Hypothetical on something I heard. If you were just starting out trying to get into scoring, there was an opportunity but the catch is (along with credit only) is that you would essentially be competing with other possible composers and your composition may not actualliy be chosen for the project. What would be your thoughts. I am leaving it an open ended question so as to get as much unfiltered feedback as possible,
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For Composers (New and Old)
- Thread starter Cryogenic
- Start date
Not sure exactly what your question is, but the scenario you've described is pretty usual. Even well-established working composers could generally expect to have to 'pitch' for a project by creating demos/rough treatments based on a brief from the employer (just as people in all sorts of other fields do) with no guarantee of getting that job.
Clearly if it's an unpaid gig (or even if it's not), the composer will have to make an assessment of whether they feel it's worth the time and effort of putting together that pitch, based on the reward being offered if they get the job.
Whether an individual thinks something is worth doing for credit only will obviously depend on how far along their career path they are, and the 'quality' of credit being offered. An unpaid credit on a project headed for major festivals is going to be more appealing than an unpaid credit on something that's going to be uploaded to YouTube and watched by fifty people ever...
Clearly if it's an unpaid gig (or even if it's not), the composer will have to make an assessment of whether they feel it's worth the time and effort of putting together that pitch, based on the reward being offered if they get the job.
Whether an individual thinks something is worth doing for credit only will obviously depend on how far along their career path they are, and the 'quality' of credit being offered. An unpaid credit on a project headed for major festivals is going to be more appealing than an unpaid credit on something that's going to be uploaded to YouTube and watched by fifty people ever...
As I've been in this position before, I feel like I can comment. First, my opinion- the only thing worse than asking a composer to work for free on a project is to ask many composers to work on the same project for free without a guarantee of anything.
That being said, I totally understand composing for films for free (at times). I'll be shooting my first short film soon and will probably be asking others for their talents for free (but in many cases, they are just returning the favor of me working for them earlier- building relationships does pay off).
Now, from my personal experience, I can tell you that the film makers that have asked a dozen composers to compose a scene or the whole film have not been quality films. Even the times I was chosen, there was little collaboration with the director/producer/editor and they were just choosing a completed package. What was even worse was a director that used different composers for different scenes; it made me cringe. That is just lazy. Collaboration with a director is extremely powerful and extremely important.
That being said, if you don't have a lot of experience composing for an original film, getting the the new, original clips and going through the experience of scoring it is priceless. I learn a ton every time I go through that process (paid or not).
I could have people submit scripts to me. Then I could choose one. Then I could have several film makers shoot it and then I could choose my favorite. I guess that might make a good producer, but not a good film maker.
That being said, I totally understand composing for films for free (at times). I'll be shooting my first short film soon and will probably be asking others for their talents for free (but in many cases, they are just returning the favor of me working for them earlier- building relationships does pay off).
Now, from my personal experience, I can tell you that the film makers that have asked a dozen composers to compose a scene or the whole film have not been quality films. Even the times I was chosen, there was little collaboration with the director/producer/editor and they were just choosing a completed package. What was even worse was a director that used different composers for different scenes; it made me cringe. That is just lazy. Collaboration with a director is extremely powerful and extremely important.
That being said, if you don't have a lot of experience composing for an original film, getting the the new, original clips and going through the experience of scoring it is priceless. I learn a ton every time I go through that process (paid or not).
I could have people submit scripts to me. Then I could choose one. Then I could have several film makers shoot it and then I could choose my favorite. I guess that might make a good producer, but not a good film maker.