Advice for developing new film scoring clients?

[davidhoffmanmusic]

Hey everyone -

I'm a composer and producer working out of Brooklyn, NY, and I've been lucky over the past year or so to build a solid resume of music for film - mostly non-profit mission videos and the like, with a few pro/am shorts mixed in. I'm really enjoying diving seriously in to this kind of work, and, as I said, I've been lucky to have been busy recently, but I have the problem that 90% of my work at the moment is for one client (a terrific local video production company). I have a reel that I'm happy with, but I'm at a bit of a loss on how to use it most effectively to expand my client base - any advice?

PS - you can see and hear my reel on vimeo here: http://www.vimeo.com/23910468

Thanks!

[lukievan]

at the risk of stating the obvious: call producers at other video production houses, chat them up a bit and ask if you can send a link to your reel. give them a week to check it out and then call back to follow up. usually they'll tell you that they will be in touch if something comes up but they won't. call them once every 2 months until they give you work or tell you to f*@# off.

[fossiltooth]

Mark Mothersbaugh recommends m Mothersbaugh recommends making friends with editors. If you're lucky, they might place your material into a rough cut while the music director thinks about what piece they're going to use. If you're extra lucky, they might get so used to your piece that they keep it in there for the final cut.

Will it work? I don't know, but Mark's had a lot of his music in films and TV...

Also: go to parties/conferences/screenings and make friends with lots of filmmakers. Couldn't hurt.

[sessionsatstudiom]

Also hooking up with film school students. It may not pay off today but the future could be bright with a few.

Just an additional thought to the other good things said.

Mike

[jhamburg]

David,

There's no shortcut for hustling. If you can afford to not be paid to build your reel than film school is great, also Mandy.com still has opportunities.

keep making stuff and keep track of your back catalog. Reach out to the editors who work for that video production company, they likely freelance as well and often need a library for temp score.

good luck !

joel

[losttrailnc]

i've been thinking of this as well. im an ambient/drone composer and id really love to get into film scoring. i think it would be rewarding, and would certainly pay more than touring. i'd like to tour less, anyway. but im in a rather un-artsy part of north carolina. a friend suggested i start contacting film school students regionally, and even contactin their professors to see if they can match up with anyone. if youre interested in building a film scoring resume, i cant see going wrong with doing student/arthouse films.