Ian Hudson: Music composer and musician in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Going to start doing these blogs after I talked to Brandi and she said it would be a good idea. Sam does his plugin Fridays and I teach Piano performance and Music theory at my College so figured it would help people out here. The term "Counterpoint" comes from the Latin "Punctus Contra" which means "Point against Point'. It was first made popular by J.S Bach in the Baroque times and I've studied and performed many of his pieces on piano and acoustic guitar and they have influenced many modern Composers like Beethoven and you can find some part of Vivaldi and Bach's influence in every one of my own pieces. Counterpoint is about having 2 voices that are INTERDEPENDENT harmonically which means they are different but also DEPEND on each other. You can have a basic chord of C major that is interdependent on a counterpoint arpeggio of G major because those 2 chords are INTERDEPENDENT of each other both harmonically and contrapuntally. You can't have a counterpoint really of a C major and B minor because they aren't interdependent chords harmonically. You could do it but it wouldn't sound too great. For example take a basic chord of C major and it's really easy to counterpoint it. Just play a C major with your left hand and a C major Alberti bass with your right which is c, e, g, e, c naturals and then a c major scale up to g and back down to c again. There you have the most basic version of counterpoint because the chords are interdependent on each other both harmonically and contrapuntally. Take Bach's Prelude and Fuge #17 in a flat major which is a very basic version of counterpoint. You can see that the song is in A flat major which means its basic counterpoint which it is interdependent on harmonically and contrapuntally in this example is A flat major's harmonic fifth chord of E flat major. In this piece Bach takes a basic counterpoint in the scale from A flat to E flat and back again and then inverts them keeping the rhythm of the counterpoint the same but changes the chords back to G flat major and back to A flat major and the scale goes from the bass to the treble clef and back again. Anyway I could go on for another 10 pages but going to try to keep these short. The link to Bach's prelude is below to listen to and if you come up with any counterpoints of your own post them. If you have any questions post them as well. -Chris Weatherwax https://youtu.be/J5zqq_g32cU

Came across this today, and thought I'd share it with you all. http://www.underscorer.com Looks like a way to get into the library music game.

Hey everyone! What do you think makes a good and outstanding demo reel?

I have mine, what are yours?

Hi Regina, thanks for the network request! I'm curious to know how you got your start in producing. Also, what films/tv shows have you produced and what are you currently working on? If you're ever looking for music for your next project, let me know! I write mainly classical, new age, choral, piano. Check out my Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/ian-hudson-2 for samples of my work. I look forward to working with you in the future! Ian

Brandi, you've come so far in such a short time! When I met you over a year ago, you hadn't a single credit to your name and to see how much you've grown is incredible and inspiring. One of the things I love about you is your positive attitude and your willingness to help others. You're outgoing personality makes it so easy to talk to you and the combination of those traits is what creates those network connections and scoring opportunities. Well done!

Hi guys! I've been a member of this community for a while now, but unfortunately have never found the time to actively participate in everything that is going on here on Stage 32... and by the looks of it, I have missed out indeed! I'm Valentina, I currently live in Italy and, like most people who work on the artistic side of the spectrum, I spend my time juggling between working to pay my bills and working on my pet projects: it can be a challenge, but hey, I guess that's what videomaking is all about! In Italy, the dubbing industry is really big: Italians dub everything, movies, tv series, cartoons, reality shows, videogames... I work mostly in this field, as a translator and dialogue adaptor. My job consists in translating the original dialogues, and then carefully writing down every sigh, hiccup, laugh and shout the actors/protagonists may utter; shortening or lenghtening the dialogue in order to make it "fit" on their lips, and trying to convey American, Canadian and British play on words, puns, jokes to an Italian audience... all while trying not to stray too much from the original script. It can sometimes be really trying work but, when you manage to get it right, it's really rewarding! I also work as a videomaker (writing, directing, camera work and editing), and I'm currently setting up a crossmedia company with a friend and colleague. Looking forward to meeting you all, have a great day! Valentina

Hi Rupert! Thank you for the network request, the Twitter follow and the Soundcloud favorites! I really appreciate it! I'd love to hear some of your music!

Hi everybody! I'm the owner of a small production company called Blazing Moon Productions. I'm based in rural, west central Nevada in the small town of Hawthorne. Currently I'm writing the screenplay for a feature length suspense/thriller called Tamarack Beach that I plan to shoot next spring.

Well, heck - doesn't that sound like Goldilocks and the Three Bears? lol This topic could be ripe for discussion and I am doing it 'from memory' so I hope my data is correct. The is this ongoing question - when you score a film, how much music does it need? Of course the answer is 'it depends' and the answer could be very different depending on whose 'perspective' you use - the consumer / director / producer or the creator / the composer. But should there be a different answer and are there any 'rules'? I have seen Hollywood/studio feature films on both ends of the spectrum and every result in between. Now if I remember correctly in the Tom Hanks film, Cast Away (scored by Alan Silvestri), aside from the end titles I can only remember one short cue of about a minute in the whole film (towards the end on the raft). On the other hand, "Hook" (scored by John Williams) is significantly scored. The only 'rule' / guideline I have ever been told is that action without dialog is more likely to be scored (especially if there is no supporting Foley) and I need to be more 'frugal' with score behind dialog. Of course, the decision(s) on scoring especially for large budget films are often done at 'spotting sessions' and captured on a spotting sheet. But that will generally not happen in low to small budget films - or in the case (which is just what happened to me in my latest feature), where the director delegates the complete the decision to the composer. So if you are tasked on not only writing the cues but also deciding on where they should go, what do you do? One thing to consider is that imho, features may not use the same criteria as shorts. One reason would be the sheer volume. Unless you had an unlimited timeframe to work with, by the time you get the film, it is the end of the process and they want to mix the audio, colorize, and get the film out for distribution (whatever that means). Writing 2 hours of music no matter how fast you are is going to take a long time. I am personally not very fast. While I once scored 6 1/2 minutes in one night, I 'typically' average 2 minutes a day and a fully scored feature would take me 2 months full time. Generally/rarely do I have more than about 2 to 3 weeks. Here is another thing to consider. Many of us (not all of us), consider shorts as our 'walking stick' - or resume. It is not normally our money making project but our ticket to the feature league. So most participants in a short want to show off and put their best foot forward including the composers. There is then that fine balance between scoring professionally with tasteful music that supports the film without it sounding like a personal symphony and using the music as the 'calling card' to get a feature to score. So it is not surprising that sometimes (or perhaps more than sometimes), a short may tend to get 'over scored'. I will admit that my recent three shorts over the last two months were likely over scored. And by over scored I mean over 90% of the film has a score. I scored a 35 minute short with 31 minutes of music and the two other shorts of 4 and 9 minutes were almost entirely backed by music. The 'stakeholders' loved the score but I have now stepped back and looked at the result. Sure the music sounded great and supported the film and make the last two shorts more prone to winning their competitions (where most of the entries have no music at all or use public domain music). But now that I am about to score a 90 to 120 feature with a 'carte blanche' by the director to put cues wherever I professionally deem them necessary, I will be very much sensitive to not over-scoring. By the way, I can not recollect there ever being a feature film based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears though that story has similarities to other fairy tales like Snow White. Can anyone think of a feature based on that fable/fairy tale?

My one hour dramatic pilot REQUESTED by ICM! Thanks so much to Joey and Stage32 - you guys rock! Best of luck to all the other Happy Writers! Craig Nobbs

Hi! I'm Sarah, a recent graduate from Hollins University and an aspiring screenwriter. I primarily write science fiction (probably because I love science but hated math too much to go through all the classes to get a career in astronomy or genetics). I've completed one feature script and am working on my second—I need to build up my portfolio. My favorite part of working on a screenplay is revision, especially when given feedback. I also love research...maybe a little too much. I interned last summer at Principato-Young Entertainment, which I loved mostly because I got to read and cover scripts most of the time. Once the managers found out I actually enjoyed writing coverage, they sent me lots of scripts, even if I wasn't interning under them directly. Since I love scripts so much and they teach me a ton about how to hone my own craft, I'm trying to get my foot in the door by hopefully finding a job in a story department somewhere. Until I find a job in this industry, I'm keeping busy writing, entering competitions and fellowships, blogging, and working as a copy editor for a publishing press. I've read great things about this site and the community, so I'm very excited to join up. Thanks for having me!

Hi everyone, By way of introduction, I'm a film/TV producer with executive experience working for two A-list stars and as a studio exec at Universal Pictures. Here's a TV show announcement with my name in the first paragraph - http://deadline.com/2013/11/starz-heartbeats-drama-development-hypnotic-627646/\ I've been a silent lurker on Stage 32 for about 6 months, and I've just spoken to Stage 32 Director of Education Shannon Stegall about getting more involved in the community. I am planning to teach a class or do a webinar soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions that I might be able to advise on, please feel free to post them or message me, and I'll try to answer as soon as I can. I work in both film and TV, live action and animation, and I work with both US and foreign talent. In particular, one of my former bosses is Australian, and I do a lot of work with Aussie filmmakers. When I have time, I take on script/marketplace/packaging consulting clients. I do not have a website, as I've worked strictly referral-only to date, but I may expand after teaching for Stage 32. You can also follow me on Twitter at @ReginaLee_LA. Sorry I cannot accept unsolicited submissions, which will be deleted UNREAD. This is not to be rude. I'm following standard submissions policy and protecting both you and me. I look forward to meeting you! I am happy to accept all network requests as long as no unsolicited submissions are sent. Thank you!! Regina