# My Dream Is To Open the 1st Scoring Studio in My Country



## Abdulrahman (Mar 8, 2019)

Hi,

I always dream about opening and managing the first scoring studio in Kuwait. Not only in Kuwait, but in the entire GCC region, because there aren't any out there.

The problem in the GCC region is that we don't have professional film industries like in Hollywood, Bollywood, Japan, UK, Turkey or any part of Europe. We don't do much film scores either. I'm not joking when I say I'm probably the only Kuwaiti person to write classical music. If you checked the "Introduce Yourself" section, you will see how people are surprised to see a person from Kuwait joining them haha 

I'm not trying to bash the culture we have here, but to each their own as they say. Its just that I'm more into the western culture when it comes to music and I've grown very fond of the film scores from a very young age. When I was just a kid, I knew nothing but setting all day watching Disney golden classics and tearing up with those brilliantly made animations and background music. Alan Menken was and still my idol and the reason for me to pursue this path.

But enough about me. I'm here to discus the possibility of bringing this project to life. What is the best way to build a scoring studio on budget, but with professional equipment that can get the job done. I don't have to build something gigantic like Sony's or Warner Bros.' scoring stages. Something that is good enough to accommodate a full symphonic orchestra. Possibly no more than 100 people or 75 maybe? I don't know. Let's just hear what you have and share your knowledge with me :D 

All the best!


----------



## Scoremixer (Mar 8, 2019)

Abdulrahman said:


> Hi,
> 
> I always dream about opening and managing the first scoring studio in Kuwait. Not only in Kuwait, but in the entire GCC region, because there aren't any out there.
> 
> ...





Abdulrahman said:


> Hi,
> 
> I always dream about opening and managing the first scoring studio in Kuwait. Not only in Kuwait, but in the entire GCC region, because there aren't any out there.



There'd be an awful lot to say on the subject, but for starters:

http://katarastudios.com/studio-tour/

Before doing anything, you'd need an excellent and broad base of musical talent to call upon as your players... And a whole boatload of cash (preferably someone else's!).


----------



## NoamL (Mar 8, 2019)

Good musicians should be the first thing to think about, before the room.  Are there high quality symphony orchestras in Kuwait & the Gulf?


----------



## bryla (Mar 8, 2019)

Scoremixer said:


> There'd be an awful lot to say on the subject, but for starters:
> 
> http://katarastudios.com/studio-tour/
> 
> Before doing anything, you'd need an excellent and broad base of musical talent to call upon as your players... And a whole boatload of cash (preferably someone else's!).


Collaboration with Katara and Qatar Symphony Orchestra would be a great way to start with what people to work with.


----------



## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 8, 2019)

In addition to having a professional orchestra are at your disposal, it comes down to supply and demand. So if there aren't a ton of big budget movies getting producers in the Kuwait area, it's pointless. Regarding a budget, I have a hunch it would cost millions to build the studio and equip it with the latest recording equipment and acoustic treatment. That being said, I think you'd be bankrupt instantly, unless you have a ton of cash and this is purely a hobby.


----------



## José Herring (Mar 8, 2019)

I'll chime in on the musicians. 

The thing that makes LA and London, LA and London is there is a deep pool of instrumentalist to draw on.

You will probably hate hearing this given your proclivity to western music. But, going head to head in that market will be a difficult task. Even really well established remote recording locations in Europe compete fiercely. But nothing is impossible and I don't want to discourage you in any way. 

What do you have unique to offer? Being from an Arab country you probably have a wealth of Arab musicians and instrumentalist to start from. With American's obsession with all things middle eastern, there's so much call for that kind of music. And even if the theme of the movie or TV production doesn't call for that ethnic, those instruments have become part of the over all Hollywood sonic landscape now. Can barely watch a film without some soft Duduk or middle eastern percussion or Oud or something in the score. I've done so many middle eastern type scoring and it is hard because the musical talent in the west is limited for that style so I have to do most with samples or with amateur ethnic musicians, ect. 

Maybe build that as a base. Remote authentic middle eastern recordings. At an affordable price, people will eat it up. Even western instruments playing middle eastern styles. Ect...

Then expand out from there and offer some strings or something. Then when you are really flush you can expand out to a full orchestra. I don't think you would need a deep talent pool But if you knew 50 or 60 real players that could play reliably you could form an orchestra. 

As far as equipment. Man you won't need much to start. As far as room, you could build a studio or rent hall space. If there's a university hall space is pretty cheap to get, ect...

Also there are orchestras in Kuwait starting a partnership with them would get you nearly 90% of what you need. 

Think business wise. People like opportunity and they like money. It's survival. How can you bring that to them. The few that I have worked with overseas for remote recordings that own or use scoring facilities and first and foremost talent agents. The represent musicians, orchestrators, engineers and facilities.


----------



## JEPA (Mar 8, 2019)

take a look at this:
http://www.studiosoundservice.com/en/about
http://www.studiosoundservice.com/en/services
http://www.studiosoundservice.com/en/projects


----------



## Abdulrahman (Mar 10, 2019)

Scoremixer said:


> There'd be an awful lot to say on the subject, but for starters:
> 
> http://katarastudios.com/studio-tour/
> 
> Before doing anything, you'd need an excellent and broad base of musical talent to call upon as your players... And a whole boatload of cash (preferably someone else's!).


Indeed. We need serous investors who understand and appreciate this business.


----------



## Abdulrahman (Mar 10, 2019)

NoamL said:


> Good musicians should be the first thing to think about, before the room.  Are there high quality symphony orchestras in Kuwait & the Gulf?


Unfortunately, none I can think of. There aren't any institutes that teach classical music or have rooms to do orchestral music. That's all I know, but I'm not sure about the rest of our Gulf neighbors. You can definitely count Kingdom of Saudi Arabia out! As for Qatar, these guys are crazy business investors. Out of all the GCC, they are the only ones to have their own Philharmonic Orchestra. Next, they will host the World Cup. They are pretty serious.


----------



## Abdulrahman (Mar 10, 2019)

Wolfie2112 said:


> In addition to having a professional orchestra are at your disposal, it comes down to supply and demand. So if there aren't a ton of big budget movies getting producers in the Kuwait area, it's pointless. Regarding a budget, I have a hunch it would cost millions to build the studio and equip it with the latest recording equipment and acoustic treatment. That being said, I think you'd be bankrupt instantly, unless you have a ton of cash and this is purely a hobby.


Couldn't agree more. Come to think of it, I guess it makes more sense. I'm not losing hope, its just that I have to think about it in a logical way. One can get too excited and forget the real world obstacles. Kuwait have never been known for its groundbreaking orchestral players or Operas. So what makes a well-known Hollywood producer chooses us over London or Los Angeles? Maybe even Japan?

Btw, I forgot to mention it. We have a local program called "Fikra". They focus on selecting the best candidate projects and let their owners do a presentation about it in order to invest in them and finance them. Luckily, I was one of those who got selected for the presentation. I felt happy passing the 1st stage of this program knowing that my idea is unique and could prove difficult for them to understand and accept. That is why I've tried making the best PowerPoint slides I can think of for the judging panel. When my turn came, I realized I only have 3 minutes to explain everything. It was a heavy pressure on me to explain such a grand new idea like that in just 3 minutes! But I took the risk and gave it everything. I even included this blueprint to show them how serious I am about this. Note: I made it myself :D

Anyways, when the Q&A session started, I regretted doing this presentation. You should hear those questions. The judges have absolutely no IDEA what on Earth I was talking about. Most of them were bank managers, so it was all about money for them. They didn't understand what I was trying to give them. I didn't even know how to answer their questions, because it was not related to the subject at all. One bank manager cracked me up. He was trying to embarrass me in front of the girls. The judges had beautiful girls as their assistants. That guy tried to mock me when he told me how can I rival Dolby Sound technology when clearly I didn't mentioned any Dolby shit! I said WTF?!

Long story short: I failed the 2d stage XD


----------



## NoamL (Mar 10, 2019)

Abdulrahman said:


> Kuwait have never been known for its groundbreaking orchestral players or Operas. So what makes a well-known Hollywood producer chooses us over London or Los Angeles? Maybe even Japan?



I hope I can say without bragging that nobody will beat LA or London for musician quality any time soon. Those 2 cities simply have great music cultures & decades of experience in scoring. That's not even all we have in the USA, because Nashville and New York also have strong music cultures.

The reason producers flee overseas is because of unions and the cost. In the USA, musicians have very good royalty & benefit agreements. Overseas in a no-union situation, it is possible to pay a one-time flat fee for recording an orchestra. Producers like that better, and unfortunately lots of times they are willing to cheap out on the appropriately high cost and high quality of LA musicians. And the reason they go to Eastern Europe instead of anywhere else is because those countries combine a low cost of living with a post-Soviet legacy of strong investment in classical music education & performance. Therefore, it is possible to get really decent musicians rather cheaply in places like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and so on.

So if you want to make the Arabic world a new center for film scoring you have to think about how you will compete. Is it about beating Eastern Europe even more on price? The one thing I know is that you will probably need symphony level musicians on board your project before you start pitching to American composers. Look at amateur scoring services like the Western European Orchestra / $99 Orchestra / Musiversal / whatever it's called these days. Professional composers absolutely will not skimp out and record their projects with college level musicians.

Treating your ambition seriously & respectfully, I think your best plan would be to gather the best group of musicians you can (perhaps by promising them some kind of shared investment / shared profit agreement) and start pitching to low-budget film & tv projects in the Arab world and Europe while renting whatever recording space you can find. Put musician quality first, recording equipment second, and the recording space third in your list of priorities. Once you "achieve liftoff" you might have an easier time finding financing, expertise, or even Kuwaiti government backing, to help you construct an amazing recording space. I wish you all the best with your project!


----------



## Abdulrahman (Mar 11, 2019)

NoamL said:


> I hope I can say without bragging that nobody will beat LA or London for musician quality any time soon. Those 2 cities simply have great music cultures & decades of experience in scoring. That's not even all we have in the USA, because Nashville and New York also have strong music cultures.
> 
> The reason producers flee overseas is because of unions and the cost. In the USA, musicians have very good royalty & benefit agreements. Overseas in a no-union situation, it is possible to pay a one-time flat fee for recording an orchestra. Producers like that better, and unfortunately lots of times they are willing to cheap out on the appropriately high cost and high quality of LA musicians. And the reason they go to Eastern Europe instead of anywhere else is because those countries combine a low cost of living with a post-Soviet legacy of strong investment in classical music education & performance. Therefore, it is possible to get really decent musicians rather cheaply in places like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and so on.
> 
> ...


You are absolutely right! And I don't think I will be able to compete against Europe, because the Kuwaiti Dinar is supposed to be the highest in value and our country have a very expensive living. People wait more than 15 years to be able to own a house and the land alone costs no less than 500k Kuwaiti Dinar. It is impossible to come up with better recording rates than the rest of the world, sadly :(

I have tried searching for professional string players as a starter to open a string orchestra business at the very least. I couldn't find any. Went from one music store to another asking for any contact information. Even though I only recorded twice in my life with live players, I feel like I need more of this experience, especially that I am self-taught. I've decided recently to host "Harry Potter in Concert". They were kind enough to send me the official document that contains all the technical and hospitality information. I felt like this could be a good start for me even if its a little bit away from my initial goal, but at least I get to share responsibility to hold such a massive event and build myself a reputation in Kuwait for future projects. The document they sent me is not easy. I must now search for sponsors as they are my only hope to finance this event, but I have to come up with a good sponsorship table that shows the differences from Platinum to Bronze sponsors. In the end, a sponsor wants recognition in exchange for giving me money. Its no easy task for one person to search Kuwait for sponsors from hotels, telecommunication companies, entertainment projects companies, government sectors, etc. Unfortunately, even the producer of the Harry Potter in Concert must know if I'm going with the sponsors option, because I will then have to print the investors logos all over the concert ads and prints which needs permission from the concert producers. Ugh! :(


----------



## iMovieShout (Mar 11, 2019)

Is there no longer a scoring studio in Dubai's Media City ? There was one there when Mission Impossible was being filmed, though that was about 8 years ago. I can't remember the name of the company that owned it, but it was quite big.


----------



## Abdulrahman (Mar 11, 2019)

jpb007.uk said:


> Is there no longer a scoring studio in Dubai's Media City ? There was one there when Mission Impossible was being filmed, though that was about 8 years ago. I can't remember the name of the company that owned it, but it was quite big.


You kidding me, right? Is this for real? In Dubai?!
Man, I feel so embarrassed. Emirates is our sister, so how come I've never heard about this media city lol XD but I did hear about the internet city.

EDIT: https://bkp.group/


----------



## Kevin Fortin (Mar 11, 2019)

Thank you for starting this interesting thread! My first thought was about controlling the humidity for the sake of the wooden instruments. Wishing you the best with your project!


----------



## José Herring (Mar 11, 2019)

In reviewing my early post I fear that I may have come across as a bit too discouraging rather than trying to offer advice. I'm sorry if I did. 

So, I want to state formally and in public that I'm 100% in favor of you pursuing your dream. There is always room for more music making and I am hoping you succeed.


----------



## Scoremixer (Mar 11, 2019)

Abdulrahman said:


> You kidding me, right? Is this for real? In Dubai?!
> Man, I feel so embarrassed. Emirates is our sister, so how come I've never heard about this media city lol XD but I did hear about the internet city.
> 
> EDIT: https://bkp.group/



There is currently no large scale orchestral scoring stage in UAE.


----------



## andremiranda2 (Mar 20, 2019)

NoamL said:


> I hope I can say without bragging that nobody will beat LA or London for musician quality any time soon. Those 2 cities simply have great music cultures & decades of experience in scoring. That's not even all we have in the USA, because Nashville and New York also have strong music cultures.
> 
> The reason producers flee overseas is because of unions and the cost. In the USA, musicians have very good royalty & benefit agreements. Overseas in a no-union situation, it is possible to pay a one-time flat fee for recording an orchestra. Producers like that better, and unfortunately lots of times they are willing to cheap out on the appropriately high cost and high quality of LA musicians. And the reason they go to Eastern Europe instead of anywhere else is because those countries combine a low cost of living with a post-Soviet legacy of strong investment in classical music education & performance. Therefore, it is possible to get really decent musicians rather cheaply in places like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and so on.
> 
> ...



Hi Noam, Musiversal does string sessions in London with union musicians for €299. That's the same quality you're mentioning. I'm sorry if you had a bad experience with the $99 Orchestra, which doesn't exist anymore, but check the facts though


----------

