The Blog

How to Talk About Music With Directors & Producers

“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” (source unknown).

Many directors and producers who work with me explain that they don’t really know music that well and that they struggle to discuss it. Some feel intimidated by it because they feel they don’t know musical terminology. Or worse, some know a little bit of music terminology, sometimes not really understanding the correct meaning of what they’re saying and misuse it.

I tell my directors and producers not to use music terminology at all. I ask them to speak to me about story, drama, emotion, colors, feelings, shapes – anything that helps them express what they’re after, forget music terminology. It is my job to translate what they are looking for into music. Just as when they discuss the framing of a shot, or the lighting of a scene, or coach an actor they talk about what they’re after, not how to achieve it, I ask them to do the same with me. My view is that we are all storytellers, the actor does it through acting, the cinematographer does it through his/her camera work, the set designer does it through his/her set design etc. My job is to support, enhance and advance the story through music.

I’ve found this works really well for several reasons. First it puts them at ease. They seem to appreciate that my approach is that of a storyteller whose medium happens to be music rather than as a composer or a music editor. It makes them feel comfortable discussing things in more abstract terms. Second it prevents unintended miscommunications. I’ve had people give me very specific music directions using musical terminology, which turned out to be completely wrong. By speaking about drama, story, emotion etc. I make it my job to interpret what that means musically instead of relying on them. I also find this very freeing because it allows me to bring more of my personality into the process.

When I was a student a teacher told me a story of a client he had that heard a cue he had written and asked for it to be more dissonant. My teacher thought that was an interesting and bold direction and set off to rewrite the cue. When he played the new version for the director, again the director wanted it to be more dissonant. When he presented the third rewrite to the director, the director’s frustration was palpable; he felt it still wasn’t dissonant enough. My teacher was perplexed because by now his cue was quite dissonant and unusual, so he asked the director “when you say more dissonant, what exactly do you mean?” The director replied “faster!”

Now imagine if my teacher had followed up in the first place and said something like “when you say you want it more dissonant, what exactly are you looking for? More tension? Something darker? Are we trying to make the audience more uncomfortable?” It would have become immediately clear that his director was misusing a musical term.

I once had a director tell me a temp cue I used sounded t0o plastic and he wanted something more metallic. I’ve had directors use colors, for example – something feels too dark and brown and they want it to be brighter and lighter and redder. I once had a director respond to a temp cue for a very tense and suspenseful scene saying the cue made him very uncomfortable, which was good, but it wasn’t scary enough, he wanted it to make him “shit his pants.” These are all wonderful descriptions that all make sense in context. I’ve watched directors grunt and pace across the room waving their hands as a scene played, almost as if conducting the shape of the music with barely a word being spoken.

So whenever working with directors and producers, I highly recommend always steering the conversation to the abstract rather than musical terms. Remind them we are all storytellers and that it is your job to translate what they want emotionally and dramatically into music.

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

A Brave New World

I see a lot of articles and social media threads about how music is being devalued and how due to technology and the way things are going it’s all but impossible to make it as an artist and how the quality of music is much worse than it used to be.

I’d like to play devil’s advocate and offer an alternate point of view for discussion.

First, “technology is ruining the industry”. One could argue technology is wonderful in that it has made the entry bar into the music profession so low that just about anyone can do it. That’s a wonderful thing for those who have talent and drive and ambition and social media savvy because they can reach an audience and build a brand in a way that they never could have before. If anything one could argue it has opened the doors and in many ways circumvented the gate-keepers creating more opportunities than before, which is a great thing.

Second, “music is being devalued”. One might ask if it possible that music was over-valued? I know a lot of people may think I’m crazy to suggest this, but is it right that someone who is a successful entertainer (which is hugely important and valuable in society) becomes a multimillionaire while soldiers who literally put their lives on the line to protect us barely make ends meet? While school teachers have to spend their own money for classroom supplies and drive shitty cars? While fire-fighters and cops and first responders etc. make a descent living where there’s literally saving lives? Is it possible that what technology has done is level the playing field and so while it’s true that music is being devalued compared to how it was before, the market is simply correcting itself? It’s simply the forces of supply and demand and we have a lot more supply than we ever had.

Third, “the quality of music is worse”. I don’t think so. I think there is still plenty of great music being made. There are innovative artists doing great things, and in our specific profession writing gorgeous innovative scores. I think what’s happened is that since it’s so much easier for people to get into the field and get their material out (see my first point), the downside is that we now ALL have access to a lot of the crappy work that previously we never would have heard because it wouldn’t have made it past the gate-keepers. It’s not that the quality has gone down, necessarily, there was always bad music out there, it’s just that we now have access to material that previously wouldn’t have gotten mass distribution.

Finally, those artists who rise to the top find ways to use these tools to their benefits. In our field, I’m thinking of Bear McCreary, for example, who brilliantly used (and still uses) social media to create awareness for himself and build a career. I’m thinking of things like the Women Who Score concert, which I have a hard time imagining happening 10-15 years ago. Or Tori Letzler’s The Future Is Female concert, which was crowdfunded! Hell, I crowdfunded my own debut album of concert works (Musical Fantasy) which never would have seen the light of day under the old system and has now earned radio-play around the globe and two live performances so far!

Is it harder in many ways to make a living as a composer or artists than before? I’m honestly not sure. I think if one relies on old models to do so then the answer it’s a definitive yes. Sales are down, streaming is up but pays a fraction of what sales did film scoring fees are down for the most part. So in those regards, yes it’s harder.

On the flip side, it’s much easier to become a working artist or film composer today. There is much more music education than before making those entering the field far better prepared than before and having alumni networks to help open doors. Just about anyone can buy a laptop computer and some software and be up and running with very little investment as compared to days of old. There is more content being created today than ever before, which means more opportunities. There is more sync licensing, concerts and other revenue streams available to artists than ever before. So in those regards it’s easier.

Bottom line, while I think there are very valid concerns about the changes we are experiencing in our industry, there are really two types of approaches to what’s happening. Bitch about how bad it is and try to stop the change, or embrace the change and be part of the change (which includes affecting how changes are implemented) and figure out how to make it work for you. I choose the latter.

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Shie Interviewed on WVIK Quad Cities NPR

Below is the podcast of my interview with Mindy Heusel of WVIK Quad Cities NPR from January 19, 2017 discussing my album Musical Fantasy.

Know When To Let Go

 

We spend hours, sometimes days or even longer creating music. Whether it’s writing a new cue for a film or TV show, a concert work or cutting a temp, we pour our heart & soul into the work. Often we consider our works like our children, we give birth to them.

That passion is essential if you want to be great at what you do. Without it you’ll never make something truly spectacular. But sometimes an idea just isn’t working, or isn’t well received by the client and it’s hard to let go.

Early in my career, if I created something that I thought was great, I found it very difficult to accept when others didn’t like it. I would take it personally and allow my feelings to be hurt. I would take their notes and try to somehow make that idea work no matter what. I’d keep working it and tweaking it not wanting to abandon the idea because I loved it, I was so emotionally attached to it. It didn’t even cross my mind to let it go and do something else instead.

I remember years ago I worked on a particular film where they made the mistake of hiring a band that appeared on camera in one scene to score the film. Someone thought it was a cool idea. In reality, the band created just a handful of tracks, none of them to picture and the lead music editor and I were expected to somehow re-work this handful of tracks into a complete score. I spent the better part of a day cutting 3-minute scene. I turned one of the tracks into a 5/8 feel. I used stems to introduce hits, I even augmented it with some new tracks of my own, and it was super-cool. The lead editor was beyond impressed, the music executives thought I was a magician; everyone was so excited about it and was anxious to see what the director would think. He came in, watched it once and said just one devastating word “no!” I pressed him on what does he mean by “no” and he simply said, “I hate it” and walked out of the room. I was so angry and deflated and frustrated that I had to go for a walk around the studio lot just to calm myself down. When I came back the lead editor told me again how impressed he was, but now I needed to go back and do something that’s just as cool and amazing but very different to try and appease the director.

I went back and instead of starting over I just tried to re-work what I had already done and tweak it and somehow make it different without losing the essence of it. Every time I’d call the lead editor to look at a new version his response was the same – it’s still basically the same. You need to change it. I had such a hard time letting go that finally he assigned me a different cue to work on and he did something for that scene himself. By all accounts, including his own admission, his version wasn’t as innovative or cool or good as mine, but it did the job, the director approved it and that’s all that mattered. It was a very hard-learned lesson.

Sometimes you can make adjustments and make it work. But sometimes you’re just trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and it’s important to be able to recognize that. There are times where you could write the coolest cue of your life, it’s awesome, it’s Oscar worthy, it’s the most unique and original thing ever, it’s truly amazing. But the client just doesn’t like it. How can anyone not love it? Yet here you are and the client didn’t respond to it as you’d hoped. In that case, no matter what you do to the cue, it’ll never appease the client and the right thing to do is let it go and start anew.

Don’t be so attached to what you’re doing that you can’t let it go and do something else instead. Don’t ignore the possibility that maybe it’s better to start over and do something else than to keep trying to make something work that isn’t. Again, it may be a really cool piece, but in the context of your current situation it it’s the wrong piece. It’s not working for the client and at the end of the day that’s what matters. So just because you spent a long time making it doesn’t mean you should hang on to it.

Actually this is true not just in music, but also in life. If you’ve set yourself down a path and it isn’t working, it’s important to step back and assess the situation. Sometimes we just made a mistake and went down the wrong path. Sometimes we spent a lot of time and effort, invested financially and emotionally but it was the wrong path. It was a mistake. There’s a tendency to keep going down that path because you’ve put so much into it. But it takes real strength and maturity to realize it’s a mistake, let go and blaze a new trail. And it can feel like a failure when what we created didn’t work or wasn’t well received.

Don’t view it as failing or giving up. Quite the contrary, continuing down an errant path is detrimental to your career and will not lead you to where you want to go. Learn from your mistakes, analyze where you took the wrong turn, go back and head down a new path. Whether it’s a life decision or just a new creative direction for a cue or song or concert piece, if it’s not working consider whether you’re on the wrong path and if it’s simply time to let go.

The older and more experience I get, the easier this is for me to recognize in myself. And when it comes to music, here’s a good exercise that can help. It’s a little extreme, but I know other composers who do this and I’ve done it myself. Every once in a while go back to an old cue that you once created and really like but didn’t make it into the final product. Make sure it’s a cue you truly enjoyed making and are fond of and just trash the file! Get rid of it! Throw it away! Gone forever! Sounds scary, I know. And it’s not for everyone, so if you don’t think you can do it, maybe it’s not for you. But I found that it’s a great exercise in letting go and has really helped me learn not to get too attached to my work when creating music for others.

By the way, if you love that cue enough, and it’s really good, it’ll stay with you and you can go back and rewrite it later. I had a cue like that, which I wrote on spec based on a script. I loved it, but I never got the gig, and I decided to just let it go and throw it away. But the melody never left me and years later I went back to it and re-wrote it as a solo piano piece, which I recorded for my album Musical Fantasy.

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Good File Naming and Metadata Practices for Your Audio Tracks

When you send your audio files out into the world they’re completely out of your hands. So how do you make sure people know what they are and where they came from? Metadata.

Metadata is information about a file that is embedded within that file. It’s where you store the track name, album name, artist name and so on. Not all file formats store metadata, and some only store limited metadata.

mp3s, Apple’s m4a, and AIFF formats all store extensive metadata. WAVs only store the track name and album name, so they are not a good format to send when metadata is important, like when you’re sending people demos.

 

First, let’s look at good file naming conventions.
If you’re sending several audio files and you want your audience to listen in a certain order, start with a 2 digit number (01-99) so when the file names are sorted they will be sorted in the order you want them. Also iTunes and other players read those first two digits as track numbers by default. Next have the track name and avoid special characters (like question marks, etc.) which not all operating systems support. You never know if your listener is on a Mac, PC, iPhone, Android device… so better to avoid those. Just look at the mp3s from any soundtrack album in your iTunes library to see what the file names look like. Typically it’s something like this:

05 My Track Name.mp3

If you’re pitching tracks for specific project, it’s helpful to add the project name and your name to the file name. Some music supervisors like having a date in the filename, too (I don’t). So for a specific pitch a good filename would look like this:

03 Best Movie Ever-Shie Rozow-Awesome Track.mp3

One of my pet peeves about track names in soundtracks is using “Main Titles” or “Opening Titles” or “End Credits” or “Credits” or any other very generic names like that. If nothing else add the movie name so it’s “Best Movie Ever Main Titles,” now I know at a glance exactly what it is.

 

Now let’s take a look at the metadata.
There are 3 basic pieces of metadata that are absolute musts – Song Name, Artist, and Album. If those aren’t included when a track is sent to me, I will likely delete the track without even checking it out. If you have these 3 basic pieces of metadata you’re OK. Additional metadata that is nice to have includes Composer, Genre, Year, & Artwork. If you have all those you’re in good shape.

Want to make your metadata great, especially when sending songs to music supervisors, composer demos for specific projects or tracks to be used for tracking or licensing purposes? In addition to all of the above add the BPM (some music supervisors really appreciate this), use the Grouping field to include clearance information such as the company or person clearing the Master & Sync (including percentages if there are multiple entities involved), and use the Comments field to include contact info as well as any additional notes. Additional notes can be licensing info or even track descriptions. There is also a Description field that you can use if you like for descriptions, but I find that most people either aren’t aware of it or don’t use it, so I prefer to use the Comments field. Finally, if it’s a song, include the lyrics in the Lyrics field.

Avoid putting anything in the Rating field. Rating your own music is kind of tacky, and some music supervisor and editors actually rate their own music for their own purposes, so leave it empty and let them rate your music if they want.

Here is a screenshot of a soundtrack to a short film I scored called Broken as it appears in my iTunes library. As you can see, I personally don’t look at BPM, but I do look at most of the other metadata I mentioned above and my tracks have all that info.

Whenever in doubt, try to put yourself in the shoes of the person receiving your music and try to imagine what you would like see.

You can easily edit your metadata using just about any media player like iTunes or Swinsian. If you’re interested in something a little more professional you can look into purchasing Soundminer or here’s a free open source tool for audio tagging called Kid3, which I use regularly and like very much.

Happy tagging!

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

 

Thoughts on Gratitude & the 4th of July

Today we celebrate independence day here in the United States. To all who celebrate America’s birthday, happy Independence Day! For me the day is filled with gratitude, hope and boundless possibilities.

I was born and raised in Israel. I spent most of my formative years there. Upon graduating from elementary school, my parents transferred me to the American International School, where I was surrounded by students from all over the world. It was an real eye-opener being exposed to kids who grew up in different countries, different cultures, different values.

When I was 16 I was offered the opportunity to move to the US and finish my high-school education at a boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. Trepidation and hesitation were overwhelmed by opportunity and excitement (and probably some teenage-angst wanting to get away from one’s parents), and off I went to Bolles High School.

Spending two years living in a dorm, half way around the world from home, without family, and initially without any friends was daunting, difficult, exciting, scary, interesting, uncomfortable, fascinating, but most of all illuminating. My parents gave me the precious gift of experiencing life from a different perspective. I didn’t just get a taste of other cultures through international students, I became an international student at Bolles. I got to live and experience life in another country, with a different culture than I was used to.

Following my graduation I moved back to Israel to serve in the military, as is expected of all healthy young Israelis. It was only near the end of my tour of duty that I decided to commit myself to becoming a professional musician. Upon my discharge I enrolled at Rimon School of Jazz & Contemporary Music in Israel, and two years later I was back in the US, this time in Boston attending Berklee College of Music with the help of a partial scholarship.

Once again, I was surrounded by students from all over the world, sharing their culture, heritage, values, and music. I remember witnessing history in Yugoslavia through the eyes of a fellow student who’s family was back home during this very tumultuous time over there. I remember being beguiled by the music of the Andes, something I was unfamiliar with before, and through the music learning about the culture and history of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru & Venezuela, as well as the ancient Aztec & Incan civilizations.

At Berklee I got my first in-depth glimpse at the world of film-music. I had never even heard of music editing until taking the requisite Music Editing 101 class. After just a couple of classes I was hooked. And when elected to take the Advanced Music Editing class, I was lucky enough to be in the last class that still taught us how to cut mag, as well as ProTools (version 3.2 back then). The ability to do both lead to some of my earliest gigs, helping established music editors transition from mag to ProTools.

Following my graduation with a degree in film-scoring, I moved to Los Angeles, where I have enjoyed a career in the film & TV industries over the past 18 years. My career as provided so many incredible opportunities and experiences. I get to work with the most amazing players in the world here in Los Angeles, on some of the best scoring stages in the world – The Eastwood Scoring Stage at WB, The Newman Scoring Stage at FOX & The Barbara Streisand Scoring Stage at Sony. Thanks to my work I have gone to London to record at what is arguably the most famous studio in the world – Abby Road Studios, I’ve also worked in Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Dallas, Toronto, Italy & China. Thanks to the magic of technology, I’ve worked with musicians in Berlin, Macedonia, Prague, Bratislava, and Georgia.

Thanks to my job I’ve worked with some incredible composers including Danny Elfman, John Ottman, Heitor Pereira, Marc Mancina, Ed Shearmur, Teddy Shapiro, & John Swihart, to name a few. I’ve worked with Linkin Park, Marcus Miller, Adrian Lee (of Mike & the Mechanics), The Lyris Quartet and Tracie Ullman. I’ve worked for directors including Errol Morris, Guillermo Del Toro, Tim Burton, Joe Johnston, Davis Guggenheim, and Sam Raimi. I’ve met legendary Beatles producer George Martin. I’ve met Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Isaac Hayes, John Williams, Thomas Newman, Randy Newman and countless other musicians, composers, recording & mixing engineers, music editors and artists I’ve long admired.

I’ve worked on nearly 100 films in every genre and countless TV shows. I could never have had these opportunities had I not had the advantages and experiences I was afforded growing up. I could never have had this career anywhere else in the world or in any other industry. I get to be part of the magic of Hollywood, which still excites me! Whenever I drive around Hollywood and see the iconic sign, I still can’t take my eyes off it, and have to pinch myself to make sure this isn’t a dream.

Somehow I also managed to meet the woman of my dreams, who shares my life and puts up with the crazy demands of my profession. We have to amazing children who teach me what love really means every single day. And I couldn’t have done any of this without the unwavering support of my family – my parents and siblings.

Nearly 3 years ago, I became an American citizen. And that is why on July 4th, I think about all that I have, and all the amazing opportunities and experiences I’ve had as well as the unlimited possibilities ahead of me. Because I am so very thankful to my adopted country for making it possible for my dreams to come true. Happy birthday America, and thank you!