April 15, 2008 - Film Music Magazine

FILM MUSIC weekly
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008 • A Global Media Online Publication • www.filmmusicweekly.com
Tadlow Music Quotes London Film/TV
Buyout Rate of US$105 Per Hour
n Orchestra contractor Tadlow
Music in London has announced
buyout rates for recording with
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
in London. The company specializes in orchestral recording packages including contracting, music
preparation and related services.
For film and television work,
the new session buyout rate is
£160 (200 Euros) for a three-hour
session, which at current rates
translates
to US$105/
hour.
For album work,
a lower buyout rate is available at
£125 (156 Euros) for a three-hour
session, which at current rates
translates to US$82/hour.
All rates include doubling and
cartage, and
are buyout
rates.
T h e
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was founded
in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham
and enjoys a worldwide reputation
AFM: Music Library Buyout
Contract Details Confidential
n Representatives from the
American Federation of Musicians have declined a request
from Film Music Magazine to
provide details about the new
buyout contracts for music library recording sessions including what type(s) of music
and music usages qualify to be
recorded under the new agreements.
As previously reported in
Film Music Magazine, the AFM
is now offering buyout recording contracts for music library
recording sessions, with the first
sessions occurring in the San
Francisco Bay area earlier this
SCORING NEWS:
CD REVIEW:
THE CHART DOCTOR:
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY:
JOBS:
year and coming on the heels of
new AFM buyout agreements
for video game score recordings
that have become very popular
with both musicians and game
companies.
The new music library buyout sessions as well as many of
the buyout video game sessions
are occurring in the San Francisco Bay area, which has seen
an increase in recording work
after Los Angeles recording musicians staged a mass cancellation for the AFM-approved buyout sessions for The Simpsons
video game.
(continued pg.3)
for being one of the most experienced recording orchestras in the
world. The orchestra has released
many classical music recordings
and performed on film and television music recordings for composers including Elmer Bernstein,
John Debney, John Scott, Miklos
Rozsa, Maurice Jarre and others.
(continued pg.3)
Christopher Young to Receive
Richard Kirk Award from BMI
n Prolific composer Christopher
Young will receive the Richard
Kirk Award for
outstanding
caChristopher
reer achievement
Young
at the BMI’s annual Film & Television Awards
on Wednesday, May 21 in Los
Angeles. Staged at the Beverly
Wilshire Hotel, the event will
also honor the composers of the
past year’s top-grossing films, toprated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking
cable network programs. BMI’s
President & CEO Del Bryant, and
BMI’s Vice President, Film/TV
Relations, Doreen Ringer Ross,
will host the event.
Named in honor of former BMI
Vice President and film & television department founder Richard
Kirk, the Richard Kirk Award is
bestowed on composers who have
made significant contributions to
the realm of film and television.
The ceremony will salute
BMI’s Emmy-winning composers
from the past year. BMI will also
present the Classic Contribution
Award to Peter Golub in recognition of his progressive direction of
the Sundance Institute Film Composers Lab for the past ten years.
“Public Enemies” (Elliot Goldenthal), “My Sister’s Keeper” (Aaron Zigman) and more
Daniel Schweiger reviews “Leatherheads”
“Anatomy Of An ArrangementPart 3: Plan Your Work, And Then...” by Ron Hess
“Best Buy Rising” by Peter Alexander
Film & TV Music Current Job Listings
FILM MUSIC weekly
Publisher: Mark Northam
Editor: Mikael Carlsson
VP Finance and Operations: Rebecca Lee
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FMR
This Week on
FILM MUSIC RADIO
ON THE SCORE
MY LUNCH WITH MAURICE
Film music journalist Daniel
Schweiger interviews
legendary composer
MAURICE JARRE,
who reflects on his epic career,
and a specially revisited
tribute to
director David Lean.
.
LISTEN NOW
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
FILM MUSIC weekly
INDUSTRY NEWS
Tadlow Music Quotes
London Film/TV Buyout
Rate of US$105 Per Hour
AFM: Music Library
Buyout Contract Details
Confidential
(continued. from pg 1)
(continued. from pg 1)
Tadlow Music, headed by James Fitzpatrick, offers contracting and
recording services with European orchestras. Fitzpatrick, who has over
300 album producer credits, heads the company that offers composers
and others a comprehensive contracting service including copyists, album preparation, score supervision and more in London, Berlin, Bratislava and Prague. Tadlow’s orchestral recording is available with rates
starting at US$26 per musician per hour.
For more information about Tadlow Music and recording with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and other European orchestras, visit http://www.tadlowmusic.com
Music library recordings have traditionally not been created under
AFM agreements for logistical reasons, with libraries taking the position that they cannot accept any “strings attached” to recordings and
emphasizing that they need to be free to license the recordings to anyone, anywhere without any limitations placed on the recordings or the
library by a union. With a dramatic increase in the number of music
libraries over the last two years, the AFM is positioning itself as a domestic alternative for library sessions that in the past have primarily
been done non-AFM in Seattle and overseas.
Classicalandfilmmusic
Production company with 20 years tradition and experiences , recording,
mixing and mastering studio .
Our own „Film Symphony Orchestra Prague“ with excellent players
from the Czech Philharmonic and the Czech National Theatre Orchestra.
Recording from full symphonic orchestra up to 95 players to small chamber groups.
Full service for clients: studio,orchestra booking, conductors, great engineer with
years of experiences, scores printing and copying, help with booking the flights and
accommodation, transport, catering and other travel needs.
All staff speaking english.
Studio 1 equiped by Pre-amps and mixing console Neve V48, Lexicon 480,
Pro-Tools HD 192kHZ 7.3 version 48 in/out.
Wide collection of Neumann microphones, incl. the tube mics.
Steinway piano year 1907.
Our prices are a fifth of London, Boston or New York.
Clients: Dream Works, Sony Pictures, BBC production,Fine Line Media,
Wellspring Media, A.R.Rahman, John Califra, J.M.Williams and many others.
2 Grammy nominations for Soundtrack to the „ONCE“ movie .
OSCAR for the best film music- song „Falling Slowly“.
Contact:
www.sonorecords.cz
tel: + 420 605 287 386, + 420 603 502 500
sono_1.2_horizontalOK.indd 1
FILM MUSIC weekly ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
3/11/08 7:42:44 PM
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SCORING NEWS
THIS WEEK’S MAJOR
SCORING ASSIGNMENTS
Elliot Goldenthal:
Public Enemies
Academy Award-winning composer
Elliot Goldenthal reunites with director
Michael Mann, 13 years after his score
for Mann’s intense action thriller Heat.
According to the Gorfaine-Schwartz
Agency, Goldenthal is attached to Public
Enemies, Mann’s 1930s gangster epic
starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and
Channing Tatum. Mann’s films are usually
accompanied by an eclectic soundtrack,
so we can probably expect music by
other creative talents in addition to the
original score by Elliot Goldenthal in
the final cut of the film. Mann’s own
company, Forward Pass, and Robert De
Niro’s Tribeca Productions co-produce
with Kevin Misher (The Interpreter).
Public Enemies is expected to come out
next year.
Michael Wandmacher:
My Bloody
Valentine 3-D
Michael Wandmacher
has just signed on
to score My Bloody
Valentine 3-D, a horror
film scheduled to be
distributed theatrically
by Lionsgate early next
year. Genre specialist Patrick Lussier,
who edited the Scream trilogy and
directed Dracula 2000, helms the project
which is a remake of the 1981 slasher
film starring Paul Kelman and Lori Hallier.
The new version’s cast includes Jensen
Ackles and Jaime King. Among Wandmacher’s other upcoming projects are
the Madagascar 2 video game (he scored
the first one as well) and feature films
Train and Chain Letter. His score for The
Killing Floor was released on CD earlier
this year by MovieScore Media.
Aaron Zigman:
My Sister’s Keeper
One of the most prolific
composers in Hollywood, Aaron Zigman,
has added another film
to his resumee: My
Sister’s Keeper, directed
by Nick Cassavetes.
Starring Alec Baldwin, Cameron Diaz,
Joan Cusack and Jason Patrick, the film
is a courtroom drama based on Jodi
Picoult’s novel about a former attorney
and her husband who are sued by their
daughter for emancipation. This is
4
the fourth Nick Cassavetes film Aaron
Zigman scores, following John Q, The
Notebook and Alpha Dog. Zigman has
also recently scored Sex and the City:
The Movie, Powder Blue, Meet the
Browns and Step Up 2: The Streets. His
other upcoming films include Lake City
and Flash of Genius.
Mark Thomas:
Goal! III
The third film in the Goal! series gets
an original score by UK composer Mark
Thomas, who is going to record the
score at Abbey Road Studios next month.
The film is directed by Andy Morahan
(Highlander: The Final Dimension) and
sees Kuno Becker returning in the role as
football star underdog Santiago Munez.
Supporting cast includes Nick Moran,
JJ Field and Leo Gregory. LA-based
Milkshake Films produces. The music for
the first two films in the series was by
Graeme Revell and Stephen Warbeck.
Mark Thomas is also busy scoring for
the small screen: he recently completed
the comedy series Benidorm for Tiger
Aspect and ITV as well as the television
movie May Contain Nuts. Thomas’ recent
scores include Moondance Alexander,
Back in Business and Tales of the
Riverbank.
Rachel Portman:
The Duchess
Rachel Portman, the
Academy Awardwinning composer of
Emma, The Cider House
Rules and Chocolat, is
currently working on the
score for The Duchess,
the 18th century drama starring Keira
Knightley as aristocrat Georgiana, the
Duchess of Devonshire. The film is based
on Amanda Foreman’s book, Saul Dibb
directs from a screen adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher (Casanova) and acclaimed
Danish writer Anders Thomas Jensen
(After the Wedding). The Duchess, which
is produced by BBC Films and Pathé,
co-stars Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper
and Charlotte Rampling and is scheduled
to premiere on August 29.
Marcus Trumpp: Blood
- The Last Vampire
The live action remake of the animated
Blood: The Last Vampire, an awardwinning Japanese film from 2000, gets
an original score by Marcus Trumpp. The
34-year old German composer has previously written stylish orchetral scores for
The Breed and Hollow Man 2, and has
worked extensively as an orchestrator
by MIKAEL CARLSSON
mcarlsson@filmmusicweekly.com
and additional music writer for Marco
Beltrami on many films, including Live
Free or Die Hard, I, Robot and 3:10 to
Yuma. Starring Gianna Yun, Allison Miller
and Masiela Lusha, the new version of
Blood: The Last Vampire is directed by
French helmer Chris Nahon (Kiss of the
Dragon) and is about a vampire who is a
member of a secret agency in post-WW2
Japan with the mission to hunt down and
destroy demons in Japan after WW2.
Trevor Jones:
Three and Out
Trevor Jones, the composer of such
well-known scores as The Last of the
Mohicans, Excalibur, Cliffhanger, Notting
Hill and Angel Heart, has written the
music for Three and Out, a UK comedy
starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney,
Imelda Staunton and Gemma Arterton.
The film is about ordinary persons with
unique dilemmas and how far they are
willing to go. Jonathan Gershfield directs
for RMPC, film will premiere on April 25.
Gordy Haab:
Pornstar
Gordy Haab, the young
composer who won
a lot of acclaim for his
horror score Behind
the Mask: The Rise of
Leslie Vernon, is doing
the music for a drama
called Pornstar. Directed by Stevie Long
(who was one of the writers on Starsky
and Hutch), the film explores America’s
obsession with sex, fame, and money.
Matthew Gray Gubler, Diora Baird and
Will Sasso star in the Proton Entertainment produced film. Gordy Haab’s score
is orchestral and features Native American drums and wind instruments as well
as electronic instruments and sound
design. Haab has also been hired to compose music for LucasArts’ forthcoming
Indiana Jones video game.
Christopher Young:
Drag Me to Hell
According to Christopher Young’s publicist,
the composer is
currently working on
Sam Raimi’s Drag Me
to Hell. Raimi recently
worked with Young on
Spider-Man 3 and previously hired the
composer to score his stylish supernatural thriller The Gift, released in 2000. Drag
Me to Hell is a horror film about a young
woman who gets a supernatural curse
cast upon her. Alison Lohman, Justin Long
and Jessica Lucas star in the film,
which is scheduled to come out next
year. Raimi’s Buckaroo Entertainment
and Ghost House Pictures produce.
Christopher Young recently scored
Sleepwalking and Untraceable.
John Nordstrom:
Greta
Greta, a drama starring Hilary Duff, Ellen
Burstyn and Evan Ross, gets an original
score by John Nordstrom. The film tells
the story about a young couple who has
to fight for their love as her grandparents
worry about the criminal past of the
boyfriend. Nancy Bardawil, a director
of music videos, helms the project for
Whitewater Films. John Nordstrom previously scored Nearing Grace for the same
company and producer/director Rick
Rosenthal. Among his other credits are
TV series One Tree Hill and TV movie Five
Days to Midnight.
Velton Ray Bunch:
The Tenth Circle (TV)
Velton Ray Bunch is doing the score for
Lifetime Television’s upcoming movie The
Tenth Circle, based on the novel by Jodi
Picoult and starring Kelly Preston and
Ron Eldard. The film is directed by Peter
Markle, a versatile filmmaker whose previous credits include theatrical features
Bat-21 and Youngblood, and television
episodes of The X-Files, CSI and Without
a Trace on his resume. He worked previously with Velton Ray Bunch on the TV
movies Flight 93 and Faith of My Fathers.
The Tenth Circle will premiere in June.
Harry Gregson-Williams:
The Taking of
Pelham 123
Harry Gregson-Williams
is going to score his
sixth film directed by
Tony Scott: the remake
of the 1974 subway
hijacking drama The
Taking of Pelham 123.
Slated for a 2009 summer release, the
new version stars Denzel Washington
and John Travolta and is scripted by
David Koepp (Spider-Man, Jurassic Park,
Mission: Impossible). Escape Artists
produce with Scott Free Productions.
The 1974 version of the film featured a
strikingly original twelve-tone funk score
by David Shire. Harry Gregson-Williams
is also attached to Jerry Bruckheimer’s
action adventure G-Force, the X-Men
spin-off Wolverine and Dan Ireland’s
drama Jolene. He recently recorded
the score for The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian in London - an extensive
session report is available here.
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
FILM MUSIC weekly
Film Music Weekly’s “The Scoreboard” only lists scoring assignments that have been confirmed to us by official sources.
The list is limited to feature film scoring assignments.
Brian Tyler: The Fast
and the Furious 4
According to the
Gorfaine-Schwartz
Agency’s latest roster
update, Brian Tyler will
follow up his intense
score for The Fast
and the Furious: Tokyo
Drift with new music for the fourth film
in the series, which is also directed by
Justin Lin. The film is yet untitled but
is scheduled to hit the silver screen
on June 5 next year, with Vin Diesel
returning as the main star, accompanied
by Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez.
Brian Tyler is also attached to The Killing
Room, a thriller about four people who
take part in a psychological research
study which turns out to be a terrifying
classified experiment. Peter Stormare,
Chloë Sevigny and Timothy Hutton star
in the film which is directed by Jonathan
Liebesman, for whom Tyler previously
worked on Darkness Falls. As previously
reported and confirmed by 20th Century
Fox, Brian Tyler is also going to score big
budget action spectacle Dragonball.
John Debney:
Hotel for Dogs
Adding yet another
family comedy to his
filmography, John
Debney has been hired
to compose the music
for Hotel for Dogs,
Dreamworks upcoming
film version of the Lois Duncan 1971
children’s book about two teenagers
who secretly house nine dogs in an
abandoned hotel. Thor Freudenthal, who
was a second unit director on Disney’s
The Haunted Mansion, helms the
project which sees stars Emma Roberts,
Troy Gentile, Lisa Kudrow, Don Cheadle
and Kevin Dillon in the main roles. Film
is scheduled to open on January 23 next
year. John Debney’s other upcoming
films include Meet Dave, Swing Vote
and Old Dogs.
THE SCOREBOARD
LATEST ADDITIONS
Velton Ray Bunch: The Tenth Circle (tv) John
Debney: Hotel for Dogs
Elliot Goldenthal: Public Enemies
Gordy Haab: Pornstar
Trevor Jones: Three and Out
John Nordstrom: Greta
Rachel Portman: The Duchess
Mark Thomas: Goal! III
Marcus Trumpp: Blood - The Last Vampire
Brian Tyler: The Fast and the Furious 4
Michael Wandmacher: My Bloody Valentine
3-D
Harry Gregson-Williams: The Taking of
Pelham 123
Christopher Young: Drag Me to Hell
Aaron Zigman: My Sister’s Keeper
COMPLETE LIST:
Panu Aaltio: The Home of Dark Butterflies.
Tree Adams: Emilio.
Andreas Alfredsson / Christian Sandquist:
Possession.
Eric Allaman: Race.
John Altman: The Master Builder • Shoot
on Sight.
Armand Amar: La jeune fille et les loups.
Marco D’Ambrosio: Say Hello to Stan
Talmadge.
David Arnold: How to Loose Friends and
Alienate People • Quantum of Solace • The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader.
Alexandre Azaria: 15 ans et demi.
Chris P. Bacon: Space Chimps.
Angelo Badalamenti: The Edge of Love •
Secrets of Love.
Klaus Badelt: Killshot • Starship Troopers:
Marauder • The Scorpion King: Rise of the
Akkadian • Fire Bay • Dragon Hunters •
Heaven and Earth.
Lesley Barber: A Thousand Years of Good
Prayers • Death in Love.
Nathan Barr: Tortured • Broken Lizard’s The
Slammin’ Salmon.
Steve Bartek: The Art of Travel.
Stephen Barton: The Six Wives of Henry
Lefay.
Eef Barzelay: Yellow Handkerchief.
Tyler Bates: The Haunted World of El Superbeasto • Day of the Dead • Watchmen
• The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Jeff Beal: Where God Left His Shoes •
Salomaybe? • The Deal.
Christophe Beck: What Happens in Vegas...
Marco Beltrami: In the Electric Mist with
Confederate Dead.
Jean-Michael Bernard: Cash.
Charles Bernstein: The Cursed.
Doug Besterman: Exit Speed.
Terence Blanchard: Miracle at St. Anna.
Scott Bomar: Maggie Lynn.
Simon Boswell: Bathory • My Zinc Bed.
Jason Brandt: Something’s Wrong in
Kansas.
Benedikt Brydern: The Crown of Vysehrad
• Stag Night.
David Buckley: Town Creek • The Forbidden
Kingdom.
Kenneth Burgomaster: Garfield’s Fun Fest •
Hero Wanted.
Mickey Bullock: Sportkill • Orville.
Carter Burwell: In Bruges.
Edmund Butt: The Waiting Room.
Niall Byrne: How About You.
Peter Calandra: The Sickness.
Jeff Cardoni: You and I (Finding tATu).
Kristopher Carter: Yesterday Was a Lie •
Dance of the Dead.
Patrick Cassidy: L’aviatore.
Nigel Clarke & Michael Csányi-Wills: The
Grind.
Sarah Class: The Meerkats.
George S. Clinton: The Love Guru • Harold
& Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.
Chandra Cogburn: Fiesta Grand • Orgies
and the Meaning of Life • The Bard: The
Story of Robert Burns.
Ron Alan Cohen: Who’s Your Monkey?.
FILM MUSIC weekly ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
Juan J. Colomer: Dark Honeymoon.
Alfons Conde: No-Do.
Normand Corbeil: Ma fille, mon ange • Boot
Camp • Emotional Arithmetic.
Jane Antonia Cornish: Every Little Step.
Bruno Coulais: MR 73 • Les Femmes de
l’ombre • Coraline.
Miriam Cutler: Bloodline • Chris & Don: A
Love Story • One Lucky Elephant • A Powerful Noise • One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert
Wagner Story • Absolutely Safe.
Burkhard Dallwitz: The Interrogation of
Harry Wind • Chainsaw.
Jeff Danna: Lakeview Terrace (co-composer)
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (cocomposer).
Mychael Danna: Lakeview Terrace (cocomposer) • Stone of Destiny • Adoration •
The Time Traveler’s Wife • Passchendaele •
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (cocomposer).
Carl Davis: The Understudy.
Marcello De Francisci: The Butcher.
Wolfram de Marco: The Lost Tribe.
Jessica de Rooij: Tunnel Rats • Far Cry •
Alone in the Dark II.
John Debney: Big Stan • Bachelor No. 2 •
Starship Dave • Swing Vote • Old Dogs •
Hotel for Dogs • Sin City 2.
Tim DeLaughter: The Assassination of a
High School President.
Charles Denler: I Am • A Handful of Beans
• Nothing But Dreams • Buttermilk Sky • A
Meadowlark Calling • Kate & Co.
Erik Desiderio: He’s Such a Girl • Sons of
Liberty.
Alexandre Desplat: Afterwards • Largo
Winch.
Ramin Djawadi: Deception • Fly Me to the
Moon • Iron Man.
Pino Donaggio: Colpe d’occhio.
James Michael Dooley: The Little Mermaid:
Ariel’s Beginning • Impy’s Island 2.
Patrick Doyle: Nim’s Island • Igor.
Christopher Drake: Batman - Gotham Knight
(co-composer).
Ludek Drizhal: Life Goes On • Synapse •
The Next Race: The Remote Viewings • The
Sno Cone Stand Inc.
Anne Dudley: Black Water Transit.
Randy Edelman: The Mummy: Tomb of the
Dragon Emperor.
Jonathan Edwards: The Golden Boys.
Steve Edwards: The Neighbor • The Intervention • Sharks in Venice.
Cliff Eidelman: He’s Just Not That Into You.
Danny Elfman: Standard Operating Procedure • Wanted • Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.
Stephen Endelman: Redbelt.
Paul Englishby: An Education.
Tom Erba: Chinaman’s Chance.
Ilan Eshkeri: The Disappeared • Telstar.
Evan Evans: The Mercy Man • You’re
Nobody ‘Til Somebody Kills You • The Poker
Club • Jack Rio.
Nima Fakhara: Lost Dream.
Guy Farley: The Flock • Knife Edge • The
Brøken • I Know You Know.
Chad Fischer: The Babysitters.
Robert Folk: Kung Pow: Tongue of Fury •
Magdalene • Vivaldi.
Jason Frederick: Good Chemistry • Bears.
Bill Frisell: All Hat.
John Frizzell: Henry Poole Is Here.
Michael Giacchino: Speed Racer • Star Trek.
Vincent Gillioz: The Appearance of Things •
Portal • Last Breath.
Scott Glasgow: Toxic • The Gene Generation
• Lo • The Bridge to Nowhere.
Philip Glass: Les animaux amoreux.
Erik Godal: The Gift • Ready Or Not • Irreversi • Holodomer • Deep Gold • Spring
Break ‘83 • Hardland.
Elliot Goldenthal: Public Enemies.
Joel Goldsmith: Stargate Continuum •
Stone’s War.
Jonathan Goldsmith: Tenderness • Fatal
Passage.
Christopher Gordon: Mao’s Last Dancer
• Daybreakers.
Adam Gorgoni: Still Waiting.
Jeff Grace: Trigger Man • I Sell the Dead •
Liberty Kid.
John Graham: Long Flat Balls II.
Harry Gregson-Williams: Jolene • Em •
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian •
G-Force • The Taking of Pelham 123 • X-Men:
Wolverine.
Rupert Gregson-Williams: You Don’t Mess
With the Zohan • Made of Honor • Bedtime
Stories.
Andrew Gross: Forfeit • National Lampoon’s
Bag Boy • Diamond Dog Caper • The Speed
of Thought.
Larry Groupé: Love Lies Bleeding • The
Hungry Woman • Straw Dogs.
Andrea Guerra: The Accidental Husband •
Parlami d’amore • Heart of Fire.
Robert Gulya: Atom Nine Adventures •
Themoleris • 9 and a Half Date.
Steven Gutheinz: Rothenburg.
Gordy Haab: The Shiftling (co-composer) •
Witches’ Night • Pornstar.
Todd Haberman: Killer Movie.
Richard Hartley: Diamond Dead.
Paul Hartwig: Holiday Beach • Tyrannosaurus Azteca.
Richard Harvey: Eichmann.
Paul Haslinger: Prom Night • Make It
Happen • While She Was Out.
Paul Heard: Clubbed.
Alex Heffes: My Enemy’s Enemy • State of
Play.
Reinhold Heil: Blackout (co-composer) • The
International (co-composer).
Christian Henson: Zomerhitte • A Bunch of
Amateurs.
Eric Hester: The Utopian Society • Lost
Mission • Frail.
Tom Hiel: A Plumm Summer.
David Hirschfelder: Shake Hands With the
Devil.
Ben Holbrook: Kiss the Bride.
Trevor Horn: Kids in America.
James Horner: The Boy in Striped Pyjamas •
Avatar.
Richard Horowitz: Kandisha • The
Whisperers.
James Newton Howard: The Happening •
The Dark Knight (co-composer) • Defiance •
Confessions of a Shopaholic.
David A. Hughes: Awaydays.
Terry Huud: Plaguers.
Søren Hyldgaard: Red.
Alberto Iglesias: The Argentine • Guerrilla.
Ángel Illarramendi: Todos estamos invitados
• La buena nueva.
Mark Isham: Pride and Glory • The Express.
Corey Allen Jackson: Idiots and Angels.
James Jandrisch: American Venus.
Adrian Johnston: Sparkle • Brideshead
Revisited.
5
Film Music Weekly’s “The Scoreboard” only lists scoring assignments that have been confirmed to us by official sources.
The list is limited to feature film scoring assignments.
Bobby Johnston: Hotel California •
Happiness Runs • Spooner.
Evan Jolly: Tonight Is Cancelled.
Tim Jones: Cryptid.
Trevor Jones: Three and Out.
David Julyan: Eden Lake • The Daisy Chain
• The Descent 2.
George Kallis: Antigravity.
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek: The Visitor.
Tuomas Kantelinen: Arn - Riket vid vägens
slut.
Yagmur Kaplan: The Elder Son • The Lodge
• Broken Windows.
Laura Karpman: Out at the Wedding • Ace
Ventura 3.
Kenji Kawai: L – Change the World • Orochi
• The Sky Crawlers.
Rolfe Kent: The Lucky Ones.
Wojciech Kilar: Black Sun.
Mark Kilian: Before the Rains • Traitor.
David Kitay: Shanghai Kiss • Blonde
Ambition.
Johnny Klimek: Blackout (co-composer) •
The International (co-composer).
Abel Korzeniowski: Terms.
Penka Kouneva: Midnight Movie • The Gold
and the Beautiful.
Ivan Koutikov: Wanted Undead Or Alive •
Living Hell.
Robert J. Kral: Batman - Gotham Knight
(co-composer).
Aryavarta Kumar: The Rapture • Greater
Threat.
Nathan Larson: August • Choke.
Jim Latham: Greetings from the Shore •
Swishbucklers • Parental Guidance
Suggested.
James Lavino: Woodpecker.
Craig Leon: Maestro.
Geoff Levin: Triloquist • The Rat Thing •
Agenda • The Fallen.
James S. Levine: Otis.
Michael A. Levine: Columbus Day.
Krishna Levy: Le nouveau protocole.
Gary Lionelli: Oswald’s Ghost.
Jason Livesay: Bounty (co-composer) •
Limbo Lounge (co-composer) • Chasing the
Green • Little Iron Men (co-composer).
Nolan Livesay: Bounty (co-composer) •
Limbo Lounge (co-composer) • Little Iron
Men (co-composer).
Andrew Lockington: Journey 3-D • One
Week.
Henning Lohner: Kleiner Dodo • Love
Comes Lately • Night Train.
Helen Jane Long: Surveillance.
Erik Lundborg: Absolute Trust.
Daniele Luppi: Hell Ride.
Deborah Lurie: Spring Breakdown.
Vivek Maddala: They Turned Our Desert Into
Fire.
Nuno Malo: Mr. Hobb’s House.
Mark Mancina: Sheepish • Camille •
Without a Badge • Like Dandelion Dust.
Aram Mandossian: The Last Resort.
Harry Manfredini: Black Friday • iMurders •
Impulse • Anna Nicole • Dead and Gone.
David Mansfield: Then She Found Me • The
Guitar.
Kevin Manthei: Batman - Gotham Knight
(co-composer).
Dario Marianelli: Far North • Hippie Hippie
Shake • The Soloist.
Anthony Marinelli: Grizzly Park • Footsteps.
Gerard K. Marino: Fuego.
6
Gary Marlowe: Los Pereyra • Das echo der
Schuld.
Phil Marshall: Live.
Cliff Martinez: Stiletto.
Richard Marvin: The Narrows • Dead Like
Me • Picture This! • A Fork in the Road.
John McCarthy: The Stone Angel.
Bear McCreary: Rest Stop 2.
Michael McCuiston: Broke Sky (co-composer).
Don McGlashan: Dean Spanley.
Joel McNeely: The Tinkerbell Movie.
Nathaniel Mechaly: Taken • Dorothy Mills.
Matt Messina: The Least of These.
Guy Michelmore: Doctor Strange • Bono,
Bob, Brian and Me.
Randy Miller: Last Time Forever • Shanghai
Red • Second Chance Season.
Robert Miller: The Key Man • Trumbo • On
the Hook • Wherever You Are.
Angelo Milli: Máncora • Second Coming.
Sheldon Mirowitz: Renewal • Operation
Filmmaker.
Richard G. Mitchell: Almost Heaven.
Charlie Mole: Fade to Black • I Really Hate
My Job • St. Trinian’s.
Tony Morales: Something Is Killing Tate •
Ball Don’t Lie.
John Morgan: The Opposite Day
(co-composer).
Paul Leonard-Morgan: Popcorn.
Cyril Morin: Un coeur simple.
Ennio Morricone: Il demoni di San
Pietroburgo.
Trevor Morris: Matching Blue • Krews.
Mark Mothersbaugh: Quid Pro Quo •
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Hélène Muddiman: Skin.
Nico Muhly: The Reader.
Sean Murray: The Lost • Clean Break.
Gregor Narholz: Shadowheart.
Peter Nashel: Carriers.
Javier Navarrete: Mirrors • Inkheart •
Fireflies in the Garden.
Blake Neely: Elvis and Anabelle • The Great
Buck Howard • Surfer Dude.
Roger Neill: Take • Scar.
Joey Newman: Safe Harbour.
Randy Newman: Leatherheads • The Frog
Princess.
Thomas Newman: Nothing Is Private •
Wall-E • Revolutionary Road.
Kyle Newmaster: The Shiftling (co-composer) • Reservations • Star Wars: Secret of the
Rebellion • Blood Shot.
David James Nielsen: Reclaiming the Blade.
Stefan Nilsson: Heaven’s Heart.
Dana Niu: Conjurer • Hurt.
Marinho Nobre: Left for Dead • Sacred
Game.
Adam Nordén: Everybody’s Dancing • De
Gales hus.
Julian Nott: Heavy Petting.
Paul Oakenfold: Victims.
Dean Ogden: Oranges • Knuckle Draggers •
A Perfect Season • The Sensei.
John Ottman: Valkyrie.
John Paesano: Shamrock Boy.
Michael Penn: American Teen.
Heitor Pereira: The Canyon • Running the
Sahara • South of the Border.
Mark Petrie: The Road to Empire • Valley of
Angels • Farmhouse.
Barrington Pheloung: Incendiary.
Leigh Phillips: War Made Easy • Still Life.
Martin Phipps: Grow Your Own.
Nicholas Pike: It’s Alive • Parasomnia.
Nicola Piovani: Odette Toulemonde.
Douglas Pipes: Trick r’ Treat • City of Ember.
Michael Richard Plowman: Edison and Leo.
Conrad Pope: In My Sleep.
Steve Porcaro: The Wizard of Gore • Cougar
Club.
Rachel Portman: The Duchess.
John Powell: Hancock • Stop Loss • Green
Zone • Kung Fu Panda (co-composer) • Bolt.
Michael Price: Sugarhouse Lane • Agent
Crush • Wild Girl.
Alec Puro: The Thacker Case.
Trevor Rabin: Get Smart.
Didier Lean Rachou: An American in China.
Brian Ralston: Graduation • 9/Tenths.
Jasper Randall: The Secrets of Jonathan
Sperry.
Joe Renzetti: 39 • Universal Signs.
Graeme Revell: Pineapple Express • Days of
Wrath • The Ruins • Street Kings.
Graham Reynolds: I’ll Come Running.
Max Richter: Henry May Long • Waltz with
Bashir.
Lolita Ritmanis: Broke Sky (co-composer).
Zacarías M. de la Riva: The Last of the Just
• The Anarchist’s Wife • Carmo.
Carmen Rizzo: The Power of the Game.
David Robbins: War, Inc. • The Dot Man •
The Playground.
Matt Robertson: The Forest.
Douglas Romayne: In Zer0: Fragile Wings.
Philippe Rombi: Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis.
Brett Rosenberg: The Skeptic.
William Ross: Our Lady of Victory.
Laura Rossi: The Cottage • Broken Lines.
David Glen Russell: Contamination.
David Russo: Pig Hunt.
Hitoshi Sakamoto: Romeo x Juliet.
H. Scott Salinas: Strictly Sexual • What We
Did on Our Holidays.
Anton Sanko: Life in Flight.
Gustavo Santaolalla: I Come With the Rain
• On the Road.
Brian Satterwhite: Cowboy Smoke.
Mark Sayfritz: Sake • The Shepherd.
Brad Sayles: The Bracelet of Bordeaux.
Dominik Scherrer: Good Morning
Heartache.
Misha Segal: Lost at War • Shabat Shalom
Maradona.
Marc Shaiman: Slammer.
Theodore Shapiro: The Mysteries of
Pittsburgh • The Girl in the Park • Tropic
Thunder • Nowhereland • Marley & Me.
George Shaw: Victim • Sailfish.
Edward Shearmur: Passengers • Meet Bill •
Righteous Kill.
Ryan Shore: Numb • Jack Brooks – Monster
Slayer • Shadows.
Vince Sievers: The Source.
Carlo Siliotto: The Ramen Girl.
Alan Silvestri: G.I. Joe • A Christmas Carol.
Emilie Simon: Survivre avec les loups.
Marcus Sjöwall: Dreamkiller.
Cezary Skubiszewski: Death Defying Acts •
Disgrace.
Christopher Slaski: Proyecto Dos.
Damion Smith: Stompin.
Mark Snow: The X-Files 2.
Jason Solowsky: L.A Takedown •
Strawberries For The Homeless • Tamales
And Gumbo • The Sweep • Exodus?
Maarten Spruijt: The Seven of Daran - Battle
of Pareo Rock.
Fred Story: Children of All Ages.
Marc Streitenfeld: Body of Lies.
William T. Stromberg: TV Virus • Army of the
Dead • The Opposite Day (co-composer).
John Swihart: The Longshots.
Johan Söderqvist: Walk the Talk • Let the
Right One In • The Invisible • Effi.
Joby Talbot: Son of Rambow.
Frédéric Talgorn: Hexe Lilli.
Nic. tenBroek: The Dukes • Magic.
Mark Thomas: Tales of the Riverbank.
tomandandy: The Koi Keeper.
John van Tongeren: War Games 2 - The
Dead Code.
Pinar Toprak: Blue World • Dark Castle •
Serbian Scars • Say It In Russian • Ocean of
Pearls.
David Torn: The Wackness.
Jeff Toyne: Within • Late in the Game.
Michael Tremante: If I Didn’t Care.
Ernest Troost: Crashing.
Marcus Trumpp: Blood: The Last Vampire.
Tom Tykwer: The International (co-composer).
Brian Tyler: The Heaven Project • The Killing
Room • The Fast and the Furious 4 •
Dragonball.
Nerida Tyson-Chew: Cactus.
Shigeru Umebayashi: A Simple Love Story
• Absurdistan.
Cris Velasco: Prep School.
Fernando Velázquez: Shiver.
James L. Venable: Superhero Movie • Zack
and Miri Make a Porno.
Reinhardt Wagner: Faubourg 36.
Gast Waltzing: JCVD • Les dents de la nuit.
Michael Wandmacher: Train • Chain Letter •
My Bloody Valentine 3-D.
Stephen Warbeck: Flawless • The Box
Collector.
Matthias Weber: Silent Rhythm.
Craig Wedren: Little Big Men.
Richard Wells: The Mutant Chronicles.
Cody Westheimer: Benny Bliss and the
Disciples of Greatness • Hysteria.
Alan Williams: For the Love of a Dog • Act
Your Age • Snow Princess • He Love Her,
She Loves Him Not • The Velveteen Rabbit.
David Williams: The Conjuring.
John Williams: Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull • Lincoln.
Patrick Williams: Mikey and Dolores.
Tim Williams: The Passage • Star Crossed.
Austin Wintory: Back Soon • Mr. Sadman •
Grace • Live Evil • 3-Day Weekend.
Debbie Wiseman: Amusement • The Hide.
Chris Wood: Zombies Ate My Prom Date.
Lyle Workman: Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Alex Wurman: Five Dollars a Day • The
Promotion.
Gabriel Yared: Manolete • The No. 1 Ladies
Detective Agency • Adam Resurrected.
Christopher Young: The Uninvited • Drag Me
to Hell.
Geoff Zanelli: Delgo • Outlander • Ghost
Town.
Marcelo Zarvos: What Just Happened?
Aaron Zigman: Sex and the City: The Movie
• Lake City • Flash of Genius • Blue Powder
• My Sister’s Keeper.
Hans Zimmer: Frost/Nixon • Casi Divas •
Kung Fu Panda (co-composer) • The Dark
Knight (co-composer).
Atli Örvarsson: Babylon A.D.
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
FILM MUSIC weekly
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FILM MUSIC weekly ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
DPOUBDUVT
7
CD REVIEW
by DANIEL SCHWEIGER
dschweiger@filmmusicweekly.com
Sports Scorer
Randy Newman
Intercepts Ancient
Football
Title: Leatherheads
Composer: Randy Newman
Label: Varese Sarabande
Suggested Retail Price: $16.98
Grade: B+
I
f you could call Randy Newman the Norman Rockwell of film composers, then you
could trace his lush Americana sound to his
roots in New Orleans. As the source of all
things jazz, New Orleans’ brassy, honky-tonk
attitude would also turn Newman into one of
our country’s great satiric songwriter/singers
with the likes of “Short People” and “I Love
LA.” While that’s a whole other set of albums, Newman’s new score for Leatherheads
returns him to his lifeblood like no soundtrack before it. We’re not talking the majestic, scoreboard-shattering strings of The
Natural here, but rather the hangdog strains
of a bunch of beautiful losers; screwball
players on their way out as the “pros” take
over what will become The National Football
League. It’s doubtful Robert Redford would
make it to the ten-yard line if he suited up
for this kind of musical rough and tumble.
Set in 1925, the marching band jazz that
comprises much of Leatherheads makes it
a nice kissing cousin to Marvin Hamlisch’s
Scott Joplin stylings for The Sting. Indeed,
both films are about heroes who gleefully
cheat as a means to an end, and where The
Sting used “The Entertainer,” Leatherheads
nicely glides along on such standards as
“Hold That Tiger” and “The Man I Love”
(sexily performed on album and screen
by Ledisi). If other scores have gone for
the roaring 1920’s vibe, few really capture
8
it with the raw, comedic energy like the
Orleans-blooded Newman. And he unleashes
one fun ragtime tribute after the other,
capturing the classic vibe with the gusto of
a bandleader in a soused speakeasy. And it’s
no coincidence that Newman cameos as a
pianist who smashes a bottle over a drunk
brawler’s head (one character is even called
“Max Steiner” as evidence of Leatherheads’
composer in-jokes).
Sure the past may have sucked. And
football may have been a lot more fun when
its players cheated. But if Randy Newman
has a God-given talent, it’s the ability to
musically paint the past with beautiful
rose-colored glasses, evoking a real melodic
innocence that makes us wish we were born
a century ago. It’s the kind of spiritually lush
“aw shucks” sound that’s colored his other
period scores like Avalon, Pleasantville,
Seabiscuit and even a western like Maverick. Lovers of Newman’s more orchestral
soundtracks might miss his pure, populist
sound, which the brass section mostly kicks
back to the end zone in favor of a screwball
jazz approach. But there’s no mistaking the
nostalgic energy at hand, as Newman more
than captures George Clooney’s desire to
redo a 30’s screwball comedy (an aim the
director/star succeeds at marvelously, by the
way). And while there are some playful violin
stylings and symphonically meaningful
sports camaraderie, Newman’s more delicate
fans will definitely find their goal in his winning love theme. By reducing the character’s
satiric, yet heartfelt attraction to a few piano
notes, Newman uses the Pleasantville and
Avalon playbook to kick his theme straight
through the emotional goalpost. Like the
best composers, he continues to say more
with a great, simply played melody that
many others can sock out through 100 violins, or brass instruments for that matter.
Given that it’s a comedy, Leatherheads
might not be the kind of powerhouse sports
score like The Natural, or make it to Newman’s big-league soundtracks. So call this
soundtrack “lightweight” if you will. But perhaps a better kind of word to describe Leatherheads’ score is one that the characters
of so many period comedies threw around.
That piece of slang was “Moxie.” And in this
brassy, ballsy romp, Randy Newman sets off
the play with no more desire than to have a
good time. And in that aim, Leatherheads is
another touchdown for the composer, whose
winning, jazz-fueled run here takes him all
the way to the band halls of New Orleans. n
GET THE CD HERE:
• http://www.varesesarabande.com
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
FILM MUSIC weekly
THE CHART DOCTOR
by RON HESS
rhess@filmmusicweekly.com
Anatomy Of An ArrangementPart 3:
Plan Your Work, And Then...
I
n our two previous discussions, we tackled
taking the work call most effectively and
progressed to organizing our compositional
assets so that we could hit the ground running when it came time to innovate. This
week we look at developing the road map for
the whole shebang, still leaving most of the
intimate details for later. I will still try to
avoid too many specifics, as it’s the questioning and probing I’m hoping to reveal, not
simply my answers.
In establishing the basic forms of the
pieces, I took into account those elements
already established during the recon session
we discussed last week. As these arrangements were commissioned for eventual airplay on Latin FM, I was happily limited in
scope and character; I wasn’t going for the
“War And Peace” of magnum opera (plural of
opus). Three minutes long each, with oboe
as the featured timbre, with intros on two
featuring acoustic guitar and, on the third,
piano, and with the following requested
elements: a appearance by flute, marimba
in the Latin rhythm section, and possible
improvisation by the oboe. Modulations
acceptable.
With these elements established for each
tune, I could lay the cornerstones of form:
the basic order of the sections of the tune,
the keys and possible modulations, and
the tempi. On the first arrangement, the
original tune was a real war-horse, with the
original form a rather lengthy and repetitious 64 bars (with the form AA’BA’). Three
minutes? Not likely, as even the comfortable, relaxed tempo of 103 (suitable for a
pleasant radio product) ate up about two
and a half minutes without even an intro or
ending. A call to the client secured permis-
FILM MUSIC weekly ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
sion to beef up the length on that one. Here
is where having the multiple parallel versions of the tune on my nearly empty score
really came in handy as, like a well-planned
spreadsheet, they allowed me to play
various “what if ” games with the form (i.e.,
“AABA-AABA,” “AABA-BA,” etc.) to find one
that would fit the situation. To modulate?
Definitely, with that much repetition. My
eventual choice: Intro- A-A’-B-A’-A’-B-modulation-A’-ending.
The next building block was the key
structure, and here is where every arranger
must take stock of his/her own abilities as
an orchestrator. The more experience and
knowledge you command, the more you can
work your way out of jams without having to
fundamentally jury-rig the form to accommodate certain problems which may arise.
Conversely, the less experienced and skillful
you might be at the moment, the more you
had better plan your key relationships
to avoid such orchestrational traps. For
instance, if your ensemble is a flute consort,
then it might take the instincts of a Henry
Mancini to voice them effectively in a particular key and beneath a certain melody. If,
instead, you have strings to work with, their
homogeneity and flexibility make the same
problem a lot easier to solve.
This particular tune had a range (including a certain melodic variation I heard
on one recording that would bolster the
power of the oboe at the finale) of roughly
an octave and a fifth. Knowing this player
and the considerable strength of his higher
range (some players get a little squeaky
way up high) I practically had the key of the
last A section dictated to me. Not wanting to do the same modulation (up a whole
step) that has overstayed its welcome on too
many recordings, and having practical range
limits even here (but still wanting to add
power and energy to the finale), my minorthird-up modulation also was practically
forced on me. In a minor key, it gave this
instrumental more drama at the end than is
found in most vocal recordings. And, looking
in the other direction, it also confirmed what
needed to become the key of the first statement of the tune, as any interval larger than
a minor third would have driven some of it
down into the “honky” range of the oboe, not
entirely suitable for a pleasant radio ballad. Going further toward the front of the
arrangement, this decreed where I had to be
at the end of the intro, which was eventually
crafted along those lines.
Do you see how these building blocks
are more like adjustable puzzle pieces? Or
perhaps like dominos which, depending how
they are “arranged” and triggered, yield
something satisfying? If you are new to arranging, try looking upon it with some such
applicable metaphor and you will catch a
hint of its appeal as an artistic venture.
With these rather unalterable, fundamental keystones in place, it remains
to craft an intriguing intro to draw in the
listener, as well as to fill in all the smaller
holes with needed detail and development.
n Ron Hess works as a studio conductor, orchestrator,
copyist and score supervisor in Los Angeles, where he’s
well-known for his quick ability to ferret out the most hidden performance problems and spot score glitches rapidly.
He holds a Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory, and is considered one of the top Finale experts
in Los Angeles. Email your questions to Ron at
rhess@filmmusicweekly.com
9
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
by PETER LAWRENCE ALEXANDER
palexander@filmmusicweekly.com
Best Buy Rising
I
t’s no secret that Best Buy carries Apple
iPods and iPhones. However, it is a secret
for songwriters and composers that a major
test has been going on between Apple and Best
Buy. There’s now Mac hardware and selected
software in 300 of its 930 stores that began as
a pilot program in 2006. And, thanks to a press
release that never seemed to find its way to the
music industry, an announcement was made
at the January Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas that Best Buy store distribution of
Macs was expanding.
Products offered include notebooks and
desktops and accessories.
According to AppleInsider.com, after the
January Consumer Electronic Show some
financial analysts were confident that Best Buy
would have Macs in 500-600 stores by the end
of February 2008.
However, in speaking to Best Buy’s Jeff Dudas, who handles media relationships for this
segment, by end of year 2008, a little over 600
Best Buy stores, two-thirds of the chain, will be
Apple Mac dealers.
This expanded distribution will be supported by Apple keeping an Apple Consultant
(ACS) onsite with Best Buy’s where there
are Apple Stores. Where there’s no ACS from
Apple, there will be trained Best Buy personnel.
Fortunately for Film Music Weekly, after
attending a training meeting, one of the Best
Buy employees was given a DVD presentation of Best Buy’s Mac plans and posted it on
YouTube.
10
You can see the Best Buy presentation
here: BEST BUY PRESENTATION. It runs
just under 7 minutes.
But that’s not all.
According to Justin Barber, who handles
the media relations for this next segment,
Best Buy is also testing carrying those musical
instruments that make up a rock band: electric
guitars and basses, keyboards, drums, and DJ
equipment. In three test stores, including the
Best Buy in Riverside, California, there are high-end Martin
Guitars.
To see the starting inventory,
go to the Best Buy site and under
search, type in guitars, basses,
drums and keyboard.
For guitars and pedals, you’ll
find Fender, Gibson and Yamaha.
For keyboards, there’s Casio,
M-Audio and Yamaha.
For drums, there’s only an
electric drum pad and starter
electronic drum set. With this, one
test store is giving guitar lessons.
Given that the average age
of those purchasing this gear is
45 - 47 and that most purchasers live in suburban and ex-urban areas, the
match-up for Best Buy is ideal. And with Best
Buy’s strategy of having the top five computer
brands in the U.S., it means that one store
equals one buying center
that competes with Guitar
Center, Sweetwater and
independent specialized
Mac stores which carry
Macs, but aren’t always
savvy with Logic and Digital Performer.
Best Buy’s computer
choices include Dell, (also being carried by Guitar Center
Pro), Gateway, HewlettPackard, and Toshiba.
Although limited in
selection to start, you can
buy online and in some
stores, Mac Pro, MacBook,
MacBook Pro and MacMini.
For RAM, there’s 2GB RAM modules.
If you have a Mac G5 and you want to
expand, you can. Right now, Best Buy has a
two-port eSATA card for Mac, eSATA cables
and eSATA drives. If they’re not in your local
Best Buy, you can order online.
For software, there’s only Final Cut Pro
Express. No Apple Logic was listed.
So what does this mean for songwriters and
composers?
It can mean a little or it can mean a lot.
That’s really up to Best Buy. What Best Buy
has that no other chain has is the Geek Squad,
if it’s properly trained. Like advice from Home
Depot or Lowes, how good the advice and support is depends on how good the Mac specialists are in any one geographic area. That’s the
first level. The second level is whether anyone
will be trained for our industry.
This is critical because there are things
specific to MIDI and audio that salespeople
and Geek Squad members will need to know.
This includes knowledge about audio cards and
MIDI interfaces. If nothing else, this could be a
great opportunity for MOTU who has both, as
does M-Audio, who already has a small presence there.
A hole in the Apple/Best Buy test is that
you can’t buy any audio cards outside of one
card from Creative Labs that’s PC only. For
studios with multiple computers, Best Buy carries Linksys, but the not the Linksys router for
LAN connections.
(Continued pg 11)
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
FILM MUSIC weekly
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
Best Buy Rising
(continued from pg 10)
However, these are minor points. Getting the Mac hardware from one
source and audio/MIDI from another is really no big deal except for the
inconvenience of not having everything MIDI in one store.
With Best Buy, you do have a great shopping experience with everything in one place. Can we say that about many local music stores carrying
Macs or PCs especially where the sales staff is on location and has a 90%
turnover a year?
So on that aspect, I see a real plus with Best Buy.
I also see that if Best Buy and Apple make this work, it could explode
sales in music technology by leaps and bounds by exposing what’s happening to millions of new customers with little to no knowledge as to what’s
happening with music production and computers today.
For example, the news media flocks to CES. But who in the news media
flocks to NAMM?
ads written in such a way that the content sails over the heads of the early
to late adopters leaving them with the distinct impression that MIDI and
recording is too hard, that they can’t do it.
Yet, with the proper training, they can.
What will be interesting is whether or not the major players in music
software come down from Mt. Olympus and get their act together with better quality control and the kind of realistic instruction that will entice Best
Buy to bring them into Best Buy’s distribution channel.
The flip side of all this is whether or not the Best Buy staff has what it
takes to get out of Minneapolis to see what’s really happening in music technology. And then, sitting down with the heads of the music software development companies, lay out the cold facts of how they need to change and what
they need to do so that Apple, Best Buy and the industry gets a big win.
And not a moment too soon.
n Peter Alexander is the author of the critically acclaimed Professional Orchestration 2A:
Orchestrating the Melody Within the String Section, How Ravel Orchestrated: Mother
Goose Suite, and Writing and Performing Christian Music: God’s Plan and Purpose for the
Church. You can write him at palexander@filmmusicweekly.com.
Look at the chart I created for this article. This is called the Rogers
Curve of Technology Adoption. There are five groups. Innovators represent
just 2.5% of the market. They’re the first to buy, are usually self-taught,
and if you get one that’s a salesperson, they’re the first to say it’s easy, you
don’t need a manual. (These salespeople also turn off lots of customers who
discover after getting home and setting up, that they need a lot more than
a manual!). The Innovators are also the ones to whom all the manuals, ads,
and press releases are written, not to mention most product reviews.
Everyone else needs training.
Early Adopters represent 13.5% of the market. Middle and Late Adopters represent 34% each, and Laggards, which are usually institutions like
schools and churches, represent 16%.
Early, Late and Middle adopters are the Best Buy market. And those
segments alone represent millions of potential new sales.
The reason I bring up the Rogers Curve of Technology Adoption is that
many years ago, Apple’s PR guru, Regis McKenna, wrote a book called The
Regis Touch in which he explained how Apple was using this information
for its marketing and building word-of-mouth.
This now needs to be passed on to Best Buy for music technology, if it
hasn’t already.
Sadly, most software instrument developers have never heard of the
Rogers Curve of Technology Adoption. The result is geek-to-geek PR and
FILM MUSIC weekly ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
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11
MUSIC WANTED
Current Film & TV Music Job Listings
From The Film Music Network
DIGITAL ORCHESTRAL MUSIC NEEDED FOR
INDIE SHORT FEATURE
Orchestral/symphonic music with an edge needed
for “Digital Love of a Robot”, an art-house indie short
feature. Music can have a “digital” sound or edge to
it, but they are primarily looking for orchestral music well produced sampler-based music OK.
ORCHESTRAL COMPOSERS/MUSIC NEEDED
IMMEDIATELY FOR FILM PROJECTS
Experienced film and television composer seeks additional composers working via Internet and orchestral
music to license immediately for film projects.
COMPOSERS NEEDED FOR HAWAIIAN MUSIC
CD
Hollywood based production music library is seeking
composers to compose original authentic Hawaiian
tracks for upcoming CD releases.
POP AND ORCHESTRAL UNDERSCORE
NEEDED BY LA TV MUSIC LIBRARY
L.A. based television music library in use on several
high profile network and cable production seeks
Instrumental underscore that is 1. current on-the-radio
pop sounding (rock, hip-hop, pop, etc.), or 2. dramatic
orchestral/contemporary film score sounding.
TRAVELOGUE MUSIC NEEDED FOR TRAIN
DOCUMENTARY FILM
Instrumental “old-fashioned travelogue type” music
needed for a historic documentary film now in production about trains and railroads - looking for music
reminiscent of the 1920s through the 1950s.
COMPOSER NEEDED ASAP TO CREATE
20S/40S JAZZ TRACKS WITH VOCALS
Experienced composer needed immediately by television network to create
1920s/1940s sounding jazz music with vocals in the
style of Jo Stafford, Patti Page, etc.
PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR FEATURE NEEDS
MUSIC IMMEDIATELY
Indie psychological horror feature film is seeking the
following: * Slow, brooding tracks - anything creepy in
the “alternative” (aka alt-rock, etc) style, * Pop dance
music (with or without vocals is OK)
MUSIC LICENSING ORG SEEKS COMPOSERS
AND MUSIC
Established Film & TV music licensing organization
seeks world class composers and music of all genres
for expanding licensing operations into new Cable TV
markets and independent films.
NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN / WORLD MUSIC
TRACKS NEEDED
Native American Indian/world music track needed for
multiple film projects in production for satellite television network. May consider hiring score composer(s)
to create new tracks.
SCORE COMPOSER NEEDED FOR DRAMATIC
SHORT FEATURE
Score composer needed immediately for low-budget
dramatic short feature about a male prostitute who
runs into the 10 year old son of his client. Both of
them lacking emotional comfort and find a friend in
each other to overcome each their monsters.
PATRIOTIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC NEEDED
ASAP
National ad agency seeks patriotic orchestral instrumental music for a political ad campaign.
12
EURO MUSIC LIB SEEKS NEW COMPOSERS
AND MUSIC
Established European Music Library seeks new
composers & music of all genres for placement in TV/
Film/Commercials. Composer/Artist must own 100%
of Master Recording. Recording must be broadcast
quality.
ONLINE MUSIC LIBRARY SEEKS
INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS
Very well established online music library seeks
master quality instrumental music of many flavors and
styles. Mixes must be outstanding. 50/50 sync split
and writers keep 100% of writer share of performance royalties.
MUSIC LICENSING CO SEEKS INDIE MUSIC
TO REPRESENT
San Francisco music licensing company is looking for
good quality music from independent labels and artists to represent non-exclusively.
The jobs listed above are currently listed
as open and available on The Film Music
Network Industry Job Board. To get more
details and submit for any of these jobs, visit
http://www.filmmusic.net and select the job
from the open job listings on the site home
page. To receive job listings by email,
sign up for the Film Music JobWire at:
http://www.filmmusic.net - locate “Join
our Mailing List” on the left side column of
the page.
ISSUE 59 • APRIL 15, 2008
FILM MUSIC weekly