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Posts posted by Nathan Allen Pinard
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I'll hold till 2017 then, as I can't right now.
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Uh question. Is this is really long term deal? Because I might not be able to start at all till 2017, but from day one I've been eyeing Jealous and I'm getting close to done with another OCR Project.
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This episode I deal with keyswitching in Bravara Scoring Brass and using sustain to keyswitch in Cinebrass while layering both for Trombone/BassTrombone. Later on it's messing around with VSL Percussion (which is still one of the best basic perc libs that exists) and then topping it off by getting some of the staccato/spiccato strings in.
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Episode 12!
I work with Cinebrass combined with Impact Soundworks Bravara Scoring Brass in this one!
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Oops, forgot to post episode 10! Here is also episode 11 where we finally move into Studio One.
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Just one more episode after this and we're on to Studio One Pro and fancy samples!
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Episode 8 is up!
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Hi everyone! Small schedule change. Episodes will now come out on Wed & Thur.
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1 hour ago, Neifion said:
Payment. If you're going by minute, specify the rate. If you're going by track, specify the price per track. If you're going flat fee, specify the fee.
Also, the contract should be clear about when you need to be paid. All upfront, half upfront/half upon final delivery, installments, etc.
In truth though, and this is from experience, what you want is to have leverage. What I mean by this is:
Say the contract states that, upon final delivery, you should receive your payment in full. You finish the music and deliver it, and now you expect payment. But then your client just up and leaves. He never pays you. You try to contact him, but no reply.
Now, you have a legal contract. But in order to use it to get your money, you're going to have to find him and take him to court. That takes time. That takes money. And unless it's a high paying project, you'll most likely end up spending more money on a lawyer plus other legal/court fees than the money you'll be getting back. Not to mention all the time wasted and headaches induced when you could have just been paid and have moved on to your next project.
So what I do is I make sure I have leverage. I often ask for half up front, half before final delivery. That means I don't even open up my DAW until I receive the first half, and I don't deliver the music at all until I receive the second half. When sending works-in-progress, I send the very lowest quality I can that just allows him to hear the music: non-downloadable, set to video, mono (unless it's absolutely crucial he hear it in stereo), very low bit rate and sample rate, mixed in with dialog and sound.
The added benefit of this is that it encourages the client to not only pay, but to pay on time. If you deliver the music before they pay you, they can take their sweet ass time (or worse, never pay at all). But if you hold out until they pay, that forces them to pay you quickly because they won't get the music until after they pay.
As long as you're honest and upfront about it from the beginning, your client should understand that you're just protecting your butt. And if not, those aren't the types of people I would want to work with.Good points. I knew I missed a few.
Also some developers will try to get you to sign THEIR contracts. Read these carefully. Often the person that makes the contract has the power. They often will put a clause that the contract is broken if a certain thing happens.
I had one I edited myself after they gave me one to have me keep the rights. They initially wanted all the rights. This was a simply early access project.
Later on I had a family member (my own mother) do a voice for the game, which they were fine with but in the end they didn't like the voice. But I didn't give them the contract to sign before reading/recording the script. They looked at this as a breach and decided to re-write the contract to have them keep the rights of the music. I understand NDA breaches, but family, even if recruited, was a bit of a stretch to burn the contract imo.
So make sure that part is very specific. Generally your wife, brothers, sisters, whatever are going to hear and see stuff.
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YES. There are a ton out there that you can buy, or download for free. Some composers tend to make them available. I don't have a template at present, but it's something I need to do.
Basically the agreement needs to be legal "sounding" and have certain clauses to protect you. Things like this:
1. The amount (whether specific or a %) Sometimes it's best to do both. And most often in big AAA projects that is the case.
2. YOU holding the GRAND rights to the music. The only time this is ok is if it's a big AAA and they pay you a ton. Some companies will force this, or not hire you. You have to determine if you're ok with no having the right to post, sell, or ever reference the music you wrote for the money they give. Most composers say never do this, but some have, but only for big companies like film and AAA video game companies.
You are essentially giving them the right to use the music in their products and promotions for those projects. And only for that INSTALLMENT. So they can't use the music for the sequel, or spinoffs, or the movie/TV show, etc. Make sure that is specific as well. Licenses cover all platforms like PC, Console, iOS, etc.
3. The deadline.
4. Whether there are any penalties for the deadline.
5. Re-write clauses. (sorry I've never had these so not sure how to word them
6. Make sure the license is specific about where the law is governed. And make sure you know that law in terms of copyright and such.
7. Names, addresses, and signatures of both parties. No digital signing.
If you happen to be licensing music you already created, make sure to include whether it's exclusive or not.
That's all I got for now.
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Next episode is up! This one contains better audio, and even more cuts. These are getting down to 10-15min at most.
Please let me know your comments!
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Episode 6 is up! These episode are now only around 20 minutes edited from 1 hour long sessions.
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Hey everyone, you can see my progress on my Youtube channel. I've got nearly the whole thing notated by now, and I definitely pull out the stops on this one towards the end.
Every see Prince of Egypt where the red sea is parted? Yeah..kinda like that. (thought that episode hasn't happen quite yet)
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23 minutes ago, eluukkanen said:
Well yeah, its was a simplification, but it works. Of course you have to have the contacts or make them before these ones have any relevance..
If you're presenting yourself as a composer to them, those last two things which developers are looking from composers: Experience, Quality, really matter.
Yup, can definitely say the latter is most important, which is why I'm a crazy gear/VST head.
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21 hours ago, eluukkanen said:
What developers are looking from composers:
1. Experience
2. Quality
Those variables determine how much you developers are willing to pay. Its as simple as that.
Always after one succesful project, value yourself higher by raising the price. It is really effective way to raise your salary,
Doesn't always work that way sadly.
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Episode 4 is up. This one is much shorter and has some factoids in it.
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That is StaffPad.
Thank you for watching. if you have suggestions to make future episodes better let me know.
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Also the per minute thing isn't something that usually directly quoted. it's more of a gauge for you to figure out if what they offered is workable. Often times you come up with a flat rate for the project, or per track. Though the per minute model could be a way to advertise your services.
I try not to use it as a AAA project would definitely need to pay more vs. an indie developer as they have higher budgets.
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This isn't a question of composition or production half the time. It's knowing what to write. Most devs don't even want to TELL you what to write. They want you to figure it out youself. Some are a bit more picky and micromanage, but the two projects I've had I'd just write something and they'd say if it fits or not, etc.
If you're being paid per product minute, that generally is you being the musician of the project. Not just you writing a track that might fit the game, but you writing music that fits that game like a glove.
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Hi there!
I joined the Terranigma OST project a while ago and now am getting into the thick of it, so I decided to make a video series doing this, starting from the most valuable stage, notation.
In this video I utilize StaffPad, which has been extremely help. I'll be using StaffPad until all the main notes are jotted down, and then move on to sequencing.
Let me know what you think!
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16 hours ago, Meteo Xavier said:
I doubt most of us are going to work on ANY movie soundtrack, even independent VODs, what does the focus on cinema matter to the central question?
I suppose I could just read the topic for that answer, but since so much of it is just quoting ENTIRE MULTI-PARAGRAPH POSTS and wanking off academically, I might not find it.
It's not hard to get a movie gig (as in ANY kind of movie with ANY budget). It's just whether you are paid for it that's tough. There are a ton of college projects out there looking for composers, but no budget. It's a sound way to start. It's how I did. Not to mention Youtubers look for that as well, but it's harder due to the competition of music libraries.
Paths Less Travelled: Terranigma - History
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What is it you need done other than people getting their work in?