Composing

  When you decide to write music for Film and Television as a full time job, you’ll soon realize that from that moment on it is not just about your music, but about the music business. There is so much to know and to learn about the process of negotiating a deal. I am going to share some of the experience I have made so far, hoping that it will help you with your negotiations a little bit.     When & Why: Signing an Agreement When you are offered a composer job, your first instinc...

Imagine the scene. A film composer sits in the cinema. The adverts are rolling, the popcorn is flowing, the trailers are, well, trailering- then suddenly a familiar sound hits the composer’s ears. “Did I write this track?... No…. Hmm. What sounds familiar?... Something in there rings a bell…. Oh! The piano/strings/synths/drums. The composer is using X library!” Whilst there is a seemingly infinite number of libraries available for composers to use, there’s actually a very small pool of commonl...

So you landed a job as a composer for a Film. Congratulations! But now where do you start? I think a good point is to build a positive relationship with your Director. That could definitely contribute to the success of your gig. Like any other kind of human relationship, there are no rules to make it work and there is always room for improvement, but here you’ll find some tips and thoughts, based on my experience, that I think might be helpful. Let’s suppose you have negotiated the deal, the...

The Cannes Film Festival in France is next week! As you all know Stage 32 has has worked directly with and have had an official presence at the Cannes Film Festival Marche du Film for the last 5 years. From education initiatives, partnerships and parties, Stage 32 always has our finger on the pulse of the world's biggest film festival and market.  Also, for the last 5 years Stage 32 is an official education partner of the Cannes Marche du Film. This year, our role has expanded even further a...

Happy Wednesday Stage 32 Community!   Since 2011, the Stage 32 team has been working tirelessly to help you stay connected, creative, motivated, and informed. As always, we are committed to bringing you networking opportunities, education and mentoring from top-level industry executives and professionals, and access to decision-makers around the globe all from the comfort of your own home. Recently, our fearless leader and CEO Richard "RB" Botto hosted an "Ask Me Anything": State of the Indust...

Three Things in the Entertainment Industry You Shouldn’t Take Personally On Medium by Richard "RB" Botto It’s tough not to take things personally when you’re a creative. Writers, directors, actors, cinematographers and other film and TV creatives are emotionally invested in their work, while putting in a massive amount of time and effort in creating their art. This makes hearing negative feedback or a simple, but impactful “no” feel like a crushing setback. However, most interactions don’t...

Hello Creative Army! Read any of the trades right now and our industry is in a rapid state of change. From streamers in the race for original content, to companies making acquisitions and, of course, the Great Content Gold Rush still in full force, it's a lot to keep up with. The entire Stage 32 team is on the phone every day to keep their fingers on the pulse of what's happening. It's exciting time for you as a content creator - whether you work in film, television or digital - and it's equ...

Hello Stage 32 Creative Army! We are thrilled to announce yet another Stage 32 resource that you can use to learn and grow as a creative or professional in the entertainment industry - the Stage 32 Glossary! No matter what hat(s) you wear in the entertainment industry, there are a host of entertainment industry-specific terms and phrases you may come across in your career. To best prepare yourself for your entertainment journey, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with these te...

IMDb- Internet Movie Database, is the top search engine for Hollywood. The first place we go to validate someone’s credentials and experience is IMDb. Whether you are an actor, director, writer, producer, grip, makeup artist, cinematographer, or editor- more than likely you have a profile on the site with your resume. However, the main website only goes so far, and so deep. The membership component of IMDb Pro gives you access to more proprietary information that is not known to the general pu...

What’s up, Creative Army! Over the last few months, I’ve seen an uptick in questions sent to me here, on Instagram, and on Twitter revolving around the subject of overcoming imposter syndrome. As creatives – which, as I always say, makes us entrepreneurs – we are constantly dealing with executives and gatekeepers questioning our decisions and our creative choices. For those hanging out on broad based social media platforms, you deal with a constant barrage of “experts” and those more then will...