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No this is not about cleaning your ears out! Well maybe in a metaphoric way. Matt had mentioned “editor friendly” library tracks and MichaelL had asked for clarification. Matt’s response was:
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I think most editors would say that an easily editable track has these characteristics:
- a short intro, getting to the main idea quickly (no slow fade up)
- sticking to one emotion, idea, genre
- stays in one key (some editors like modulation, but it’s easier to edit when the music’s all in the same key
from beginning to end)
- for TV, ‘A-B-A’ is a useful format, with the last A section being a bigger version of the opening. For
longer tracks it could be ‘A-B-A-B-A’ (each time getting bigger) or ‘A-B-A-C-A’
- breaks in the music between sections, so that the editors can cut from those points to the end easily
– a nice solid, final ending, with a long ring out (there are always exceptions of course).
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Seems to me this would make for an interesting thread. Basic tips and tricks for writing library music. I have moved the comments that started this discussion to here.
It seems to me that the key to making a good living from library music is one of those aggravatingly ‘simple but not easy’ statements like ‘buy low, sell high’.
It’s something like: ‘write when you don’t have to.’
Six years ago I didn’t have any tracks in libraries. Today I have over 2200 – a combination of cues I kept the rights to (from low paying indie films and TV pilots) and tracks that I wrote when I didn’t have anything else to work on. I also opened up the sessions of a bunch of tracks I sold to libraries and changed them enough to sound completely different. Usually this was far less work than starting a track from scratch.
I’ve shared this advice with a lot of composers I’ve met up with over the years, but very few of them lacked the motivation to write when they didn’t have to, i.e. that it wasn’t for any particular project.
A well produced, well written track with an editor-friendly structure is money in the bank. Any successful library would be delighted to receive a set of such tracks. The other key to making a living writing library music is, of course, choosing the right library to give your tracks to.
I’m know I’m probably preaching to the choir on this site, but I’d love to hear your comments.
>It’s something like: ‘write when you don’t have to.’<
Hey Matt,
That's great advice, and should be written on every studio wall.
I know a few composers who can't/won't write without an assignment or deadline.
If you could elaborate on "editor friendly" I'd appreciate your spin on that.. Send me a PM if you want.
Cheers,
Michael
I’d take that to mean easy edit points through out a cue with clean entry and exit points. Matt?
I think most editors would say that an easily editable track has these characteristics:
- a short intro, getting to the main idea quickly (no slow fade up)
- sticking to one emotion, idea, genre
- stays in one key (some editors like modulation, but it’s easier to edit when the music’s all in the same key from beginning to end)
- for TV, ‘A-B-A’ is a useful format, with the last A section being a bigger version of the opening. For longer tracks it could be ‘A-B-A-B-A’ (each time getting bigger) or ‘A-B-A-C-A’
- breaks in the music between sections, so that the editors can cut from those points to the end easily
– a nice solid, final ending, with a long ring out (there are always exceptions of course).
Very good points Matt. Also the length of the track should be considered as well. I try to keep mine on an average of 3:00 or less, favoring the less side. You also make a good point of short intros and getting to the point as quickly as possible. I was guilty of long intros when I first started writing, but now I get to it in the first dew seconds.
I am also in agreement with “writing when you don’t have to” I try to write everyday for a couple of hours or so. Sometimes it’s fruitful, sometimes not. I really feel that a successful writer has to have a lot of self-motivation, and discipline.
How should you edit .30 & 60. sec cues.
Carefully.
Usually you want to pick good stand alone sections from the longer piece and end with button endings by the 30 or 60 second mark. Some suggest having your ring out be done at 29.5 or 59.5 but I’ve read that going a little further so that the end user can finish the fade out on their own is better. I try not to go over 30 or 60 but a *teeny* bit over when there is a long ring out is probably OK.
Sometimes I make the edits by working backwards from the full version’s ring out ending and finding a logical start point 30 or 60 seconds from the end. Other times, this doesn’t work and getting your short piece to end with a button requires more copy and paste or even some recording to make an ending chord ring out.
Advice: “Sometimes I make the edits by working backwards from the full version’s ring out ending and finding a logical start point 30 or 60 seconds from the end.”
That’s generally what I do as well. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll find the nearest logical point as close to the beginning of what would be the 30 or 60s cue and then create a mini intro, usually by copy/pasting in from elsewhere in the main track, always musically logical.
Sometimes, I’ll stitch a few different parts together to make the 30 or 60s piece, depending on how the main track is constructed.
Great minds…
Great minds?! Crikey! Ok. Maybe.
Forgot to add, depending on the track I may make two 30s, the second one using slower and more atmospheric parts.