I'm curious where filmmakers found music for their films and how much some of it cost. Did you license ready made music or did you have someone custom write and record it. If custom made, how did you find them? How much time did they spend creating it and how much did you pay them?
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Where did you find your music for your film?
- Thread starter Blade_Jones
- Start date
Yes
Whomever owns the copy rights
Yes
Whatever the copyright holder asks for
it could be very naive question, but I think i heard a filmmaker saying we can use the famous music as soundtracks if the film would be screened only in the festivals, is that true?
Just say, if I wanted to insert the part of the song of 'Coldplay' in my short which will be submitted to the indie film festival, what is the fact? want to hear some professional answer, THX in adv.
Just say, if I wanted to insert the part of the song of 'Coldplay' in my short which will be submitted to the indie film festival, what is the fact? want to hear some professional answer, THX in adv.
Some festivals permit use of copyrighted material, others do not. In fact, if you did not read the submission documentation thoroughly that may be the ONLY reason you didn't get into a festival, and you may never know that that was the reason you were turned down. It is the course of least resistance to avoid the problem altogether and get some fresh indie tracks from a really cool indie band for your indie film.
Another consideration is that after the festivals you post it on-line and the copyright holder comes after you. Not only do they want your project taken off line, they want a couple hundred thousand dollars compensation (Prince is notorious for that; his material cannot be posted on YouTube or other places. I've heard that he has over 100 outstanding lawsuits). Even if you win the case you have still spent thousands on an attorney that could have gone into your next project.
A third consideration is you suddenly get a distribution deal - now you have to either pay huge sums for the tracks OR you have to find new tracks to replace the copyrighted tracks and re-mix your film; I just went through this on a feature on which I did the original mix over five years ago. Dropping in the new tracks was the least of my worries, but that's another story.
Another consideration is that after the festivals you post it on-line and the copyright holder comes after you. Not only do they want your project taken off line, they want a couple hundred thousand dollars compensation (Prince is notorious for that; his material cannot be posted on YouTube or other places. I've heard that he has over 100 outstanding lawsuits). Even if you win the case you have still spent thousands on an attorney that could have gone into your next project.
A third consideration is you suddenly get a distribution deal - now you have to either pay huge sums for the tracks OR you have to find new tracks to replace the copyrighted tracks and re-mix your film; I just went through this on a feature on which I did the original mix over five years ago. Dropping in the new tracks was the least of my worries, but that's another story.
I think you mean that they don't require copies of releases and they only want for you to represent that you own or have all of the permissions from the copyright holder.
Internet distributors never require copies of releases.
Silverbird. Because you are in Australia contact APRA/AMCOS. http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/MusicConsumers/Findalicencetosuityourneeds.aspx
or you can hire a music supervisor.
Another alternative would be to contact the copyright owners directly.
or you can hire a music supervisor.
Another alternative would be to contact the copyright owners directly.
I get most of my music from jamendo.com - they have tens of thousands of albums from around the world available under a variety of creative commons licenses. The challenge of course is finding the good stuff, but over the past couple of years I've collected about 100 albums of potential music for future projects - the trick is to listen when you aren't actively looking for something. I actually got tired of hearing songs on the radio that I liked but couldn't use in a video, so I mostly stopped listening to the radio and just pull up jamendo's top 100 or a genre playlist to listen in the background while I work.
When I hear a song I like I'll check the license on the album (not all CC licenses allow you to use the work in a video) and if it works for my needs I'll download it for future use. Many of the licenses specify non-commercial use which is generally fine for festivals, but jamendo also has a 'pro' system that some artists use that lets you get a commercial or broadcast license easily. Even with the non-commercial stuff you can usually negotiate directly with the artists and get a license for a reasonable price, I just had to do this recently for a broadcast license.
When I hear a song I like I'll check the license on the album (not all CC licenses allow you to use the work in a video) and if it works for my needs I'll download it for future use. Many of the licenses specify non-commercial use which is generally fine for festivals, but jamendo also has a 'pro' system that some artists use that lets you get a commercial or broadcast license easily. Even with the non-commercial stuff you can usually negotiate directly with the artists and get a license for a reasonable price, I just had to do this recently for a broadcast license.
For my shorts, I went a variety of directions.
For THE WATCH, a comedy about a guy who gets laid because he's wearing a fake Rolex, I went online and started looking around for "free music." I came across a guy who had some cool sounding dance/club stuff that would fit and emailed him. A collaboration was born. He had never scored a short film and just wanted to do it. Problem solved.
For my short film Miscommunications I posted on Craigslist that I was looking for a composer/violinist and described the short film's tone and feeling. I was flooded with responses. More than I could handle. it was insane. And many were so good that it was hard to choose who to go with. In the end i chose this girl who also lived in the NYC area and she is stupendously amazingly awesome. Her music is now so inseparable from the film I cannot imagine not having her talent involved.
There is free music out there. Just look.
For THE WATCH, a comedy about a guy who gets laid because he's wearing a fake Rolex, I went online and started looking around for "free music." I came across a guy who had some cool sounding dance/club stuff that would fit and emailed him. A collaboration was born. He had never scored a short film and just wanted to do it. Problem solved.
For my short film Miscommunications I posted on Craigslist that I was looking for a composer/violinist and described the short film's tone and feeling. I was flooded with responses. More than I could handle. it was insane. And many were so good that it was hard to choose who to go with. In the end i chose this girl who also lived in the NYC area and she is stupendously amazingly awesome. Her music is now so inseparable from the film I cannot imagine not having her talent involved.
There is free music out there. Just look.
Yeah, there are plenty of options these days, which is great. But, like mentioned above, you get what you pay for, so beware the freebies.
I bought this:
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/roya...tions/Apollo-Symphony-Orchestra-Greatest-Hits
and I use it a lot
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/roya...tions/Apollo-Symphony-Orchestra-Greatest-Hits
and I use it a lot
If you wanna use our music for free, go ahead.
Also, we can create original music for you for free, we're just trying to get our name out there.
Heres some of our work
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-pro...ns/gray-waters
It starts slow and slightly haunting, but with an epic feel to it.
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-pro...intro-to-night
This is our tribute to minecraft
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-productions/jade
Slow piano piece with saddened heroic tone over it
We can tailor the music carefully based on your ideas and needs for the project
If you're interested just email us at pathwheelproductions@gmail.com
Also, we can create original music for you for free, we're just trying to get our name out there.
Heres some of our work
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-pro...ns/gray-waters
It starts slow and slightly haunting, but with an epic feel to it.
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-pro...intro-to-night
This is our tribute to minecraft
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-productions/jade
Slow piano piece with saddened heroic tone over it
We can tailor the music carefully based on your ideas and needs for the project
If you're interested just email us at pathwheelproductions@gmail.com
I am a musician (I was One St. Stephen in the 1970's -- do a yahoo search) and still make music (noise). I also know a lot of musicians that do original work and like the challenge. I also purchase (with 99 year contract) and make use of some 'royalty' free music for background spice.
Diversify the musical sound(s). Get from as many sources as possible, or else, your movie could sound like a broken record.
Diversify the musical sound(s). Get from as many sources as possible, or else, your movie could sound like a broken record.
If jou want to do somting richt, jou have to do it jourself. Musich and sound making is the most fun thing to do. Just get Renoise and Audacity.
There is nothing as rewarding than having some good sound in joure movie. look at Eraserhead from David Lynch, one of the best self made soundtracks ever.....
There is nothing as rewarding than having some good sound in joure movie. look at Eraserhead from David Lynch, one of the best self made soundtracks ever.....
Cool...I make Noise to (and IDM, Breakcore, Jungle and soundscapes).
What keyboard are you using for the piano sound?
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-productions/jade
http://soundcloud.com/path-wheel-productions/jade
Awesome, me too! I wonder how many noise artists end up doing filmscores! Probably most of us; at least around here, most of the audience at noise shows are performing there too. Tough to make a living at that, particularly given that it's a genre that by definition, most people will not like (even if they sit down and give it a fair listen).
BIG SUPPORT from me for Rob Scales Music, Rob is an IT member.
I just heard his score for the Power Up short film, I literally cried in my office. Its embarrassing! EXCELLENT JOB, GREAT TO WORK WITH, AND HE BRINGS THE GOODS!
I just heard his score for the Power Up short film, I literally cried in my office. Its embarrassing! EXCELLENT JOB, GREAT TO WORK WITH, AND HE BRINGS THE GOODS!
I got very lucky.
An actor in my film had a good friend who wanted to get into film composition. I listened to his samples and liked what I heard, so I took a chance. Originally he was just going to perform and record the music himself, but came to me at some point and asked what I thought about his using a string quartet playing acoustic instruments. I said, great!
To make a long story short, he got so into it that he wound up scoring for a full orchestra! I ran a KickStarter campaign and raised the funds to hire professional musicians and a recording engineer, rent a performance space and pay for editing and mastering sessions. Our arrangement has been mutually beneficial: he got an opportunity that would have cost him a lot of money to do himself, and I got a first class orchestral soundtrack for my little movie!
If anyone is interested, his site is here: Tylor Neist.
An actor in my film had a good friend who wanted to get into film composition. I listened to his samples and liked what I heard, so I took a chance. Originally he was just going to perform and record the music himself, but came to me at some point and asked what I thought about his using a string quartet playing acoustic instruments. I said, great!
To make a long story short, he got so into it that he wound up scoring for a full orchestra! I ran a KickStarter campaign and raised the funds to hire professional musicians and a recording engineer, rent a performance space and pay for editing and mastering sessions. Our arrangement has been mutually beneficial: he got an opportunity that would have cost him a lot of money to do himself, and I got a first class orchestral soundtrack for my little movie!
If anyone is interested, his site is here: Tylor Neist.
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