Effective Music for Advertising
Posted on 29 January 2012 | No responses
Does music effect advertising? How can music effect advertising?
Music must be a relevant component in the development of media for advertising. Music’s prevalence in advertising indicates many value the effect(s). Surely they wouldn’t spend 10-20% (or more) of their budget on something superficial. Would they?
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MTA Award – Inez de Castro wins for Sound Design
Posted on 21 October 2011 | No responses
Just another quick update. Whooohoo! Jill O’Neill and I won another award from the Metrolina Theater Association for “Outstanding Sound Design.”
Thanks again to Jill for letting me work with her on these projects! She’s been doing this stuff for years and I really feel like I’m just along for the ride, doing my thing with her guiding the ship. Chris O’Neill and Jill were both nominated for “Theater People of the Year” and “Theater Company of the Year.” Hands down, I think they should have won both but the competition was heavy.
I documented the work earlier this year. Check it out by CLICKING THIS LINK.
Code 2600 – That’s a wrap.
Posted on 16 October 2011 | No responses
So… I finished the score and audio work for Code2600 last August but life has placed this blog into the very-low-priority category. Lots of great thing have been happening including more awards, a new baby on the way, and other contracts. Whew!
The film ended up using 24 original cues. Many of the tracks were either percussive orchestral textures, electronic beds, or a hybrid of these two approaches. A few cues are traditional melodic and theme driven but most are textural. Influences for the score came from a variety of sources that Jeremy Zerechak, the director, and I felt worked for the story arch. In the end, it felt like a real collaborative effort. Very fun!
This has been submitted to festivals and I’m hoping to see it do some interesting things. The film has lots of production value and a timely message. We’ll see!
Check out some production photos at the FaceBook Page for the Film.
Bamboo Shark… a funky feature comedy
Posted on 2 July 2011 | No responses
Director Dennis Ward is bringing the epic production Bamboo Shark to audiences this year. This feature comedy is a massive production with a huge cast and crew including 30+ impersonators and familiar faces like Mickey Rooney.
The film was originally scored by Róbert Gulya of Hungary and recorded by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. There were a few scenes that required music of a pop culture origin. I used several studio musician friends to create a band for the tasks. The first scene of the film required a ripping rock/metal track with “stripper-pole” vibe. We also created a track that is an homage to the SuperFly soundtrack created by Curtis Mayfield. We also were asked to do a classic blues-rock shuffle in the style of Bob Segar.
The rhythm section was tracked at AudioWorks in Charlotte with recording engineer Mark Lambert. Brandon Norwood (drums, percussion) and Jason Poore (bass) were tight! Flute, alto sax, tenor sax, and keyboards by Mark Catoe were tracked at my studio. Finally, Ted Kocher provided trumpet and B3 from his studio in San Diego. I wrote, produced, and played guitar on all these tracks. Here’s one from the session.
Huntin the World – writing a TV show theme song
Posted on 11 June 2011 | No responses
I just finished a new theme song for the television show “Huntin The World – Southern Style” which airs on the Outdoor Channel. The show follows South Carolina hunting experts as they travel North America looking for big game.
The goal for their new season is a dramatic theme. They completed the edit using temp cues but those cues lacked the flow and fit necessary to really make it work. I only had two days to write, sequence, and mix but the concept was fairly clear. The show’s season kicks off June 27 and will air weekly at 8:30am Sunday, 6:30am Monday, and 1:30pm Thursday. Here’s the final mix.
Ines de Castro – fun in the theater
Posted on 12 May 2011 | 1 response
Another great experience with Shakespeare Carolina! I wish I could have updated this before or during. We spent several nights in the Duke Energy Theater at Spirit Square. Just like last summer’s Macbeth, this crew does wicked theater (figurative and literal).
The reviews I’ve seen were very good. The play is a historical piece written by Jo Clifford. It’s based on the medieval King Pedro of Portugal and his lover Ines de Castro. 
It’s a very dark exploration of love, betrayal, revenge, and more. The deeper qualities of this work are hard to gather on the surface but it really explores the failures of humanity.
Again I worked with Jill O’Neill on sound design and original music. The sound design was kept to a minimalist blend of drones that illustrate the tension and dark elements. Music was a combination of medieval melodies played by processed harp, flute, and percussion. Personally I was stoked with our usage of Dies Irae as source material for a few scenes. The “Day of Wrath” just seemed to fit.
The “tech” I used was similar to Macbeth… Cantablie was my host software. The majority of sounds were created using Omnisphere. I used an 88 key controller to avoid transposing and a Trigger Finger for controlling knobs, sliders, and bypass functions.
Charlotte ViewPoint
Posted on 15 April 2011 | No responses
Charlotte ViewPoint is a non-profit group that publishes a free online magazine. They are publishing some very interesting articles. Recently they produced a video in conjunction with Social Design House. I’ve been working on my local network and was glad to provide the music soundtrack for this crew of local talent. BenJack is responsible for the video photography and editing. Suzie Eckl was the project director. A very nice job in my opinion.
Thanks to Karl Wagner of Pixelfab Studios for the contact. It just proves that everyone you meet is important for your professional network. Karl and I meet at CAVEMODE, ate some nachos, drank a beer at Lupe’s… and now I owe you one!
Thanks K.
Gig report – the hat-trick
Posted on 1 April 2011 | No responses
Three gigs in one night.
In 10+ years of professional gigs, I don’t think I’ve ever done this before and I’m not sure I’ll ever have the chance again. After all, this isn’t NYC.
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Using Sound & Music with Multimedia
Posted on 24 March 2011 | No responses
It’s not possible to master every angle of production and the most drastic division in skill sets is visual and auditory. To date, I’ve never met a producer of visual media who was also skilled with music and audio. At best I’m hoping that these concepts and resources help you implement audio and music more effectively.
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Film Score – temp cues and the process
Posted on 26 February 2011 | No responses
We’re in the final stages of the documentary Code2600. Hopefully very soon we’ll be crunching out tons of music. In the mean time the film is in edit and we’re starting to see some clips. Enter the temp cue! Temporary music is a complex part of the scoring process and, as Ken Karmen states, is a double-edge sword.
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