I hope your curiosity peaked reading the title of this post. To be honest, I decided to name it specifically this way, as there are several aspects of what I want to talk about wrapped into the title. This will be a two-part post, so let’s delve right in. Ever thought about what it takes [...]

The modern composer lives in the software world these days, especially if you use software-based instruments to produce your compositions. If you hang apple-shaped curtains, then today’s release of Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard may pose a temptation for you: Should you upgrade, or should you wait? Common wisdom would dictate that you wait [...]

In April of this year (2009) the Christian Filmmakers site held a 36-hour short film contest. Participating filmmakers from all around the world were challenged to create a three minute short film within a 36-hour period. I was honored when Cory Taylor (http://www.coryalantaylor.com) asked me to create the score for an animated film he planned [...]

Learning from the professionals in any industry is of utmost value, that is, if you are serious about your craft. This is no different for film composers. While it may be relatively simple to add just any score to a film, the intricacies covered in Richard Davis’ presentation at the New Mexico Filmmakers Conference in [...]

Being a composer this may come across as self-serving, but believe me when I tell you that filmmakers should not overlook the importance of a composer, which they often do, knowingly or unknowingly. All too often I read in filmmaking forum posts about all kinds of crew members required or at the least suggested in [...]

Radio personality and video producer Ken Lawrence of Lawrence Multimedia and Norwood Christian Ranch recently interviewed composer John Doryk for the Christian Filmmakers forum. John has a long track record of producing music and sound design for film and video productions and he was generous to share his wealth of knowledge with those attending the [...]

As a composer, I find it extremely helpful to have a workflow in place that allows me to concentrate on the creative process and not on the technical aspect of writing. Mike Patti and Alex Pfeffer have created a set of video tutorials that are represented in the playlist below. If you are composing for [...]

Spectrasonics has long been a favorite sample library producer of mine. Atmoshpere was a ground-breaking virtual instrument when it was first released and Spectrasonics has followed up with another excellent VI in the form of Omnisphere. The latest incarnation of what they call a ‘Power Synth’ I would label a super synth and virtual instrument [...]

When composing for film or commercials, time often is of essence. That’s where the use of templates comes in. No matter which sampling library you use and digital audio workstation or sequencer, having a template to start fresh with is an absolute must. The template contains all the basic tracks of a composition and you [...]