soundtrack.academy

Composer Bankey Ojo shares some advice that is almost GUARANTEED to help you find more composing projects. Listen in to this week’s episode now!

Join my Facebook community: https://soundtrack.academy/facebookgroup

Bankey Ojo has scored programmes for Sky, ITV, Channel 4, amongst many others and has worked on award winning short films, branded content for Adidas, Puma, and Jaguar, and also a number of animation projects too.

His approach has always been to just go out and do things, and the method he used to find projects when he first wanted to work on an animation is such a great example of that attitude.

Bankey’s Links:

Website : http://www.bankeyojo.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bankeyojo

SoundCloud : https://soundcloud.com/bankeyojo

 Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres lives and breathes the creative life. Talking about her process made me desperately want to be a fly-on-the-wall while she works, as it sounds like such a natural, exploratory method of creating music. 

Join my Facebook community: https://soundtrack.academy/facebookgroup

Listen in to hear how her father’s background in film making influenced her approach to music, how Alex has naturally followed what has come her way, and her approach to creating music for film as well as solo album projects.

Alexandra's Links

Website: www.ah-a.co.uk

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6o0pKKljrn7GYEZTQPFwKp

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ahamiltonayres

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AHamiltonAyres

The Whiteroom Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S745wXMTt9w

 Hear how soundtrack.academy was born, and the film music process I’ve been teaching, practising, and developing since 2008.

Join my Facebook community: https://soundtrack.academy/facebookgroup

It’s a bit of a different week this week - instead of my usual format of interviewing a guest, I decided to interview myself!

I’ve had a lot of people asking about my own background in film music, as well as about my own process when it comes to composition. So, using the same questions and format that I use to interview my guests, in this episode I take you through how I got started, what lead me to creating soundtrack.academy, and the steps I go through to create a film score.

 Chris Wirsig is a composer and music supervisor specialising in dark intense soundscapes. His advice on specialising in a niche and what music libraries are listening for is all in this episode!

Join my Facebook community: https://soundtrack.academy/facebookgroup

Many of the guests I’ve had on the show so far compose in all kinds of styles and genres, but not this week’s guest! Chris Wirsig found his signature style and sound and decided to stick to his guns and become an absolute specialist in that one style.

That’s a seriously brave move for a composer to take, and I have the utmost admiration for him for making that decision. Even his own music library focuses on that one specific aesthetic.

And the best part? It seems to be paying off!

Since moving to the US, Chris has been able to make music his full-time job.

Chris’s Links:

Composer Website : www.chriswirsig.com

Library website : www.counter-communications.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ChrisWirsigMusic/

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/chriswirsig/

Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/2CFVqb5EoEm8rqxeTVUJMj

Spotify for Chris’s Electro Pop band no:carrier : https://open.spotify.com/artist/2SCRrPql1d7gHv7yDoGhEm

 Bonnie Janofsky is one of those multi-skilled musicians that seems to be able to turn her hand to absolutely anything. Originally coming from a performance background, she’s then worked as an orchestrator, arranger, transcriber, and composer. We’re going to talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages of working with notation and composing for real musicians rather than sample libraries.

Join our Facebook community: https://soundtrack.academy/facebookgroup

Bonnie hasn’t taken the approach of many film music composers in that she’s focused more on scoring for real musicians rather than with sample libraries. If you listen to samples of her work you’ll hear that it’s full of really interesting instrument combinations.

One thing that’s particularly great to listen for in Bonnie’s work is how well the music is arranged for a small number of players. I think a lot of people really overlook how hard it is to get a small group of instruments to create such an effective sound.

Bonnie’s Links:

Website : http://www.BonnieJanofsky.com

IMDB : http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1185225/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bonnie.janofsky 

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-janofsky-312706/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/bonnie_r_j

 Growing up in the south of France studying fine art and design before moving into music composition has given Mathieu Karsenti a really unique understanding of the relationship between music and visuals.

Get “The Media Scoring Guide” : https://soundtrack.academy/ebook

Mathieu is another fine example of someone who has worked ultra hard to put himself in situations that could lead to more opportunities. As you listen in you’ll hear that it wasn’t some cleverly structured plan to get him to where he is now, he just looked at where the opportunities lay and did his best to make sure that he was a) in the same place and b) that he did a great job of whatever was expected of him.

Also make sure you check out Mathieu’s website. I know a lot of you are always looking for ways to make your online presence stand out a bit, and Mathieu has what I think is a really great video on his “About” page that features him being interviewed during a session. A director seeing a video like that can really help them understand who you are as a composer, and not just what you do.

Mathieu’s Links:

http://www.mathieukarsenti.com/about

http://www.mathieukarsenti.com/music-2

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4230073/

Described by none other than Hans Zimmer himself as an “incredible artist”, Suad Bushnaq is an an award-winning Arab-Canadian film and concert composer who is making some serious waves in the film music world.

Get “The Media Scoring Guide” [FREE] : https://soundtrack.academy/eBook

I’m not really sure where to begin with the intro to this episode as we covered so many topics from practical composition techniques and equipment, to discussing what it’s like being an Arab woman composer in the film and concert music industry.

Suad even shares the amazing story of how one of her scores was recorded in Syria, during some of the heavier bombings. An absolutely incredible story, to think how determined those musicians must have been.

Since recording the interview, the film that Suad mentions the she created during her residency has also been released, so I’ll include links to that in the show notes.

Suad's Links:

The Borrowed Dress : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsEmXt3AolY

A Very Important Appointment : https://vimeo.com/341647271

Website : www.suadbushnaq.com

Audio Reel : www.soundcloud.com/suadbushnaq

Credits : https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6883900/

In this week’s episode Jenny J Nam discusses the differences and crossovers between performance, composition, and songwriting.

Get your FREE eBook: https://soundtrack.academy/ebook

Jenny is an award-winning composer, songwriter, and pianist. We’re going to talk about how different her thought process is while she’s improvising on jazz piano compared to when she’s composing for film. 

Her composition process isn’t as simple as just drawing from her background in improvising, and instantly composing to picture. In fact, it’s the opposite, as you’ll hear.

One of the really fascinating areas that we explore in this episode is how different the Korean music industry is from the American and UK industry.

And, of course, Jenny shares some excellent advice on compositing for film.

Jenny’s Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennyjnam

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennyjnam

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyjnam

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y4sz5x5l

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/y6o4xeo9

Apple Music/iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/y4esavl5 

 From working as a staff piano player at Disney, and session musician for Mike Post, to scoring some of the most iconic movies, and now writing and directing his own documentaries, Stephen Edwards truly has some fascinating stories to share.

Get the FREE eBook: https://soundtrack.academy/ebook

Let me introduce Stephen by listing just a FEW of the films he’s scored that you might have seen:

…the list goes on and on!

And those are only some of the action films that he’s scored. 

If you take into account other genres, and films he’s had tracks featured on, or has worked as an arranger or a performer on, the list is almost endless!

He’s the first American composer to be invited to have his music performed at the Musica E Arte Sacra festival in Vatican City. That was for his choral work Requiem For My Mother - which we’ll talk about in the show.

So, we’re going to hear how he got started, how he creates his film and concert music, and we’re also going to chat about the amazing stories behind his two documentaries: Requiem for My Mother and Syndrome K.

It’s truly an honour to have had Stephen on the show.

Links:

stephen-edwards.com

requiemformymother.com

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0250373/

 Oscar Fogelström is a two time Swedish Grammy winner, has had over 100 million streams on Spotify, and has worked with Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallström on Sweden’s Oscar entry, "The Hypnotist”. Let’s hear how he got started, whether he recommends that composers also work as songwriters, his creative process, and advice on working as a film composer.

Get my free eBook: https://soundtrack.academy/ebook

Oscar is an absolutely wonderful example of someone who became involved in the music industry not through forcing new relationships or coldly marketing themselves to anyone who’ll listen, but from having a genuine passion for music, collaborating on as many projects and events as would come their way, until eventually the right connections started to come along at the right time.

As you’ll hear, he has a wonderful tale of how he naturally came to work in the industry.

People Oscar has previously worked with often mention his ability to bring new stories and emotions to their projects, which we’ll explore in the episode.

Links:

www.oscarfogelstrom.com

http://facebook.com/oscarfogelstromcomposer/

http://moviescoremedia.com/aurora-oscar-fogelstrom