Fake IMDB Credits ...

AFX Industrial (film scores)

IMDB Credits, everyone wants one but are all of them for real?

A long list of IMDB credits looks impressive and I used to think IMDB credits were really important.  I know that a lot of directors and producers tend to use them like a CV when they're deciding who to give a job to.  It can be a useful way to see what someone's worked on, but like anything on the internet they need to be taken with a rather large pinch of salt.  I'd like to share a story with you, about a director with a rather strange hobby ...

In 2009 I was invited to an interview for a film scoring job in a church hall, in inner city London.  It was a little strange to have a meeting in a church hall, as I usually get together with the director in my comfortable studio or we may meet up in a coffee shop.

I arrived on time but was kept waiting in the kitchen until Mr. Smith* (*this is a pseudonym ...) was ready to see me, hmm curious.  Finally I was allowed to enter the enormous 1970s type hall and directed to an empty desk slap-bang in the middle of it with Mr. Smith on one side and me on the other ... job interview style.  I'd brought my laptop (as I usually do when I have a meeting about a film) so we could go over a few ideas, you know, normal stuff.  But, unfortunately all of the plug sockets were 6 meters away, behind the plastic chairs that were stacked haphazardly around the sides of the hall.  And my power supply lead was only 1.5 meters long. It wasn't a great start and felt more like an interview the local benefits office might force a long-term unemployed person to attend.

I do remember Mr. Smith had set up the wooden table in such a way that the sun streamed through the plate glass windows behind him.  This slightly dazzled me, and as it was such a sunny day I could only see Mr. Smith in silhouette ... I needed my shades.

And people think meeting with me will be formal?

I couldn't really gauge how the rather stilted interview was going, and after a few uncomfortable questions Mr. Smith finally asked me what sort of music I would write for a film about the Church.  I didn't need to think about it, "I'd probably use the Church Modes", I replied.  These really exist by the way, they are simply scales used by the early Church, but I'm sure he thought I was being facetious.  It seemed he wanted to keep this formal and 'interview' like so I suggested that, having studied for my music degree in a theological college and minored in theology itself, I may be just the man for the job.  But I'm sure he thought I was being facetious again.  It was painful, and I could tell Mr. Smith was not interested.

It's just, well, if you're looking for a composer for a film about theological dilemmas and you don't want a composer who knows anything about music or theology then maybe your advert should read:


'Composer wanted for theologically based Feature Film - would be helpful if you didn't know anything about music or theology.'


The film has still not been made (and presumably hasn't been scored either), although Mr. Smith did advertise the same composing job a few more times. He also advertised again some weeks later for a cameraman ... I guess all the cameramen who turned up with previous experience of operating a camera were unsuitable too ;0)

So I moved on to the next project. 

Pretending to make films.

However, Mr. Smith's name kept cropping up. Months passed and I began to notice a curious pattern to his online adverts. He would advertise for various unpaid crew, cameramen and personnel for a film one week.  And then the next week he would advertise for unpaid crew for a different film but use the same plot description, as if he'd just copy-pasted it from the previous week.  Again, a couple of weeks would go by and then Mr. Smith would be looking for a composer for yet another different film with a different title but use the same copy-pasted plot description.  Curiouser and curiouser!

It was very intriguing ... almost like watching someone unravel mentally.  Mr. Smith had seemingly become addicted to creating fake movies to work on, but the most baffling thing about it was the identical plot line for each film.  I know that if I was preparing adverts to display the fact that I'd lost my mind I'd at least put a bit of thought into the storyline of each one.

A year went by, then out of the blue Mr. Smith sent me some test footage to pitch to ... It wasn't for the main feature film I had been interviewed for, but it was for a short film using the same plot description I had seen on all the other adverts.  Another new film with the same plot?  I decided to do the pitch and this time, I got the job - but he balked at paying me so I moved on.

You all know how long it takes to make a film, especially if there is zero budget.  But by now Mr. Smith was juggling at least a dozen different projects with no funding, no crew and no music.  But still, there was something quite compelling about the whole situation with Mr. Smith - his name even turned up on a few film making forums in the 'avoid' posts.  At least it wasn't just me who had noticed.  Meanwhile the adverts became more demanding, Mr. Smith even changed his name to disguise himself (and created some fake 'employees') - but the same plot line he cited for all of his films was a slight giveaway.

One advert read something like: 'composer to create 40 minute violin concerto in style of Mozart for short film - no pay.'  Mozart spent his entire life perfecting his concertos.  A violin concerto is not something composers generally rattle off in an afternoon (for free!) for some stranger on the internet.

But now, rather than leaving 'Mr. Smith' as his contact name he was asking the respondents to contact 'Anna' or 'Denise' and this time he was offering an IMDB credit as payment.  This piqued my interest so I checked Mr. Smith's IMDB page ...

Film makers all know how long it can take to make a film, especially if you have no money at all, but Mr. Smith had miraculously managed to complete at least a dozen in the space of six months!  And he had 'future' credits for films due to be completed in 2014, 2015 etc.  And, you know, the funniest thing of all was that a lot of the personnel and crew had the same names as the pseudonyms he had used to try and attract unpaid crew 'anonymously'.

I even clicked on some of these bogus crew members on the IMDB website and the only films they had worked on before were Mr. Smith's films and that was only in the last six months.  So, it seemed rather than actually making films, Mr. Smith had spent the last six months creating not only bogus film credits for himself but also IMDB pages for all of the fake crew he required.

You'll often see the same names cropping up continually in film making, but I was damned if I could find any external info for any of his crew ...

The film industry is small, and if you've somehow annoyed people to such an extent that your name is appearing in the 'avoid' forums, then you need to work hard to put that right - or quit.  I've seen the IMDB forms required to register film releases and believe me, filling them in takes a considerable amount of time and effort ... Falsifying IMDB credits will ensure you are never taken seriously again.

I have my own IMDB page and even films I've scored with known actors haven't appeared in my credit list yet, mainly because like any crew member, I'm reliant on other people to submit the data for the film.  I'm sure its not impossible to figure out a way of getting past the IMDB checks and fooling their system into thinking fake films are real ... But the burning question is why would people go to all this effort?

I had that question answered shortly afterwards by an industry guru from the 'old school'.  We were chatting over coffee in London one day - I wanted to know why one of my competitors 'Johnny X' had been given a job over me.  Even the industry guru admitted my scoring abilities were far superior to Johnny's ...

"Well then why?"  I asked.  "Well dear boy" the guru croaked "He's got an IMDB list as long as your arm!"




Your comments are always welcome.



- David.

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How To Talk To a Composer.

AFX Industrial (film scores)

'According to research 50% of the directors and producers out there admitted to finding the whole subject of film scoring rather tedious.'






I don't think they find music tedious, I think it's simply because music isn't an immediate, visual medium like film.  Conversely, all the directors I've spoken to agree that a score (and the way a film sounds) contributes to 50% of a film's success.  I feel some sort of paradox has just occurred, although to simplify lets just put it down to a lack of communication between the directors and composers.  He he.

Why is music a difficult subject to discuss?

I think music, especially orchestral or classical music is perceived as something much more high brow than it really is - but, like Spanish or Dutch, music is simply a language.  Are people who speak these languages high brow?  Of course they're not they just learned their language through study and that's exactly how you learn music.  It's a subject available for anyone to learn at any time in their life, that doesn't strike me as particularly high brow.

So, what is the mysticism surrounding music?  At what point does music become this 'anima' this self perpetuating entity that has a life of its own?  Consider this, are you (subconsciously) more in awe of Lady Ga Ga the Black Eyed Peas or Tchaikovsky?  It's usually Tchaikovsky for most, but why?  Well I'm not going to answer that question in this blog, no because today we are simply looking at how to talk to a composer.

Let's talk Music.

There you are in the composer's comfy studio and its time to talk music which, it seems for quite a lot of film makers is a bit like going to the dentist.

And this is how we discuss it ...

We talk about color, we talk about the point the music enters to the frame - because unlike real life your film can be broken down into 24 or 29fps, however in real life there are no simple subdivisions.  Scoring can be so precise that you could have a musical event on every frame if you wished, surely that quantifies the misconception that music is somehow 'random' and 'haphazard'.  It isn't.

We decide where the silence should be and why.  We discuss the overarching storyline.  We talk about the emotion of the scene and the underlying narrative and back story for each character.  We discuss favorite instruments from bongos to bassoons.  We look at suitable pieces to use to emulate music coming from a car radio or a CD player in a diner (known as source music).  We ponder on whether the film is 'big' enough to warrant a large orchestra - or would a more intimate ensemble do?

We discuss every scene in your film and decide when the music enters, what it does and when it leaves - just like an actor.  In fact it's very much like writing a part for a character in your film.  How exciting is that?  To have a brand new character in your film that you didn't even know was going to be in it?  But all this time have we really been discussing music?  Have I mentioned one overt musical utterance?  Well, no because discussing the very mechanics of music itself would only slow the process down.  A bit like me suddenly deciding to spend the rest of the spotting session talking in Dutch.

The Secret to a Great Score.

From a director's point of view the secret to a great score is to care about all of the above, it really is that simple - and as you can see no real knowledge of music is necessary.

The Secret to a Terrible Score.

According to almost every director's response, the way a film sounds and how well the music compliments the imagery contributes to the success of the film by a staggering 50%.  So, by ignoring this you are effectively giving your film 50% less chance of being distributed, sold or even liked ... There are a lot of films out there all vying for the same distribution deals as yours.  In fact there is so much competition to get into festivals and to get onto VOD platforms like Netfilx/Mubi/LoveFilm etc.  You really have to have a great product or it will fail.

I think today there is a tendency to shy away from the importance of great music in a film.  I can only put it down to there being a bit of a phobia about music in general ... Maybe, in the last couple of decades music has not been taught in schools adequately enough - I do know the education system's emphasis has been on science rather than art lately.  Could it be time to tip that balance in favor of the arts again?

'Imagine if you had no knowledge of the color BLUE what impact would that have on your film making?'   

 

 

Music is also one of those arts that is only appreciated to the extent of our own knowledge of it - and sadly an average person's encounter with orchestral or classical music only really takes place when they visit a movie theater.  Would those millions of people have felt the same way about a rubbery ET without John Williams' score?  Of course not.

To put this lack of musical knowledge into perspective just imagine for a moment that you had no knowledge of the color BLUE what impact would that have on your film making?  Similarly without an in depth knowledge of music how could you ever know what musical or orchestral colors were available to you?  You couldn't, but this is what a trained composer brings to your film, a set of sonic colors that you had no idea were available.

Music Only Affects Us in Real Time.

There is also another frustrating aspect of music that faces directors - it has to play back in real time to have the desired effect.  With a Quick Time video you could easily flick through and get the gist of what you see but a 12 minute Mahler movement only really makes sense in the final moments.  You can't just flick to the end of the Mahler and 'get it', no, unfortunately the whole 12 minutes has to be listened to in it's entirety ...

And that is kind of how music works it's cumulative.  The affect only really becomes apparent after a certain amount of time has elapsed ... Think of Ravel's Bolero.

There are certain techniques a composer can use to thrill and move an audience but these techniques can take a good 90 minutes to achieve, which is why better composers tend to chase feature films.  They know they simply cannot achieve these desirable musical effects within a short film.  Trying to prove you are a good composer over the course of a 3 minute film is impossible, this is also true for pitching (scoring a disconnected scene) to show your skills.  Some composers may feel relief that they don't have to focus on one thing for too long, but for a professional composer pitching is a stifling and uncomfortable procedure.

The Personal Aspect of Music - Letting Go.

Undoubtedly music is a very personal thing, I understand how directors feel about this.  In fact to some it's so personal that they want to create the music for their film with their own hands.  I can see the frustration.  I sympathize, I really do.  I often wish I could perform dentistry on myself, but no matter how personal my mouth is to me in the end I have to offer it up to a stranger in the dentist's chair.  And in a similar way you need to give up your film to a trained composer if they are to extract the odd musical tooth and perform fillings.  Letting go of a project that has been dear to your heart for so many years is hard but it's increasingly impossible to wear every hat, especially if you want a finely tuned, salable film at the end of it.

Patience is a Virtue.

Of course it is and if you are a film maker then you'll know that only too well.  But patience isn't just about waiting for things to happen, patience is also about seeing an idea through from start to finish.  Throwing a few pieces of music at your film in the last month of post-production is not exercising patience ... Back in the day composers would score scenes as they were shot, working hand in hand with the director's vision - patience.

Film, like any great art form is all about those wonderful lines and curves and arches, if everybody was in it for the long haul then that will show in the end result.  Film scoring and film making cannot be rushed they need to be practiced with the same people on board over a period of months even years.  More than anything great art needs to communicate with the audience it seeks and that will only happen if its creators have communicated unequivocally during the creative process.


- David.

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Your comments are always welcome.

Visit my website here: http://dchewitt.com










 

Why Getting Your Film's OST on iTunes Matters.

AFX Industrial (film scores)

If you follow me on Twitter you'll have seen my tweets about getting your film's official soundtrack (OST) onto iTunes and Amazon.   Today we'll look at how doing this can be very beneficial for your film, from boosted sales to heightened audience perception.

Marketing, the antithesis of art?

If you've just finished your film then you'll want as many people to read about it, talk about it and see it as possible.  But unfortunately, many low budget films fail because they never find adequate ways to market and distribute themselves.  I know from first hand experience that after funding, shooting, editing and grading their film many directors simply give up and fail to market it at all.

Of course, I totally understand that.  Being a composer I often felt that simply completing a musical work ought to be enough ... Well I used to feel that way.  Until I realized that if I didn't sell my 'works of art' he he, then I'd end up working in Macdonalds with no time to work on my art at all!  We must sell a piece of our work before we can invest in a new project - and unless it's a hobby for you then that is the nature of the game.  It's inevitable.

But marketing a film takes many shapes and forms, T-shirts, posters and of course the humble soundtrack CD.  And there it is.  It may seem humble until you realize how deeply companies like Amazon and iTunes penetrate this little planet we live on, then a globally released OST becomes a very desirable thing indeed.

'Imagine the soundtrack to your film available to billions of film and music lovers across the globe!' 

 

From Japan to India to Iceland to Brazil iTunes, Amazon (and many other online stores) now have total monopoly over CD sales.  My record label (Affex Records) now sells CDs and Mp3 albums in territories and cities I've never heard of ... There's a world of hungry consumers out there and they need feeding.

Imagine the soundtrack to your film being made available to literally billions of film and music lovers across the globe!  The CD cover alone is one hell of a great advert for your film!  And, if we consider the amount of people that hear a score before they see a film - it's a great way to market your movie.  But please don't think this kind of marketing is just reserved for blockbuster movies, we always include a global CD release as part of our standard scoring package.

However, I'm not writing this blog to plug what AFX can offer you, no I'm writing it to raise awareness of the marketing potential available to film makers.  With an OST release you can enjoy marketing that you probably never even considered.  It's this or MacDonalds right?  Right.  Just checking ;0)

'an OST release adds a whole new level of coolness and credibility to your film'.

 

The Kudos Factor

OK, marketing lesson over let's look at the inherent coolness of having your film's soundtrack on general release worldwide.

Soundtracks sell films, you only have to look at the popularity of Clint Mansell's Requiem for a Dream score to see that.  Used everywhere from the X Factor to the Olympics - its a global hit!  That weird little cult film was dragged from obscurity into the mainstream all because of Clint's stunningly poignant score.  I loved the whole film by the way, not just the Jennifer Connelly scene ;0)

As for how your film is perceived it goes without saying that having an OST release, either before or on the actual day of your film's release adds a whole new level of coolness and credibility to your film.  Don't you think?

Fans like paraphernalia

Yes they do!  I remember being obsessed with my favorite artist and never being able to find enough physical 'stuff' to possess that was attached to the artist.  Maybe you got old and cynical but real fans are often young and hungry for it - sell 'em stuff!  They want it!  Your film's OST CD could end up in cars (more advertising) on the radio (more advertising) on Mp3 players as shared files (more advertising).  And every time the soundtrack is mentioned, looked at or listened to the name of your film is what people will remember, not the composer not the distributor but the name of your film.  Priceless!

Isn't it complicated?

Well, yes I'd be lying if I said that planning your score from the very first note on paper to a bar-coded, globally available CD and Mp3 download is easy.  But at least you as the director don't have to worry about any of that stuff ... That's my job.

Of course having your OST available as a worldwide release will undoubtedly improve the image, notoriety and sales of your film.  But before you take this road you must be brutally honest with yourself ... Do you really want all the publicity and exposure this can bring?  Do you really want people to see your film?


- David.

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What is Temp Tracking?

AFX Industrial (film scores)

Today I'm looking at Temp Tracking a film, what it means and when / why you may need to do it.

The concept is easy -  'temp' stands for temporary and 'track' refers to the music track in a film, but why have a temporary music track at all?

 

Why original music isn't always better music.

In the 50s and 60s a lot of TV shows started using music from a common pool - a library of recorded music known then as 'mood music'.  This was primarily to avoid the cost incurred with hiring a composer and getting a bespoke piece recorded ... So, the producer would choose from a catalog of tunes on vinyl looking for something appropriate for the show.  Many of the pieces chosen went on to become minor hits of the time, especially the ones used for the opening and closing credits of the shows.  The audience loved them and often asked if they were available in their local record store - eventually the publishers saw the revenue potential and released the pieces.  Many of which had become theme tunes in their own right.  That's how it happened, music that started out as a temporary solution to the scoring problem just kinda stuck.

Fast forward to 2013 and we see this scoring solution being used more and more frequently.  Many Hollywood directors will temp track a film with their favorite composer's score, simply to give them a solid pulse to edit to.  Much like music, film making is all about the timing.

One of the most famous anecdotes stems from Jerry Goldsmith's score for the first Alien film.  Apparently they'd already temp tracked Alien with a score that Goldsmith had written for a previous film, even discarding his newer Alien score in favor of it.  Of course Jerry was hopping mad until they reminded him that it was still ALL his music.  I think when he realized they had chosen his own work over his own work it kinda negated the insult. 

But let's to get back to the point I made in the title, why original music isn't always better.  I deal with a lot of film makers on a lot of different levels, some want to talk to me about it and others simply can't be bothered to discuss music ... However the one thing I do come across repeatedly is the misconception (especially among amateur film makers) that specially written music is better at all costs.

In this hypothetical scenario I get a call from a low budget film production company who need a score in a few days (it happens frequently).  I explain there's a contract to sign and then the score needs to be written, but if you pay $X you will get my full attention ... Then I hear those immortal words 'we have no music budget at all'.  OK by now a day has passed so I have even less time.  I explain that in the best interests of the film, at least for now, it will have to be temp tracked with an existing score.  But they are adamant they want original music and now we have two days to go ...

So I'm a bit stuck here, they called because they had heard my work and love the quality of the music - good to know!  But when I try to explain that those scores were commissioned and the studio time was paid for and that much time was spent over the mix and production - and that is why they sound so good, it falls on deaf ears.  They don't want to pay a penny.

The pre-written scores were available for just a couple of hundred bucks even though thousands of dollars went into the initial production.  Ultimately it filters down to your audience.  Temp tracking means an audience gets to listen to really well recorded music on your film, while you pay a fraction of the music production costs.  Only you know it was music meant for another film.  Believe me, with the editing, pitch shifting and time stretching tools available today your audience will think it was specially written.  Plus it sounds great because someone else has already paid for it to sound great!

I hope you can see that quite often bespoke music or the idea of bespoke music can actually harm a movie, especially when it is a freebie and done in a rush ... The audience are your prime target and they really don't give a hoot if the music is original or not.  Making movies is about pleasing an audience if you are making movies for any other reason then sadly it may remain a hobby.  Of course, an audience is also made up of people like you and I - film nerds and fanatics, we need to please them as well!

In the end, a really well written and produced temp track score, that once had a lot of time and love lavished on it will please your audience.  It will definitely please them much more than one that's been thrown together in the last few hours of your post production sessions ...

So, if you've run out of time and need to score your film in a hurry consider temp tracking - it's a traditional, recognized and often better way to solve your scoring dilemma.  Your fans may eventually find out the score was a temporary solution, - but only after you release a coffee table book to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of your most successful film ;0)


- David.

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Amazon

visit my site here: http://dchewitt.com