Today I get to grips with a new project. This is one of the more exciting parts of my job… and possibly the scariest!
The brief is straightforward: science-fiction related, relevant to certain quotes, create a theme, make variations on that theme, several short pieces that would be suitable for ringtone download, one longer piece that would be good as an underscore loop.
I’ve been at this initial stage now so many times before. It can be an unnerving place to be, completely analogous to the author’s blank page when he begins to write his novel, or the painter’s blank canvas as she stands, poised with paint-loaded brush in hand…
But, because I’ve been here before, and every time I’ve (usually!) come up with the goods, there’s an amount of faith I’ve developed in myself to get the job done, satisfactorily, in the allotted time. That knowledge is immensely freeing!
I have to admit, I’ve already done some preliminary preparation on this – conversations with the client (goes without saying, really 😉 ), researching the quotes and their background and context, experimenting with creating a possible sound design palette, playing around composing with just this palette – so I’m not coming at this completely from scratch.
But that’s a useful point to make: do you ever come at any creative project completely from scratch?
Every musical sound that I’ve ever listened to will inform my compositional decisions today; every sci-fi related book, article or film I’ve ever read or watched will shape how I construct this genre-specific piece. More importantly, my subconscious has been working on this project without even my direction or say-so, since the very moment the notion of the project was put to me by the client – and this is a good few months ago now. I just have to allow my subconscious to bubble up into my awareness… and go play with the music .
So… I’d best get on with it then!