VIEW FROM THE PODIUM
by Adrian Ellis
Copyright is a myth.
Performing Rights Organizations are a myth.
Human rights and justice are a myth.
Getting hot under the collar yet? Why am I making these seemingly outrageous statements?
The word myth originates from the Greek word mythos, and to them it had several meanings, including “narrative, speech, story, tale, and word” For centuries it actually referred to things which were regarded as “true”, and only recently took on the pejorative meaning of being a thing which is false or fictitious.
In his book Sapiens, author Yuval Noah Harari provides us with a different perspective on myths and how they shaped our world:
“Sapiens rule the world, because we are the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers. […] We cooperate effectively with strangers because we believe in things like gods, nations, money and human rights. Yet none of these things exists outside the stories that people invent and tell one another. “
According to Harari, not only do stories of creation and higher beings fall under the category of myth, but also entities like democracy, corporations, and Performing Rights Organizations. These things are not naturally occurring. They are products of our imagination, and exist only as long as we agree on the terms of their existence. If everyone were to stop believing in gravity, it would continue to function. But what if everyone stopped believing in an economic system? A crash, and eventual dissolution would be the inevitable result. It would cease to exist. Money has no inherent value; a $20 bill is simply a piece of paper or plastic with symbols printed on it. The only thing that gives it value is an agreement, a belief, or a story we tell about it. This illustrates the incredible power of narrative and storytelling in the world.
As media composers, we aren’t only contributing to fantastic fictions or helping breathe life into human dramas; stories literally are the stuff of our cultures and daily lives. We help to tell stories as a means of entertaining and informing, and in some cases, these stories can have a tremendous effect on the world, by providing perspectives and fostering new thoughts and inspiring action in the real world, from social justice issues to environmental protection.
This speaks to the part we play in creating or sustaining the systems we live and work in. Some people might be outraged at the suggestion that, for example, our justice and education systems, or our idea of Author’s Rights being a tenuous fiction. Personally, I find it incredibly liberating, because it suggests that we hold much more power than we believed to alter our world. It means that storytelling is of critical importance in shaping reality. But, as a certain web-slinging superhero’s uncle once said, “with great power comes great responsibility”. What happens if we fail to uphold and strengthen the myth of fair remuneration to authors for exploitation of their work? This is not a naturally occurring, unbreakable law. There’s nothing to say that any rights we currently enjoy cannot be stripped away from us.
There are powerful agents that weave compelling narratives, “counter-myths” if you will, about how copyright is anti-democratic, for example. Lobbying is nothing more than sitting around the campfire of the chiefs and telling tales in order to capture the imagination: “Content wants to be free! Protect the consumer! They will reward you with votes!”. So, where are our voices? Who tells our stories, and brings life to the myths which literally sustain us, and make our creative business possible?
The answer is simple: it is up to us. As Harari says, “We cooperate effectively with strangers because we believe in things…”. This idea of belief giving rise to cooperation, which in turn shapes the world around us, is critical. The SCGC is also a myth – a fiction that arose when a group of composers got together and said “We believe these things to be true”, and then acted in accordance with those beliefs. Your board and its executive, as well as the committees which do much of the heavy lifting, is strong but limited. We run on volunteer power, and are working composers like yourself who make the time to do what is necessary to protect and elevate the work and rights of media composers both in Canada and internationally. I urge you all to consider what your place in this is, and both as an individual, and in cooperation, continue to spread “the word”. What is our value, what are our values? What is sacred to us? What are the mythical battles we must face?
If you’d like to get more involved, we welcome you!
One way is to join a committee, and there are many that might suit your interests and strengths. Not only are they are great way to “give back”, but also connect you more deeply with your community.
If you’d like to know more, please reach out to our Managing Director, Tonya Dedrick at: tkdedrick@screencomposers.ca
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WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE CSA’S
by Ari Posner
“If I don’t introduce you,” I tell her as we enter the room, “it’s because I’m desperately trying to remember their name.” A task that’s become more challenging than I’d like as I approach the half century mark in age. Fortunately, bless her, my wife is ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.
It’s a Wednesday night, and we’re sitting at one of four tables reserved for CBC’s popular new drama “Anne”. Wait a second, how come I’m not at R.H. Thompson’s table??? Oh right, that’s where the producers sit. I’m a composer. (Fun fact: it was later in the evening explained to me that the R.H. stands for Richmond Hill.)
What are those three strange looking dips over there? I have no clue, but I’m starving so please pass all of them. The evening begins with a bang as R.H. takes home the gold for best supporting actor in a dramatic series. Now I really wish I were at his table … but either way, what a night this is going to be! Working with all the great people on “Anne” has been a remarkable experience and at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards, the show is being recognized with 13 nominations, hence the four tables.
Schmoozing was never one of my best subjects, but I’ve come to accept that over the years and have grown reasonably accustomed to making polite small talk over dinner. It becomes more difficult, mind you, as our four hopefully charged tables proceed to get knocked out in every other category. There’s no shame in this of course as the competition is fierce with shows like Alias Grace and Cardinal in the mix. This truly is the golden age of television. Fifty years from now people will look back at our time and say, “Wow, the world really lost its mind back then … but man the TV was good!”
Our fearless leaders Miranda de Pencier and Moira Walley-Beckett come around to visit our table, kind of like at a wedding, to thank the guests for coming. They are both excellent examples of poise under the dire circumstances and truly manage to raise our dashed spirits. I’m reminded that it’s an honour to be here … and that their table is quite a bit more glamorous than ours. (Had I been better at schmoozing, I too might have been a producer.) But the production paid for my seat, so I have no business complaining.
My favourite part of the evening is when Mark Ellis presents a posthumous award to Dennis McGrath, a wonderfully gifted writer that our community sadly lost last year. An actor and writer himself, Mark speaks beautifully about Dennis’ life and prolific body of work. Notably the most quiet point of the evening, it’s the unmistakable sound of everyone paying attention. Truly a moment. It’s also a humbling reminder of why we do what we do. We help tell stories, and without great words to deliver them, what do we have really?
Then, like most things in life, it ends just as quickly as it began in an unceremonious sort of way. On the way home, my wife asks me if I’m dissappointed. Of course I am just little bit, not so much for myself, but for the team. (OK, maybe it’s about 60/40 in favour of the team).
A week later, while on vacation, my brother-in-law texts me from back home to say that “Anne” just won best dramatic series at the televised CSAs. “Well how ‘bout dem apples” I text back. It would seem that the Academy voting process is also, much like life, quite unpredictable. I celebrate with a mojito and think about our four tables that fateful Wednesday night. Here’s to you team!
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CSA INTERVIEWS
Mychael & Jeff Danna
SCGC member Mychael Danna has been awarded the 2018 Canadian Screen Award alongside co-composer Jeff Danna in the film category of Achievement in Music: Original Score for
“The Breadwinner”!
“The Breadwinner is a film that makes the world a smaller place, a world where we have more in common than our differences. A personalized story of a family with the same small recognizable details to we in our families here that makes the specific challenges and struggles of being a young girl in Afghanistan something we can feel a strong sense of empathy for. We were honoured to be able to work with and feature the music of Afghan musicians, including a choir of young girls from the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, girls about the same age as Parwana, the young girl in the story. And we are honoured that our music has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award!” ~ Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna
The writing duo also received a Canadian Screen Awards nomination in the television category of Best Original Music, Fiction for “Alias Grace”.
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Phil Strong
SCGC member Phil Strong has been nominated for a 2018 Canadian Screen Award in the television category of Best Original Music, Non-Fiction for “Little India: Village of Dreams” alongside composer Thomas Hoy!
The SCGC caught up with Phil to find out more about the composing partnership
PS: We met at the 2015 SCGC Apprentice Mentor Program meet and greet! Darren Fung (the program coordinator) followed up and asked if any of the Apprentice candidates seemed a promising match – and I picked Thomas as someone with a warm personality and an adventuresome spirit as well as intriguing and varied interests. My practise is pretty varied and I thought Thomas was best suited to the range of things I undertake. We met and came to an agreement, and have since revisited that agreement a few times as our writing partnership has grown.
SCGC: Do you have any advice for new composer partnerships?
PS: Although we have plenty of overlap, Thomas and I have quite different specific skill sets. It seems other partnerships I have inquired about are similar in that way. It’s nice to have your own areas of specialty and contribution to the partnership, and working with someone with different skills expands the kind and quality of music that can be made – and I think it increases our reach and capability. It’s also invaluable to have another mind on the job and another voice besides the one echoing around in one’s own head!
What’s your favourite part of your job?
PS: It used to be more about the writing – but now I think it is working with Thomas and recording musicians! The music really comes alive when musicians are involved. I also have to say that these days, most of my clients are friends and it’s just great collaborating with them. It is an incredible feeling when they show excitement for the music we’re creating.
SCGC: When did you decide you wanted to be a composer? Was it a childhood dream or an accidental string of events?
PS: For me, it was a long term goal. I wrote music and played in bands as a kid. When it came time to select a school to go to, I picked a recording program thinking that I would be able to infiltrate the technological soundtrack world by becoming a studio engineer first to get a handle on the process of recording and start to collaborate with the people working in that realm. I thought it would take decades, but after graduating I got a studio job with Brock Fricker who put me to work learning the (then) brand new MIDI gear, producing and arranging for some of his musician clients and then writing music for various video projects. Ba bing!
SCGC: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while working on a score?
PS: Tempitus! I had one project that seemed impossible to crack until I literally carbon-copied the temp music down to the exact tone of the electric guitar in a certain track. Once I had achieved this state of replication, the director was then able to gradually tolerate changes to those tracks and finally accept alternate ideas altogether. It ended up being satisfying and coherent in the end – but, a very rocky start. As an additional note, Mark Korven had originally been approached for this project. He decided not to take it on but recommended me and then advised me to quote double what I would normally charge for a similar project. Most surprisingly, they actually accepted my quote! And I earned every dollar.
SCGC: What does your dream job look like?
PS: A dream job is when I feel I am making a valuable contribution to an important project, meeting challenges, working with engaging and intelligent people, learning something new about the world, Improving my reach and my craft – and earning my keep. I am blessed to have been involved with many such projects.
SCGC: What’s one piece of advice you would like to pass on to new SCGC members?
PS: Stay out of debt. Always do your best work. Some projects do not pay for themselves, but other jobs makeup the difference, they all contribute to your career. Make it a positive contribution.
SCGC: Is there anything you would like to share about the project you’ve been nominated for?
PS: I have written a blog entry for director Nina Beveridge on composing the score for “Little India: Village of Dreams” –
http://beevision.com/notes-on-composing-for-village-of-dreams/
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Serge Côté
SCGC member Serge Côté has been nominated for a 2018 Canadian Screen Award in the television category of Best Original Music, Animation for “Jaxon and Song’s Maple Mystery”.
SCGC: What can you tell us about the process of scoring for this series?
SC: “Jaxon and Song’s Maple Mystery” is an animated 8 episodes mini series for CBC. I did not even know I was nominated because I had forgotten the producer had submitted an episode. I first found out when a director friend congratulated me via email!
This show came in and out so fast. I received the first episode in early June, and the whole series would be airing on July 1st. Yikes! The animation was going to be completed days before the deadline, so I had to score every episode using leica movies. Leica movies (or animatics) are basically hand drawn black and white storyboards moving with a dialog track. So the dialog drives the story, and hand drawn pictures of the storyboard are placed in sync with the dialog. It’s like scoring to an audio book, with moving stills. I actually like scoring to that format. It lets me imagine the look of the final animation. Somehow though, I am always a bit disappointed when I first see the final animation. It takes me a while to get used to it!
SCGC: When did you decide you wanted to be a composer? Was it a childhood dream or an accidental string of events?
SC: Actually, I sort of fell into it. I started out wanting to be a rock star ( i know…typical). But that was short lived. I was then writing and producing songs for local artists. And yes, one of them was Alanis Morrissette, for which I wrote and arranged 2 CDs under the MCA label (they went platinum, yay!). Anyway, it’s not until the mid-nineties that I started scoring for TV and film. My first TV series was Kevin Spencer, an animated sitcom series (definitely not for kids).
SCGC: What do you do when facing a creative block?
I don’t really have time to face a creative block. TV is a very deadline driven industry. If I’m not sure what to do, I’ll just write something… anything. Then I can work from there. Also, since I work from home, I take a lot of family breaks, walk the dog, drive to the grocery store, etc… I will hear something on the radio or a public place that will inspire me.
SCGC: What’s one piece of studio equipment you could not live without?
SC: I could not live without my computer and any keyboard controller. I am a big fan of keeping a work system small enough to be portable. This allows me to work at the cottage, work at home, or even during family trips (I know, get a life…). I just moved houses recently. Because construction was delayed, I was able to temporarily set up in a house rental using a camping table for months. It wasn’t ideal but I could keep working.
SCGC: What do you like best about your work as a composer?
SC: My favorite part of my job is to be in control of my creative flow. I like to be given music style parameters by directors and producers. This gives me the opportunity to create music in styles and variations I normally would not do on my own. It takes me out of my box, out of my comfort zone.
SCGC: What’s one piece of advice you would like to pass on to new SCGC members?
SC: Don’t work for free. Too many of us are eager to get any work when we start out. There are many many producers that will always abuse and take what ever they can for free or very little money. In my experience, the line “we’ll have more money for you on the next project” has never happened to me. Working for free or very little only devalues or craft and makes it difficult to establish a career as a composer. Producers know that our music is an important part of a film. That has value. We just have to be patient and better educate the ones who hire us.
SCGC: Best moment?
SC: A while back, I was writing a song for a commercial and my client said “You have the best job in the world”. I replied: “you know what, I guess I do, I really do”!
To find out more about Serge
my website – musicsergery.com – that’s where you’ll find credits and some samples
my soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/musicsergery
that’s where I post some project songs, some are serious, but mostly a lot of goofy songs. I love comedy. Turns out I can get away with singing too 🙂
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Michael Richard Plowman
SCGC member Michael Richard Plowman has been nominated for a 2018 Canadian Screen Award in the television category of Best Original Music, Non-Fiction for “Avenues of Escape”!
SCGC: What’s one piece of advice you would like to pass on to new SCGC members?
“It is all about the relationship! While I enjoy the never ending flow of new gear, and you can get lost in sounding great by yourself. [Film] music has become very similar mostly due the expectations of not only the industry, but the filmmakers, and the fact that we are all using the same gear and samples. I put most of my time into relationships and being myself. It’s all about the relationship and playing the long game. Being a good composer is expected from the filmmaker. They don’t hire you hoping you will do a great job, they expect it. So I leave that out if the equation. A coffee and and chat about anything but the industry will go much farther than sucking up to a filmmaker who you are already working with. They will appreciate the candour and sincerity.
SCGC: What do you do when facing a creative block?
MRP: I don’t believe in creative block. There is always creativity. Even the smallest amount can be a starting point. If there are times when I am having trouble. I step back from the gear and hum, sing, tap anything, something.
Never let your playing abilities or computer guide your creative abilities. You are the composer not the technology.
SCGC: What’s one piece of studio equipment you could not live without?
MRP: My headphones. I do most of my writing with headphones. It allows me to stay in the world that I am creating without distraction from waiting for my phone to ping, or the many other barrage of things that have no bearing on the music. Also the people around don’t have to listen to never ending repeat of a single building cue that I think is great but may drive them crazy.
SCGC: What’s your favourite part of your job?
MRP: I have been fortunate to work in Children’s animation quite a bit, and I love it when it makes me laugh – It helps me keep the momentum, and enjoy the moments that are tough!
To read more about Michael’s nominated score for “Avenues of Escape” visit:
https://www.academy.ca/2018/michael-richard-plowman/
For more information about Michael Richard Plowman visit: www.animationtunes.com
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“Taking Possession” is screening at the International Short Film Festival SHORT FORM, in Serbia! Congrats @federmusik! #composer @TakPo_1883
@SCREENCOMPOSERS • about 2 hours ago