Custom compositions: original scores are being used in spots, TV shows, indie films and videogames

Post, Nov, 2004 by Christine Bunish

"From rock to orchestral to jazz, we're all over the map," says Chicago-based Pecorella who, with Rheude, is a company principal and creative director. "Often we all take separate stabs at a project so the client gets five different choices. And we'll sit in on each other's projects and mix and match, adding to the other guy's tracks."

Comma Music (www.commamusic.com) boasts four Pro Tools|HD writing rooms in Chicago and a shared live room; Santa Monica also has a Pro Tools|HD-based control room and studio. Pecorella and Rheude use Logic II for composing while their colleagues opt for Pro Tools; all use Propeller Head's Reason sequencing software," a cool and contemporary program for drums and rhythm," Pecorella says.

He and his fellow composers have witnessed a number of trends in the last few years. "Commercials use a lot more published songs by artists. The barriers have broken down," he notes. "Artists who didn't want to sell out now see spot music as free advertising for themselves or their band. This is new competition for us."

He also finds that editors have "a bigger say in music than they used to," with their access to substantial collections of stock music. "They often do the initial music search to have music to cut to," Pecorella explains. "The client may fall in love with how that music works with the picture so by the time they come to you, you don't have the opportunity to put your creative two cents in."

But original scores, custom-tailored to a spot's specific needs, stand out like no others. Pecorella tapped his extensive experience writing, performing and producing live music for spots when he conducted the Czech National Philharmonic in his score for the :60 Hunchback spot for Cheez-Its from production company Pytka. Part of Leo Burnett/Chicago's "Get Your Own Box" campaign for the snack crackers, the humorous spot "looks and sounds like a movie" as it follows the Hunchback of Notre Dame through the streets of Paris and into the bell tower where he reveals his deformity: a concealed Cheez-Its box.

"You couldn't score that with a few toys and live instrumentalists," Pecorella notes. "There's a joy you get conducting an orchestra in their concert hall. You can't get that sitting in front of the computer." He worked with the same orchestra on the score for Uncle Nino, an indie film starring Joe Montegna slated for release in February.

While the Internet has globalized music scoring, opening up the market for even greater competition, it has also paved the way to new business opportunities and the ability to work with artists around the world. "We've found more work coming from outside Chicago," Pecorella reports, citing Detroit, Kansas City and LA. "We've made a conscious effort to go after it and have no problem working with creatives at a distance. Film is still film, and you have to give it emotion with music; it's just how you're delivering the product that's different."

OLYMPIAN SOUND DESIGN

Just over a year old. NYC's Heavy Melody Music & Sound Design (www.heavymelodymusic.com) is comprised of composers/sound designers Neil Goldberg and Dave Fraser, graduates of the Berklee College of Music, and studio producer Chris Peterson.