Welcome to the first edition of the BMIM Magazine in Motion. We invite you to discover all activities which took place during the eighth edition of Buma Music in Motion.
Please scroll down to explore what happened at the Tolhuistuin, in Amsterdam on the 23rd of May, 2018.
Got It Covered? Exploring Tracks and Trends: Using Cover Versions in Films, Trailers, Television and Advertising
Tuinhuis, 17.10 - 18.00
In this panel, Mark Gordon interviewed Janesta Boudreau (owner and sync &licensing director, Rocking Horse Road Productions), Ilana Goldstoff (sync and lisencing manager, Sizzer Amsterdam) and Tristan Wilson (head of sync & brand partnerships, Downtown Music Publishing) about covers, their jobs in using covers and the trends.
Advertising and trailers use a lot of covers. Covers help artists to launch their careers and it is also important for the label. There are certain styles that keep being requested, like a female piano solo or 80s poptrap, but that is dying down. Janesta likes the new style of cover that we are seeing; the ones that are covers but you don’t realize it until a famous line is being sung. Ilana says that people want something surprising, a surprising element, make a pop song out of a metal song for example. Ilana worked for Heineken, where she used a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes”. There was no requirement, just that it had to be a popular song. She said that the master owner – the person who made the cover because it wasn’t something she made – earned nice money but it was nowhere close to what Bowie earned. There are a lot of words and messages that are used in covers, like Heroes, but also the word Sunny or Home Sweet Home. Also Empowerment and more recently, Female Empowerment are being used. The speakers are open to receiving covers as well, although there is a lot to keep in mind in regards to how to work with them. The speakers have to contact a lot of people to use a cover, because there are so many people involved in making a song. If 100 people say yes but one says no, they cannot use the cover. A tip of the speakers is that if you yourself make covers, make sure it is out there. Make it public, post it on Spotify. Someone might find it and use it. If songs are in the public domain you do not have to worry about publishers getting mad or asking to put it up for sale. Be careful that you do not cover a cover; you can stay close to the original regarding the instrumental part, but the vocals have to be very different, Janesta tells us.
Author: Isabeau Bronneberg
Music is Like Glue
Tuinzaal, 17.10 - 18.00
Culture, like a brand, is a living, breathing entity that adapts to technological and societal changes. For brands to remain relevant, they too must attune themselves to current culture in order to help consumers navigate their way through these seismic changes. When companies want consumers to be emotionally involved with their brands and connect in an "authentic" way, music is the glue that makes that happen. But how should we work with each other effectively and encourage music composition?
The studio connects brands to entertainment, WE ARE Pi and Pi Studios have worked with large brands such as Nike, Heineken and many more.
Desperados is one of their biggest clients with a relationship spanning 3 years. They started developing world experimentations in electronic music as a point of brand differentiation. Pi hosted events such as SkyFest and Zero Gravity, in the latter Mike Sevelo created a track for that event. Desperados owns the music, and the composition is shared on SoundCloud. In this case music is seen to be as important as the visuals. Where clients were previously not interested in exploring the music, now they are more incentivized, as figures show higher returns in bar and club.
In the second case study shared in the panel, a clip was shared where Pi worked with The Guardian and Nikon showcasing: creating cinema through a Nikon camera. The clip was showing weddings around the world where a composer came up with the composition in just 48 hours.
The greatest challenges are fitting the time and budget for the creative elements, taste and interest in music and personal preference into the importance of music in campaigning.
In both cases, music was the center stage to the campaign and with Nikon, the cinematic experience and sound design had to work closely together to maximize the impact.
Branding involves a combination of analog with visual identity, constituting the logo, font, colors, and the unique element of hearing. BLCKBRD acts as a niche in utilizing this through brand value, used to show the brand’s unique identity. The different ways they communicate with consumers build recognition and consistencies for the brand.
Jan Willem advised to work with several entities and to have the brand, the agency and the design agency present in the discussion. He also said that it’s not good to start campaigning too early.
Issues that were encountered were that companies found that music composition is not always an obvious choice for brands. At times it needs convincing on its relevance, although he stated that voice assistance and Hello Google help with the discussions and create a platform for the conversation. In addition, the cost structure of musicians is often unfamiliar for brands in terms of licensing.
BLCKBRD is trying to prove to brands that music composition is important by providing feedback and recap on the music and showing clients how it looks on different touchpoints.
Advice to composers: Do not sell compositions for too little money.
Bruut is an online video and production company, doing 100 productions a year with 90% branding. They are currently working with large companies such as Maybelline. Some of the major issues encountered with music compositions involve the limitations of a competitive market and working with companies with small budgets for video production and the difficulties in convincing brands to invest in music compositions.
The solutions that Deniz shared were through sharing the added value of music composition and building a relationship with trust to encourage brands to trust their advice and start getting creative.
Bruut is currently looking for music composers!
Author: Nathalie Verkoijen
The Music Behind Imaginary Animated Worlds
Concertzaal, 17.10 - 18.00
This panel was formed of leading composers who discussed the craft of marrying music to animation for film and television and revealed their sources of inspiration for bringing characters to life. The panel included: Vidjay Beerepoot who is a Dutch composer who has created the scores for multiple feature films, Alex Dowding who is a creative producer at Submarine, Job Roggeveen is one of the founders of Job, Joris & Marieke, a company that has accumulated over 75 awards and is now the creator of the music project Happy Camper. The panel was moderated by Gary Smith, a multi-lingual journalist, translator, copy writer and conference programmer at events such as Amsterdam Dance Event.
The panel began with a comic clip from Tom and Jerry: both an honouring to Carl Stalling as well as a presentation of the impact of sound in animation. From the outset the panel agrees on the great difficulty of scoring for animation in comparison to live people. Vidjay Beerepoot pointed out that live actors provide already a good performance to work with but with animation the music is the key to giving emotion. Often, Mr Beerepoot has to begin his score with only basic sketches and has to imagine how it is going to look in theatres. To make this even harder modern; animations have more frames per second, older films had 24 frames per second, which is why animation music is composed separately from the editing.
So what drew the panel into animation? For Vidjay it was cartoons from his childhood, particularly Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Childhood films were not Job’s key source of inspiration, instead, he celebrates the fact that in animation he can do anything. Where as Alex grew up listening to the Indiana Jones soundtrack, which we all agreed gives us chills.
The panel developed into discussion of how scores are created and relish that animations take so long to create: more time for writing scores. Vidjay commented that [Paraphrase] “I really like to focus on the story and what the music needs to say… if you have a good melody you can do anything with it.” This lead the conversation onto the difference between scores for animation movies and animation musicals. A prime example of this was provided by Alex Dowding who commented on the collaboration with Pharrell Williams on Despicable Me 2. For the film Mr Williams wrote numerous songs amongst which the smash-hit Happy was chosen.
The panel concluded by providing some advice for newcomers trying to break into animation composing. Job advised coming up with a portfolio of tunes and melodies, “if you have a good melody, which can be a very simple thing, then you can do anything with it” and to always find the identity of the film in your music. Vidjay emphasised the benefit of collaborating with different people, especially animation students.
The session concluded with a great round of applause for the panel, and the prospect of promised beers and snacks in the garden.
Authors: Charlotte Evans & Cecilia Nicholson
BAM! Presents: Digital Revolution in TV and Radio - and the Music Revenue Model of the Future
Tuinhuis, 16.00 - 16.50
The aim of the panel is to map out the challenges of the future for rights-holders and to examine how we can best respond to this. Nobody knows exactly what the future will bring but we can prepare ourselves for a further shift to online distribution.
In this panel, the speakers discussed how difficult it is to know how much money the composers and artists will earn in the future because this is also a question of the present, mainly because of YouTube. YouTube is dense in the information it gives to the ecosystem – that is, everyone that is a part of the music industry – which creates a problem for everyone involved. The ecosystem is constantly developing, which makes it even more difficult. Because of the new influences like Spotify, it is difficult to shape this. The traditional media like TV and Radio are much better organised because this exists longer. The speakers all argree that they do not see tradditional media disappearing because it works so well. They also agreed on shaping the ecosystem so they can all work pleasantly together in the future.
The Business of Music: Do You Really Need an Agent?
Tuinzaal, 16.00 - 16.50
Agents in media composing differ from other agents because they tend to know far more about their clients' field, their operational skills resemble those of a producer's, and they develop intense relationships with their clients, similar to managers. But is it necessary to have an agent?
Gary Smith (Journalist) says yes and no, with no barriers to entry anyone can call themselves an agent or a manager, generating doubt about the role of an agent or manager, so what makes a good agent?
Both Vanessa Henneman (Talent Manager, Agent) and Maggie Rodford (Managing Director, Air-Edel Group) agreed that this is a custom approach, an agent should be able to adapt based on the roles that are needed for a client, as some clients need more support than others. Maggie added that collaboration is needed to develop a good relationship, seeing that you as an agent are able to help the client in how they would like to develop their career, and creating mutual respect on both sides and getting the deal done the right way and delivering them.
Vanessa added upon this by stating that agents need to have empathy and no ego, “We as interpreters understand the language of art and the language of business”, this is because musicians are often sensitive as she stated, “talent comes from sensitivity and vulnerability; protect yourself - lose your talent” she continues in stating that a good agent should see and protect that vulnerability and be sensitive towards it.
“So how do you recognize a phony?”
Vanessa – Look at the agent’s client list, point out outrageous claims, find out how did you come to me?
Maggie - Look at the agent’s client list, hear on the grape vine
As Maggie explains, the relationship with an agent is much like a marriage, where some people do not want to get married and want to remain independent. Although for most creatives, having an agent allows them to maximize time spent on being creative and free to work on projects instead of working with budgets, directors, producers budgeting etc.
She further expanded on the shared commitments from both parties explaining that every person you meet on the project is a potential client for another project, important to build relationships in a competitive project.
Vanessa further expanded upon an issue in the Netherlands, that it is uncommon in the Netherlands for musicians to have an agent, due to little opportunity for acquisition, and composers feeling the rate is too high. With her agency charging 10% commission, this could be an issue of misrepresentation of agents in the Netherlands.
Author: Nathalie Verkoijen
TV Promo’s: Sync's New Best Friend
Concertzaal, 16.00 - 16.50
Peter Bradbury is currently head of Music for Sky TV in the UK, but has worked for ITV and the BBC as well. The session was moderated by Mark Gordon, Founder of Score Draw Music in the UK. Mr. Bradbury gave some background on Sky News to start out with and he made it clear that Sky TV is a subscription based service. His team works within four areas: working with a creative team, works with licensing, commissions music (partly through inhouse library), and a data management team. Since, Sky News is an international company Mr. Bradbury has said that he’s spent quite a bit of time outside of the UK. They began their discussion of promo’s by discussing how many promo’s are edited and produced per month, and he said that he and his team have had promos that have gone out 25,000 times and there is a huge revenue market for what is being put out there.
During the session four clips were played to highlight the different ways which music is used to create effective promo’s. One of four clips focused on a Sky original production TV series called Fortitude. The second clip showed a promo for the Premier League Darts. The third promo clip was a compilation of different dramas with intense violin music as its background to highlight some of the shows that air on SkyAtlantic. The last promo advertised SkyCinema which presented music from one of Sky’s library’s tracks.
A discussion developed around how an emerging composer can break into the industry. The music team have a library that spans over 2 million tracks but Mr. Bradbury assured us that promo music is also commissioned and around twenty albums are made per year. “We work with lots of different composers and get to know them when they respond to a brief, after which we then know what they are good, and not so good at, and also that we can trust them. However, if you plan on pitching to Sky, Bradbury advises having a look at their library website to see the types of tracks they hold and commission. [Paraphrase] “It doesn’t necessarily mean we want more of the same thing but it gives you an idea”. He said though that he would want new composers to be acquainted with Sky’s library’s tracks and library writing generally if they were to pitch their work.
In a different vein of this business Simon Pursehouse, an independent music publisher with Sentric Music Productions, came up on stage to offer his opinion. His main point could be summed up by a short quip he made, “Task makers, respect taste makers tastes”.
The future of promo’s according to Mr. Bradbury [Paraphrase] “is going to become more competitive, people have latched on that promos are important for securing revenue. The quality of the promo’s is going up because of their importance so, much more competition”. The changing the market place hopefully will provide more opportunities in favor of upcoming artists.
Authors: Charlotte Evans, Cecilia Nicholson
Ilan Eshkeri: From The Sims to Space, Composing in Various Fields
Concertzaal, 14.50 - 15.40
This session was an in-depth Q&A with llan Eshkeri, award winning British/ French composer whose work encompasses multiple disciplines in various fields of art. A truly impressive career, Eshkeri can boast a background in composing, song writing, producing and conducting: with his work performed from concert halls and galleries to films and video games. This Q&A was moderated by Stephen Emmer a Dutch composer/ arranger/ artist from Amsterdam who is known for projects ranging from art exhibitions and experimental film to TV, radio and feature films.
Emmer began by laying the foundation of the talk and his commonality with Eshkeri: diversity in work. This aspect is conveyed with the casual listing of his portfolio that boasts ballet projects to space missions. But Emmer queried whether this diversity is a conscious choice or one that has organically developed; Eshkeri assured us that it was the former option, absolutely.
Eshkeri began working exclusively in film music but after a number of years wanted to span out. Now, when he chooses a project his necessary key aspects are a good narrative, a story to tell, and something that he can be passionate about. [Paraphrase] “I quite like studying different kinds of music - being asked to do something which means I have to look at the style / genre I find that quite fun. I wouldn’t want to do something that I didn’t think I could do a good job or wouldn’t find inspiring. He is firm about how he wants to work and what projects he works on but stresses he is now in the position to do this, not advice for newcomers it seems! But to this he adds: [Paraphrase] “There is no art without resistance of the medium”. In a conversation with Emmer after the session he suggested that it is this firm attitude and mind-set that enables his successful crossover over such various projects.
Emmer shifted the conversation onto games and posed whether the less-linear approach (in comparison to film) is something that influences his conception of musical ideas. Eshkeri answered: [Paraphrase] “Not really. Ultimately all things are the same. You are creating music with in mind that you are trying to tell a story. Create an atmosphere. An emotion.” He draws on The Sims as an example as the music requires varying levels of intensity; he enjoys these projects and sees them as an interesting challenge. Especially as, he added, you have to write music with nothing to write music to. Although his childhood dreams were of performing on stage with the Rolling Stones clearly Eshkeri’s passion is to be able to convey a story, something with meaning: whether that is via the story of Shawn the Sheep, the catwalks of Burberry or virtual world of The Sims. All we are left asking is: what’s next?
Author: Charlotte Evans
The Art of Teamwork with Alex Simu & Boudewijn Koole
Tuinzaal, 14.50 - 15.40
Alex Simu and Boudewijn Koole were interviewed by Frank Janssen. The two have worked together on the movie ‘Verdwijnen’ (Disappearance). However, Simu is not a regular composer, so how did this work?
Alex Simu is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed clarinetist, saxophonist and composer. Boudewijn Koole is a Dutch film director.
Alex Simu lets the audience know that he is not necessarily a film composer, but that he sees himself as an artist.
Alex came into contact with Boudewijn because of a producer they both know. Boudewijn saw something in Alex when he flawlessly composed five different types of music from five different countries together. Since they work together, they always talk about the vision and what the film is about. The first film in which the collaborated together was a romantic comedy, the last movie was completely different. Alex embodied both genres in his music beautifully, which shows his diversity and yet it is still recognizable as Alex Simu, Boudewijn states. Alex finds it difficult to put a finger on what it is that makes his music clearly his, but he says he has a personal motor when creating music. He wants to capture the sincerity and genuine feeling and emotion of whatever he composes. What he delivers has to come from an honest point of view. Alex his music is very intertwined with the movie ‘Verdwijnen’ (Disappearance), which has scenes in it where a little boy records sounds from nature. Alex and Boudewijn worked with a Norwegian sound artist, so they could capture the feeling. Alex always reads the script beforehand and writes down what he hears when reading it, Boudewijn does the same. Alex gives him the music and Boudewijn takes it as the truth, the music is his. “It is an inspiring collaboration which is open for influences” says Boudewijn.
Alex says that he does need a lot from Boudewijn to get the right kind of feeling to compose the music; he needs details of the taste of the director, feelings, he makes notes and drawings. Boudewijn understand what the music could be, that is why their collaboration works so well. Sometimes the music is in his head, sometimes its improvising. There are dangers to that, but because of the trust build between the two, it always works.
Author: Isabeau Bronneberg
Workshop by Future Phonic Studios & Abbey Road Institute: Sound for Virtual Reality
Kantoor, 13.40 - 15.40
The 2-hour interactive lecture and discussion was led by Richard Burki, founder & General Manager at Future Phonic Studios, David Miles Huber, 4x Grammy-nominated musician, producer, & author of ‘Modern Recording Techniques’, Tom Pearce, Director of Operations at FLIP Entertainment, and Robin Reumers, Director of Education at Abbey Road Institute Amsterdam. The workshop centered around 3D audio concepts as it is being adapted into virtual reality audio and video content. The workshop focused on bridging the gap between virtual reality and sound reality. Virtual reality and augmented reality, the speakers said, is all about creating the same thing, a 3D experience; they all share a common aspect which is to take us beyond 2D reality.
Richard Burki gave the introduction to the start of the workshop discussing the new innovations and challenges within this new field. He brought up the popular Grand Theft Audio Game play to discuss the immense time and effort put into adding sound to the game. “Sound and music creates 50% of the experience in film but with 3D it takes on a much bigger role”.
David Huber then jumped into the conversation to discuss his interactions with this new medium. Looking at and experimenting with binaural (a way of capturing a real environment which mimics the way that humans hear sound) techniques is something he says he’s working with at the moment. He does not record in mono tracks. His goal for the workshop was to get the audience “to think about audio not as an afterthought but as an integral part of the experience”.
Tom Pierce then joined the conversation via Skype from the UK. Though he said that the workshop was focused on VR and 3D audio, he wanted to jump into a discussion on, an equally important aspect, the idea of Industry Convergence. Mr. Pierce wanted to discuss consumer trends because if you look at what is happening with VR business, a new technology in its own right, it is opening up the market and influencing consumer trends.
“This means” he said, “that these industries need to seriously start working together”. He jumped into the specifics of the financial aspects behind the gaming industry in relationship to the music and video market. Convergence in technology itself and how the industry can get the musical aspects into VR gaming. Music sales, he said, is having a rebirth through the convergence market and this is due to the way that music is being used which is incidentally changing the market. The music industry is seeing a downturn in physical label sales but perhaps an expansion in the VR and gaming market. Mr. Pierce ended his piece by saying that it is up to the industry individuals to move the market forwards.
Robin Reumers was the last speaker to join the discussion. He focused on the technical possibilities which are coming out within the business of VR. One of the possibilities is with immersive audio; as associated to realism, creating a sense of reality within the sound, and localization, where the audio sounds correct according to where it ought to be focused within the game. The ways of achieving this, he says, can be through the use of speakers in the room or with the use of headphones. When using speakers there are two main formats which one could use; the channel based format or one can use newer object based format. When using a headphone there is a need, he says, to be able to program the equipment to adjust to how one might hear the sound. The workshop ended with engaging the audience with a Q&A session. The workshop was a successful interactive and informative space for a discussion on adapting sound to VR and 3D video models.
Author: Cecilia Nicholson
Adformatie Presents: Dissecting Music for Car Adverts - By the People Who Wrote Them
Tuinzaal, 13.40 - 14.30
Composer and producer Pieter Perquin/ Perquisite interviewed Niels den Otter (Founder and Owner, Audentity), Sebastiaan Roestenburg (Composer and Founding Partner, Ambassadors) and Geert van Gaalen (Composer, Owner Studio de Keuken) about the music they made for Fiat, Ford and Audi during the Adformatie Presents Dissecting Music for Car Adverts – By the People Who Wrote Them panel.
Niels den Otter started with a small presentation about how he composed his music for Ford. They got pointers about what was expected but it was still a quest to find the right type of music, especially to find the right emotion behind it. The video showed a small, beat-up Ford, acting like a rebellious teenager and a dad who does not approve of this behavior but is still happy when he sees the car return home. In the first phase of creating the right music they used a lot of guitars, which gave it that rebellious feel, but it didn’t capture the right sentiment behind it. In the second phase they used a lot of violins and made it sound more melancholy, which also didn’t work. You need to look very closely to the certain type of emotion the video depicts. In the end, it took them four weeks to get to the final composition.
Geert van Gaalen’s story was a bit different. Fiat approached him and eventually gave him only two days to create something “fresh and happy – Pharell like”. It is difficult to do that, because you have to be careful with the copyright. Geert created something with a wink to the ‘Pharell-like music’. “I wanted to do a three count scheme and a four count beat which is a wink to Pharell”. The end product is pretty full with small details; all the versions he made were mashed together to create the final composition. The Italians loved it; “Dutch people are always like: It still needs to pass the Italians.” He called it a panic room composition but in the end, everyone was happy with the product.
Sebastiaan Roestenburg composed for Audi. The main theme was “work very hard to achieve nothing” as Audi is on its way to create vehicles that produce no emission. He had to capture the emotion of a video that went from disappointment to hope. There was already music given to them, to give them an idea of the emotion and feeling behind the clip, but they had to come up with something new. It was difficult to get the transition from disappointment to hope, and at first they wanted to create a light hearted feeling, which didn’t work out. The bureau, the client and them created a triangle in which they decided what worked and what didn’t. It took five or six versions to get to the end result.
In the end, Geert van Gaalen was asked whether he was scared of bureaus coming back to him and asking him to deliver a piece in a short time span, like Fiat did. Geert responded that he tries to make something awesome in the time given, because you don’t want to have a job slip out from under you. You try to get out what’s in it. Niels also chimed in and said that if you got a very clear description of what is wanted it might be possible. Sebastiaan added that its also the communication between the Bureau, the client and the composer that costs a lot ot time.
Author: Isabeau Bronneberg
The Composers' Toolkit by Christian Henson: Creating Unique Sonic Universes
Concertzaal, 13.40 - 14.30
Wilbert Roget II is a fan of Christian Henson, whom he introduced before the panel.
Christian Henson (Composer and CEO, Spitfire Audio, UK) outlined how he created a bespoke sound set for the drama thriller “Trauma” and how he went about working live musicians into that universe. This was a unique technical masterclass revealing various "Tricks of The Trade", discussing what and what not to do when writing, programming, mixing scores and using samples.
Christian focused on the role of music as additional value to what is on the screen and creating your own voice by making original music. This was a fit for the show as the characters falsify their personality and sanity that generates the trauma. He explained that sound expresses emotion. It doesn’t express it through hormonic and thematic exploration but by sonic.
Demonstrated through film and sound, Christian further demonstrated how he altered the sounds of instruments such as the piano or the harp through minutely distorting the sound to create a world of trauma. Techniques used were regulating delay time and adjusting the music based on where the trauma began through loops (logic metronome), carrier loop, and combining these with emotional elements.
The alteration of instruments such as the piano was used to create a sense of unease. You feel you don’t recognize in organic instruments, through altering pitch and stretching time creating awkward traumatic sounds evolving out of the piano sound.
Additional alterations included the electronification of natural sounds, as Christian mentioned, electronic sounds are intrusive and noticeable, electronic sounds from a natural instrument tend to be responded to much better.
Author: Nathalie Verkoijen
Publicity - The Ins and Outs with White Bear PR's Thomas Mikusz
Tuinhuis, 13.30 - 14.30
Thomas Mikusz, White Bear’s PR and current publicist at SoundTrack Cologne, Hollywood in Vienna, Synchron Stage Vienna and Hollywood Music Workshop ran this workshop. Nestled in the cosy Tuinhuis Mikusz offered a relaxed advice-fuelled session that advised on the whens whats and hows -or ins and outs- of getting to grips with PR.
He began with outlining the main projects and events that White Bear are involved with namely feature films, film festivals- name-dropping Sundance and Cannes- and award campaigns. His key advice was that [Paraphrase] “no matter how small, every project you do: have the content! Try and have recordings and photographs of the early stages of any project – whether that is getting a friend to take pictures of interactions or even a video of discussions with directors. You never know how big the film will get”.
He went on to discuss the “fear of self promotion”, an anxiety seemingly more prevalent in Europe than across the Atlantic. He stressed the importance of knowing your own brand and knowing that every person has their own style that helps to build their unique story, these aspects are fundamental to the development of your own brand. How to convey this? Follow this check list:
• Business cards – with a photo and some dead space is helpful for keepers to write notes.
• Bio – reference to musical influences, goals, instrumentation and awards are key but the most critical element is to be as authentic and personal as possible.
• Headshot – show who you are as an artist. Take that as you will.
He stressed the importance of getting out there: virtually and in person. In the online world social media and blogs are great ways to write about what you’re interested in as well as another chance to pitch yourself. Mikusz stressed that Facebook remains his favourite outlet for getting music out there as well as Soundcloud. Before posting ask yourself: why am I posting and who is my target audience? The latter is a good guide to control unruly hash-taggers.
In person one of the more glamorous ways of self-promoting is to attend film festivals. First timer? He assured us that- after a few days- we would likely be invited to a few events. To up your chances summon the courage to talk to people! For example, find the directors: what did you like about their work? Get into conversations but be authentic: who do you really want to work with? Find them. “You never know who you are going to meet.”
Some final words of advice: [Paraphrase] “Don’t shy away from getting your name out there. Even if it is just a short film they don’t always think of inviting the composer to premieres. Showing initiative will get your name out there but also show your motivation, support and also portrays you as a team player.”
Author: Charlotte Evans
Making the Music that Makes the Game
Concertzaal, 12.30 - 13.20
During the Keynote Panel: Making the Music that Makes the Game, Brandon Young (Sr. Director Music Affairs, Activision), Wilbert Roget II (Composer; Call of Duty WWII, Lara Croft a.o.), Joris de Man (Composer; Killzone, Horizon Zero Dawn) and Lucas van Tol (Music Supervisor and Sr. Sound Designer, Guerrilla Games) were interviewed by Mark Gordon (Founder, Score Draw Music). Here the discussion dove into how composers are chosen, how composers select the music for games constituting the criteria they use, how they collaborate and attempt to pin down exactly why music is so important to the gaming experience.
"When it’s time for me to figure out the next big thing, I look at my game collection and ask myself, what’s the next big thing or who do I know that I could work on the project with me? It’s me looking for a project that I would be inspired by." - Wilbert Roget II
When searching for composers: Brandon Young looks at the direction, the budget, which composers are available, and he especially looks at the style and sound. It is all about the feeling that you want to create within the game, which is why the music is extremely important. Therefore it is essential to find the right composers that can capture the exact feelings with his musical composition. Joris de Man believes that if you compose music for a game it is beneficial for the composer to be a gamer, because part of the “affinity is knowing how the game works”, just like when creating music for television or cinema the composer needs to understand the underlying emotions of the movie or series. Joris de Man continued to explain that adaptive music is music that applies to the actions of the game. Lucas van Tol says that he doesn’t expect composers to know everything, but they do have to know how to write adaptive music. If you are willing to learn and show them what you already know, that definitely helps. Wilbert Roget II and Brandon Young mentioned that the level of trust benefits from your willingness and have the right mindset. Some tips that the speakers gave were: you need to know who you are pitching too, go to Kickstarter and look who is out there and to keep in mind that other composers are your competition.
Authors: Isabeau Bronneberg & Nathalie Verkoijen
Buma Music in Motion 2018
Today, on the 23rd of May, 2018, the eighth edition of Buma Music in Motion is taking place once again at the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam. It is an event that is “solely dedicated to the innovative use of music in media that brings together the very best minds and talents in the creative industries”. In the past “some of the world’s most influential composers, music media executives, producers, synch agents, music supervisors, creative directors have participated in BMIM. This year Keynote Speakers include: Ilan Eshkeri (Composer), Thomas Mikusz (Publicist, White Bear PR), Alex Simu (Composer), Brandon Young (Sr. Director Music Affairs, Activision), Wilbert Roget II (Composer, Call of Duty WWII, Lara Croft a.o.), Joris de Man (Composer; Killzone, Horizon Zero Dawn) and many more.
The day started with BMIM Connects – The One on One Sessions, a matchmaking session where visitors had the opportunity to network with multiple audio-visual and music professionals. From 12:30 to 18:00 the visitors can attend multiple panels, a book presentation and a workshop. The BMIM event will conclude with drinks from 18:00 onwards.
Key lessons of all panels and presentations can be found within this magazine throughout the day.
Enjoy the event!
Author: Josephine Breman
Buma Music in Motion Dinner
On the 22nd of May, 2018 the Buma Music in Motion Dinner took place at the New York Film Academy Café in Amsterdam. Key note speakers and visitors of the 8th Buma Music in Motion were in attendance, as well as all nominees of the three Buma Awards and the Buma Music in Motion New Talent Award and the jury. The Dinner was hosted by the wonderful Buffi Duberman. Throughout the dinner the awards were handed out by Maggie Rodford (Managing Director Air Edel and participant of BMIM), Bob Zimmerman (film composer, NL), Frank Helmink (Managing Director of Buma Cultuur), and Janice Pierre (Director, among other Hartenstrijd, NL). It was a great kick off for BMIM 2018!
Congratulations! .... And the winners are:
Winners Buma Awards 2018
Last night, May 22nd, three Buma Awards and the Buma Music in Motion New Talent Award were presented during the Buma Music in Motion Dinner at the New York Film Academy Café in Amsterdam. The winners are:
Buma Award Best Original Composition in Documentary, Short Film, Telefilm
Alex Simu for Back to the Taj Mahal Hotel
Buma Award Best Original Composition in Trailer (for Film, TV, Gaming)
Beau D. Schaepman for the CinemAsia trailer
Buma Award Best Sync (in Advertising, Television, Trailers, Film, Online)
Zanillya Farrell (and Leonardo Manfrinato, Brittney Boweles) for Together #WePlayStrong / UEFA Girls Football Campaign (CTM Publishing / Waxploitation)
Buma Music in Motion New Talent Award
Hans Nieuwenhuijsen with his score for the short film Catastrophe
Author: Josephine Breman
Credits:
Editors in Chief: Josephine Breman & Agnieszka Ambrozy
Magazine Producer: Juliette Gerbens
Photographers: Maitena Piñeyro, Maurice Vinken, Jorn Baars
Magazine Supervisor: Patrick Heeregrave & Frank Janssen
Journalists: Isabeau Bronneberg, Charlotte Evans, Cecilia Nicholson, Nathalie Verkoijen