# Getting work



## JohnG (Jun 10, 2020)

Hi all,

I just sent this to a young person in response to his inquiry, but thought it would be worth posting here.

[apart from writing good music], the other side of it is -- stay connected with people you like and who like you. You never know what some friend from school is up to, this year, next year, in five years. Most of the time I get hired because of a referral of some kind and the key aspect of that referral is _not_ usually "he's the next Beethoven" but "he's a good guy -- you can work with him." Or even, "yeah, he's quirky, but you can work with him."

As you might imagine, some producers and directors, especially if they have just gotten started, are actually frightened of music. They know they need it and they know it's important. They know bad music can ruin their project. But because most of them have spent their lives focused on visual imagery and story, not sound and music, they often don't know how to talk about music or even how to ask for what they want. They may know how many edits there are in the fight scenes of "Avengers" or how Kurosawa lit his masterpieces, but not so much about music.

It can even be the case that they worry they might say something that reveals their relative ignorance, so you being "a good guy" who is going to make them feel ok about themselves is more important than almost anything else. So stay in touch with your friends and acquaintances. Send jokes if you like jokes, send political stuff if that's who you are, or start a blog about "how I write music" and make it fun and interesting -- whatever YOU are, show that. If you love Eastern European post-war movies, talk about those.

Be yourself, which will make them comfortable. At least they will have an idea of what they're getting into.

Kind regards,

John


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## michalioz (Jun 10, 2020)

JohnG said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I just sent this to a young person in response to his inquiry, but thought it would be worth posting here.
> 
> ...



Thanks John, that's great advice!


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## TheKRock (Jun 10, 2020)

JohnG said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I just sent this to a young person in response to his inquiry, but thought it would be worth posting here.
> 
> ...


This is bang on. I get work and projects from the most unexpected places because of this!


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## IvanP (Jun 11, 2020)

Exactly. Thanks for sharing. Most of the work I get is from referral from people I've been working with in the same team ("Hey...Why don't you call Ivan for this"), or who knows me from networking ("That Spanish Guy is a nice dude!) 
Communication, and specially making Directors and producers feel comfortable is just as important as the Quality of your Music (even more at the beginning of a working relationship).
When they work with you in your Studio, make them feel that the Composing Part is the BEST part of all the tedious, post production work they need to supervise, so they'll want to come back over and over (it actually is!!)


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## JohnG (Jun 11, 2020)

That is excellent advice, Ivan. "...a nice dude" is about the best advertisement, much more than "musical genius." In fact, the latter will send many filmmakers running away.

But not all. If you _are_ a musical genius with unusual music, by all means, fly your flag, as the saying goes. Maybe you will be the next Michael Nyman?


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## Morning Coffee (Jun 11, 2020)

Be yourself, hmmm. I'm curious, is a person's political persuasion an issue, because being on this forum makes me think so.


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## IvanP (Jun 11, 2020)

JohnG said:


> That is excellent advice, Ivan. "...a nice dude" is about the best advertisement, much more than "musical genius." In fact, the latter will send many filmmakers running away.
> 
> But not all. If you _are_ a musical genius with unusual music, by all means, fly your flag, as the saying goes. Maybe you will be the next Michael Nyman?



Well, so far all the really talented people I've met are very easy to work with...
I don't think any Genius can survive in the Film Biz as it is today by being a dick  They might get some attention and job requests for sure, but, in the end, if you're unable to work within a team, to deliver under a tight deadline, to be a nice person, I'm sure your career might no be over, but very short for sure.


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## Consona (Jun 11, 2020)

JohnG said:


> They may know how many edits there are in the fight scenes of "Avengers"


Holy shit, please, directors and producers, do not get inspired by those crappy Avengers action scenes.  You'll make a huge artistic contribution to the future generations just by that.


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