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THE
REEL WORLD
MUSIC
FOR COMMERCIALS - EAR TO EAR
I
My good friend Brian Banks runs Ear To Ear, one of Los Angeles' more successful
commercial music production companies. He provides a full suite of sound
services to advertisers; music composition, sound design, and final mix
facilities. He writes all the music there, but when he gets completely
overloaded he calls one of a few trusted people to take on some of the
top-notch spots he does for clients around the country. I only rarely
do commercials (it's just not something I've pursued), but when Brian
calls, and I have time, I enjoy doing it.
Brian is a complete pro, a spectacular composer and musician who has honed
his craft to a bright luster. He works quickly but meticulously, and has
done many of the commercials with which we are all familiar. To see and
hear his work, go to his great website, www.eartoear.com, and check him
out. You'll also see how a successful commercial company promotes itself
via the web. Brian is the last person I know who still uses the New England
Digital Synclavier as his main keyboard and sound source. Banks was one
of the first to invest in the (at the time) state of the art, and pricey
digital instrument. The rest of his composing gear is relatively simple
and utilitarian, a few samplers, a couple of analog and digital synths
hooked into a studio based on top quality audio.
His shop is a finely run machine with a support staff and crew. The facility,
about five blocks from my studio in Santa Monica, has recording studios,
sound design rooms, conference rooms for client meetings (with video and
audio feeds from the studios so they can keep an eye on things while they
make their endless phone calls), sophisticated dubbing facility, remote
location audio facilities, voice over studio, kitchen lounge and a day
care facility. It is a comfortable and client friendly place, decorated
in a funky mix of ancient European chateau and modern metal and glass.
It is geared lavishly toward client comfort and gratification. He knows
how to treat them very well.
While Brian is the brains of the outfit and it's main composer, he relies
on his producer Amy - a smart, seasoned and amazingly efficient woman
- to make things flow smoothly with all his clients and projects, of which
there are rarely less than seven running simultaneously. When Brian isn't
composing, the two are in near constant touch about every detail of each
project. When I am at Ear To Ear I am in constant amazement of what it
takes to make this ship sail. Commercial music is, musical skills aside,
a complex and highly political beast. And I am glad to not only be in
its periphery, but also to have people like Brian and Amy to buffer me
from it's darker corners.
Last week Brian called me to look at a spot for a newer east coast client
of his, as he was in the middle of a campaign for one of his biggest longtime
clients. A fairly straight forward but interesting 30 second spot (details
to be left vague for a reason). Very beautiful, very orchestral but with
a semi-orchestral budget. He sent the video over to me, which I digitized
and started to sketch. I was asked to listen to the temp track which the
client really liked - a stirring symphonic piece. I did. I wrote it in
a few hours and sent a CD to Brian with my demo using a 2 second "sync
pop" for syncing the music to the video. (In lieu of time code, I
put a sharp short audio click 2 seconds before the start of the video
- they use ProTools to align the demo with the video). I waited for comments.
Happily, Brian's only comment was to allow myself to veer even further
from the temp music. I loosened up and wrote a new melody to suit my tastes
far better. I sent a new demo over which Brian played for the client (please
note the near total lack of human contact between me and anyone else up
to this time).
The client liked it, and signed off with only a minor fix. I took this
opportunity to use Logic to prepare the score and parts for the first
time. It took me a day to do what I could have done in about an hour by
hand, but now I could do it much quicker and was pleased with the capabilities
of my still new sequencer. I prepared for the recording session by recording
those parts that would remain samples in the final mix along with a stereo
demo, the click and the sync pop. I used about 16 tracks in total. The
live players would go to a 3rd tape machine in his studio. Brian uses
TASCAM DA88 eight-track digital tape, so that was how I sent the tracks
over to his studio. Some day he'll perhaps switch to an all hard disk
studio, but "this works" is his motto for all of his gear.
Between finishing the demo and the session itself, Brian asked me to look
at another spot from the same client's campaign, a humorous spot involving
a the night janitor at a strange factory. He suggested a Mancini meets
Nelson Riddle style track, which is a bit of a stretch for me. I could
certainly do it with some time, but with a day to try, I decided to collaborate
with a friend who plays a mean jazz piano - a good complement to me. We
kicked something out in just a couple of hours and send it over. I knew
that Brianhad also asked another composer to take a crack at it as well,
so I put it out of my mind assuming that a real jazz musician had a much
clearer shot at it. You can't get too emotionally involved in these demos.
You do them and forget about them.
By the time of my recording session for the first spot I'd never heard
anything about the new one. I assumed that it went to the other composer.
I walked into the Ear To Ear studio and went about my business. Musicians
were setting up as I looked over the score and talked with a few of the
players about what I was going after. I had about an hour to get the main
part of the music done before a few overdubs and the mix. In all I would
have about four hours to record, dub and mix the whole thing.
As I stepped into the control room, there sat the client. Brian introduced
us. He was a somewhat intimidating looking man in jeans and a sweat shirt
(in summer??). We chatted amicably and within a minute or so he expressed
his 'concerns'. Why did this one bar sound different between the demos?
Will the live players be able to add some 'guts' at the end? Are woodwinds
a 'good idea'? (Why is he asking now after they'd already signed off on
it?) He was nice about it, but I could see that he was nervous. He steped
out to make some phone calls, and as soon as the door closed behind him
Brian and Amy gasp to me that this has been one of the worst agencies
they have ever worked for. Apparently this client has been demanding and
downright rude from the beginning. The client from hell. They are pleased
that he seems to like me, which doesn't exactly make me feel great.
The "client" works as a music supervisor for the ad agency hired
by the company whose product is being advertised. He answers to the "creatives,"
the team at the agency responsible for the ad or campaign. They answer
to the heads of the agency who ultimately answer to the advertiser himself.
So there is a long chain of command here and I am sitting at the bottom
of it.
When
he returns, and with this in mind I spend a few minutes calming his concerns
before getting to my job of conducting the session and getting a good
recording. Actually we have a good time. He gets me and my somewhat warped
and inappropriate sense of humor. We work quickly, and I make changes
on the spot to accommodate him. It is simply assumed that minds will change
and must be taken in stride. We finish and the musicians go home. The
client is really enjoying the session with me and asks if I'm doing any
of the other spots for his campaign. I mention the factory spot saying
I was waiting to hear back about it. His face twists for a moment as he
thinks and says that he liked my spot except for the very end. As a result
they planned to use the other composer's version, whose ending was on
the money. I politely said that I could accommodate his requests in about
an hour and he smiled. Had I not been in the room with him, I would have
been out of the running for almost no good reason. But as a result I got
the second spot as well. In fact, as I was walking out he stops me and
says, "did you see this other one? We'd love to have you take a look."
Please visit www.reelworld-online.com for resources and information about
music for advertising, as well as a whole host of other goodies. If you
have anything to share on the subject, please go to the Exchange and write
something.
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