# Just booked my first movie, HELP!



## Magunga (May 24, 2021)

Hey everyone! So I found out about a week ago that a director wants me to score their film and that the producers are on board. I THINK that means I'm likely hired. The term "officially official" was used to ease my disbelief. I thought at first it must be a low stakes short, maybe a couple of minutes of music, but no, it's a feature film, with actors people know. It is very low budget, so probably low stakes for everyone on the production except for me....

Now, I'm not too nervous about the music. Or at least nervous in a hopefully good way. The director has heard my music, knows I've never done a feature, and has been making movies for a long time. I'm just gonna trust their judgment that I'm capable of this from an artistic side. So far I've just been told the news on the last day of their shoot, so I haven't gotten further details from the director. But I've got some very basic questions in the technical and business sides that never occurred to me until now that I need some guidance on! Here goes...

(1) I'm bouncing stems in stereo, not surround, right? That's the mix engineer's territory, I hope? I only have two monitors...

(2) How do I get paid correctly and legally? Do I need to quickly set up an LLC or something, or will they likely have all the contract stuff ready and I don't have to worry about this? I have a day job, so I've never been significantly paid for composing, but I think this is more money than I should declare as "hobby income" on my taxes.

(3) How do I not look like an idiot when my music is played on speakers well beyond the quality of those in my humble studio? I've never done a feature before, or anything that might play over a movie theater sound system. My plan so far is to record nothing and only use high quality professional samples. A bit worried about mixing synths.

(3.5) Similarly, what are some of the big differences between music mixing/mastering and media music mixing/mastering that I should know? For example should I be leaving a lot more dynamic range and taking it easy on low frequencies?

(4) _Anything else. _Help me not look totally out of my element and not have to make the director, editor, mixer, and producers hold my hand through extremely basic processes.

If anyone has any wisdom to share with me I'll be extremely grateful! I'm excited for this learning experience but not trying to look like a dope when the work begins.

THANK YOU


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## doctoremmet (May 24, 2021)

I’m a hobbyist and unable to offer any help. Yet, I do want to congratulate you! Landing a job like this is a big deal. Good luck!


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## GNP (May 24, 2021)

Dude, I just hope none of the the guys in roping you into this project ever reads this forum. Lolololol


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## davidson (May 24, 2021)

Hahaha, oh boy, i feel stressed for you


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## Bman70 (May 24, 2021)

I'm sure you could also ask the mixer (if there actually is one and that's not just a figure of speech) if there's anything s/he'd especially like you to pay attention to to make his / her job easier.


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## dcoscina (May 24, 2021)

I would take a deep breath and relax. If they want you for this project, it's on the merit of your music. The internet has plenty of resources to draw from in terms of some of your questions. 

If you are working on a feature, you should sign some form of contract. It would also be good to know what the total budget of the film is and whether the money they intend to pay you is a lump creative fee/music costs or if they plan to give you a music production budget along with creative fees. 

I don't think anyone here can make you look seasoned in front of the director/filmmakers... you are going to have to exude a sense of confidence. Assuming you have scored other projects before (shorts, indies, games?). If you are a complete neophyte to this, well congrats but it will take work. And you will make mistakes but that's part of the process. 

Best of luck and congrats.


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## Double Helix (May 24, 2021)

dcoscina said:


> I would take a deep breath and relax. If they want you for this project, it's on the merit of your music.
> Best of luck and congrats.


^^this^^
You are going to be fine. When all is said & done, perhaps you would be kind enough to post the results.
I, for one, am relieved that you are not being commissioned to re-score _HELP -- _it would be a herculean task to top Lennon-McCartney and Martin.


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## dgburns (May 24, 2021)

Magunga said:


> It is very low budget


Well there's your default answer to anything anyone asks you if you get in a pickle. 

- Getting paid ? Ask
- Stereo or Surround ? Unless you know what you're doing, STEREO stems.
- Making it sound good ? The only advice I'll give you is always compose with the dialog up, and make it sound good to you. If you prepare approval video, make sure they hear the music in context and under the dialog.


Oh how I could go on, but I digress....

Just have fun - it ain't rocket science.


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## Bropecia (Jun 15, 2021)

Hey man, I feel you. I'm late to read your post but if you need any words of encouragement/practical advice, feel free to DM me. I had the same feeling before beginning my first 'real' gig and like others have said here, a big part of it is just letting the director/producers know that 'you've got this'. Stress and be freaked out on your own time in the privacy of your studio! Before I started, I asked a ton of questions via this forum and others, and lapped up everything I could on youtube to get myself in fighting shape. Every established composer was in your position at one point. Good luck and congrats!


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## QuiteAlright (Jul 11, 2021)

I don't have any helpful advice to contribute here, but I did want to mention that your title made me laugh out loud. Best of luck to you and I'm sure things will go fine.


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## NekujaK (Jul 11, 2021)

Great advice from all of the above posts. Here are just a few other items that come to mind:

- Definitely get a contract, and make sure it's clearly stated whether the music is a buyout or payment is fee + royalties. You'll need to be a member of ASCAP, or other music organization, to collect royalties. Also you need to determine if there's a budget for hiring live musicians, studio time, etc.

- As early as possible, try to establish a relationship with the film's sound/mixing engineer. They can guide you in terms of technical requirements and what deliverables they expect from you. I recently completed a film where the sound engineer only wanted about 25% of the cues delivered as stems. Stereo mixes were perfectly fine for the other 75% of cues. It all depends on the engineer and the needs of the project project, so try to make contact with the sound engineer early.

Good luck, it's an exciting journey!!


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## Dave Connor (Jul 11, 2021)

Make sure your session is at the same frame rate as the film (likely 24 but confirm that.)


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## chlady (Jul 12, 2021)

What kind of music is it? That will determine a lot.


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## JohnG (Jul 12, 2021)

Dave Connor said:


> Make sure your session is at the same frame rate as the film (likely 24 but confirm that.)


yes, you'll want to have the correct frame rate. You can ask also about the recording resolution, but it's typically 24 bit, 48k on lower-to-moderate budget films.

*Dialogue*

Although I've seen this advice before (someone wrote above) I don't compose with the dialogue up, personally. In decades of projects, I've never written music that couldn't be ducked under dialogue, no matter how much brass / percussion I've wielded. Certainly it's a good idea to check the dialogue against picture, but unless it's an extreme situation (space ship is exploding and the actors are whispering), they are going to turn the dialogue way up and the music is not going to bury it.

Put another way, definitely consider the dialogue, but don't torture and wreck your musical ideas trying to write around every bit of it.

*Other Sonic Conflicts?*

The only problems I had with music conflicting is when there is a giant explosion (Death Star explodes) -- you can't _also_ have the music be giant low-end there. So if it's a big action thing, you want to think about how much bass / giant huge boom FX or drums you put on an explosion, particularly if it's the Climactic Apex Of All Time Explosion.


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## Nimrod7 (Jul 12, 2021)

Hey good job booking your first gig, and don't get stressed!

Since Branson is trending at the moment*:* 







I don't have a solid advice to offer since I am not in the film scoring industry in a professional capacity. However some of the tools / methodologies / language used in a film pipeline are common with the Vfx Industry I come from. 

If you didn't had a chance to work with film pipeline, understanding cue numbering and how the film industry communicates it will be a big plus. Probably you will get invited to a film production management software, where you'll need to submit your cues for review / approval.

Tom is talking a bit about it in the video below, but all of his #askmeanything series, is valuable to understand the industry:


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Jul 12, 2021)

Guys, OP’s post is from May 24th, so it’s 1,5 months old. Just FYI 🙂


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## Nimrod7 (Jul 12, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Guys, OP’s post is from May 24th, so it’s 1,5 months old. Just FYI 🙂


And the film didn't kick off yet, highly likely! 
Joking aside, I haven't noticed, but will still provide valuable information to anyone searching.


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