“If you walk the footsteps of a stranger you’ll learn things you never knew you never knew.”
It is truly a gift to be bitten by the curiosity bug.
The unive...
Enthusiasm is a super power that can turbo boost you through a lot of challenging career headwinds. It can motivate extra efforts, blaze past doubts, create mo...
1. ADAPTION
“Yesterday is history and it’s never coming back”. Trying to get back to an old “normal” isn’t going to happen. It never does. Things change. ...
Someone pointed out I have posted 400 times on this Forum. And to think it all started because I was kicked off another Facebook film music forum!
I hope so...
Around this time each year I have been blessed to direct live shows at the Hollywood Bowl based on some of my favorite films. Like so many things, Covid ended...
Several years ago Mark Northam published a FANTASTIC list of 20 REASONS COMPOSERS FAIL. Let's discuss them individually:
Reason #1: FAIL TO MARKET THEM...
Though a lot of composers would really welcome feedback on why they didn’t get a job based on their submission, demo and/or meeting, receiving that feedback is ...
On another thread someone asked:
A project is looking for reel submissions. It’s in a style you’re not well versed in either because you’ve not had the opportu...
On another thread a bunch of us played around in the creative sandbox of pondering what we would love to do if we weren’t doing what we are currently doing. Sp...
I love imagining what I could do if they somehow passed a law that I could no longer be in the entertainment industry.
For me it could be:
Become a the...
About a month ago amidst the nightmares of 2020, I stumbled across an extraordinarily interesting feature documentary, LIVE FROM THE SPACE STAGE: A HALYX STORY ...
A few months ago I witnessed a composer being bullied on the internet. I was pissed and curious, so I reached out to him to offer my support. I also volunteer...
Personally, I see it as a gift and welcome it. Doesn’t mean I need to agree with it or use it, but I appreciate it being available. I tend to skip labeling fe...
Like many other soundtrack collectors, I also found myself collecting movie posters. Film composers and poster illustrators both reinterpret the movie through ...
I always wanted to earn my own money. As a kid during the 1960’s there were just so many things I coveted (Aurora monster models, James Bond gadgets, Creepy Cr...
I was 22 working the Xerox machine in publicity at the low-budget schlock-house Cannon films when I volunteered to rewrite some of their press materials (especi...
Was thinking about how composers are presented and sold and remembered this from many years ago. There was once a charming woman with a charming flower stand...
Eager to get my feet wet in Hollywood I took a few courses in Script Supervision and volunteered to work as such on some short films when I was 21. My job was ...
From my own personal experience, I have often worked for no fee under one or more of the following conditions:
1. Doing the project gives me something I rea...
“JUST SEND ME YOUR CONTRACT AND I’LL SIGN IT”
Growing up I was a huge nerdy collector of soundtracks and noticed quite a number of them contained the squished ...
There are a great many aspects to being a media composer beyond writing notes. Some of the components in running your own business can include music producing,...
A hypothetical friend is interested in pursuing producing. She has helped out on some other people's productions and she definitely appreciates what she has le...
A hypothetical friend is interested in pursuing screenwriting. She works on spec on developing her own projects (she has not sold any of them) and she definite...
A hypothetical friend is interested in pursuing creature makeup. She experiments at home with friends and appreciates gaining those experiences. She has a str...
A TARGET FOCUS DURING THE BEST OF TIMES, THE AGE OF WISDOM, THE EPOCH OF BELIEF, THE SEASON OF LIGHT AND THE SPRING OF HOPE.
I suspect a great many of us hav...
My heart soars when a positive spotlight or opportunity is shined on someone else. Truly, good for them.
Unless specifically asked for my honest opinion o...
At the start of the outbreak I decided to turn my focus more inwardly which, for me, meant withdrawing quite a bit from social media. This has allowed me a cle...
Curiosity of WHY an audience positively reacts and connects to something can be among the really helpful tools you employ when you are creating something for an...
I am working on a project to help members of this Forum to get work as a composer’s assistant. Need some help in compiling a list of the types of tasks this po...
Would love to see more contributors to this Forum on a wide range of topics and points of view.
Here is an amazing platform for think pieces, how-to conten...
We’ve all seen the memes about the landlord not taking “Exposure Bucks.” The same could be said of “Education Bucks” or “Experience Bucks” or “Relationship Buc...
Around five years ago I spotted Bear McCreary at a Marvel music panel at ComiCon. While there were several huge film composers and Bear there for a TV series (...
Prior to the Sherman Bros. becoming THE Sherman Bros. of MARY POPPINS, ITS A SMALL WORLD, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and almost all of the Disney’s 1960’s Songbook...
SOME PERSPECTIVE: Most of the actors in the project you are being asked to demo to score were probably cast via a somewhat similar auditioning process for land...
A key element I have noticed in highly successful media composers is that they are pretty resourceful.
These composers have figured out how they (or someone ...
Someone just asked if this statement were True or False: “No one remembers a late delivery, they only remember a bad one.”
FALSE IS DEFINITELY THE CORRECT...
So grateful to be in this chapter of life where I understand and appreciate that it is the nature of life that it has twists and turns and the thing that center...
Music has always existed. The manners in which composers profit from music has changed and evolved over time. Since no one has a perfect crystal ball, the wi...
One of my favorite songs is WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR from PINOCCHIO. For me, it is a profound instructional manual on how to manifest the things we want. Her...
IN THIS CORNER- FOOD IS THE WORD
I have foodie friends who care zip about their surroundings. They can enjoy a meal in an absolute dive tucked in a strip ma...
We are in the relatively early days of an emerging art form combining music and film into live experiences. Back in the days when John Williams performed his m...
In 1900 it was not clearly apparent how composers could best profit from motion pictures
In 1927 it was not clearly apparent how composers could best pro...
From my perspective, most journeys (including careers) start on paths that are fairly wide. This can be a good thing because there are so many fresh things to ...
I have been involved in over 10,000 composer deals. And there are some basic concepts behind them all which I would like to share.
I believe the current A...
Before reaching out to strangers by phone or email or messaging, first ask yourself:
1. Am I asking them to give ME something (time, advice, a meeting, a li...
Composers and musicians know the incredible value of practice. And for Media Composers gaining experience is their form of practice. Experience is the key to ...
I was once the Head of Music at a low budget film studio making a deal for a shitty film, on a crappy budget with a minor composer. He and his lawyer tried to ...
Would be interested in how members of this Forum would define their:
short term goals (defined here as 1-2 years);
midterm goals (defined here as 3-10 y...
Richard Kraft is the co-owner of Kraft-Engel Management, one of the world’s leading agencies specializing in representing film, theatre, television and video game composers, songwriters and music supervisors.
