shieroz – Page 10 – Shie Rozow – Composer, Music Editor

Glendale International Film Festival 2016 Winner

Jasmine Takes 4 Awards at Glendale International Film Festival

Jasmine had a good night at the Glendale International Film Festival where it won Best International Feature, Best Director, Best Actor & Best Actress.

A year after his wife’s murder, once-successful Hong Kong businessman Leonard To (Jason Tobin) is still reeling from the tragedy. Having lost his job, friends and all sense of order in his life, Leonard becomes obsessed with a mysterious stranger he sees at his wife’s grave, believing him to be responsible for her death.

Shie Wins Best Score at Los Angeles Independent Film Festival

Shie’s score to Jasmine won Best Original Score at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Jasmine won several other awards at the festival including Best Picture, Best Sound Design (Lisa K. Fowle), Best Cinematography (Guy Livneh), Best Editing Feature (Chris Chan Lee) Best Produced Screenplay Feature (Dax Phelan), Best Director Feature (Dax Phelan) Best Supporting Actor (Byron Mann), Best Supporting Actress (Sara Lian) and Best Actor (Jason Tobin).

Winner Best Narrative Feature Film Sydney World Film Festival 2016

Jasmine Wins Best Narrative Feature Film at Sydney World Film Festival

Jasmine has won the Best Narrative Feature Film award at the Sydney World Film Festival.

Jasmine Named Official Selection at Two More Festivals

Jasmine has been named an Official Selection at the Kiwi International Film Festival, and Sydney World Film Festival.

Guest Post: Controlling Your Own Luck

Guest Posts

By Brian Ralston

I am of the opinion that one cannot control exactly how or where their “break” comes from. It could be a film that hits… being at the right place at the right time, etc… But once a “break” happens, one can control if they can sustain or even build a career from it. Talent is certainly needed to sustain a career from a break. (And I am not only talking about musical talent).

Things one can NOT control:

If you actually get hired on a project or not.
If a film is deemed a “financial success” at the box-office.
If a film you are on is marketed properly so the masses will be aware of it.
If a film you are on is released theatrically.
If a TV pilot you are on gets picked up for series.
If millions of people click on your YouTube web series.

Things one CAN control:

If the music you write is appropriate for the film.
If you create music unique to your abilities that everyone wants.
If your score themes are memorable.
If you have an easy to work with demeanor.
If you communicate effectively with your team.
If you handle promotion of yourself well.
If you are present in the industry and build a network of people.
If you have a likable personality.
If you treat people with respect.
If you have integrity.
If you deliver on time and on budget.
If you create drama or a sense of collective calm.
If you present yourself well online.
If you have an active social media presence.
If you understand the emotional essence of a project in front of you.
If you are amazing at creating MIDI recordings/demos.
If you are trustworthy.
If you take a meeting well.
If you know your music theory.
If you build relationships with musicians who can play for you in order to breathe life into your music.
If you are good at stretching a music budget.
If you decide to take risks or play your career path conservatively.
If you assist another composer.
If you go it on your own and just start scoring indie films.
If you take rejection well and define it as a good or bad thing.
If you have an ego.
If you are argumentative.
If you formally study composition or not.
If you continue to play and perform on your instrument or only compose.
If you run the day to day operations of your “business” well.
If you write every day to get better or not.
If you use a lawyer to protect yourself legally in your contracts.
If you send out multiple emails daily to potential projects.
If studio and network music executives even know who you are.
If you even recognize that a break has happened.
If you….

In the end… there are things one certainly cannot control in this biz. As I mentioned above and to reiterate on one… I cannot control whether the show I am on it going to be a hit show. I can only control the notes I write and if the score I produce is effective and musically doing what it needs to be doing for the project. But in general… it seems to me the list of things one CAN control in their careers is much longer than the list of things one CANNOT control. Many of those things can lead to a “break” or put you in a much better position to taking advantage of a break when it happens. And I would not necessarily call the items in the “Can do” list LUCK.

Brian Ralston

Brian Ralston is a Los Angeles film/television composer whose credits include the 20th Century Fox lacrosse film Crooked Arrows (2012) starring Brandon Routh, the action thriller Awaken (2015) starring Daryl Hannah, Vinnie Jones, and Natalie Burn, the Magnolia Pictures bank heist film Graduation (2008), and additional music in season four of the WB Television production Angel (2004). Mr. Ralston is also a long-time co-host of the SCOREcast podcast, a popular industry-insider radio show for film and television composers and an instructor in UCLA Extension’s film scoring program.

Jasmine to Screen in LA & New Zealand

Jasmine has been named an Official Selection at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, and will also screen in competition at the Auckland International Film Festival in New Zealand.

Rebel

TV Series
US Premiere: March 28, 2017

Rebel is an extraordinary take on the seminal police drama that examines the unique and conflicted relationship officers of color have with their jobs – at a time when police forces are rife with brutality and misconduct. Oakland police officer, Rebecca “Rebel” Cole, has always excelled by playing by the rules. She has always known that she must be better and smarter on the job because she is both black and female. After her brother is slain by police, Rebel soon becomes disillusioned with the system and is forced to take matters into her own hands and become a private investigator and a champion for her community. Caught between family loyalty and the fraternity in blue, Rebel’s actions set in motion a cause-and-effect crisis that can’t be undone.

Role: Composer, Music Editor, Music Supervisor
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Danielle Moné Truitt, Mykelti Williamson, Giancarlo Esposito, Brandon Quinn, Method Man, John Churchill, Angela Ko, and Bree Williamson.

Jasmine Accepted to More Film Festivals, and Earns Another Nomination

Continuing its successful run in the film festival circuit, Jasmine has been nominated for Best Narrative Feature at DC Chinese Film Festival, where it will screen on September 20th, 2016. The film has also been invited to screen at the Laughlin International Film Festival in October.

Quick Tip: Save Standard MIDI Files

No matter what sequencing program you use, you either have in the past or will at some time in the future use other software. Whether you’re switching from one DAW to another, or simply upgrading to the latest version, or changing your template, your plug-ins and/or your outboard gear, at some point between upgrades and other system changes you will no longer be able to open your files using the original software with which they were created.

That’s why I recommend always saving a standard MIDI file whenever you’re done with a cue. When you save a standard MIDI file, you’re ensuring you’ll always be able to go back to your project even if you’re using different software. You’ll always be able to import that standard MIDI file into whatever DAW you’re currently using and make it work again.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or add a comment.

Jasmine Earns More Awards

Continuing its successful run in the film festival circuit, Jasmine won Special Mention for Best Feature Film from the Miami Independent Film Festival as well as taking 2nd place in the Best Narrative Feature competition at the Knoxville Film Festival.

Official Selection Glendale International Film Festival 2016

Jasmine Earns 10 Nominations at Glendale Film Fest

The Glendale International Film Festival has nominated Jasmine, the psychological thriller scored by Shie, in ten categories: Best Narrative Feature, Best Director (Dax Phelan), Best Actor (Jason Tobin), Best Actress (Li Qi Eug) Best Cinematography (Guy Livneh), Best Editing (Chris Chan Lee), Best Screenplay (Dax Phelan), Best Sound (Erick Jolley, Lisa K. Fowle), Best Make Up (Hiromi Nakashimax Brown), and Best Trailer (Chancler Haynes, Edy Enriquez).

Guest Post: How to do something scary: THE ONE HOUR RULE

Guest Posts

By Miriam Mayer

Doing the media composer thing involves a lot of moving parts: composing, tech stuff, self-promotion, time-management, learning new things, patience, persistence, talking to other humans. If there’s someone who is a natural genius and willing to put in the hours on these things, they’re going to get far! For most of us, we excel at some of these things, and some are scary; they involve a skill we’re not good at.

Here’s how I deal with scary tasks: I commit to doing them for an hour. Going to a networking event? Commit to an hour…after that, I can go home, guilt-free. Of course, once I’m there, I usually have fun and stay until the end…it’s the getting there that’s scary. The one hour rule says, successful or embarrassed, I can leave after one hour.

Need to shore up my website but have zero confidence I can do it? Commit to one hour of working on it.

Need to compose but don’t know where to start? Commit to an hour of studio time, no interruptions.

Miriam is a composer for media and multi-instrumentalist, happily toiling in the studios, theaters, and concert halls of her native Los Angeles. Her compositions can be heard on every major network and cable channel. Miriam worked for John Williams for many years, proof-reading on films such as “Star Wars, The Phantom Menace”, “Jurassic Park, Lost World”, and “Saving Private Ryan”. She is a proud member of the Television Academy and is fluent in many different genres of music.