Hello Hello!

Welcome to 2012! A bit late, unless of course you celebrate the Chinese New Year, in which case I’m right on schedule with that welcome. I recently wrote an article for a blog series put out by Rockey Shores Productions, the Vancouver production house I work closely with. I received a nice amount of positive feedback from that posting so I thought I would share it with you all here. My basic premise was that film people and music people approach media projects from very different angles. And as the composer, your number one skill needs to be an ability to digest a ton of information from the director and distill it down to one succinct musical idea that satisfies exactly what is inside the director’s head. So, I give you,

 

Decoding what a director is telling you. You being the composer of course.

 

I was warned early on in music production school that upon entering the world of writing music for media that I would very quickly encounter a new and alien language. A language that would require a redefinition of many of the words I thought I already knew the meanings to. A language that would be full of colours and onomatopoeia. Shwoosing and chunka chunka sounds. References to obscure fleeting film scenes that most people daydream through. This is the language of the director.

 

Music composers, indeed, most people in all aspects of the music world, speak a language common to us all. Music-speak. It’s kind of like our own version of Australian or Middle English. For the most part outsiders can understand the words we are using to communicate  to each other but the overall meaning of the conversation begins to get lost to the outside listener. Kind of like this article. Problem is, directors (of films, commercials, TV shows) need music and modern composers need moving pictures to write music to. Why is this a problem? Because directors talk in visuals and emotions and scenes and characters. But music IS emotional you say. This is true, but usually this means that the already existing music is evoking a certain emotion. With a director you are talking about an emotion that does not have any sounds or music attached to it yet. And it is my job to figure out what that music is going to be.

 

On the first short film I wrote music for I remember very clearly the spotting session between myself and the director. He started referencing all these different scenes in movies I had vaguely remembered seeing previews for ten years earlier. “Remember the scene when so and so had this happen to them and that music was playing and it was like BAM! It was so good?” Um, no. No I don’t. But that’s because I’m the music guy, and he’s the film guy. This would be roadblock #1. Roadblock #2 came shortly after when he was talking about emotions, in particular, happy versus sad. Along comes newbie music guy lingo and off I go into a diatribe about major chords and minor chords and how each can evoke mood in a different manner. Um, no.

 

So here we are, one guy talking in pictures and one guy talking in chords and not getting anywhere fast. Luckily I had some straight up, shovel no bull music instructors and the ghosts of music class past came back to me. It’s not my job to enter into long discussions on educating others about the rich history of music theory as it relates to the conjuring of human emotion. It’s my job to pick through the (seemingly) random song examples and emotional trigger words that a director puts forth. Reading between the lines? Why yes young Padawan. While this project turned into an overwhelmingly positive experience, it also taught me something that I think a lot of aspiring composers forget about. You are not writing music for you. You are writing music for THEM. And the second you forget that you are sunk. You need to figure out how your skills can audibly bring the director’s vision to completion. And you need to figure out how to do this solely based on the information put forth by the director.

 

Particularly with today’s modern music production software with its chord sequencing programs and auto this and auto that it is almost more important to be a stealthy human relationist than a stodgy sophisticated composer. If your client isn’t picking up on the vibe that you are laying down based on the vibe that HE was laying down you ain’t getting anywhere. And thus you are back to composing for yourself in your pyjamas. Which is different of course from composing for others in your pyjamas.

 

So, after working on numerous different media projects since that first short film I have developed my own system for decoding what a director is telling me, showing me, and providing me YouTube links to. Now, am I going to tell you what this system of mine is? Of course not, because it’s my secret. Alright, so maybe that’s a topic for another post but let me tell you this – when somebody tells you the music needs to be more yellow, you better know what that means.

So there you go. Thanks for stopping by for a read. New post up soon about the whatnots and whonows of whats been going on around here. I’ve definitely had to apply the above in the last month or two. Recreate the Leave it to Beaver Theme AND LMFAO in the same 2 minute project? You better believe it.

See ya,

David

PS Canucks all on Team Alfredsson. Let the Bruins rivalry continue…….

Greetings from the rain soaked Mecca that is the west coast.

Perhaps it is just me but is this not the most uninspiring time of year? A younger version of myself would have probably disagreed, but at this point in life I find a morning full of sunshine and an evening full of warmth a whole lot more conducive to the creative process than the incessant beating of rain and wind upon the walls and windows of my little studio. This is my long winded way of saying I have hit some sort of creative gutter. Slightly larger than a rut, but still smaller than a ditch. But then again, I go through this at the same time every year, and then turn around and produce some of my best music moving forward into Christmas and the new year.

So what have I been doing? Well, I recently finished a tiny 15 second ad being used as a pitch to gain a new client for the producers I often work for. Very strange working on a piece that is so short. I don’t think I’ve ever zoomed in so close to the fraction of a frame to get synchronised timing just right. But when you only have 15 seconds to get your point across it better be good. And of course it’s always fun to get creative with sound sources to achieve the final result. And, as always, I’m the only one who knows the original sounds. One of the little pleasures of the sound designer And I believe there was some room tone from a French hotel room used in there somewhere too.

In other news, I am waiting on a final cut of a commercial for a business on Vancouver Island. And as I am the end person in the production chain I’m always at the liberty of the production process. Let’s hope it comes through soon!

In news much more interesting to myself at least, I sit and type this post to you from the comfort of my couch and the convenience of my spanking new iPhone. Now, for fear of embarrassing myself more than I already have I will not recount the 11 hour overnight marathon I endured to acquire said phone. But let me tell you this: if you are buying a phone under contract, don’t sit and freeze your nether regions off all night in a mall parking lot when you can walk into the store the next day unencumbered and pick your phone off the shelf.

And why are we still calling these things phones? I mean really, NOBODY has come up with a better name yet? And don’t give me smartphone.

My point for bringing up my new phone is that I have found it to be an amazing little device that is turning into an extension of my studio. When producing the country song I wrote over the summer (see post below) I obviously needed guitar and as I don’t play or even own one I had to carefully edit and manipulate loops to get even a small sense of realism. NOW, however, I am looking forward to using the iGarageband app to kinda sorta play guitar into new projects. It is a very simple interface to be sure, but I usually write fairly simple songs so it should be a fairly decent fit. If you are at all musically inclined and you get a chance to try this app do it and do it often. Strumming those little virtual strings is oh so cool.

And lastly, while I have not produced a full, finished song in too long now, I have been voraciously writing new material. I accepted a challenge of sorts from Deane Ogden, a fantastic composer and creative firebrand whom I have mentioned before. The challenge is to constantly write. Anything. 3 minutes, everyday, all the time. So, since September 8 I have composed 64 unique pieces of music and have carefully catalogued each piece in terms of its mood and chord structure. Now, the ultimate goal of this challenge is not necessarily to create a ton of music, some of which inevitably is of a quite dubious nature, but instead to make the time every day, no excuses, to practice the craft of composing. To force into your day this small piece of structure, indeed, make this challenge part of your daily structure. Now with my fancy pants new phone I really should not have any excuses to not meet this challenge everyday, but let me tell you, like any change in daily behavior, it ain’t easy.

Did I mention the unrelenting buffets of rain and wind against the exterior walls of my humble abode? Yeah, must be November.

So, while Mother Nature unleashes her wrath upon the sealant of my windows, I have 3 minutes of music to write.

Till next time,
David (of the reeeeeeally short hair cut)

PS Grey Cup in 5 days and the aforementioned woeful Lions are in the big game. How the sports Gods work will forever amaze me.

FINALLY!!!

Here it is, it’s done, it’s finished, it is finally out in the open!

Here’s the quick back story:

1. I hate country music.

2. @bspence88 suggested we write a country song together. Fine, but what to write about?

3. I took a quick vacation to Shuswap Lake with the aforementioned @bspence88, among others, and after 3 days of interesting misadventures we looked at each other and realised our song was born. After a few weeks of writing, I got it right (further inspired by a second trip up to the lake of course). Except that most of the lyrics are in code – can’t let y’all know exactly what goes on up there now can we?

4. I play no guitar, fiddle, or drums. Everything in this song is from straight out of my little ol’ computer.

5. Our fine lead vocalist has never actually sang in front of a microphone, only along with bad country singers at a very loud volume. I think he did a very respectable job.

6. I wrestled with the sound mix for 4 days and while not 100% satisfied (none of us ever are) I think it really is the best sounding track I have ever produced. This thing is gonna pop out of your stereo.

7. Don’t blame me if it gets stuck in your head. It’s tasty catchy.

I’ve stalled long enough. The one, the only, “Back In My Boat.”

As always, enjoy!

David

PS All my sports teams are terrible.

Oh, Hello There

After some time away from this here blog o’ mine it’s high time to get an update going. Rather than ramble on in unsightly paragraph format I think a nice numbered list of goings ons would be best. You agree don’t you?

1. Call this a meta-post but I am slower putting together ideas for a new website – that is – a REAL website. You know, professionally done, with bells, whistles, blinking lights and the such. And media pages with my song reels and clips from previous work would probably be good too. I will be calling on my good friends at digitallySOCial to help achieve this. We all have seen what I can do by myself…. The whole point is that I have a nice little body of real and demo work behind me now and I want to be able to present it in the best manner possible. Judging from digitallySOCial‘s work, these guys can get it done right.

2. I have fallen woefully behind in the much previously mentioned 12 in 12 project (completing 12 pieces of art [music] in a one year span). I have fallen victim to the excuse of a broken computer and never really got back on track. Some of this was due to completing other projects for clients, vacation time, or just plain creative self doubt.

3. However! New songs are in the offing! I am one vocal track away from finishing my first country pop song. Inspired by some recent trips to Shuswap Lake, and as a way to see how far I could stretch this genre thing, all I need is for @bspence88 to lay down some twangy vocals and we’re there. The most interesting part of the process was actually recording myself singing the demo vocals. Singers of the world – you have my utmost respect

4. I am also working on a trip-hop song. Why? Something different of course. The downbeat groove, the dirty sounds, the mysterious moody misinterpretations of it all! I had a beat rattling around my head for a while and simply needed to get it out of there. And there is also the matter of my french female reading poetry. Why? I dunno. But the picture is in my head and these are the pieces of the puzzle that seem to be needed to complete the whole. This on is going to be nice and different.

5. One of the previous shorts films I scored and sound edited (using .OMF!!! ) **Watch the trailer**—> “The Fence” has been submitted for screening at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall. How cool is that!?

6. A song I did over 2 years ago, “In The Cool Room,” was used in the credit roll of a local improv show which aired last month on Shaw 4 TV. “Not Another Council Meeting” is a 1/2 show detailing the daily dalliances of a local city council. Profoundly funny if not creepily accurate, I was very glad to contribute this little ditty of mine to some fine comedy.

7. A project I did the theme and bumper music for quite a while back is still slowly coming together. The first episode of “Now Back It Up” has been put together and while I can’t give y’all a link to it yet, it was crazy neat-o to hear all the clips I did running throughout the episode. Was just so, well, real you know?

So all this was a bit of a stock taking on my part I suppose, but we all need to do that now and again. So while there are big plans (scary ones at that) ahead for the fall, we all know that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And hopefully, soon instead of detailing projects that seem to take forever to finish, I’ll be detailing how little time I have to to finish projects.

And that’s the view from where I stand. Well, sit, c’mon now.

David

PS Lions suck. 0-5.

Ahhh, we meet again!

Today is another day of release – song release that is. Have I ever mentioned how good of a mood I am in when I finish a song? Like floating on gossamer wings. Or not.

In any case, the first song since the major Mac malfunction is done. Originally written about 8 years ago while I was sitting on the beach of Alouette Lake this song has always been titled “Solitudes.” While the title still applies to the finished track this song has gone through a number of evolutions – although the core melody remains the same.

The point is, although we may change as we navigate life we can’t escape the core of who we are. To move with the flux of life and navigate it with our own compass is tough, but man, are there some pretty cool things to find along the way. So, we ultimately walk alone (Solitudes) on our journey, but must still be a part of that which surrounds us (The Crux Of Earth). To deny either is foolish, to embrace both….. well, just listen and let the Water, Air, Soil & Sun of the Earth be your guide:

.

And, as always, pass it around

David

Hello party people!

Been a while eh? Well, when your computer goes PHHT in the middle of the night it’s not so easy to write on a blog. Here then is the way I survived the crisis every computer based composer (which would be all of us I suppose) fears the most – the ultimate computer crash.

3 weeks ago I opened the lid on the MacBookPro (the heart & brain of my little operation) to a black screen. No amount of poking and prodding various resest and power buttons would make a difference.

Next day I went to one of the few Apple repair places in the city (and by city I mean the whole of Greater Vancouver). 3 days later I found out the logic board, ie: the computer part of the computer, had fried itself.

The cost to replace and repair? ~$1200. So, put in a new part in a computer with a potential inherent problem (such as eating logic boards)? I think not.

Of course, I could have gone the eBay route and bought a logic board from Hong Kong for cheap. But really?

A new computer was waaaaaaaay out of the budget, although obviously the most attractive option outside of the cost. New toy!!

So, after a few minor freakouts on my part I decided to replace my computer with the exact same 2008 model off of Craigslist. My first foray into Craig and luckily I found someone selling for all the right reasons and for a good price.

So instead of $1200 I got a used computer (which 12 days later still smells of the previous owner’s cologne) with double the RAM (HUGE in the computer composer world), Snow Leopard installed, and a brand new battery for $900. My old drive was fine so it was taken out, encased and turned into a FireWire 800 portable drive. Thanks to the magic of Mac, I was able to move everything over and get all my audio software installed with as little as what, 6 mouse clicks?

So kids, despite bad things happening there is usually a way out of the weeds if you think creatively about it. I always knew heading out as an independent contractor that there would be no one there to give you answers when things go wrong. So it may have taken a few weeks and quashed my creative abilities, but tonight, I sat in the studio and started it all up again. A little file locating here, some directory relocating there and I was happily sound searching once again.

Of course, there was all the updating of software to meet Snow Leopard, but meh, had to be done eventually anyways.

The worst part of it all was that the money that was spent was originally intended to buy me some smelly old used goalie equipment to start playing roller hockey. Ah well, a bummer for sure, but at least the funding was there for me to get the studio running. Something about silver linings or sunshine behind every cloud or some happy phrase or something.

Back to the composing!

David

PS Canucks game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs tomorrow. And I will be sitting in the 18th row. Mmmm Hmmmm

Why, Hello there kids!

Well now. What a strange day to be sure. Waking up and checking the email to see that the producer & writer of the Katie Morgan song I remixed (Brian Clayton) really liked what I had done was very cool indeed. Follow that by possibly the best Canucks game of the season and you have the makings of a great day no? Well that’s before my “new” car decided to stop powering itself on the way home tonight leaving me stranded and with a doozie of a day tomorrow. Makings of a bad day no?

Well, finally dragging myself to the computer to check my hockey pools before trying to sleep with aforementioned car troubles in my head I checked my work email and well, well, well, my lil’ ol’ remix was selected to be one of the 3 finalists in the “Getting Back Wi You” remix contest. So, in 12 hours I have had nearly 150 people listen to it, increased traffic to my other songs, and a 1 in 3 chance of having this song released on Expat Records sometime in the future. Take the pain away from the car issues? I think yes

So here it is, the song that has such delicious vocals that I just had to have a chance at pumping it up to a bouncy pumping mess (remember Black Betty anyone? Mmm Hmmm). I also encourage you to go to Katie’s page to check out the original and the other 2 remix entries – give them some love!

“Getting Back Wi You – Winter Club Mix”

 

And of course, thanks to Katie Morgan & Brian Clayton for the awesome opportunity to work on such a talented pair’s excellent song!

Let’s see where this thing goes!

David

PS Yup, Canucks comment. So good. I mean THE BEST good. Scary times indeed. And I still haven’t checked my hockey pools tonight.

Hello kids,

Yes, as it says so above, it IS about bloody time I updated y’all here.But first, let me go get a yogurt.

Alright, that’s better. So what’s going on around here you say? Well let’s look back shall we:

The first film I ever did score was Premiered at the Victoria Film Festival on Feb. 9 to a great reception. I was not able to be there but most of the cast and crew was and a good time was had by all. So, the plan is to keep promoting the film to other film festivals and thus continue to promote all the people that worked on the movie.

I am working on remix for new British Artist Katie and am feverishly plowing towards the March 4th deadline. Obviously there is no guarantee of the producers accepting the remix I submit but you better be sure I’ll be making them think long and hard about it You can check out the original song to be remixed, “Getting Back Wi You” right here. A catchy little piece to be sure. Just don’t blame me if you get it stuck in your head. You’ve been warned.

Chances are I won’t be able to release the remix I do so I do hope it gets released by the label so you can all hear the fruits of my late night labours.

Damn cold here today. Stupid Mother Nature teasing us with spring last week. Then BAM winter. Right back in your face. Nearly no snow though.

Lastly on my update list, if you’ve read my posts before you may recall that I did the music for a street bike racing reality show. Well, sometimes you do some projects just to help out the producers so they can put together a complete package for marketing. I had quite forgotten about this project when I got an email about seeing the first finished episode. Right out of the blue this thing could get of the ground. It’s a great little web series with huge potential with racing and bike fans and I’m very glad to be a part of it. (And the music sounds fantastic in it, I will admit )

And in case you’re wondering, yes, that was some tasty yogurt. A bit sweet for me though. I’m just a sweetheart, not a sweettooth. (sorry)

Keep on keeping on!

David

PS Canucks still sitting on top of the NHL standings is freaking out the entire city.

Hello!

I am very happy to present to you the latest song to pour itself from my mind.

Unabashedly inspired by Daft Punk’s technologically divine Tron: Legacy Soundtrack, this is my sonic story of the volatility of the world’s Oceans. Set in the not too distant future, we begin with the digitized voices of the deep trying to tell us their story. Unable to communicate with us properly, the Ocean instead plies the piano into its consciousness. It is through this instrument that the Waters try desperately to speak their plea. It seems the status quo is pleasant enough, if not, perhaps, a bit sad – tranquil if you will. But as we soon find out, the voice of the Ocean is viciously challenged by unseen forces and struggles to share its voice in the face of impending doom. The victor remains undetermined. Or does it….. Enjoy “Oceans Of Tranquility & Rage.”

 

Feel free to download the song straight from the player above if you so desire, and share with you friends family and fish. Of course, spreading though Facebook & Twitter is most welcome

Have the best of the rest of your day,

David

Hello beautiful people,

As I am between songs at the moment so here is a brief (phht, yeah right) update of this musical corner of the planet.

The very first film I ever did score, “The Perfect Proposal,” is going to have its premiere screening on February 9th! Yes, that’s right, my name will be up on the big big screen. Showing as a part of the Victoria Film Festival’s short film evening “Shorts Program: It’s Complicated,” It will be very cool, and just a tad surreal, to know people are going to be watching a film project that I was so heavily involved in. I am very proud of the music my partner and I put together for this film and was humbled and honoured to provide feedback on the film itself as we progressed through the final stages of its completion.

Since releasing Black Betty 2 weeks ago I have had nearly 500 listens, 400 of which were in the first 4 days. Absolutely mind blowing to this here little mind. The most common response? “I love the beat.” Now THAT is a compliment. You see, I don’t believe in using loops in my music. So I build everything from the ground up. That way everything is perfectly tailored to what you are trying to do with the song. And a sincere Thank You to everyone who took some time from their lives to listen. Bam A Lam.

I also found out today that I inspired my little 7 year old buddy with Black Betty. Word is he had a look of utter astonishment on his face as he heard Uncle Dave’s song.  After listening to Betty he got a 10 min music notation lesson from his Aunt  and spent the next hour writing (using real notes – E F & G – on a real stave) a song and then trying to play it on his guitar. Very cool.

I had quinoa today. Quite tasty. Also a blood orange. Do not eat those near your computer. Drip. Drip. Drip.

I have finally changed my humble company logo. If you look over there —–> in the side bar you will (hopefully) see a much better rendering of my two Green Mountains Thanks to @bspence88 for his work on this. Even more so considering he is colour blind. The mountains are green aren’t they?

And I received word last week that the car racing show I did music for may be getting off the ground. Hence the new logo. The music stings were cut from the same song as I entered into a SoundCloud (I’d give you a link, but SoundCloud seems to have taken it down) contest a while back (and did quite well ) with a couple of more electronic cues added to the mix. No word on the webisodes’ air dates yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know.

And lastly, I am working diligently (ok, I’ve put together the skeleton) on my January 12 in 12 song. Inspired by Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack I am trying to combine orchestral and electronic. Something that is turning out to need a deft touch to be sure. This one is a bit of a struggle, same as it was for the song I did coming out of writing my Trystau Mynydd. It seems after hitting a home run with one song, the next one is reeeeeally difficult to create. But that is a subject for a much later date.

And I am much more comfortable writing this at the coffee table, not cramped in the corner. Thanks for asking. Wireless is wonderful, isn’t it. Except for all the blinking lights in here now.

Time to go!

David

PS Seahawks gone. Patriots gone. Canucks number 1. I can live with that. Can’t I?