Pictures from CA
I’ve done a horrible job of updating my blog as of late and I have no excuses. Lately I’ve been working on original music for a half time field show for Marching Show Concepts. This is actually the very first time I’ve ever tried to write a complete work for marching band, even though I’ve been around it for decades and working directly on music by other composers since starting at MSC. It has turned out to be an incredible challenge. I’ve been focused primarily on the opener and have about a minute finished, but it has been definitely a labor of love, with emphasis on labor. Poor Bets has heard me come out of my studio several times declaring I’m in the wrong profession and that everything I write is garbage. But I’m pushing through it and the opener is finally starting to take hold. I still have a long way to go, but I finally feel like I just might actually be able to make it happen.
As part of this blog, I’m going to upload three pictures from CA! All three were graciously given to us by TCM and were taking by their professional photographer. One is a picture of the 5 finalists and Hans Zimmer.(Goose-bumps!)
The second one is a beautiful picture of me and my wife shortly before the final award ceremony.
And the last picture is of the banquet hall where they held the ceremony. You can see they really went all out in decorating. That’s just a small sample of what an amazing job they did taking care of us.
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Much Metta, John
Young Film Composers Competition Winners
Young Film Composers Competition
Check it out… They’ve posted all 5 finalist clips!
Much Metta, John
YFCC Day 1
TCM has been truly an amazing experience! I’ve had many people ask me to tell my stories about it, so I’m going to share them over the next couple days. There’s so much to tell, it’ll take me a while to get through it all. So, here’s day 1!
It all started Wednesday morning. Betsy and I were rushing around getting the final bits of our luggage together and straightening up the house. We were ready a little early, so I thought I’d put the luggage in the driveway. I opened the garage door and my heart skipped a beat as I see our driver waiting to take us on our grand adventure to LA! (It was very thoughtful of TCM, by the way, to even arrange a pick up at our house! Thanks to Ashley for taking such good care of us.)
Our flights when off without a hitch, first to Chicago and then on to LA. I love flying out of Fort Wayne because it’s such an easy airport to maneuver through. Betsy and I are great at traveling together, too. We each help keep the other on top of everything as we’re navigating the airports, and then we love to settle in to a couple of episodes of Scrubs on our iPod. It makes the trip fly by, so to speak.
Being picked up by a stretch black limo at LAX is a thrill I recommend to everyone. 
The driver was great and talked to us the whole way to the hotel about all the famous people he’s driven, who’s nice and who’s not. As we neared the hotel, he pointed out various points of interest including a 24 hour diner name Mel’s Diner, and the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are held. And before we knew it, we were there…
After we checked in to our room, the first official event of the week was a cocktail dinner with the other 4 finalists, 3 of the past winners and the TCM crew. As we were approaching the patio Betsy was the first to spot last years winner, Marcus Sjöwall. After quick introductions from the TCM crew the conversations started and I was immediately struck with just how open, friendly and genuine everyone was. Ashley, Cathy and Mike with TCM obviously loved this event and were eager to make sure our time there was special. At one point in the evening, I broke out pictures of our pugs, which Ashley and Cathy went crazy over. (Who wouldn’t!) Somehow that lead to them all singing my happy birthday! It definitely made for one of the most memorable birthday celebration I’ve ever had. By the end of the evening Betsy and I felt right a home with our new friends in LA. Oh and we were starving. (The cocktails were great, but not enough. Neither of us had eaten since lunch.) so we ended our night with a delicious and somewhat expensive room-service grilled cheese. I’ve gotta take care of my wife, right?
Next time: Day 2
Hello from LA
This has been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in a very long time! I have to say, Turner Classic Movies has been absolutely wonderful! They’ve treated us like royality and exposed us to some of the giants in the film scoring world. I even got to sit on a couch in Hans Zimmer’s studio, just 5 feet from the man and ask any question that came to mind. (And ask I did!) Betsy and I have had an absolute blast.
So I’m sure you’re wondering how the competition went? I was honored to be the third runner up to the grand prize, and for my very first effort I have to say I’m thrilled. I suppose you could say I was 4th out of 450! So, it’s back home for us tomorrow and back to the keyboard for me. I have to start getting ready for next year…
 Much Metta,
John
PS – Pictures to come very soon. Please check back!
Off to LA!
Hey everyone. Sorry for the long silence. I think once I finished my entry for the competition, I just needed some time to rest. Well, we leave tomorrow morning for CA, so I felt I wanted to post one more update before I go.
First off, if you haven’t checked out my home page or music page in a while, I have the latest version of my entry posted. They are still password protected, so if you would like to see my entry and don’t have the password, email me at john at mettaaudio and I’ll send it to you.
I have also taken a moment to post a copy of our itinerary, so if you want to know what we’re doing, you can follow along. Betsy and I have been working hard to get ready for our trip. As you can see by the schedule, there a lot going on and we’re going to be meeting SO many talented people at the top of this industry. It’s an incredible opportunity for me! I’ve got new business cards printed and I’m ready to start shaking some hands.
In case you didn’t catch it, I’ve also posted a copy of the 21 Country spot shot by Eric Olsen and Jeff, his photographer. They did an excellent job, I think. I was definitely flattered they wanted to do a piece on me. When they arrived I was pretty nervous, but that was quickly put to rest as the two of them bantered back and forth firing joke after joke. They’ve obviously been working together for a long time and enjoy what they do.
Well, I can’t type much since I have to finish packing. Or should I say help Betsy finish packing. Before I go, I have to give her some credit. She’s worked SO hard to get everything ready for this week. I can honestly say there’s no way I could have done all this without her. She’s a blessing in my life in the truest sense of the word. All my love to you, Bets.
Have a great week. I’ll be sure to let you all know how things turn out. As far as I’m concerned, no matter what place I get, this has been an amazing experience.
With love, John
TCM YFCC is in the Mail!
Well, it’s done. And I even took a weekend to recover from it! The package is on it’s way to Georgia and should arrive by 3 pm tomorrow. I’ve had many people ask to hear it, so I’m posting the final version online here:
I know some of you have had problems viewing my clips. Everyone’s computer is different so it’s very hard to troubleshoot and I’m a composer not necessarily a computer guru. In order to help out, here are my quick recommendations:
- Turn off the pop-up blocker. I make the movies pop up in a new window so you don’t leave the blog, but some browsers block it until you tell it not to.
- Wait. Sometimes on Windows machines, it takes a while for the clip to load and it looks like nothing is happening. Once it loads, then all of a sudden it will show up and start to play.
- Make sure you have the latest version of Quicktime. It’s what I make the video for and can be downloaded for free at http://www.quicktime.com
- When all else fails, just let me know and I can put it on a DVD for you. How’s that for service?
I have to say two things about this whole process of writing to this second clip. First is I honestly can say I am truly happy with what I sent in. I really feel it is the best that I know how to write at this stage in my development and the rest is in the hands of the judges. Secondly, there is a part of me that’s terrified I’ll actually win! Given how much work went into this 90 second clip, I can only imagine writing 70 minutes of music in only 3 months. I guess on the bright side, I already have 2 minutes and 30 seconds of it already written. Anyway, I won’t know if that’s even a concern until August 4th.
Oh, and one final note about the piece. It starts VERY softly, more so than the other versions, so you may need to turn it up a bit or you’ll miss the begining!
Thanks again to everyone who’s been following along. Many of you have contacted me in some way to offer thoughts and words of encouragement and that’s really meant a lot to me.
Live . Love . Listen
John
Yawn
It’s 1:30am and I just finished printing the score!! It’s been a long night, to say the least, but I feel pretty good that I’ve done just about all I can at this point. Tomorrow I’ll check my mix again, package it up and send it on its way.
But for now… Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Be well, John
And ahead of schedule, too!
Ok, everyone, here’s the latest… I actually have music written to the entire clip, and I have to say, I’m pretty happy with it! I’m still working through a few spots, mostly re-orchestrating things like changing a harp part to a bell part, or taking the cello out of a melody. You know, that kind of thing. Other than that, I think I’m done with the composing phase. The next step for me is to start mixing the audio so it sounds more like a real orchestra, and to start the process of creating a score. That’s never an easy process because there’s SO much detail to keep track of, but it’s much easier once the audio is done.
So you want to hear it?
There you go! Take a listen and see what you think!
Also, I’ve added a guest book for everyone to sign.
Let me know you’re out there and following along. You can, of course, always leave a comment on the bolg as well. Thanks again to everyone who has contacted me in some way to express their support.
Much Metta, John
More to share!
Got another sample up! I’m getting closer and closer. This is the first time I’ve posted the entire clip. You’ll notice all I have now is a silent part in the middle, so you can see I’m getting close.
If anyone needs the password, email or call me! I have to say, I have been almost obsessed with this piece. I can’t leave it alone. I spent all afternoon and a vast majority of the evening working on it, and I just can’t stop. It’s like a tick. There have definitely been moments of insecurity through this whole process, but I have to say my whole being resonates with doing this. I feel like a kid. I get all revved up when it works, and I can’t stop thinking about it when it doesn’t. I forget to eat. (And for me that’s NOT good!) I can’t get to sleep. I find I just don’t want to do anything else. It’s a blessing and a curse, for sure, and I love every minute of it.
So, things to notice on this version:
The video file is a bit bigger. I wanted you to hear a better sound quality so I bumped up the compression a bit to achieve that. My 2-pop is in. (That’s the beep at 2 seconds so they can line the audio with the video.) I have an ending, at least for now. I think I’ve identified the emotional climax. I’m not sure if I’m in the right place or not, but that will work itself out as I fill in that last section. I think that’s a very important moment because it’s the very first time you really see her and see what’s motivating her. And it’s the reason he choose not to strike her. Of course, I could have it wrong and that music needs to be as he tosses her. Only time will tell.
Ok, that’s all for now. I’m bone tired.
Thanks for following along!
Much Metta, John
I only have one more week
I only have one more week.
I’ve got to say it again so it sinks in… I only have one more week. Oh, and the last two days I have sat down to write, I’ve run square up against the unyielding wall of writers block. I’ve never worried much about writers block, and this was no exception, because I find that it just takes a few fitful nights of sleep for my subconscious to finish processing whatever it needs to process to get the juices flowing. Since the fitful nights of sleep have been my reality for the last 2 nights and I’ve fed my brain with a healthy dose of good music for inspiration, I’ve finally been able to write some new music and have even broken the half way barrier. And none too soon, because I hope to have the audio part finished by the 4th. I know what I’m doing over the holiday! The good news is that I absolutely love writing music, and that Randy (my boss) has been gracious enough to give us a 4 day weekend, so I have no other obligations but to hammer it out.
So to thank those of you who are still reading, I’m posting my second sneak peak. Again, the link is password protected, so if you’ve misplaced the username and password, feel free to send me an email or give me a call, and I’ll give you access.
Since the first version, while I was struggling with what to write next, I did spend some time on the brass parts and feel much better about them. I even have my first John Williams moment. (There’s a brass statement that reminds me of his style…) Pretty much everything leading up to the hair pull and through the end of this clip was written tonight, and I have to say, if you crank it up enough the grab is pretty satisfying! The end of this clip, although along the right lines for what I want, is obviously incomplete.
So there you have it. Be sure to check back again over the next couple days, and I’ll continue to post my work as I go. Oh, and I have to include the usual caveat… Do get too attached to anything just yet.
Thanks again for your support. It means a lot to me that so many people have contacted me in one way or another to encourage me, share with me their thoughts on my music and let me know they are following along. Enjoy the clip and have a great Friday!
All the best, John