If the melody or chord sequence or distinctive rhythm part existed before you start working on it no, if it didn't then yes. If you are the originator of the purely composition material then yes, if you're just reconfiguring to picture no. If you've been asked to put it into a minor key, transpose the melody from the violin to the cellos no, if you've been ask to write a hero theme that is using the same sounds as the rest of the show then yes. It's a minefield but for me you know when you've written something in your heart. Its the difference between having a child of your own and looking after someone's that you care for deeply. A great example of where you're like to actually write something is when a composer asks you to copy the temp. Quick tip, don't copy it too much or else neither of you will get the royalties.
@@TheCrowHillCo Christian, any chance you can do a video on this question? What a great subject. I think these intricacies need to be explained in more detail.
2:42 1. Be in the moment 4:59 2. Flight mode 6:33 3. Make tea 8:26 4. Read the room 11:15 5. Your opinion is none of our business 12:32 6. Who's been sitting in my chair? 14:13 7. Listening and taking notes 15:46 8. Leads 17:15 9. Versioning 20:50 10. A university you get paid to attend 21:32 11. Don't be stinky 22:57 12. And for God's sake... (back up) 23:06 Five golden rules to being a good composer to your assistant 23:14 1. Acknowledge your mistakes and congratulate when its the case 24:26 2. Don't bully 24:45 3. Remind them to back up 24:48 4. EMPATHY 25:12 5. Take care of each other
Christian, these videos are a constant source of invaluable information and also entertainment. Really appreciate all the effort you put in to these, it's really admirable.
This was fantastic, and the 5 golden rules for composer’s at the end was pure icing on the cake. Thank you again Christian for putting out such valuable content
Thank you for addressing leads. I literally had a minor fight with someone about that earlier today. As a session musician, I've seen people do the arm thing often.
I have liked many of your videos, but found this one quite horrific. The relationship you describe with juniors is totally antiquated. I'm exactly your age, but only in music as a hobby, and work in a different field, in medical research, (neuroscience specifically, in international clinical trials of first-in-human drugs, so certainly no less stressful, timeline-dependent or technical than your field, I'm sure you would agree). So my relationship with PhD students and junior post-docs is probably analogous to yours with composer's assistants. Except, it seems there is is no similarity at all . The steep, deferential hierarchy you describe is abhorrent to me. I make the tea for them, just as often as they do for me - it's a sign that I treat them as equals, and value their worth. If I ask what they think of an idea or a recent scientific publication, and they just tell me, 'yes it sounds great, would you like a macchiato', I would see this as my failing to encourage their confidence in their own judgement, and willingness to express it. I specifically tell them that I don't want yes-men. I hire them because they know more about certain things than I do, and I value their input, as complementary, not subservient, to my own. They have more recently trained in techniques that I learned 30 years ago; often they know the answer that I'm struggling for. I may have a broader context to reference specific things against, but you are missing out on the knowledge you don't have, if you train them to keep quiet, don't be seen, don't open your mouth, make the tea, sometimes with a biscuit, but not always. Honestly, I'm shocked at your description - you're describing a servant, not a highly educated music graduate. I also don't want them to change who they are, depending on who walks in the room - you display an unnerving sense of superiority in this. You'll probably dismiss this as not being from your industry, so what can I possibly know. Well, some things are universal, and you provide no justification at all that your industry should be permitted wanton abandonment of respect and treating juniors with dignity. You are not their superior, you simply arrived there before them. If my son or daughter encounters a boss like you, I would advise them to leave, and find someone who understands the value they bring, and can grow in a mutually beneficial relationship. I'm honestly shocked by this video - it reveals a different side that has not been so evident before.
I wrote this before getting to the end, so appalled in what I was hearing, that I couldn't wait out the whole sickening 26 mins - but I didn't get to the point in your video about making sure you, as the assistant, leave the seat an hour before your composer will sit in it, because they shouldn't have to sit in a warmed seat. Honestly, the self-aggrandizement here is almost pathological! It makes me gag! Who do you, or any other composer who expects this, think you are? You betray an incalculable level of self-importance here, that you have decried in others in previous videos. Truly staggering. My advice to any potential assistants reading this: Christian has done you a favour, as you can now apply for other positions that are not based on 18th century ethics of subservience. If I didn't know better, I would expect that your childhood was spent at a public boarding school, and having been called 'Fag' by the older boys and subjected to their malicious superiority, went on to carry out the same to your own juniors, and never left these barbaric practices in the time from whence they came. Since I understand you're, like me, a comprehensive school chap who transcended the trajectory typically expected of us, you don't even have that as an excuse, and should know better.
The few useful tips (backing up, being organized with version control, even correct cable wrapping (thanks, I learned something there!), is unfortunately lost for me, in all of the rest of the patronizing superiority that the other points drown in.
Last point (I know, it's obsessive at this point, but things like this really annoy me): at 24:30, you state: "if your assistants fear you, and not the consequence of their actions, then they will cease being honest with you, and your worst nightmares will come true". How is this momentarily accurate insight consistent with having previously advised them earlier in the video (11:15) that "Your opinions are none of our business". How can you expect any degree of honesty when you have specifically directed them to only be positive when asked for their opinion, because their opinion is none of your business, and then lament the nightmare that ensues when they are no longer honest with you! The incongruity here is baffling. What on earth are you expecting of these people, in order that they know when you ask them of their opinion, whether they should provide their honest reflections, or the required banalities to uphold your fragile ego? I don't think mind-reading is part of the typical graduate course in Music. Final point: you have always struck me as a fair-minded person with community-based values, which you have acted upon (eg Pianobook, LABS, charity donations from Spitfire and I've no doubt many other examples which I'm unaware of), and I have defended you from detractors on this and other forums as result. But I cannot reconcile the views in this video, however mild-mannered they are espoused, with the online persona you have created, and for me, it fundamentally undermines the credibility. I hope you can explain, or otherwise, dismiss me as a Russian bot that Orchestral Tools or 8dio hired to discredit you. Interested to hear your thoughts. You don't owe me an explanation of course, and are free to ignore this rebuttal of your video, but if you're going to promote such draconian views on how to nurture the next generation of talent, I think you owe it to yourself to self-reflect a little more on this, and to the audience you're apparently advising, on what basis you feel composers should be allowed to abandon common decency to allow them to behave in this way - the last 5 minutes wasn't sufficient to make up for the preceding diatribe, and indeed, was self-contradictory.
Not a film composer. Not a film composer's assistant and will probably never be either. Yet this was another classic video so full of real world strategies for success, it is one of your best. Thank you!
Very kind thank you. Something I didn't mention (or rather ended up on the cutting room floor) is that I spent my childhood in voice over studios watching my (actors) parents do voice overs. So I was conditioned not to make even a hint of a sound, not to move, simply do nothing. I had a sudden realisation recently that whilst it was conditioned into me, this was a pretty unique life skill to be equipped with and one that most people don't have especially if they didn't study this stuff at college. That inspired me to make this video.
Thank you for putting out all of this material! I've been a lurker for over two years. As someone who's starting to dabble in media composition (coming from an entirely unrelated career path), your channel is extremely inspiring.
I'm about a month from finishing my studies (just high school here in au) and have several plans to get some experience in a working musical environment. Your videos in general and especially this one make me very excited for the future, especially as someone who has absolutely no connections to anyone in any kind of music industry except for my piano teacher. I'm excited because while my experience is severely limited within a professional environment, I really look forward most to meeting loads of people from which I can learn and share my time with. For reference- been playing keys for about 11 years, FL for 4 and saxophone for 6, and I'm really interested in synthesizers but I don't have the time or money to build or buy my own right now (exams).
Best of luck with it all. Two pieces of advice, don’t get yourself into debt or stretch yourself monetarily too much by buying equipment. Whilst it’s lovely to have it is largely unnecessary. A computer a sound card a decent set of headphones and a mic is all you need. Secondly in order to meet new people hook into the various talks and seminars being held in your town, there will he meet ups, and if you’re agreeable and polite composers agents are always willing to meet new people and if they like you they will remember you when one of their clients go “help I’ve got a deadline and I need an assistant!!!”.
What Christian is describing is both correct, and a form of slavery that needs to stop. Under the excuse of the job’s pressure and not having being trained as HOD, too many composers get away with mistreating their assistants, and on top of that, paying them pennies. I for one have worked for $9/hour and even less, and have heard as a condition to be hired: “we want to make sure that your dream is not to be a composer”. We need to stop this non-sense abuse, and while I think CH/Spitfire can be -and has been- a key factor in this change, I’m not sure this video will help in that regard. What @Rugby_League_Saint eloquently explained is a must read for all composers, and I would like this topic to be openly talked more and everywhere. And I’ll be more specific: assistants are collaborators, need to be paid >$40/hour, and should be fully credited for what they do.
I would say slavery is too strong a description and is a word that you should not throw around so carelessly. I don’t suggest here that assistants shouldn’t be compensated correctly. BUT should be massively aware of the very complex hierarchy that they are working within. I think a good piece of advice to people challenging the concept of social hierarchies and meritocratic compensation is “good luck with that”. Try seeing without a hierarchy!!!! My film is an aid to success. If you don’t adopt the principals I suggest in this film then I think your chances of success will be lessened. There is nothing wrong with being a good assistant. But being a good assistant is what I describe here.
Phenomenal advice (thank you)! Have/can you add a video about how you got your jobs as a Composer’s Assistant? I’ve only been following for a couple months and love your videos/humor. Thanks!
A great video Christian, and thought-provoking stuff in the comments, which is always good to see. Thank-you. Plus views of the Water of Leith. And that's a wonderful collection of pencils you've got there...
I was doing photography work part time for a while and was taking a class from very successful photographer who started the class talking about using studio lights and assisting other photographers and the first thing she talked about was how to properly coil the cables. She mentioned that anyone who has sailed probably already knew this. As the owner of a small-ish sailboat at the time, the first thing I learned about sailing was how to coil a line. It's the same everywhere it seems.
Great video as always, Christian. Just love this priceless real-world advice for up-n-comers, albeit sometimes difficult for people to take reality on board...thank you for sharing :)
Excellent video, and excellent description of the studio environment. For anyone who might chafe at Christian's advice, I humbly suggest you listen to the section from 22:30 to 22:55 a few times. I have worked most of my career as a record producer and I have contributed a fair amount of music to film and TV projects. But when I first moved to California 30 years ago, I found myself working as the composer assistant for Paul Buckmaster. Being in that environment was extremely valuable. I learned so much about composition, arranging and sound design. But I also learned the difference between being talented and having the professional skills necessary to get and keep the client. I saw the difficulty of dealing with the rejection of very good ideas. I saw the need to fight off the competition, and champion a concept without alienating the director, the producer and anyone else who had an opinion. As the assistant, I got to be in the room, but I didn't have to build the room or pay for it. This is why the assistant's job is so important. If an assistant can help keep the studio situation running smoothly, and do things that keep the composer focused on the job, that assistant will be deemed to be worth their salt. That person will help the composer get over those difficult moments just by being a support instead of a hinderance. That person will not need to ask, "when do I get credit?" They will get to advance. It might not be the composer who give them the shot. But it will be the composer who put them on the stage. Someone who was also in the room will notice the professionalism, the good attitude, the helpfulness and the humility, and they will give that person a shot. It might be a director, but more likely it will be a music supervisor, artist manager or even a producer. And of course, if one doesn't want to go through all that, they can skip the assistant part, and just try their luck at being a composer. Either way, those lessons will have to be learned, and mistakes will be made. But it is harder and more career-damaging to make those mistakes as a composer than it is to make them as an assistant. Remember, the composer might get the credit, but they also take the on responsibility and they get the blame when relationships and projects go wrong. And yes, wrapping cables is crucial. In the heat of the moment, when inspiration strikes, when the client is in the room, when the composer wants to try an instrument or a microphone and the cable is crackling or damaged, that will absolutely kill the vibe of the session. And if the client is there, they could literally re-think the entire deal. For all the assistants out there. Thank you. Good on you. Your time is coming. And he (or she) who lasts longest, wins.
Hello Christian, atm I believe I have good tracks to send and show, but the quality of the films that I've worked on is not the best quality... I am waiting for two projects to get finished, which I believe will be of really good, but I do not know if I shall wait for these to start sending my CV to high level composers, or just start now. I finished my degree on Classical Composition last year, and this year I ended my masters on media compisition, which I got a 9 out of 10 marks. Shall I sending my work now, or wait for the good stuff to be finished? Thank you very much for such great advices and quality information, I'm a big fan. Best wishes.
I started to jump into music production roughly 1.5 years ago. Everything was new to me, and due to my civil work I needed to travel to the northern england 1 year ago for 4-5 months so I knew that I need to spend this time without music. During this period I spent my free time to dive into the theoretical and technical part of music production - this was the time when I got to know Spitfire, I also actually realized that two of my favourites are in collaboration with Spitfire that I did not know before (Hans Zimmer and Olafur Arnalds), and also I found your channel Chris just after I have been to Edinburgh (and to Arthur's Seat) for the first time which was followed by two more occasions so everything happened like a big coincidence. I just want to say thanks for your work at Spitfire, and for your videos, keep it up! :)
Priceless information. Thanks for explaining the why behind everything. It all boils down to relationships. Like every relationship, the more value we add to any relationship the more valuable we become.
Christian - love your stuff. Want to cut to specific question: the versioning point. I've spent c20yrs in software world having done music before, and I am amazed that you (music people) don't have a tool for versioning projects. Git and github (which allow coders to version things trivially) have evolved to the point that they are the social network of code, the protocol etc. Is there really no solution better than file naming conventions? I mean this out of interest, curiosity and slightly wondering if this is not a problem to be solved......
You are so right on musicians missing on a versioning system. I started on Envy (IBM Smalltalk) which was already miles ahead of current cvs because of the self awareness of the smalltalk vm. I now daily work in Perforce, and prefer a library based cvs to a decentralised version like git. I was very interested in the backup system that Presonus Studio One kinda allured to for version 5.0... Unfortunately, it's a barbaric attempt at saving a zip backup of your project online... it's no where near what it should be in this centruy... The fact that there does not seems to be any way to synchronize a laptop DAW and a desktop DAW so you can work on the road without having to move files around is barbaric at best. In the meanwhile the closest you can be is by using Google Drive and Backup & Sync... barbaric.
Seems to me that a VCS like SVN might not be a terrible tool? I know it's used for media assets and such in some situations (I've seen it used for games).
This video was so, so useful. Finding a placement for my final year at university is next to impossible right now, so watching this has given me some excellent pointers I might otherwise have missed out on. Now excuse me while I go and back up my work.
Hi Christian, wonderful video thankyou, I'm about to move up to Scotland for atleast for the next year, and was thinking of getting in contact with composers and seeing if they needed any assistance or if I could come and shadow them. I'm mainly from an engineering background but trying to improve my composition. any tips on how to reach out or places/people that may have use for a young assistant/extra pair of hands like me?
little audio problem at 10:53, maybe a complicated situation with a lot of road noises (?)... Anyway, your videos are absolutely gorgeous on my iMac 5K !! I really love your vlog, always eager to see each new video
One rule to composers: Never ask for an opinion if you actually don't want an answer. If you need a mental back rub go somewhere else : ) But I think discussing creative issues with your assistant is part of training your assistant.
@@RLeaguer_Saint Except this isn't an academic situation. In academia, the academic is paid to teach and the PhD assistants/students are paid to learn. This is a job. It's title is Assistant. The job description is to assist. There often isn't any time to teach, let alone compose. Hence the need for an assistant. [EDIT: I see that this point has now been addressed elsewhere by Mr. aHenson, but it's worth noting this isn't his sole perspective... ] I think their is a basic misunderstanding here of the role. Yes, respect. Yes to not treating your assistant like a servant. Yes to an honest and open humane relationship, but within the very clear boundaries set within a close two person, intense working atmosphere. Hence these 12 Golden Rules. They serve the assistant as much as they serve the composer. It just isn't the same as say running a huge sample production company with a huge team of people paid to be full-time-creating creatives. Hence the need for this video. Nor is it like running an academic department. It's about the job of assisting a composer in an insanely deadline driven atmosphere, beyond the deadline pressures of say producing academic papers or executing research programs which operate under completely different time constraints. This job is more akin to keeping the composer (in the long run) alive, and assisting (in the short term) with keeping the composer sane and productive. And that's what the job description infers, and for what the wage is paid for. Otherwise, young composers who are looking primarily for an education should seek to be mentored by classical composers who work under far less industrial coal face circumstances and probably have all the time in the world to be chummy and elaborate for hours about their artistry and craft. I'm sorry to be blunt, but not everyone is cut out to be an assistant. Those who are, have what it takes to become successful media composers. And they (the assistants who become successful media composers) won't expect to be all chummy with THEIR employees, nor expect them, the directors and producers they work for, to make them cups of tea. Yes it's all about respect and humane interaction, unless you're a complete dick like Ridley Scott, in which case you've got to swallow it, until you can afford not to work with the asshole any more, but yeah... this ain't the cosy life of some ivory towered world.
@@duncanthompson957 So, I guess you’ve never heard of Research Assistants, and I guess you think all research is academic and conducted in universities? If so, then I have to tell you that the parallel exists commonly: juniors who are paid research assistants in companies, small and large, working in high pressure environments, in which the livelihood of both research director and assistant is dependent on their productivity and adherence to strict timelines. The output is not primarily scientific publications, but industrial, market-driven, profit-dependent biological research resulting in new medicines. This is the field I’m in, and to which I’m drawing legitimate parallels. The difference is, I don’t expect subservience of my research assistants. I don’t treat them as if their role is to meet my personal needs, whether for cups of tea, doughnuts, unwarmed seats from their rears, or learning how to not aggravate me when I scream at them. I do happily give them credit irrespective of who is in the room, I do want their honest input not just sycophantic endorsement. Based on this video, none of this can be said of Christian, or the composers who endorse such rules. If you feel producing underscore to film has such unique and unparalleled importance that it transcends these basic levels of decency, then both Christian, and you, have lost your perspective, and I, as one who shares all of the elements of the interactions with juniors in my field, but none of the toxic attitudes to relationships with them that you do, am pointing this out to you, and anyone else in this industry who cares to take a step back and rethink the working environment of those who are simply at an earlier stage of their career than us, but no less deserving of respect.
oh boy... the one thing I'm glad I learned in my undergraduate time at uni was how to wrap a lead properly...the studio guys would get SO pissed about that, and at the time, 18 year old us thought they were just assholes but if I had to watch all my leads get slowly ruined by a never ending stream of snotty 18 year old students then I might eventually get pissy too.
Excellent video as always. Long time lurker on this channel, I'm just about to finish university next year and am planning on/trying to move to London after graduating (I'm not in or from the UK) A few questions- 1)Would you say that it's more challenging for someone to get a job as an assistant if they're not local because of potential Visa hassles? 2) Is there a specific skillset that most composers look for? What if, by chance I don't happen to work on the same DAW as them but learn quickly? 3) How does one approach a composer to request work as an assistant, especially if they're not currently in the same location as them (but willing to move asap)?
1) Yes, being an assistant you have to be local and legal. 2) Pro-Tools, you have to know pro-tools (it is very very easy to use so get a copy and learn in anger now), get good at Logic for UK and both that and Cubase for USA, chances are you'll be on one of those, if she / he is on something like DP they will expect you to learn on the job, and not come pre-equipped. Being able to program up basic samples in Kontakt is probably a big bonus these days.
The posh coffee tip is brilliant, And partly explains your choice of locale there in Leith. Your assistants there have a good selection of coffee facilities close to hand...
Number 8! THANKYOU!!! The number of times I've politely asked my band mates and people doing "sound" for bands I've played in, "please don't wind my cables like that", only to hear something like "how are you s'posed to f**king doing then genius". Makes my blood boil!! Especially as I have a guitar cable my Dad used to use in the 70s that still works fine, because he didn't, and I don't wind it up like a fool!!
Insanely good information for not only working as a composer's assistant buy working in a studio in general. Now for the real question....how do i get the job....
Your videos are amazing, Christian! Thank you for sharing all your experience! 😊 How do you think one can get to be a composer’s assistant? I mean... what would be the composer’s preferred way to be contacted or found in need of an assistant! 😅
A question. After becoming an assistant and working for a considerable amount of time,how and when do we get to know we are all set and ready to start out as an full on Composer?
It is composers who are constantly changing behaviours to mould their workflows to the rapidly changing world of writing applied music. Therefore the experience you will gain watching a composer work at the true coal face will always eclipse anything you could learn at college with regards the actual craft and process of being a head of department.
7. Yes! Everybody in the media industries should know the correct way to coil a cable. It should be mandatory training for any and every role. Imagine you are a producer or director asking for some overtime, and can then help out at the end of the day with a little helpful cable coiling. You will be a god.
Cables: NOOO!!! Cables are twisted litz structure inside so by coiling them you are tightening thin cores or loosening them which leads (pun intended) to cable breaks, plus they use up a lot of storage space, you need cable ties / velcro / ucky gaffa tape and when you undo them they end up in knots. Of course this is TH-cam so I'd have to make a video on the subject else any comment would be shot down without a practical demonstration, but, there is a better way. I've not had one cable break in over 30 years and used to work with silver cables (£500 to £2,800 per metre) which where far more delicate than yours.
I know there are different schools of thought, but I hate wrapping mic cables around stands like that. The most I do is to wrap the cable once around the boom arm and then plug it into the mic. Then I drape the cable over the "tighten-ee" bit in the center (to keep the boom arm from falling) and let the cable hand down the stand from there. This was something that I learned in University because we did a lot of live sound and so wrapping the cable like that meant it was a huge pain to change later on because you would need to unwrap the whole cable from around the stand which takes to much time. I also prefer to do this in the studio too so when it comes to the stressful last minute tweaks I don't have to be wrestling with a cable wrapped around a stand preventing me from making the move that I want to.
Hello Christian... thanks for the great video. Speaking of backups, and v1.a etc file structures... have you ever tried project alternatives in Logic as a solution that allows for more detailed description and keeps everything nicely contained within the project? Curious to know your thoughts.
Not sure how you feel about this: 14. Whether it's true or not, everything the composer does is a work of genius, and they are allowed to revel in it. In other words, trust that the composer trusts the process, and will have sufficient doubts and discernment to make everything better. Trust the excitement, not your judgement. Your judgement, silent or otherwise will always sap the process. (14i. Only the composer can criticise their own work. Don't pile in enthusiastically with your thoughts.) 14b. Feed the process with your enthusiasm. (But no fawning.) 14c. Research the intellectual component of the composer's work, offering up things of interest, except if you are doing it egotistically or to get praise and appreciation. Do not under any circumstances offer intellectual points of interest if you are just surreptitiously trying to guide or cover what you believe to be gaps in the composer's thinking. 14d. If you are unable to do this (14c) with your own natural enthusiasm for the composer's ideas and thought process, and do so effortlessly, do not under any circumstances venture anywhere near 14c!! (Read the composer's headspace and interests. And keep this stuff for the start of the day's chit chat. Oh... and the more tangential your offerings, the better. Keep your feet out of their soup bowl.)
@@TheCrowHillCo ❤️ Yeah, sort of ties in with that whole "if you're not early, you're late" mindset. Arrive early, wait outside (unless "early" is approved), wait in the car... Just don't be late. Otherwise you will officially be deemed undependable. And that adds up quick. Random thing: If the composer you're working for phones you and leaves a message (or any kind of voice memo thing), and you just call them back without listening to their message... Oops! That's another common, annoying thing. Obviously way down the list, but again, those add up pretty quick.
What I like with the creative crafts relying on assisting workers (quite fankly almost all creative business do this) is the amount of pennalism involved. Joke aside, there is a certain amount of pennalism (do the cuppa or you'd be punished with losing the strings) and instead of involving pedagogics there's a very low threshold (sit down, evaluate the assistant's work, talk about expectations, if not met, THEN probably the wrong field of work for'ya). These are only reflections but seems to be pretty common rules. Please tell me I'm wrong If so. But I'm not : ) However! I do like that you try to prepare the aspiring composer with valuable information about what's to come : ) And happy to see you included some very valuable information for the composer who may think about getting an assistant. The importance of treating you as a serious business and ALL that comes with having employees or hiring freelance workers etc etc. Many of the things seems to me could be something of a standard that should be taught already while studying to prepare the students for the next step in their career.
Christian, aahhh. SO good. . . 7. Leads - you reminded me of my dad. He looked exactly the same when he was explaining me how to do this properly, damn I was like 8 years old. .. Thank you for your amazing work. And errrm, do you need an assistant maybe? :)
I do actually. Spitfire is going to announce a new scheme regarding this soon. I think it is a great op to be part of an exciting new team in Edinburgh and I’m hoping to throw the net wide so we have better diversity represented up here, watch this space.
1. Coming from a 1st year undergrad student, this video should be part of the national curriculum (along with how to file a tax return). 2. What mics are on your cameras at the mo, Christian? The shots sound different and I'm confusseddddd 3. Don't rock up to a gig stage and coil cables like that - you may be shot. We always go under/over/over/under (and at breakneck speed hehe) 4. NEVER GO LEGAL
Oh my so funny things can be. Just watched the Andrew Scheps interview with Alan Moulder. So… Flood and Drought… true story then : ) (Although Drought was not a composer's assistant but still fun.)
Brilliant observation of the subtleties of English. I have a third "assistant to the composer" I wouldn't want to be this, buying flowers as apologies for missed / forgotten family engagements and booking restaurants isn't one of my strong points.
Love your work. Hope you do a video on the similarities between drum and bass producers and metal enthusiasts. There seem to be some similarities, perhaps in terms of getting obsessed with the music and hence getting into the business.
What a Lowed of .......... Think out the box only just , got to say I like to play in G LOLL You guys ROCK going to be a Hell off a learning curve over Winter to get a Pub gig in the Summer 2021 stay safe stay well and as Fit as Hell Spit in the Fire off Hell it's self ATB
Sounds like i don't need to be in that job! Wow, do really need to spend so much time performing ego warming fellatio? I worked for a chef for years, he showed me how to cook, gave me endless recipes to learn, that was my apprenticeship and if I screwed it he'd have shown me the door. When I got to be the chef - I did not want commis' sniffing at my butt hole, I wanted them working to make things flow in the kitchen and answer 'oui chef' when i gave them instruction. I made my own coffee - because NO one got it right. If they wanted to learn something specially, I would take time out to teach them if i thought they were able to learn, don't kill the spark!! Oh and i was not their mate, I didn't care if they didn't like me that much I was the boss and when shift time was over - I left for home and family - I worked to live not the other way around.
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Well then, perhaps the better question would be "what kind of tea do the brits drink?" 🙄😉
I think historically it was always the cheap stuff and in cheap China which is why we add milk, not enough time to hang about waiting for it to cool, water supply not safe enough to add in as cold and if you’re adding milk first a sure sign that your bone China is sub par and not able to withstand boiling water.
@@RLeaguer_Saint As does the composer, who has worked long and hard to create the habits and rituals which trick her or his mind into the creative zone. The habits and rituals indeed which provide the composer with an income and thus the means to provide the assistant with a job. We all have our foibles and needs and it's not too much to ask others to respect them. I mean, how would you feel if you had an assistant who constantly enquired about your need to have the word Saint in your online avatar name? Personally it'd drive me up the wall and hence I would expect them not to sit on my name and make it all moist, warm and gooey. Simple human manners.
So, you are telling me you hire an assistent, pay them money, so that they can say "nice things" about the music you write to not hurt your composer ego? I mean, if I were a composer and I asked my assistant for feedback I WISH he would give me an unfiltered opinion, I can THEN make a decision to AGREE OR NOT with my assistant's opinion and in the end, it will be my decision, but if I´m paying someone, I would except some feedback and construtive criticism and not: "It sounds lovely, let's have a pint." But anyway, it's just my 2 cents...
I think you misunderstand me. It’s not about ego it’s about reassurance. If you’re having to ask your assistant whether something is good or not and want a genuine response because you don’t know you’re probably gonna have a tough time as a composer. Learning how to overcome your ego so you can truly judge your own work. Learning to work to brief, to interpret a set of non musical instructions from a director and to apply that to picture. These are the first fundamentals of media composition. If a composer asks his assistant for an opinion he is most likely asking him to reassure him or her of the many decisions he or she has already made. I’m not saying assistants are only there to act as muses but this is a long established short cut in the arts, to present something to someone else is a shortcut to objectivity. You instantly feel when it is repetitive or in affective just with the energy in the room. So for me the standard exchange after playing something is “did you like it” assistant “yes” then I usually go “but that middle bit is a bit samey so I’m quickly gonna take another look at that.
I've learnt the hard way that if someone is looking for another opinion and says "be honest with me", be careful - 'read the room'. If they say "be totally honest with me", do not be 'totally' honest. If they say "be brutally honest with me, I can take it", they may be able to take brutal honesty, but your relationship together probably can't. But if you're in a recording session, and you hear that the violas are unacceptably and unfixably flat, let them know!
Should assistants who write cues or small parts of cues get a tiny percentage of the royalties?
If the melody or chord sequence or distinctive rhythm part existed before you start working on it no, if it didn't then yes. If you are the originator of the purely composition material then yes, if you're just reconfiguring to picture no. If you've been asked to put it into a minor key, transpose the melody from the violin to the cellos no, if you've been ask to write a hero theme that is using the same sounds as the rest of the show then yes. It's a minefield but for me you know when you've written something in your heart. Its the difference between having a child of your own and looking after someone's that you care for deeply. A great example of where you're like to actually write something is when a composer asks you to copy the temp. Quick tip, don't copy it too much or else neither of you will get the royalties.
@@TheCrowHillCo What a great response.
@@TheCrowHillCo Christian, any chance you can do a video on this question? What a great subject. I think these intricacies need to be explained in more detail.
2:42 1. Be in the moment
4:59 2. Flight mode
6:33 3. Make tea
8:26 4. Read the room
11:15 5. Your opinion is none of our business
12:32 6. Who's been sitting in my chair?
14:13 7. Listening and taking notes
15:46 8. Leads
17:15 9. Versioning
20:50 10. A university you get paid to attend
21:32 11. Don't be stinky
22:57 12. And for God's sake... (back up)
23:06 Five golden rules to being a good composer to your assistant
23:14 1. Acknowledge your mistakes and congratulate when its the case
24:26 2. Don't bully
24:45 3. Remind them to back up
24:48 4. EMPATHY
25:12 5. Take care of each other
Christian, these videos are a constant source of invaluable information and also entertainment. Really appreciate all the effort you put in to these, it's really admirable.
This was fantastic, and the 5 golden rules for composer’s at the end was pure icing on the cake. Thank you again Christian for putting out such valuable content
Thank you for addressing leads. I literally had a minor fight with someone about that earlier today. As a session musician, I've seen people do the arm thing often.
I have liked many of your videos, but found this one quite horrific. The relationship you describe with juniors is totally antiquated. I'm exactly your age, but only in music as a hobby, and work in a different field, in medical research, (neuroscience specifically, in international clinical trials of first-in-human drugs, so certainly no less stressful, timeline-dependent or technical than your field, I'm sure you would agree). So my relationship with PhD students and junior post-docs is probably analogous to yours with composer's assistants. Except, it seems there is is no similarity at all . The steep, deferential hierarchy you describe is abhorrent to me. I make the tea for them, just as often as they do for me - it's a sign that I treat them as equals, and value their worth. If I ask what they think of an idea or a recent scientific publication, and they just tell me, 'yes it sounds great, would you like a macchiato', I would see this as my failing to encourage their confidence in their own judgement, and willingness to express it. I specifically tell them that I don't want yes-men. I hire them because they know more about certain things than I do, and I value their input, as complementary, not subservient, to my own. They have more recently trained in techniques that I learned 30 years ago; often they know the answer that I'm struggling for. I may have a broader context to reference specific things against, but you are missing out on the knowledge you don't have, if you train them to keep quiet, don't be seen, don't open your mouth, make the tea, sometimes with a biscuit, but not always. Honestly, I'm shocked at your description - you're describing a servant, not a highly educated music graduate. I also don't want them to change who they are, depending on who walks in the room - you display an unnerving sense of superiority in this. You'll probably dismiss this as not being from your industry, so what can I possibly know. Well, some things are universal, and you provide no justification at all that your industry should be permitted wanton abandonment of respect and treating juniors with dignity. You are not their superior, you simply arrived there before them. If my son or daughter encounters a boss like you, I would advise them to leave, and find someone who understands the value they bring, and can grow in a mutually beneficial relationship. I'm honestly shocked by this video - it reveals a different side that has not been so evident before.
I wrote this before getting to the end, so appalled in what I was hearing, that I couldn't wait out the whole sickening 26 mins - but I didn't get to the point in your video about making sure you, as the assistant, leave the seat an hour before your composer will sit in it, because they shouldn't have to sit in a warmed seat. Honestly, the self-aggrandizement here is almost pathological! It makes me gag! Who do you, or any other composer who expects this, think you are? You betray an incalculable level of self-importance here, that you have decried in others in previous videos. Truly staggering. My advice to any potential assistants reading this: Christian has done you a favour, as you can now apply for other positions that are not based on 18th century ethics of subservience. If I didn't know better, I would expect that your childhood was spent at a public boarding school, and having been called 'Fag' by the older boys and subjected to their malicious superiority, went on to carry out the same to your own juniors, and never left these barbaric practices in the time from whence they came. Since I understand you're, like me, a comprehensive school chap who transcended the trajectory typically expected of us, you don't even have that as an excuse, and should know better.
The few useful tips (backing up, being organized with version control, even correct cable wrapping (thanks, I learned something there!), is unfortunately lost for me, in all of the rest of the patronizing superiority that the other points drown in.
Last point (I know, it's obsessive at this point, but things like this really annoy me): at 24:30, you state: "if your assistants fear you, and not the consequence of their actions, then they will cease being honest with you, and your worst nightmares will come true". How is this momentarily accurate insight consistent with having previously advised them earlier in the video (11:15) that "Your opinions are none of our business". How can you expect any degree of honesty when you have specifically directed them to only be positive when asked for their opinion, because their opinion is none of your business, and then lament the nightmare that ensues when they are no longer honest with you! The incongruity here is baffling. What on earth are you expecting of these people, in order that they know when you ask them of their opinion, whether they should provide their honest reflections, or the required banalities to uphold your fragile ego? I don't think mind-reading is part of the typical graduate course in Music. Final point: you have always struck me as a fair-minded person with community-based values, which you have acted upon (eg Pianobook, LABS, charity donations from Spitfire and I've no doubt many other examples which I'm unaware of), and I have defended you from detractors on this and other forums as result. But I cannot reconcile the views in this video, however mild-mannered they are espoused, with the online persona you have created, and for me, it fundamentally undermines the credibility. I hope you can explain, or otherwise, dismiss me as a Russian bot that Orchestral Tools or 8dio hired to discredit you. Interested to hear your thoughts. You don't owe me an explanation of course, and are free to ignore this rebuttal of your video, but if you're going to promote such draconian views on how to nurture the next generation of talent, I think you owe it to yourself to self-reflect a little more on this, and to the audience you're apparently advising, on what basis you feel composers should be allowed to abandon common decency to allow them to behave in this way - the last 5 minutes wasn't sufficient to make up for the preceding diatribe, and indeed, was self-contradictory.
@@RLeaguer_Saint amen, thank you for voicing this, it needs to be said.
You for president.
Not a film composer. Not a film composer's assistant and will probably never be either. Yet this was another classic video so full of real world strategies for success, it is one of your best. Thank you!
Very kind thank you. Something I didn't mention (or rather ended up on the cutting room floor) is that I spent my childhood in voice over studios watching my (actors) parents do voice overs. So I was conditioned not to make even a hint of a sound, not to move, simply do nothing. I had a sudden realisation recently that whilst it was conditioned into me, this was a pretty unique life skill to be equipped with and one that most people don't have especially if they didn't study this stuff at college. That inspired me to make this video.
Thank you for putting out all of this material! I've been a lurker for over two years. As someone who's starting to dabble in media composition (coming from an entirely unrelated career path), your channel is extremely inspiring.
I'm about a month from finishing my studies (just high school here in au) and have several plans to get some experience in a working musical environment. Your videos in general and especially this one make me very excited for the future, especially as someone who has absolutely no connections to anyone in any kind of music industry except for my piano teacher. I'm excited because while my experience is severely limited within a professional environment, I really look forward most to meeting loads of people from which I can learn and share my time with. For reference- been playing keys for about 11 years, FL for 4 and saxophone for 6, and I'm really interested in synthesizers but I don't have the time or money to build or buy my own right now (exams).
Best of luck with it all. Two pieces of advice, don’t get yourself into debt or stretch yourself monetarily too much by buying equipment. Whilst it’s lovely to have it is largely unnecessary. A computer a sound card a decent set of headphones and a mic is all you need. Secondly in order to meet new people hook into the various talks and seminars being held in your town, there will he meet ups, and if you’re agreeable and polite composers agents are always willing to meet new people and if they like you they will remember you when one of their clients go “help I’ve got a deadline and I need an assistant!!!”.
What Christian is describing is both correct, and a form of slavery that needs to stop. Under the excuse of the job’s pressure and not having being trained as HOD, too many composers get away with mistreating their assistants, and on top of that, paying them pennies. I for one have worked for $9/hour and even less, and have heard as a condition to be hired: “we want to make sure that your dream is not to be a composer”. We need to stop this non-sense abuse, and while I think CH/Spitfire can be -and has been- a key factor in this change, I’m not sure this video will help in that regard. What @Rugby_League_Saint eloquently explained is a must read for all composers, and I would like this topic to be openly talked more and everywhere. And I’ll be more specific: assistants are collaborators, need to be paid >$40/hour, and should be fully credited for what they do.
I would say slavery is too strong a description and is a word that you should not throw around so carelessly. I don’t suggest here that assistants shouldn’t be compensated correctly. BUT should be massively aware of the very complex hierarchy that they are working within. I think a good piece of advice to people challenging the concept of social hierarchies and meritocratic compensation is “good luck with that”. Try seeing without a hierarchy!!!! My film is an aid to success. If you don’t adopt the principals I suggest in this film then I think your chances of success will be lessened. There is nothing wrong with being a good assistant. But being a good assistant is what I describe here.
Christian just had a problem with an assistant and he needs to express his pain... :-)
No I think people had a problem with me as an assistant and I wish to atone for me sins!
Phenomenal advice (thank you)!
Have/can you add a video about how you got your jobs as a Composer’s Assistant?
I’ve only been following for a couple months and love your videos/humor. Thanks!
A great video Christian, and thought-provoking stuff in the comments, which is always good to see. Thank-you. Plus views of the Water of Leith.
And that's a wonderful collection of pencils you've got there...
I was doing photography work part time for a while and was taking a class from very successful photographer who started the class talking about using studio lights and assisting other photographers and the first thing she talked about was how to properly coil the cables. She mentioned that anyone who has sailed probably already knew this. As the owner of a small-ish sailboat at the time, the first thing I learned about sailing was how to coil a line. It's the same everywhere it seems.
Extremely helpful, thanks ever so much Christian!! 👏
Thank you so much for an amazing piece. Very helpful.
Sidenote - that’s a really cool pencil collection. Assorted colours or B pencils?
Great video as always, Christian. Just love this priceless real-world advice for up-n-comers, albeit sometimes difficult for people to take reality on board...thank you for sharing :)
Excellent video, and excellent description of the studio environment. For anyone who might chafe at Christian's advice, I humbly suggest you listen to the section from 22:30 to 22:55 a few times.
I have worked most of my career as a record producer and I have contributed a fair amount of music to film and TV projects. But when I first moved to California 30 years ago, I found myself working as the composer assistant for Paul Buckmaster. Being in that environment was extremely valuable. I learned so much about composition, arranging and sound design. But I also learned the difference between being talented and having the professional skills necessary to get and keep the client. I saw the difficulty of dealing with the rejection of very good ideas. I saw the need to fight off the competition, and champion a concept without alienating the director, the producer and anyone else who had an opinion. As the assistant, I got to be in the room, but I didn't have to build the room or pay for it.
This is why the assistant's job is so important. If an assistant can help keep the studio situation running smoothly, and do things that keep the composer focused on the job, that assistant will be deemed to be worth their salt. That person will help the composer get over those difficult moments just by being a support instead of a hinderance. That person will not need to ask, "when do I get credit?" They will get to advance. It might not be the composer who give them the shot. But it will be the composer who put them on the stage. Someone who was also in the room will notice the professionalism, the good attitude, the helpfulness and the humility, and they will give that person a shot. It might be a director, but more likely it will be a music supervisor, artist manager or even a producer.
And of course, if one doesn't want to go through all that, they can skip the assistant part, and just try their luck at being a composer. Either way, those lessons will have to be learned, and mistakes will be made. But it is harder and more career-damaging to make those mistakes as a composer than it is to make them as an assistant. Remember, the composer might get the credit, but they also take the on responsibility and they get the blame when relationships and projects go wrong.
And yes, wrapping cables is crucial. In the heat of the moment, when inspiration strikes, when the client is in the room, when the composer wants to try an instrument or a microphone and the cable is crackling or damaged, that will absolutely kill the vibe of the session. And if the client is there, they could literally re-think the entire deal.
For all the assistants out there. Thank you. Good on you. Your time is coming. And he (or she) who lasts longest, wins.
Hello Christian, atm I believe I have good tracks to send and show, but the quality of the films that I've worked on is not the best quality... I am waiting for two projects to get finished, which I believe will be of really good, but I do not know if I shall wait for these to start sending my CV to high level composers, or just start now. I finished my degree on Classical Composition last year, and this year I ended my masters on media compisition, which I got a 9 out of 10 marks. Shall I sending my work now, or wait for the good stuff to be finished? Thank you very much for such great advices and quality information, I'm a big fan. Best wishes.
Love these style of vlogs! Please do more of these like you used to :D
I started to jump into music production roughly 1.5 years ago. Everything was new to me, and due to my civil work I needed to travel to the northern england 1 year ago for 4-5 months so I knew that I need to spend this time without music.
During this period I spent my free time to dive into the theoretical and technical part of music production - this was the time when I got to know Spitfire, I also actually realized that two of my favourites are in collaboration with Spitfire that I did not know before (Hans Zimmer and Olafur Arnalds), and also I found your channel Chris just after I have been to Edinburgh (and to Arthur's Seat) for the first time which was followed by two more occasions so everything happened like a big coincidence.
I just want to say thanks for your work at Spitfire, and for your videos, keep it up! :)
I'm in a creative yet life-safety profession. I agree with all of your 12 points.
Priceless information. Thanks for explaining the why behind everything. It all boils down to relationships. Like every relationship, the more value we add to any relationship the more valuable we become.
Wow. Glad I am not in that world.
Its quite a tough world with lots of very tricky characters, see my ep' "Dealing With Dickheads".
Is this a backup of the previous version?
Christian - love your stuff. Want to cut to specific question: the versioning point. I've spent c20yrs in software world having done music before, and I am amazed that you (music people) don't have a tool for versioning projects. Git and github (which allow coders to version things trivially) have evolved to the point that they are the social network of code, the protocol etc. Is there really no solution better than file naming conventions?
I mean this out of interest, curiosity and slightly wondering if this is not a problem to be solved......
You are so right on musicians missing on a versioning system. I started on Envy (IBM Smalltalk) which was already miles ahead of current cvs because of the self awareness of the smalltalk vm. I now daily work in Perforce, and prefer a library based cvs to a decentralised version like git. I was very interested in the backup system that Presonus Studio One kinda allured to for version 5.0... Unfortunately, it's a barbaric attempt at saving a zip backup of your project online... it's no where near what it should be in this centruy... The fact that there does not seems to be any way to synchronize a laptop DAW and a desktop DAW so you can work on the road without having to move files around is barbaric at best. In the meanwhile the closest you can be is by using Google Drive and Backup & Sync... barbaric.
This!
I’ve thought this forever! I think the challenge is that most versioning software doesn’t handle large binary files very well.
Seems to me that a VCS like SVN might not be a terrible tool? I know it's used for media assets and such in some situations (I've seen it used for games).
So for those thinking large files can't be versioned: the machine learning community is having to solve exactly this right now.
This video was so, so useful. Finding a placement for my final year at university is next to impossible right now, so watching this has given me some excellent pointers I might otherwise have missed out on. Now excuse me while I go and back up my work.
Deep golden shit.
Excellent advice and an insight for us from different parts of the business ...
Oh and Thumb Rolling the cables ... good man 👍
An excellent video as always! Super useful!
Can someone hire me? I'm great at backing up...
Hi Christian, wonderful video thankyou, I'm about to move up to Scotland for atleast for the next year, and was thinking of getting in contact with composers and seeing if they needed any assistance or if I could come and shadow them. I'm mainly from an engineering background but trying to improve my composition. any tips on how to reach out or places/people that may have use for a young assistant/extra pair of hands like me?
How does one find a particular composer to be an assistant of? Do I just email composer's asking if they need an assitant?
little audio problem at 10:53, maybe a complicated situation with a lot of road noises (?)... Anyway, your videos are absolutely gorgeous on my iMac 5K !! I really love your vlog, always eager to see each new video
One rule to composers: Never ask for an opinion if you actually don't want an answer. If you need a mental back rub go somewhere else : )
But I think discussing creative issues with your assistant is part of training your assistant.
Exactly right
@@RLeaguer_Saint Except this isn't an academic situation. In academia, the academic is paid to teach and the PhD assistants/students are paid to learn. This is a job. It's title is Assistant. The job description is to assist. There often isn't any time to teach, let alone compose. Hence the need for an assistant.
[EDIT: I see that this point has now been addressed elsewhere by Mr. aHenson, but it's worth noting this isn't his sole perspective... ]
I think their is a basic misunderstanding here of the role. Yes, respect. Yes to not treating your assistant like a servant. Yes to an honest and open humane relationship, but within the very clear boundaries set within a close two person, intense working atmosphere. Hence these 12 Golden Rules. They serve the assistant as much as they serve the composer.
It just isn't the same as say running a huge sample production company with a huge team of people paid to be full-time-creating creatives. Hence the need for this video. Nor is it like running an academic department. It's about the job of assisting a composer in an insanely deadline driven atmosphere, beyond the deadline pressures of say producing academic papers or executing research programs which operate under completely different time constraints.
This job is more akin to keeping the composer (in the long run) alive, and assisting (in the short term) with keeping the composer sane and productive. And that's what the job description infers, and for what the wage is paid for.
Otherwise, young composers who are looking primarily for an education should seek to be mentored by classical composers who work under far less industrial coal face circumstances and probably have all the time in the world to be chummy and elaborate for hours about their artistry and craft.
I'm sorry to be blunt, but not everyone is cut out to be an assistant. Those who are, have what it takes to become successful media composers. And they (the assistants who become successful media composers) won't expect to be all chummy with THEIR employees, nor expect them, the directors and producers they work for, to make them cups of tea.
Yes it's all about respect and humane interaction, unless you're a complete dick like Ridley Scott, in which case you've got to swallow it, until you can afford not to work with the asshole any more, but yeah... this ain't the cosy life of some ivory towered world.
@@duncanthompson957 So, I guess you’ve never heard of Research Assistants, and I guess you think all research is academic and conducted in universities? If so, then I have to tell you that the parallel exists commonly: juniors who are paid research assistants in companies, small and large, working in high pressure environments, in which the livelihood of both research director and assistant is dependent on their productivity and adherence to strict timelines. The output is not primarily scientific publications, but industrial, market-driven, profit-dependent biological research resulting in new medicines. This is the field I’m in, and to which I’m drawing legitimate parallels. The difference is, I don’t expect subservience of my research assistants. I don’t treat them as if their role is to meet my personal needs, whether for cups of tea, doughnuts, unwarmed seats from their rears, or learning how to not aggravate me when I scream at them. I do happily give them credit irrespective of who is in the room, I do want their honest input not just sycophantic endorsement. Based on this video, none of this can be said of Christian, or the composers who endorse such rules. If you feel producing underscore to film has such unique and unparalleled importance that it transcends these basic levels of decency, then both Christian, and you, have lost your perspective, and I, as one who shares all of the elements of the interactions with juniors in my field, but none of the toxic attitudes to relationships with them that you do, am pointing this out to you, and anyone else in this industry who cares to take a step back and rethink the working environment of those who are simply at an earlier stage of their career than us, but no less deserving of respect.
@@RLeaguer_Saint Well said, Sir/Madam.
oh boy... the one thing I'm glad I learned in my undergraduate time at uni was how to wrap a lead properly...the studio guys would get SO pissed about that, and at the time, 18 year old us thought they were just assholes but if I had to watch all my leads get slowly ruined by a never ending stream of snotty 18 year old students then I might eventually get pissy too.
I remember that too!
Excellent video as always. Long time lurker on this channel, I'm just about to finish university next year and am planning on/trying to move to London after graduating (I'm not in or from the UK) A few questions- 1)Would you say that it's more challenging for someone to get a job as an assistant if they're not local because of potential Visa hassles?
2) Is there a specific skillset that most composers look for? What if, by chance I don't happen to work on the same DAW as them but learn quickly?
3) How does one approach a composer to request work as an assistant, especially if they're not currently in the same location as them (but willing to move asap)?
1) Yes, being an assistant you have to be local and legal. 2) Pro-Tools, you have to know pro-tools (it is very very easy to use so get a copy and learn in anger now), get good at Logic for UK and both that and Cubase for USA, chances are you'll be on one of those, if she / he is on something like DP they will expect you to learn on the job, and not come pre-equipped. Being able to program up basic samples in Kontakt is probably a big bonus these days.
Thank you
The posh coffee tip is brilliant, And partly explains your choice of locale there in Leith. Your assistants there have a good selection of coffee facilities close to hand...
Number 8! THANKYOU!!! The number of times I've politely asked my band mates and people doing "sound" for bands I've played in, "please don't wind my cables like that", only to hear something like "how are you s'posed to f**king doing then genius". Makes my blood boil!! Especially as I have a guitar cable my Dad used to use in the 70s that still works fine, because he didn't, and I don't wind it up like a fool!!
Insanely good information for not only working as a composer's assistant buy working in a studio in general. Now for the real question....how do i get the job....
By the GODS, enlightenment.
I'm in another creative industry, but this nails why I refuse to have minions. They'll violate every every rule here.
LOL .. I love it ^^ - many thanks for another entertaining and at the same time highly instructive lecture.
Your videos are amazing, Christian! Thank you for sharing all your experience! 😊
How do you think one can get to be a composer’s assistant? I mean... what would be the composer’s preferred way to be contacted or found in need of an assistant! 😅
I just hired two new assistants, this is gonna be my training video hahaha
But how does one find a composer to be assistant to? Just phone up John Powell?
You don’t need to Backup by any chance?
A question. After becoming an assistant and working for a considerable amount of time,how and when do we get to know we are all set and ready to start out as an full on Composer?
When people invite you to compose for them.
Sounds like it's the composers who need to learn new behaviours
It is composers who are constantly changing behaviours to mould their workflows to the rapidly changing world of writing applied music. Therefore the experience you will gain watching a composer work at the true coal face will always eclipse anything you could learn at college with regards the actual craft and process of being a head of department.
7. Yes! Everybody in the media industries should know the correct way to coil a cable. It should be mandatory training for any and every role. Imagine you are a producer or director asking for some overtime, and can then help out at the end of the day with a little helpful cable coiling. You will be a god.
Absolutely brilliant
Good showcase for the ‘Burgh.
Cables: NOOO!!! Cables are twisted litz structure inside so by coiling them you are tightening thin cores or loosening them which leads (pun intended) to cable breaks, plus they use up a lot of storage space, you need cable ties / velcro / ucky gaffa tape and when you undo them they end up in knots.
Of course this is TH-cam so I'd have to make a video on the subject else any comment would be shot down without a practical demonstration, but, there is a better way. I've not had one cable break in over 30 years and used to work with silver cables (£500 to £2,800 per metre) which where far more delicate than yours.
This is golden Christian. Thanks. I feel like this reverted my awkward feelings after the Westworld thing.
I know there are different schools of thought, but I hate wrapping mic cables around stands like that. The most I do is to wrap the cable once around the boom arm and then plug it into the mic. Then I drape the cable over the "tighten-ee" bit in the center (to keep the boom arm from falling) and let the cable hand down the stand from there. This was something that I learned in University because we did a lot of live sound and so wrapping the cable like that meant it was a huge pain to change later on because you would need to unwrap the whole cable from around the stand which takes to much time. I also prefer to do this in the studio too so when it comes to the stressful last minute tweaks I don't have to be wrestling with a cable wrapped around a stand preventing me from making the move that I want to.
So.. are you saying you're in the market for an assistant? How do you take your tea?
Hello Christian... thanks for the great video. Speaking of backups, and v1.a etc file structures... have you ever tried project alternatives in Logic as a solution that allows for more detailed description and keeps everything nicely contained within the project? Curious to know your thoughts.
Oooooh I haven't, time to get my google gloves out.
@@TheCrowHillCo I’m always nervous changing my copy of a copy of a copy of a copy habits... but so far, so good for me.
@@TheCrowHillCo I use this method and it works flawlessly
Not sure how you feel about this: 14. Whether it's true or not, everything the composer does is a work of genius, and they are allowed to revel in it. In other words, trust that the composer trusts the process, and will have sufficient doubts and discernment to make everything better. Trust the excitement, not your judgement. Your judgement, silent or otherwise will always sap the process. (14i. Only the composer can criticise their own work. Don't pile in enthusiastically with your thoughts.) 14b. Feed the process with your enthusiasm. (But no fawning.) 14c. Research the intellectual component of the composer's work, offering up things of interest, except if you are doing it egotistically or to get praise and appreciation. Do not under any circumstances offer intellectual points of interest if you are just surreptitiously trying to guide or cover what you believe to be gaps in the composer's thinking. 14d. If you are unable to do this (14c) with your own natural enthusiasm for the composer's ideas and thought process, and do so effortlessly, do not under any circumstances venture anywhere near 14c!! (Read the composer's headspace and interests. And keep this stuff for the start of the day's chit chat. Oh... and the more tangential your offerings, the better. Keep your feet out of their soup bowl.)
Thank you!
13. NEVER BE LATE
That is surely a golden rule of life... but you're absolutely right.
@@TheCrowHillCo ❤️ Yeah, sort of ties in with that whole "if you're not early, you're late" mindset. Arrive early, wait outside (unless "early" is approved), wait in the car... Just don't be late. Otherwise you will officially be deemed undependable. And that adds up quick.
Random thing: If the composer you're working for phones you and leaves a message (or any kind of voice memo thing), and you just call them back without listening to their message... Oops! That's another common, annoying thing. Obviously way down the list, but again, those add up pretty quick.
Excellent 🎶🎪🎶
Wise words as ever Christian (was getting worried - thought you might be under the frankensynth or something..)
What I like with the creative crafts relying on assisting workers (quite fankly almost all creative business do this) is the amount of pennalism involved.
Joke aside, there is a certain amount of pennalism (do the cuppa or you'd be punished with losing the strings) and instead of involving pedagogics there's a very low threshold (sit down, evaluate the assistant's work, talk about expectations, if not met, THEN probably the wrong field of work for'ya). These are only reflections but seems to be pretty common rules. Please tell me I'm wrong If so. But I'm not : )
However! I do like that you try to prepare the aspiring composer with valuable information about what's to come : ) And happy to see you included some very valuable information for the composer who may think about getting an assistant. The importance of treating you as a serious business and ALL that comes with having employees or hiring freelance workers etc etc.
Many of the things seems to me could be something of a standard that should be taught already while studying to prepare the students for the next step in their career.
Being a good minion.
Christian, aahhh. SO good. . . 7. Leads - you reminded me of my dad. He looked exactly the same when he was explaining me how to do this properly, damn I was like 8 years old. .. Thank you for your amazing work. And errrm, do you need an assistant maybe? :)
I do actually. Spitfire is going to announce a new scheme regarding this soon. I think it is a great op to be part of an exciting new team in Edinburgh and I’m hoping to throw the net wide so we have better diversity represented up here, watch this space.
@@TheCrowHillCo Wow! Fantastic! Thanks for the info, how exciting!
'the temperature remnants' are my new favourite fictional band
1. Coming from a 1st year undergrad student, this video should be part of the national curriculum (along with how to file a tax return).
2. What mics are on your cameras at the mo, Christian? The shots sound different and I'm confusseddddd
3. Don't rock up to a gig stage and coil cables like that - you may be shot. We always go under/over/over/under (and at breakneck speed hehe)
4. NEVER GO LEGAL
2. The city shot was insanely noisy so had to noise reduce which radically alters sound quality.
@@TheCrowHillCo ahhhhhhhh
Oh my so funny things can be.
Just watched the Andrew Scheps interview with Alan Moulder. So… Flood and Drought… true story then : ) (Although Drought was not a composer's assistant but still fun.)
Isn't it better to be an Assistant Composer, rather than a composer's assistant?
Brilliant observation of the subtleties of English. I have a third "assistant to the composer" I wouldn't want to be this, buying flowers as apologies for missed / forgotten family engagements and booking restaurants isn't one of my strong points.
@@TheCrowHillCo There is a clear difference though right? one just assists and the other actual helps with the composing.
@@jaketanner109 yes.
Cool
Are you gonna Tango someone with them gloves Christian.
Yes. When Trump gets thrown out of the White House.
@@TheCrowHillCo Couldnt agree more.
First one hundred baby!!
I particularly like Rule 10.
My friend used to work for Hans Zimmer. Sounded like a nightmare. HZ is definitely more a brand/company than a man.
why did it sounded like a nightmare, really curious about how it was to work with him
One too many donuts = career derailed. :)
Love your work. Hope you do a video on the similarities between drum and bass producers and metal enthusiasts. There seem to be some similarities, perhaps in terms of getting obsessed with the music and hence getting into the business.
What a Lowed of .......... Think out the box only just , got to say I like to play in G LOLL You guys ROCK going to be a Hell off a learning curve over Winter to get a Pub gig in the Summer 2021 stay safe stay well and as Fit as Hell Spit in the Fire off Hell it's self ATB
Sounds like i don't need to be in that job! Wow, do really need to spend so much time performing ego warming fellatio? I worked for a chef for years, he showed me how to cook, gave me endless recipes to learn, that was my apprenticeship and if I screwed it he'd have shown me the door. When I got to be the chef - I did not want commis' sniffing at my butt hole, I wanted them working to make things flow in the kitchen and answer 'oui chef' when i gave them instruction. I made my own coffee - because NO one got it right. If they wanted to learn something specially, I would take time out to teach them if i thought they were able to learn, don't kill the spark!! Oh and i was not their mate, I didn't care if they didn't like me that much I was the boss and when shift time was over - I left for home and family - I worked to live not the other way around.
Well then, perhaps the better question would be "what kind of tea do the brits drink?" 🙄😉
I think historically it was always the cheap stuff and in cheap China which is why we add milk, not enough time to hang about waiting for it to cool, water supply not safe enough to add in as cold and if you’re adding milk first a sure sign that your bone China is sub par and not able to withstand boiling water.
Indeed, PG tips rules!
I love this (and I’m the furthest thing from a composer). The chair advice is the best 😀
Please read my comments under this video. The chair advice is the worst, and you (or someone who would be in that position) deserve better.
@@RLeaguer_Saint As does the composer, who has worked long and hard to create the habits and rituals which trick her or his mind into the creative zone. The habits and rituals indeed which provide the composer with an income and thus the means to provide the assistant with a job.
We all have our foibles and needs and it's not too much to ask others to respect them.
I mean, how would you feel if you had an assistant who constantly enquired about your need to have the word Saint in your online avatar name? Personally it'd drive me up the wall and hence I would expect them not to sit on my name and make it all moist, warm and gooey.
Simple human manners.
@@duncanthompson957 wow, I see the indoctrination runs deep. Enjoy your self-inflicted subservience.
@@RLeaguer_Saint What subservience? I'm an independent autonomous creative who answers to no one but my pet Black Dog. Woof woof! 🦖🦖🦖
Finally. eek
Backup!
💯
I think you forgot rule 13: back up
Basically, a "normal" corporate job, with all its politics and human factors. Seen it, been there.
Heaven help the poor soul who finds himself working for you!
So, you are telling me you hire an assistent, pay them money, so that they can say "nice things" about the music you write to not hurt your composer ego? I mean, if I were a composer and I asked my assistant for feedback I WISH he would give me an unfiltered opinion, I can THEN make a decision to AGREE OR NOT with my assistant's opinion and in the end, it will be my decision, but if I´m paying someone, I would except some feedback and construtive criticism and not: "It sounds lovely, let's have a pint." But anyway, it's just my 2 cents...
I think you misunderstand me. It’s not about ego it’s about reassurance. If you’re having to ask your assistant whether something is good or not and want a genuine response because you don’t know you’re probably gonna have a tough time as a composer. Learning how to overcome your ego so you can truly judge your own work. Learning to work to brief, to interpret a set of non musical instructions from a director and to apply that to picture. These are the first fundamentals of media composition. If a composer asks his assistant for an opinion he is most likely asking him to reassure him or her of the many decisions he or she has already made. I’m not saying assistants are only there to act as muses but this is a long established short cut in the arts, to present something to someone else is a shortcut to objectivity. You instantly feel when it is repetitive or in affective just with the energy in the room. So for me the standard exchange after playing something is “did you like it” assistant “yes” then I usually go “but that middle bit is a bit samey so I’m quickly gonna take another look at that.
I've learnt the hard way that if someone is looking for another opinion and says "be honest with me", be careful - 'read the room'. If they say "be totally honest with me", do not be 'totally' honest. If they say "be brutally honest with me, I can take it", they may be able to take brutal honesty, but your relationship together probably can't.
But if you're in a recording session, and you hear that the violas are unacceptably and unfixably flat, let them know!