With 17 of the most respected movers &
shakers in Film & TV, one of the best sounding venues in the world, & composers & artists from all over the country in attendance, LAMP's FILM MUSIC MECCA was THE place to be on
October 18th. Starting off with a complementary continental breakfast, connections immediately began to happen in the foyer, with the first attendee coming all the way from Modesto! "I
came extra early", he said, "because with the transit strike & all that going on, I wanted to be sure I got here & didn't miss a thing!" Good thing. Wall to wall attendance, with an SRO
crowd proved more & more musicians are realizing it's not all about being a rock star. The title of the very first seminar of the day told the whole story: "Production Libraries, your ticket
to a Dependable Income."
A brief break was followed by a seminar about Commercials & Video games, & alternate markets, lead by Jeannie Novak, and featuring Mark Northam, President, Film
Music Network; P.J. Bloom, Music Supervisor; Chris Baptiste, Director of TV/Film Music at Taxi; Jeff Kaufman, Film Music Agent; and Robert Urband, top Composer Manager. We learned that there's
about 30 major films made each year, while over 3000 video games are made. And they're looking for YOUR music!
Lunch was then followed by a session with Craig Garfinkle, Emmy nominated composer. Of special interest is that
Craig snagged an Emmy nomination using a modest home studio setup. "Please be careful!" he said as we unloaded his Toyota. "My entire life & studio is in your hands!" You'd
never have guessed the huge lush sounds coming thru the Mark Goodson Auditorium's THX system was done on a system that fit in the trunk of a small car! During the next
break, we chatted for a moment: "Competition is fierce for the big movies & projects" he explained. "I'm up against
guys like Hans Zimmer who have millions of dollars in their systems & budgets for real orchestras. But even then, sometimes I get to redo some of those stems & cues because
either the timing just isn't quite right, or a change is made in editing that requires immediate turnaround. I can do that. You can't do that with a big orchestra, & if my custom sound works
better for a cue, I'm in". We discussed some of the new sample based synth engines like Gigastudio, Contact & Halion. "For me, it's the ease of editing" Craig notes. "I'm not satisfied
with stock sounds. I like to create my own take on how things should sound, & need intuitive tweeking capabilities".
Following Craig's presentation was a "how to pitch" session moderated by local success story,
MARA. During a side discussion with Gael MacGregor of Uprising Entertainment, Gael discussed how sometimes the name brand artist gets the cut in spite of the fact there's much better
music to be had. "Marquee draw" is how she described it. "If you saw music by DMX in the movie credits instead of, say, Jimi Yamagishi,
wouldn't you be more inclined to buy the soundtrack album, maybe even go see the movie just to hear the music?" Gee, thanks Gael.
Capping off the event was a listening/critique session where dozens of cuts were listened to by most of the panelists & a couple of special guests as well.
As incredible as the seminars were, the networking outside of the main auditorium was even more valuable for many attendees, where most of the panelists stayed around for further
one-on-one discussion. CD's were exchanged, studios & musicians swapped business cards & stories, Ritch Ezra sold Music Biz Registries, & SongNet made its presence & services
known. For many regulars at these events, the networking & interaction outside the seminars is worth the price of admission.
Kim Erin, one of the event volunteers was enthusiastic about making those connections. "I've sent stuff to PJ Bloom, & meeting with him here not only confirmed he's legit, but also gave
him a little extra reason to remember me when my work comes up!"
"Meeting Gael was a epiphany for me." "Now I know what I really need to do!" "This is the best
event EVER!" "I never knew there was so much possibility!" Comments like these were overheard throughout the building all day.
From your monitor screen to the silver screen, once again, LAMP provides access, education & encouragement to all those that are serious about their careers in the music industry!
