Ask Me Anything! (Part 3)

[@eduardgore]

Thank you for all the videos on this channel. Very useful information and somehow inspiring. I know that behind these videos is a lot of work and I hope you have the right motivation to keep doing them. Thank you for sharing!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thanks for watching! I'm really glad you find these useful and inspiring. :-)

[@NigelDThompson]

Thank you for your time to do these Q&A posts. Very useful and informative.

[@ScottBuckley]

Fantastic responses to these questions. Your insights about what the industry requires of a composer are spot on. I got a job in LA years ago, but went into it with rose-coloured glasses about the industry and the life of a working film composer - but in the end I found it wasn't a great fit for me. I think everyone should be aware of what they're wishing for :)

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thanks for watching! I agree, there needs to be more information on what this job looks like on a daily basis rather than always just showing the orchestra sessions and red carpets. 90% of the time is spent alone in a room writing or managing the business side of things. Doing something one loves daily can also very quickly take the love out of it.

[@Pax30001]

Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and answer questions. Keep up the great work! :)

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

I'm happy to! Thanks for watching!

[@Pax30001]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Your welcome! :)

[@alvins1979]

Incredibly well spoken and experienced. Thank you for these videos. I’m sure many are happy to work with your professionalism.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thank you! That's very kind of you to say. :-)

[@DerlisAGonzalez]

Thanks for this, Anne! Again, really insightful stuff. Regarding the question where you talked about entry level composers, what are the skills that these people are lacking out of college that you consider should be essential? Is it the actual writing music part? The tech part? The sort of knowledge that you only really get if you're taught by working composers? Would love a rundown of what these basic, essentials skills should be to not fall completely on your face if you're an entry level composer. Thanks again!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thanks for watching and chiming in! I think maybe this would warrant its own video so I'll put it on my list. :-)

[@richardwilliamsmusic]

You mentioned the speed of writing. Generally speaking, how much music do you write a day on a project, and with how many assistants do you use? Is it an average of complex to simple music? How much simple vs complex/many parts music would you say? If you had to really push it, how much could you write? If you're using assistants, I assume that doesn't include the orchestration? I've heard that in LA orchestration can mean different things, so does that include writing out the parts, or just clean up with midi etc if that makes sense?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

That's a great round of questions! I will definitely address this in my next Q&A - thanks for chiming in!

[@benshirleymusic]

As I'm going there your series, I'm amazed at all the gems you drop. Keeping the studio minimal is brilliant. So much more tho....thank you.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

I'm glad this is helpful! It's hard for me to tell what is useful information and what isn't since I don't know the audience. So I just try to cram as much into these videos as possible. :-)

[@benshirleymusic]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer I find your videos just say it without going into a bunch “of stuff.” All the videos have been so helpful. I was going to ask about cue sheets because the scores I’ve done went in a non-traditional way concerning how the director wanted it all delivered and I see you have a video addressing that very topic. All great!

[@richardwilliamsmusic]

I agree, I go as in the box as possible and as simple as possible. I would never want a massive room of stuff if it simply fits in my computer. No need for the hardware stuff

[@soundtreks]

Minimal studio is a bit of a misnomer anyhow. The amount of virtual instruments and high quality computer gear required to run these plug ins is far more sophisticated than back in the 90s when we had a boat load of external gear but nowhere near the sound quality of functionality. Yeah, racks of stuff looked cool but it was a PITA to run down a hum or a connection issue with all that stuff. Plus all that gear generated a lot of heat! And dust... master controller, computer and a couple monitors are fine nowadays. Oh, and training/technique and creativity doesn’t hurt either.

[@soundtreks]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer they are terrific! You could teach a course in this stuff because, as you say, there is a lot of practical knowledge colleges do not teach. I appreciate your balance of substantive exposition with brevity- very direct, engaging and to the point. :)

[@TonyBaker0830]

Thanks for all your videos, Anne-Kathrin. Fascinating to watch. A question related to harmony that I'd like to suggest for your next Q&A... In this video, you mention harmonizing melodies as part of the composition process. When you do that, are you doing "standard" tonal harmony? And are you thinking chord progressions or do you think in terms of SATB voice leading (recognizing that this will generally translate to instruments rather than voices)? Or are you thinking in more abstract ways? Related to that, do you ever express your thoughts in notation form using Sibelius or Dorico, etc, or do you always go straight to DAW? Sorry - I realize that was quite a few questions in the end. Thanks again.

[@santiagovalenciamusic]

Awesome info. Thank you for your time in putting this together. Very valuable. :)

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

So glad you found this useful!

[@Notmehimorthem]

Learning so much from you Anne

[@YuriyPanivan]

Hi Anne! Your videos are very useful. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I'm curious what helps you to write music fast? How did you develop this skill? Hope to hear the answer in the next QnA video. Thanks!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thanks for watching! I can go into this in another QA but the simple answer is practice and routine. You have to practice writing (and doing mockups) every day, ideally in different techniques, to become fast and proficient at it. The same way a professional musician has to practice their instrument every day, we have to practice ours.

[@LukeTruanMusic]

Thank you Anne! Yes, you are always helpful!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thanks for watching!

[@rickhood]

Thank you for all the real world knowledge you provide, very interesting. I just do this for fun, which I think is fine, a hobby like any other. Having lots of fun with it. "Why is your studio setup so simple?" Yeah, no need for complexity, unless you are an actual audio recording studio. Also the room can be anything unless you really want to use monitor speakers, but good headphones are fine. Also, I would not call it "simple" to have a separate server for the library(s) -- VSL or whatever. I keep my libraries (Spitfire) on an external SSD.

[@tomponist]

This is a great series. Thank you so much for your valuable insights!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Glad you like it! Thanks for watching!

[@Larsmannetje66]

Hi Anne-Kathrin, Thx for all the info, advice and inspiration. I am still very curious, though: how much minutes of music do you compose per day, when composing? Does it matter what kind of music it concerns? Greetings from Bennekom-in-the-rain again, Lars.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thanks for watching, Lars! It really depends on the music - some styles are easier / faster to write than others and orchestral music definitely takes longer. Also, action cues take longer than slow cues. But on average I keep it to 1:30-2:30 min per day. Same goes for my additional writers. If it goes beyond that, at least in my style of writing, the quality starts to suffer. So if that happens, I simply add another team member to lower the daily amount of minutes for everyone and keep the quality as high as possible. There are some composers that wear their "5 minutes a day" as a badge of honor but usually that is music on the lower end of the quality spectrum. Most composers I've spoken to or that have mentioned this in interviews usually settle around the 2 minute mark as well.

[@Andrew05689]

Love your videos, such great information! Are you picking anything up this Black Friday?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Yes, I got a couple of new libraries but I also need a couple of hardware upgrades and maintenance items. :-)

[@yango8778]

As usual straight to the point and very informative. Again I have a question: Do you think in the near future there is going to be a nostalgia for the sound of old sample libraries like Peter Siedlaczek Advanced Orchestra or the Roland banks as there was for 80s synth sounds in the last decade?

[@taocriolloestudio]

Hello Anne. I've started following your videos a few weeks ago, and I like your point of view of many things. I have a question, I hope you understand the point: How often you feel that your compositions, even when they are good, they satisfy it purpose and they are well recieved by your clients and the audience, deserved a deeper or larger work, but the deadlines didn't let you go further? I' have that feeling in my works a lot of times. Sorry for my grammatic constructions. I'm from Argentina and I love English, but I have a lot to learn a lot yet. Thank you.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

I don't feel that very often myself. One of the reasons why I work with a team is to avoid too many situations where I feel like I'm not delivering the best I could. I'd have to cut corners if I were doing everything myself but with more people, I can keep everyone's daily minutes of music fairly low so we can all spend the appropriate amount of time on each cue to make it as good as it can be.

[@taocriolloestudio]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thank you for your answer. I guess good teamwork is the answer for that, so deadline don´t become "death line". It's no my case, because till now I've worked on my own, because of the low budget of the projects. I´m new on this field of the music, and I wanted to know if that was a common feeling. Thank you Anne. I'll keep following.

[@edwardpatrickwhite6679]

Here’s a question: What’s been your biggest career mistake / regret and how did you / are you correcting it?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Hm, good question! I'll have to think about that and put it in my next Q&A :-)

[@arataka57]

I find your chanel very interesting. Your speech is very clear and concise. Question: What do you do when you feel you are repeating yourself while composing? Do you go listen to some other composer to get inspired? Thanks.

[@vicbrass]

It was definitively helpful Anne! Zum Wohl!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Glad to hear that!

[@Simonphiland]

Really appreciate speaking with openness and sincerity! I have a short question about Vienna Symphonic Library. It's expensive and a lot of studios seem to have it but haven't seen anyone actively using it. Is it frquently used in professional studios? Even one line answer would be much appreciated!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Thank you! I've used a few select woodwinds from VSL at one or two studios but I wouldn't say it's used much by a lot of people. It's very well sampled but also very dry which makes it a bit hard to blend. Considering speed is such a big factor when writing on professional productions, a lot of composers rather tend to gravitate towards better "out of the box" solutions that need less tweaking to work.

[@Simonphiland]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thank you I'm a fan!

[@markelvinstudio]

Could you discuss (via video if possible) how you approach composition for these two different scenerios - firstly, a score for a low budget film where your samples will be 90-100% of the material used. Then, a project where the score will be recorded by an orchestra. When it comes to mixing, how do you approach these two different scenarios? For a big budget film where your stems will go to a mixing engineer, do you get bothered if the mix and overall sound isn't 100% orchestra accurate. knowing the mix engineer will put their magic on it? But on a score/film where there is no mix engineer, how do you approach this? Sorry, loads of questions but might make an interesting video on will be helpful to get a pro's take on this.

[@ashokflash]

Please more videos about key change modulations , which modulations are repeatly using

[@septemberwalk]

hey anne, my question is, what advice would you give to someone (me) who feels like they take too long to get things done or aren't productive enough? Sometimes im come away from a whole day or work with only like two new things added to a work. I know everyone has these days but i feel im worse with it than others. Thanks

[@peterreynolds8146]

Love your channel! Is the orchestrator paid per bar/measure ? Per minute? Per instruments used? Thanks in advance. Peter

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

I'm currently doing a video with my orchestrator to answer a lot of questions but the short answer is: They are usually paid per page, one page being 4 bars. The page rate varies depending on the amount of instruments and the size of the project (meaning overall budget). On some occasions (usually lower budget non-union productions) orchestrators can also take flat fees.

[@peterreynolds8146]

You are very generous, well spoken, emotionally centred ( not a tosser), & a much needed talent & KZbin personality for all genuine composers with a thirst for honesty in music. I have a new word that might be preferred to “mock up”. How about “ Samplestration” Best, No. 1 Aussie fan Peter

[@ertzi8963]

How do you keep clarity in your music? I have listened your work and can always hear every instrument through beautifully.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

It's mostly through using subtractive EQ-ing, parallel compression, some panning, imaging, harmonics enhancement, and tape saturation. Also, clean arrangements / orchestration make for a cleaner mix.

[@ertzi8963]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thank you for your answer! A follow up question: is there some kind of composition / orchestration technique you use for getting a clean arrangement?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

I mean, there’s hundreds of techniques when it comes to composition and orchestration. It takes years to learn.

[@ertzi8963]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Yes, I bet! Luckily I'm studying them now :) I love your channel. You give such valuable information about your work. I hope more people will find your amazing content!

[@Indiansoundeffectsbyaaronh]

Very informative. Thank You. My question : How can a tempo be mapped in a cue that would technically match the transitions in the cue without any sudden changes.

[@jaketanner109]

HI...would you say that it's important to get the music budget ahead of time for the recording, so that you don't write or use a symphonic section when the budget calls for a chamber size? Or does this not matter since you can augment with samples anyway?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

You always know the music budget (or recording budget if it's separate from the composer fee) ahead of time. How else would contract negotiations happen? This has often been decided long before the composer is even brought on. While I can already tell by the budget what kind of ensemble we can get at the end, it doesn't matter so much for the writing. I write what the movie needs, not what we have money for. If that means we need to rely a bit more on samples in the mix, then that's just how it's gonna be. It's also not uncommon for me to change the orchestra lineup throughout the writing process if I see we'll need specific things and can disregard others. Since all musicians cost the same (except for the concert master) I can switch them out however I see fit (up until a certain point) as long as the amount of players stays the same.

[@jaketanner109]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer gotcha...thanks for the info :)

[@jaythansparksmusic]

...with VOXOS, if I were to play a sus chord, and I want to resolve it, how would I do it without the sample starting at the beginning ?? The other note has already started...just wondering, as I know it's off-topic (smiles).

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

VOXOS has a smart polyphonic legato script so it should automatically detect the note you're resolving while the others hold. At least that's how it works for me. Similar to the CineBrass script for example.

[@jaythansparksmusic]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thanks so much. I currently purchased it because I love the smoothness and lush-ness... I'm still exploring it... Also, I love your videos...

[@jaketanner109]

With regards to TV cues...are names used at all to perhaps describe the scene? I've seen OST for movies where cues have actual names...when is this given, and is this for personal use or does the production team actually use the names also? Hope this makes sense...LOL. Thanks!

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Yes, both in TV and movies every cue also gets a cue title (though it's often not in the file names for efficiency's sake). These are given right at the start when the cue sheet is created during the spotting session so people can actually know what's in a cue. I wouldn't know off the top of my head what 2M25 is about but if it has a title, then I know what scene it belongs to. The production uses these names too since everyone shares the same cue sheet and that's how the pieces are later registered with the PRO. These have nothing to do with the OST that is released though since soundtrack albums tend to be remixed and edited versions of the score.

[@jaketanner109]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thanks again...so the numbers are to keep track mostly, and the name are for where the cues belong? More or less?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

I mean... the numbers and time codes are for where the cues belong. The title is so I know what content is in the cue. Say I’m writing 5M49 and I want to adapt some material from a previous scene, the numbers would tell me nothing, even if I know what scene I’m looking for. I’d have to search through all the previous stuff to find the right cue. But the titles are simply also needed for PROs.

[@jaketanner109]

@@AnneKathrinDernComposer I see...so they are not used by the production team to identify the cues, it's only for PRO and personal use?

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

Everyone on the production uses the same cue sheet / spotting sheet so everyone is using these titles as well.

[@curtjacobs8520]

I'm quite late to these. But it's really helpful👍🏼👍🏼

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

So happy these are useful to you!

[@Meat-Puppet]

Avg salary for composer assistant is 50k in LA. How on earth could anyone afford to live there lol? I’m in NJ on 80k salary in IT and it’s just enough to be comfortable.

[@AnneKathrinDernComposer]

50k would be generous, I never got that much as an assistant. The first years are really more "surviving" than "living". A lot of assistants share a living space with others or - like me - lived in low income housing. It sure isn't the nicest experience (though there are exceptions), especially since often you also don't get healthcare or any other benefits while working plenty of unpaid overtime (which is illegal). So yeah, it's certainly a learning experience for the first few years but nothing I'd stay in - then again who wants to be a composer assistant for life?