Fortunately, there was a local dance music radio station which I tuned into for three months straight. Not only did I get the beats, I also learned how to change my vocal pitch to match the thin tones of many of the artists. The title track, World Order #1 , is still one of my more successful "pop"...

With the advent of You Tube, almost anyone with a computer and a webcam can become a director. Here is something to think about: 70% of a viewer's movie enjoyment lies in the quality of the sound Not 5%, or 25%, or an even 50-50%. In other words, most viewers prefer watching a cruddy movie with an AMAZING soundtrack than watching an inspiring and well-written story that has a junky soundtrack and the noise of jets from the nearby airport wrecking ever-so-inspiring dialogue.  Another over-done mistake by You Tube and amateur directors is including the latest Top 40 hit as their soundtrack. Unless you have worked out copyright and license arrangements with the artist, while your video may have Oscar-worthy performances and a compelling script, it is no more than really good fan-art. Popular soundtracks have their own popularity and their own cultural connotations, which means use of these tracks already taints your work with the image of the artist. Besides, without the rights, you c...