Comments on: A 1-2-3 method to get stuff done

By: Kaylee

Kaylee — Mon, 23 May 2011 10:29:13 +0000

Thanks for sharing. What a pleasure to read!

By: Steve Rault

Steve Rault — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:02:21 +0000

I know it’s a bit uncool to respond to your own post but I like this discussion. I just finished an opener/closer for a lifestyle TV show. The brief was, “I like the ones with guitar in them”… I’ve learned to ask more questions to aviod multiple attempts at deciphering a brief. I got a basic idea of what this guy wanted by asking lots of questions then got straight to work. I essentially had 48 hours to produce a finished product. Try getting as much info from the client as possible. I have found that often the people who make decisions about music are not always able to communicate what they really want and sometimes they don’t know what they really want. I’ll always ask them to give me examples of a song or piece of music to help get closer to their vision. I find that if I have clear direction and purpose, I can produce more efficiently.

By: Steve Rault

Steve Rault — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:35:12 +0000

Yes true – all projects are ridiculous, impossible timelines. The challenge has always been to produce the best quality work within time provided. So, deadlines are a fact of life in this biz. Sometimes a short deadline can really sharpen your focus, allowing you to produce stuff you may not have if you had the luxury of time. I think short timelines are just one of the parameters that composers need to factor into their working style and develop a set of skills and compositional techniques to deal with these challenges.
Steve Rault
Melbourne AUSTRALIA