Very good advice. I'd add one. That you have to be 100% convinced of a cue when you show it to a client (because if they like it, it's going in the movie and hopefully you didn't just dash something off that you don't really like to hit the deadline) BUT you have to be ready to drop that same cue like a hot potato if you're getting the "We're not really feeling it" vibe that Tom mentioned. I find this to be a tricky line to walk. My 2 cents. Thanks Tom for all the awesome knowledge and positive spirit!
Great advice. This is tricky and can be hurtful, which is why you always have to be prepared for it. I work as an editor, not a composer, but the situation is the same. The work I show is always what I consider to be the 100% best version of it. But sometimes it won't work for the client. That is unavoidable. Then you have to let it go. Enjoy it one last time for yourself, then delete it. Don't look back. It's an essential skill.
@@theomnitorium7476 Excellent addendum and glad to hear you point out that the same goes for editors, VFX, sound re-recorders, etc etc. We all give it our all, but we all gotta be able to drop our all and go find some new "better" all when the need arises!
Absolutely amen to what you just wrote.. I made that mistake once too (when composing PC game soundtrack)! I dropped a simple of demo of ambience I made in couple minutes to producer just out of curiosity what do you think about this.. And bang.. Day later it was implemented in the game in that raw form. Took me quite a while to really insist that it really was just a demo/idea and to replace it with fully developed and produced one (the one I can live with). And second thing, absolutely.. We are not feeling it = goes to trash.. No regrets, no emotional attachment. All the best out there!
I'd also add "learn to speak gibberish". So when a director tells you "oh, can you maybe go hum hum humm HUMMMM instead of hum ham hum hooom? And make it go WAHHHH", you'll be prepared.
Ppl who are able to make good music on demand are magicians. I dabbled in music production for 7 years and not once was i able to make a full song that was "objectively" good enough to be released to the public and the ones that i thought were "objectively" good were just 4 to 8 bar loop that i couldnt for the life of me converted into a full song. I no longer make music but still like to watch videos like these. Thanks Tom
Bang on! Very well said! Few more advices which I got from my seniors: 1. Don't take feedbacks negatively. It may not have been the same thought process of which you were working on but sometimes very strange direction might make your product better. 2. Start every project as if you are riding your bike for the first time. Being overconfident never helps. That feeling of being given your last chance is very important.
Every time I watch your videos it is so evident how humble you are. You are joy to listen to. you seem like an amazing guy to have in the team. You have shown us by examples everything you said in this video.
Great reality check haha. Great lessons and character development tips for life also! I need to practice these things regardless of my career. Thank you for the insights!
Tom, really appreciate all your insight! Not sure if you can, but I would love to see some future videos going over cues of Rebel Moon if you are able to legally or want to. Such an amazing soundtrack man, wonderful wonderful work! All the best! :)
Thanks for this advices , so cool to listen from somebody like you a well know producer , dj , remixer , composer , soundtrack maker . You are a huge inspiration for me Junkie XL follow you since listen to your tracks in Need for Speed underground ( game ) From Tokyo Cheers .
I always feel there's an inner circle I don't have access to, so there's nobody to listen to, nobody to criticize, no skills and no confidence that can be developed. So it's lovely to watch videos like this and just dream on. I also feel it's very rare to see a modern movie with a score I'd play on Spotify because it sticks with you after seeing the movie. Last ones I can remember is Freeport from Tenet and Zimmer's Dune (masterpiece). And yet I can remember so many scores from the '80's which I had on vinyl. It's probably just me....
Dear Tom , thank you so much for valuable advice. I remember the scene of wonder woman in Justice league that you use a Persian back vocal to show the ancient voice and as I am Persian composer it was wonderful and full of creativity for me.
Great video Tom. These points are great! At the end of the day, we're hired to help facilitate the music for film, similar to a general contractor with building a home. It's our job to hire subcontractors (if applicable), work within the confines of deadlines, and create beautiful and emotive music that is supportive of the story. We need to be flexible, encouraging, supportive, and most of all, a team player.
I've been so lucky to find a long-term collaborator with whom absolute candor is an option. Everything Tom said here about being a good listener is true, especially the high degree of interpretability is a factor. Absolute honesty is rarely advisable. But if you can find someone with whom you CAN be absolutely honest, invest in that one! It's more than worth it.
To be emotive in your work and to self motivate and manage .......I would as would a lot of people love to be in your position Tom. I guess there's luck involved but self belief in your abilities and the drive to succeed is key here.
Would you in this case define 'luck' as being all involved things outside of your power and control? Reminds me of a quote from a famous African golf player who was asked why he always was so lucky with his shots. His answer was" It's strange but the more I practise the more luck I've got".
@jeffhijlkema depends then how we define luck there are multiple complex dynamics and situations that can lead to a destination in one's career many will try and not reach that destination but some through a chance meeting or through a chain of events might, this may make certain people define that as lucky that is why we put the word in the dictionary is it not.
I mean, what you said actually applies to all creative professions. Being creative, flexible, committed and not least rather modest in all matters is generally the basic prerequisite for success. People have to remember you and think, yes, I want him to do that again, it was so pleasant and productive to work with him. Only absolutely established geniuses can allow themselves to be difficult to deal with.
Thanks Tom. Curious how you'd pick the 5 pitfalls on one's way to become a filmmusic composer. Bearing in mind that these 5 featured skills could also be those pitfalls. Groeten, Jeff Hijlkema
At 5:05 you highlight ‘luck’ as an significant factor. Without luck, all other skills, barring creativity, become redundant. Luck provides the opportunity to cultivate the remaining four skills you mentioned. This sentiment is echoed in a quote by Roger Moore: "During my first years as an actor, I was told that you needed personality, talent, and luck in equal parts. I dispute that. For me, it was 99 percent luck. It’s useless to be talented but not in the right place at the right time". And of course this principle applies universally, regardless of one’s talent, be it as a musician, actor, chef, painter, and so forth.
"It needs to enhance the picture". I would say that is the most important aspect. I think you always should be careful in not overloading the viewers senses (eyes+ears). Something I personally see as a weakness in lots of action/superhero movies. A producer should have a feeling for that and know where the limits are in each scène. The goal is to evoke certain emotions, not to damage the picture.
you are the best . I've been listening to you since 1997 if you can do at least one track a year in style (Billy club, Beauty never fades, Crusher) I will be very grateful
Thanks, i agree but it's very difficult to be awesome >.< I try and i repeat the job to perfect me, i make progress slowly, i think. It's difficult to be alone on a project and intercept attention of another musician, producer etc.
hey tom, nice hints, im focusing right now on learning programming languages to then make crazy cool stuff like the reason software or so, i hope in the next few years ill make cool software ( im a beginner now) but to make crazy cool gozilla epic sound that only alien would understand lol, anyway i bookmaerked this im drunk noiw lol , cheers
I produce remastered OSTs of old PS1 games (My RU-vid Channel), I have never managed to break through or promote my music... is there a secret ? Thank Tom, you are best producer !
Got a question about the creativity aspect. How do you handle the kinda non-linear aspect of film composition? Like ofc in EDM it's quite rigid, predictable, and easy. 4-8 bar melody, repeat, 8 bar buildup, 16 bar drop, etc. that you can hold onto, whereas in composition (every time I try it) it feels so all over the place and just can't wrap my mind around it
1. You need to own a detached home, 2. You need to have a good bank account, 3. You need to have a good knowledge and understand the business, 4. You need to be open for a large amount of patience and understanding 5. You also must be Organised by schedule and Original with your craft. Ivan Klass
I am happy to be just a composer and not a film composer nowdays (the environment is so toxic and stressful compared to what it was 30 years ago). Just terrible. Tom must have a very hard skin.
Thanks Tom, for all your time and willingness to share your knowledge and personal experiences. I have rewatched B v SM and Mad Max , after watching your vids. 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼epic shit my friend!
Tom already had made a hit record that made him some connections. After that he thought film composition also must be easy, but that didn’t go that good. He went back to the Netherlands and grinded for multiple years doing Dutch movies and because of the new music palette he brought (his famous drums) Hans Zimmer asked him for some movies. Tom his workethic is crazy, please do not let it seem like he is just lucky
This is all exactly how SHOULDN'T work in any creative field as an artist. (And this is coming from an actual artist, not this knucklehead.) Your base should be this: you work for yourself, and everything you do serves that. When it doesn't it's forced and it's WRONG. 1. Ignore everything they say. 2. Go SLOW, work SLOW, SLOW DOWN... take all the time you need because it's YOUR time, not theirs. 3. You can promise perfection because you work perfectly, for you. If they don't like it it's still perfect, and they're the boneheads who lost out. 4. Never try to manage anyone, you got work to do and can't be bothered. If they can't do their job, get rid of them. 5. Your job is to communicate through your work, and to be creative for yourself, no one else. 6. Your music will only 'be awesome' if you work for yourself. This guy hasn't done a single original thing. Cheeseball music for comic book movies. He will be forgotten. Keep that in mind. Process is everything.
Skill number 1: Learn to FRICKING COMPOSE. 😆 We live in the era of Tylers, Giacchinos and Goranssons who can't put a solid musical piece together if their lives depended on it. You talk about the music having to be top-notch. Well, I can't believe the industry has degraded from masters like Williams, Goldsmith, Herrmann and Rozsa to guys like these, who produce sub-par cringefests. These guys may deliver at time, be nonproblematic yes-men and whatnot, but they lack the most important skill. I've stopped watching Hollywood movies because the music is so stupid I can't sit through it. 😖
