MicroCinema Scene

“Yeah, I’m thinking of getting into film work.”

If I had a dollar for every musician I have heard say that, I would be hiring Bill Gates as my personal tech support.

As the music supervisor for MINDSCAPE PICTURES, I have (incredibly) received hundreds upon hundreds of musician demos in consideration for upcoming projects.  In fact, when we put out a call for music for the movie More Than Money’s Worth, I was recieving post-office bin and post office bin FILLED with CD’s! While I can’t consider myself an expert at the process of musical selection for movies, I do have a few helpful tips for musicians and directors alike.

Tips for Musicians when you submit a CD to a film company:

1. Make sure it sounds good! This seems like an obvious tip, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received music that seems like it’s great material but sounds like it was recorded in Oscar The Grouch’s trashcan. The CD you submit-your music- is an extension and representation of your self. Now is not the time to use mics that you purchased at Radio Shack for $20 with pirated recording software that your best friend’s cousin gave you. If you lack the knowledge and the resources to make a decent recording, go to a recording studio.
2. If you are submitting an album, have the CD mastered at a mastering facility. Again, even if the material is amazing if it’s badly mastered, it’s useless.
3. Place yourself in a director’s shoes and ask yourself “Is this suitable for a film?” Ask the music supervisor or director exactly what they are looking for. If they ask for “Power Pop” don’t send country music or rap. It’s a waste of your resources and their time.
4. Have your contact number everywhere on the package you send. It should be on the CD itself, the CD case and the cover letter. I would say about 15% of the packages I have received are just a CD with no letter, no track listing…nothing. Just a CD with barely even a return address on the envelope. The contact information should include a phone number, email, and mailing address.
5. Save money and don’t send press clippings, press releases, press photos, etc. Just send the music with a cover sheet. Detail in the cover sheet your past experience (if any) on past films. If you are actually applying to score a film, include a resume and have references listed.

Tips for Directors & Music Supervisors on choosing CDs:

1. Don’t ever send out an all points bulletin for any and all CDs for consideration for a film. This is like using the cattle call casting method for musicians- you’ll get swamped with more CDs than you could ever use, few of which are even remotely suitable. Be explicit with what you are looking for, with references to well-known artists in the same general style that you require for a particular project.
2. Be sure to follow up with all musicians who sent you their material. If someone took the time and effort to send you something, spend the 20 seconds it takes to send a polite email. You wouldn’t want to be left hanging, now would you?
3. Listen to the entire CD and not just the tracks suggested by the musician. I think the majority of songs we picked for a Mindscape Film were tracks that weren’t suggested by the musician. In fact, it’s usually been tracks that the artists wouldn’t have considered in a million years that have often been our choices for movies.
4. If you get a large amount of CDs to listen to, try to go through only 5 a day. If you try to take on more, it all starts to muddy up your brain and you can’t remember any of them when it’s all done.
5. Create a tracking system for each CD and database it. I use stickers a lot and write the description of the music on the back of the CD. I also use color-coded stickers on each CD to rank them in quality (grade A B C) so my first choices would be in the “A” bin and then others would rank lower.
6. When choosing songs for particular scenes try to find 2 or 3 choices for the scene. This is in case the musician for your first pick might want to bail out of the project or is unavailable to sign the contract
7. When you send a contract for the musician to sign, give them a firm deadline for its signing and return. If the contract doesn’t arrive by that date go to your second song pick for the scene. It is rare to find a song that is so great that it is worth repeatedly chasing down and harassing some procrastinating musician for weeks on end. If they can’t get their act together enough to sign and return a simple contract, find another who can. Unless of course the song is that perfect.

Like I said, I’m no expert, but when it comes to the tips listed above, I have the experience of making several of these mistakes myself! Hopefully, by my reporting my own missteps and observations, you will avoid similar ordeals and enjoy fully the process of both submitting your music for movies (musicians) and selecting submitted music(moviemakers.)

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