License, Library or Original Score?: While radio and video hits keep coming, composers are challenged with selling clients on original scores

Post, March, 2002 by David John Farinella

TIP: For Jamie Lamm there are a number of important factors while working on a commercial underscore, Compose a piece of music that helps tell the story, stays out of the way of the voiceover and punctuates the voiceover where it needs to be punctuated," he says. "If it's not a voiceover-driven spot and it's more of a music-driven spot, make sure the music is unusual enough that the viewer who is not interested in watching a commercial watches."

SACRED NOISE USE ITS INSTINCTS

"For me, the good part of a music company is that they go into a situation where there are no handcuffs and they are asked to do what they do best, which is look at film and come up with an idea that would capture or evoke the emotions the client is looking for," explains Jeff Rosner, composer/owner of NYC's Sacred Noise (www.planetpoint.com/sacrednoise).

"We've done it many times, and that piece becomes immediately associated to only that campaign and only that commercial. It doesn't live anywhere else. It becomes much more of a marketing tool for a client to have something he can call his own."

For Rosner the only way to get that done is to get involved in the project early, perhaps even before they go out and shoot the video, Otherwise, he almost prefers to never see the video before the company gets to work. As an example he points to a recent spot the company worked on for McCoy's, which is a regional Home Depot. The Austin-based advertising agency called and asked for some blues demos, which Sacred Noise sent over. "Then they told us what they were looking for with a brief job description," he explains. "They wanted it to feel like you were out on the back porch and that it had come off of a CD. So, we did four or five different tracks for them They heard it, they had some comments about it and they went off and shot the film. They came back and wanted us to make it even more back porch, and we did that." After the editor worked on the spot the agency called to ask if they wanted to see the spot in case the composers wanted to do any tweaking." I said no, I never want to see the picture. The who le concept is that you want it to feel like it came off a CD. Our guys score sometimes and they can't help themselves but follow picture. I don't want anything to step in the way of what this is, so the only time we saw the picture was when they sent it to us married to our music after they had put it on the air."

It boils down to this simple fact, says Rosner: "The real key for a music company and the way to get the best out of a music company is using their instincts."

TIP: "The best thing we can do is get as much information from the client in terms of what they are looking for, of what emotions they need and musically get a landscape in our head as far as what they are feeling," explains Rosner.

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James O'Brien, Founder/Composer, Element Music Soundesign, www.elementsound.com, Santa Monica I know many creatives who judge the music and sound from another room, entirely away from picture -- to see whether or not it communicates the brand.