In terms of media, film is the one where there’s usually more time. There’s usually a much more thought-out process in terms of getting what they need and sort of playing with different ideas. Because films take a little bit of time to put together. The music industry has nuances, depending on the type of media you want your music to end up in, so make sure you do your research for the type you want.
Television is usually very short. Very short timelines. So they’re going to want something where it’s going to really be something that is either going to be right there in your face, or you’re going to have to react really quickly to it.
Let’s talk about other forms of media. The first thing I’m going to say is really, really important for your music education. This touches a bit on video games, but it’s really pertinent to all forms of media. Do your research.
Research everything you can get your hands on. Go on IMDB. Go on YouTube. If you want to figure out how to make good trailer music, go and watch a bunch of trailers on YouTube. It’s as simple as that.
Just go on YouTube and look up trailers for films that you want, or that you like the sound of, or that you want to submit to. That’s the first order of business; do your research. Remember to always do your research as you continue your online music education.
Find out if there’s a music supervisor who does some cool stuff. Let’s say we have a music supervisor coming in on Saturday. His name is Chris Mollere! And Chris Mollere has done Get Out. He’s done Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, a whole bunch of stuff. If people want to connect music to him, first point that you need to do is to research, and find out what is it exactly that this guy’s done.
What kinds of TV shows as he worked on? What kinds of films has he worked on? What are his current projects? Armed with that info, go and listen to that. Get a feel for it.
And then be honest with yourself. Say, “Okay, I know what this person’s kind of music is. Does my music fit? Am I going to give them something that they’re going to use and will make them want to come to me? Or something where they’re going to think that this person doesn’t even know how to research? They don’t even know what they’re looking for.” That’s the first order of business; do your research.
As for the different forms of media, if you want to work with a particular brand or you want to work in ads, look up the ads of that brand. Look at what they’ve done. You want to have trailer music? There’s a specific formula for trailer music. Go watch a lot of trailers and then figure that out from there.
If you want to work with film, the best thing to do is to look at a lot of the films wherein you would want to have your music featured. The same goes for television shows. Research the TV shows and the music supervisors and what they do.
Finally, in video games, if you’re submitting for games, you had better play that game. You should just look at the video games that you like. That’s the best way to start off; if there are video games that you want to put music into, check out what’s been already been done in that franchise or genre.
If you like Super Mario, which goes back probably 30 years or so, it’s got some history behind it. You can take a look at YouTube if you know you don’t have access to a Super Nintendo. Really do your research and see what has Nintendo done during this time.
Or let’s take another example. Let’s take a look at the Metal Gear franchise. Metal Gear’s been around for way, way too long. Probably about the same amount of time as Mario. And they’ve had a certain sound and a certain feel to it.
So if you want to create great music for video games, take a look at the video games that are being created. Take a look at the kinds of music that they’ve used. Try to gear yourself towards that, or gear yourself towards submitting music for video games that is close to the music that’s being used.
That’s really what it comes down to. Out of everything I said about video games and how to submit to them, just play the game. Listen to the music. You should know.
I played Gran Turismo for years. And I played Ridge Racer. I like racing games, so I played those for years. I know the kind of music that they use.
I have to say to myself, “If I was making music, am I going to make music for those? Or do I want to make music for something that’s more like a Warcraft, or something that’s like Civilization? A racing game, a real-time strategy game, or a simulation game?” There are many genres and each have their own sound.
It just comes from doing your research and knowing what kind of project you’re submitting to.
