I need to get into composing for film/game . . .

[PilotMatt]

And I'm wondering if anyone's got ANY tips whatsoever! I have no idea where to start . . . I'm guessing its a "Who you know rather than what you know" situation, and I know very few people who want music for films or games 

You can hear some of my work on this myspace link - I'm working on a "Time Machine" concept album, which i've nearly ALMOST finished

http://www.myspace.com/eloising

If you guyzes could listen and let me know what you think, and above all give me some tips!

Much appreciated!

. . . I should really buy one of them new Brackenwood shirts now i've been paid

[Musicologynut85]

Composing is hard to make a career out of, especially if you do not have a degree in music. IF you do have a degree, then you should contact your school's career services office and they will be able to help you more than anyone.


The music on your website (this is professional advice, not criticism) is pleasant, and works fine for the "ambient" descriptor. However, as a professional resume, it is not that great. All of the music on there is very rudimentary. You use textural changes for your shifts of affect, and your textures are not that varied. You show no melodic development, and your use of varying harmonic changes is very elementary. You do not use any type of musical form as a framework. The entirety of the soundtrack is noise to fill a background. There is no display of musical finesse or versatility. You appear to be showing off you skills at the synthesizer and you ability to create musical cues rather than actually composing music.

If you want to get noticed, you have to put forward something that displays an intimate knowledge and significant command over various musical forms, textures, and styles. Keep pushing yourself and don't be afraid to experiment; and read as much as you can about music, don't just listen to it, read about the way it was put together in various styles: really pay attention to different systems of music theory-- 16th century counterpoint, 17th century monody, classical homophony, serial atonalism, harmonic theory.


I wish you the best of luck!

[fizzyfox]

Hi PilotMatt,

Well, the good news is you DON'T need a degree in music to make a living at it! That's not to put you off studying, it's important to be open-minded about all styles of music and to look into the nuts and bolts of how music works - but you probably knew that!

I'm listening to your music right now on Myspace and I really like it. I can tell you have a strong link with music and you undoubtebly express that in your performance. Elois is really nice (listening now) I love that kind of music (check out DroneZone radio if you haven't already)

What you need now is probably a few pointers rather than the "whole shabang" from a musicologist. Yes, if you learn about counterpoint, atonalism and all that it will definitely give you a rounded knowledge, but you said you wanted to write music for games and film and that's different, very different!

Film music isn't about the music - it's about telling THE story. Film music isn't about a certain cadence or using counterpoint correctly - it's about telling THE story. That's all I really have to say on that point..

If you haven't scored for anything yet don't worry! There are resources all over the internet. If you're just starting out then don't expect to be paid straight away - build your show reel up with student projects and no-budget independant projects. You'll gain experience, improve your skills and you'll also have something to show to the next client and convince them you're the person for the PAID job.

Here are some websites you might want to check out:

www.mandy.com  - lots of film projects / student projects  and it's free to join.
www.talentcircle.org - same deal as mandy.com
www.shootingpeople.com - you have to pay for this but it's a good way to meet people and there are always postings asking for composers / music.
www.scorecastonline.com - I don't think they have jobs, but there are LOADS of really interesting articles written by 'working' composers.

I can't really give advice on games as I have very little experience in that field. Again, work for free on independant no-budget projects - just make sure with games that they will get finished. There's no way you can know that, but maybe just an evaluation of the people involved (have they completed any projects before? do they seem driven and serious about what they do?)

Anyway, I like your music and it's very soundtrack. Keep developing your style, listen to LOTS of music but spend more time composing than listening - find that balance between being aware of others music but not being too influenced.

Learn all about the technology too, because we're expected to be engineers, mixers and producers as well!


Hope this helped a bit, good luck!

[Relym]

Old thread, but I want to contribute.

I'm also a composer (I have a thread here under the name "JohnLeprechaun"), and I also have an interest in scoring films and games in the future. Right now I'm making music for a flash game, but that's not really what anyone has in mind. What's been said pretty much sums up anything I would have to tell you.

As for your music itself, I sadly have to agree with Musicologynut85 for the most part. It's well made, meaning that the sound quality is good, but I'm not really seeing something I couldn't get somewhere else. However, all of your tracks seem perfect for games, as music is usually not the primary focus and calm, background sounds are ideal.