From Scratch – Adventures in Independent Music Making

Posts Tagged ‘film’

It has been a week focused on film, culminating in the Oscars … which I did watch last night as I was trying to get my office space organized. Office Space, now there’s a great laugh-out-loud movie :) haha.

Trent Reznor & The Oscars

It was exciting to witness Trent Reznor winning “Best Original Score” last night. Not just because he is an artist and pioneer that I greatly respect and admire, but because it represents yet another shift in the way that independent artists can be perceived by the masses and the entertainment industry (music and film alike). Much like how Arcade Fire winning “Album of the Year” this year at The Grammys was a ground breaking phenomenon, Trent Reznor‘s win represents opportunity outside of the status quo.

This wasn’t an overnight breakthrough, of course. Both Reznor and Arcade Fire have been building their reputations for being important music makers for many years. Also, for at least a decade now, we’ve seen a shift in commercials and movies where producers are licensing popular music more than (or instead of) hiring songwriters to create brand specific jingles.

There is an element of “cool” to a product or film that uses modern, popular music … or, in this case, recognizable writers. Matching Reznor to The Social Network was a perfect fit. The music he creates is dark, cold and hard sounding… just like the story behind the film. His style also resonates with ‘angsty youth and young adults’… who were the main characters in the film. How could this match up NOT be awesome?! That’s not to say that Reznor is incapable of working outside of his genre, I think he is very capable.

For a number of reasons, I don’t read newspapers, magazines, or surf the net unless there is something specific I am looking for. I don’t even watch tv unless there is a special event (which I hear about from other people). I chose to be totally and completely out of the loop with this stuff and have found that if something is big enough or inspiring enough, it will make it to my ears by word of mouth.

The news that a friend tells me about is generally the news I think is worth listening to.  Same thing with music. As such, it didn’t surprise me that Reznor won the award. Whenever I heard someone talking about “Best Original Score“, I heard them talking about him… noone else. And that is how the entertainment industry works now, especially in music. If you are really, truly great at what you do and put in the work that it takes to create your own buzz (artistically and business mindfully), you will be recognized for it.

Writing Music For Film

I’m not going to be nominated for an Oscar anytime soon, but I did finish my first attempt at writing an original composition for a short film and scoring the trailer this week! At least … I think it’s finished.

Moving forward from Inspiration From Without. Part 1, I have found that working with/for other people in a creative capacity is a logistically, as well as creatively, interesting and challenging experience: One goes through many more rough drafts when there are other peoples’ needs and desires to take into account; It’s also difficult to know when to bend and when to push, as there are 2 or more different visions trying to come to life and different artists have different approaches to creating; And working around multiple peoples’ schedules and deadlines can be a nightmare too.

To me it made sense to start this project by writing an original song for the film (“After She’s Gone” by Graziano Mainolfi) -one that summarizes the underlying emotional problem that the two main characters are experiencing, consciously or subconsciously. In this case: shy lungs (which is the name of the song). I won’t tell you more than that though. I don’t want to give away the story before you’ve seen it :)

I had a lot of fun learning how to score in Pro Tools. Like all of my recording experiences, it was a technical experiement, as the only training I have with recording is what I gathered from watching engineers while we recorded in the studio, asking questions, and sitting in through many long mixing sessions.

I have generally found the Pro Tools user guide to be very helpful, but when it came to setting up MIDI, the directions didn’t get me to  a point where I could record (or, at least, I couldn’t figure it out based on those directions). I tried searching online too, but none of the advice I found ever got me to the point where I could actually start using it.

Then I found a tutorial DVD series by ASKVideo as a reduced to clear item at Long & McQuade. Unsurprisingly, it is called Pro Tools 7 Tutorial. I was using 7 when I got it, but have upgraded to 8 and the lessons are still applicable (there is a series for PT 8/9 as well). After the hours of researching and trying to problem solve my MIDI set up on my own, this video had me ready to go in under 10 minutes. I haven’t gone through the rest of the DVD, just MIDI so far, but look forward to seeing what else I can learn.

P.S. I wasn’t paid to say that and I don’t endorse products/services I don’t use myself.

Would love to hear your critique of the scoring job I did for the trailer. I have a lot to learn and apprecaite ALL feedback, positive or otherwise.

‘Til Next Week!

www.meghanmorrison.com
@MegsMorrison

Tweet Hashtag #aiimm to share your own Adventures In Independent Music Making

It is easy to become wrapped up in our own artistic inner worlds. We often write “for ourselves” and “only for ourselves”. It is cathartic to work through our psychological and emotional problems in music and it is meaningful to us for other people to connect to the sentiments we share in our songs. But what about writing for other people and finding creative inspiration from without?

I was up until 1am last night recording a rough draft of a song that I wrote for placement in the soundtrack to filmmaker, and friend, Graziano Mainolfi’s next short film (“After She’s Gone”).  I will also be scoring the short and am really excited to take on that challenge. I definitely see myself writing a lot more for film as my career progresses and I think that is because I really enjoy writing for other people… even fictional ones. haha.

This morning, while reflecting on this particular song and being proud of how well it parallels the film, it occurred to me that I’ve been writing for other people a lot this year. I don’t write these songs for other singers to perform, but they are written for purposes other than inclusion on my records or in my live shows.

The song last night, which I am calling “Shy Lungs”, was written specifically for Graz’s film. The lyrics are about the characters of the film and the music is composed in a style that the director asked for.  This is a song I NEVER would have come up with if I was just writing for myself and left to my own devices.  Similarly, I wrote a song as a wedding gift for my friends Kate and BJ last spring. It was a sentimental piece written to honour the unique qualities of their relationship and how free and accepting they are of each other as a couple. I think it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever written and, once again, I NEVER would have thought to write that song if I wasn’t in need of a wedding gift for them.

I also wrote a song for my brother as a graduation gift and 2 Christmas songs for my friend Leeann who ordered a custom song as part of my button maker campaign late last fall. A number of people have submitted music, lyrics, or poems to me to turn into full songs and that really excites me. I’m flattered that anyone would come to me in such a way, especially with poems/lyrics; it’s a very vulnerable experience to share one’s art.

So, as a creative writer (not just a songwriter) and friend, I am really excited to take on the challenges of trying to write from a perspective outside of my own (and in imaginary or real environments) to create something meaningful for people that matter to me. Much like the “object writing” I was talking about in an earlier blog, I see these songs as a great opportunity to get outside of my head and out of the natural groove and songwriting comfort zone I work in when writing music for my albums.

Ah! My alarm just went off and I have to go to the vocal school, but there is so much more to write about … I will have to make a “Part 2″…

Meghan Morrison

www.meghanmorrison.com
@MegsMorrison

Tweet Hashtag #aiimm to share your own Adventures In Independent Music Making