Things I’ve learned from advertising…
Let’s talk advertising. More specifically advertising music. Some years back I was casting about for new and creative things I might do. After hearing an ad composer on a podcast I decided I should try my own hand at doing music for ads. I’ve explored this area quite a bit at this point and have searched out a few good connections. A few times I’ve had things make some modest money (thanks ABC world news) while most of the pieces I have done just sit there waiting (and maybe they will get some use at some point in the future).
BUT…I have learned a lot in the process of writing, recording and mixing approximately 50 pieces and trying to make them “perfect.” To have high standards was one of the first things I learned, in fact. Ad music has to be excellent quality nowadays. It wasn’t always the attitude, but now they expect it to hold up against any other recording out there. I realized the old saying “the medium is the message” was very fitting. So right away an interesting lesson…that all the detail work and care matters because it improves the medium. And the ads need that high quality music behind them. It helps to structure their stories and messages and give them energy, just as a film score does.
I’m actually not sure how much ad music I’ll do in the future. Perhaps I’ll focus more on artistically expressive music but then try to license some of that…at least the ones that seem like they may be able to work for film and tv.
For now, though, if you’re interested, I have compiled a list of other things I’ve learned from media composing.
To listen more critically for sound quality
To judge if a piece will distract from action because of “weirdness” or has too many “left turns” in its mood
To better puzzle out the underlying mood of what I’m making in the first place
To be more intentional (about everything I guess)
To increase excitement as we go, through a variety of techniques
To arrange material for 5-part string orchestra format, sometimes even more layers than that
To be concise
To throw away things I like when they don’t benefit the whole
To send audio files to my phone and listen away from the computer (so much easier to judge them as a whole that way, as mentioned on the computers post)
To pair music with YouTube stuff, to judge its potential usefulness for a video (also discussed in that other post)
To make things using orchestral samples. I used to think Sibelius samples were ok, but I was quickly schooled and found out where to get much more real sounding things. (If you really wanted to know…I mostly use Spitfire Audio.)
To mix real string players with those great samples for a really exciting and convincing orchestral sound
And of course, I was practicing the decision making process that every piece needs, beginning with inspiration to notes, arrangement and final structure, then mixing to finish it off
Suddenly, as I sketch out this Grandparents music, I realize…I sort of know what to do here. Almost everything I’ve learned from ads is useful now, but the big difference is that the content is up to me and that it is intended as personal expression. It can also be about 50 percent more interesting and weird…what a relief!
If you’re curious, though, Black Label Music has some of my best ad compositions to date. You can go listen to it here if you really want.
Now, hopefully getting the gist of this post you won’t look down your nose too far at the craft of advertising and media music. It is all about the feeling and sometimes the flow of feelings. That has been the most key thing, really…to focus on emotion because that’s the only thing that matters in the end with ads and films. And that’s a good thing to not lose sight of in any music making.