THE REEL DEAL

Access, privilege and a genuine taste of a film composer's work environment... That's what the ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis is all about. For the emerging composer, it's the equivalent of moving to the head of the line.



Twelve young composers eager to build their careers were chosen from a group of three hundred applicants. Before long, they found themselves sitting around a table talking with the heads of music for both major TV & film studios, along with composer agents and entertainment attorneys. They then spent time hearing tips on composing and orchestration from renowned, established composers like Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Even some of Hollywood's finest session players came to give helpful insight on working in this environment. In preparation for their recording session, they practiced conducting and podium procedure on a major scoring stage. All of this while working on an assigned scene from a recent release of a major motion picture. The assignment was to compose a three-minute piece of underscore within nine days and have their cues recorded and mixed with dialogue and sound effects for a screening at the Director's Guild of America theater on the final workshop day. At that point, their work was critiqued by their mentor, Richard Bellis, as well as other celebrity composers and industry professionals.

The recording session, which used the same musicians who recorded the original scores, took place at the famous Newman Scoring Stage on the Fox lot with every aspect of the recording process supported. Their scoring mixer was the legendary Armin Stiener and their original cues were copied hot off the presses with the help of JoAnn Kane Music Services. The timings, streamers and click tracks were meticulously created for each composer and coordinated by music editor Michael Ryan of Mad 4 Music. Finally, with the contracting help of Sandy DeCresent and Peter Rotter, the workshop provided the top RMA session players in the business.

All of this was produced by ASCAP to continue supporting the craft of orchestral composing for the screen with the hope of nurturing tomorrow's talent. While it would probably take years for an individual composer to get an opportunity like this, for the ASCAP Workshop participants this was a real chance to get there more quickly.

Workshop Requirements and How To Apply

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