Which other composer takes time out to give advice and insight like this??? Thats how you know that Junkie not only greatly appreciates where he is now and how he got there, but wants to give back the best way he can by giving advice of this calibre. Not only an amazing composer, but the people's composer!!!!!
Thank you for this video. As a 19 y/o audio engineer it's scary as fuck going into this career. I intern at a small studio and have been getting a few gigs here and there, primarily mixing and mastering but a couple of recording gigs too. It's a weird "who knows what's going to happen" period if my life and just the fact that you echo that and know what it feels like it really encouraging.
Thank you. Your last words, the fact that you were 44 when you got into it and you were considered young made me feel so good about it and motivated me to work harder and harder and focus on my passion rather than on getting "that" job.
Great advices as always. You must work day by day, year by year, even without any success. Why? Because if opportunity suddenly comes, you will be ready to meet the challenge. Btw, saying that "You was young" being a 44yo composer calmed me down haha.
Your advices work in the life in general, I got the the same feeling and recognize myself in your description while I am a graphic designer. thank you to be so honnest.
You are THE MAN!! And , in many ways, validating my path :-) Since I'm not a "young'un," I don't have the means of going to film school and hanging with up-and-coming directors, doing student films, so I too (in addition to teaching at Musicians Insitute, writing for Guitar Word magazine, and loads more things) have been assisting different established composers... and it's been such a rewarding path and process!!! Onward and upward! Thanks for the inspiration maestro mayun!!! Your efforts as an ARTIST and EDUCATOR are MUCH APPRECIATED!!
It's good to hear about these behind the scenes tips, because nobody talks about stuff like that ;) I tend to overthink and grind things myself... sometimes you just need to let things go! Oh and patience, you gotta be patient! Listen to Tom, it took him 10 years Folks!
Contentment, patience, and acceptance is what carries you through this life, and brings you more and more Divine grace. Thanks for all your insight and inspiration, Tom. I hope I meet you at that bar one day.
Thank you Tom, your the best! I always hear the same wisdom..."It's not enough to be skilled and talented, you need to work your hardest at what you want."
Thanks for taking the time to do these videos. You have some valuable advice. I admire your candor and humility. It made me feel hopeful when you said you didn't so your first film until you were 44.
Your awesome for sharing and as a gear geek I love seeing your studio. David Porter has a similar story ( forgive me if it's not an exact recount it's as I remember) he moved to LA from NYC after a successful music career in advertising and sat on the couch for two years. Then an editor he knew was working on a TV pilot called Breaking Bad and asked him to work up a theme. Junkie was already a world class performer with ties to stars yet initially he hit a brick wall. I do film scoring and music part time but as a life long professional musician who played lived for years I also wanted to get into scoring and hit a wall getting past student and ultra low budget indie films until I won a national audition to score a film with industry producers and real actors, stars. This was after years of hard work doing demos and working on the craft even without having a score assignment. It did that because I had the passion for the craft. It's that hard to get in. From there it's all about building relationships and trust and of course if they like your music you will get asked to do more. There are many challenges once you are in however for now my advice is if you are very young and planning on attending music school the holly grail is USC music program where you will be surrounded by industry and get to intern with A list composers, basically you will end up where Junkie got his break, but fast track...But not everyone can afford that, I know, so plan B can work too. The joy of creating if nothing else happens, is the reward.
I've wanted to get into scoring forever, been building my studio and sound library and writing, and what you said at 6:40 just gave me so much hope. Thanks, Tom.
Always really inspiring to hear you tell your stories. Hard work and dedication pays off and it's always a good reminder to keep going and do what you love. It takes a lot of passion and belief in yourself to get to where you want to be and hearing stories like this is inspiration to keep moving to achieve your goals. Patience and hard work is important and Rome wasn't built in a day. Really happy that you're sharing your experiences with us, so thanks for the inspiration Tom and you deserve everything you've achieved with so much hard work, passion and patience.
This video is so important to me at this very moment. Working on a movie at the moment, and it is a constant struggle, I feel like I'm running around in circles.. This was just the right kind of inspiration I needed. Thank you Tom.
thank you so much for sharing. im not aiming to be a composer but im an aspiring filmmaker who loves scores especially yours tom. i am currently having that feeling where i feel like its not gonna be worth it for all this trying. but listening to your advice saying on how sometimes its okay to not get it and also it will take years and years of work. I am now more optimistic to keep working. thank you tom. love your askmeanything segments
You are always full of great advice, Mr. XL. Young aspiring composers are very fortunate to have the like s of you here on YT to give them great advice. In my late teens the Internet (as we know it today) hadn't been invented yet, but man, I would have benefited from your words back then when I was a young aspiring composer living in LA at the time. When my son gets older, I'll definitely have him watch your videos if he shows an interest in composing for a living. :)
Great advice Tom! I managed to get a feature film, low budget of course when I was 21 I'm nearly 25 now and have ok input in film and will be working on hopefully two new features. But ever since I was really young I wanted to do film music and self taught everything I could retain and studied it after I finished high school. Currently studying song writing as a bachelor degree and hopefully when I get the qualification I can get my foot even more through the door.
There's a huge amount of work and luck, but like Josh Homme once said: "...when you expect anything from music, you expect too much." I think we should be content with having the gift of being able to play, write and compose. With that in mind, let's keep working harder and harder and maybe someday some of us will find the right plug, the right contact or the right gig!
Seems I've got it back to front.... got to remix me some Elvis to travel the world ;) FWIW, great your sharing this... A window to your world, unfiltered.
Thank you so much for this insight! I've composed the score for several indie features and have done a lot of TV sync work. It's been a long and arduous haul filled with a lot of "what the hell am I doing?" and countered with the satisfaction of the actual work. This was encouraging and much needed. Do YOU have an internship available?
@junkiexlofficial Hi, Tom. I was wondering if you would consider making a short video about your mixing process. Stuff like fader level mixing, when to use compression and EQ, controlling the stereo field, etc. I've been reading online tutorials about this stuff for years and a lot of it is contradictory, so it would be nice to hear the process from an accomplished master to help clarify things. Thanks!
Love this dude. Always inspirational and willing to help others. Junkie, what made you decide to transition into film scoring? even with a successful electronic music career? I'm very curious about that.
Nobody is to old for making (movie) music ♥ ;). [And there are many great people around the world, but my favourites [from the big] are: daft punk, John 5 and Junkie XL]. And yes, learning is a hard + important part. Thank you for that, what you have told us and have nice days + be happy ^^V
Tom what percentage of the film budget is allocated for the composers side? I know it's different for someone like u but in general for someone else who is not established.
Do you think you could have followed same path re film scoring if you would have started there when you were younger, or do you think you needed the "cushion" of already being really successful and I assume somewhat financially sound? I know it's prob hard to answer. Just curious.
Ich schreib mal auf Deutsch...ich bin sicher du verstehst mich trotzdem :-) Es muss noch einen anderen Weg geben. Also einen bei dem ich nicht meine Frau und die 2 Kinder mittellos hier in Deutschland zurück lassen muss :-) Trotz allem....deine Videos sind klasse! Mach bitte weiter damit!
But you didn't address what an ugly, uninspiring, and vapid place the vast majority of L.A. is (from there, much rather be in The NL!) But I guess if you work in the film industry you can ignore all that..nonetheless, good advice about perseverance. I often think the difference between success or not in any medium is simply just lasting after everyone else has given up (and of course, continually being dependable, contributing, along the way).
Kissing the shiny butts of industry executives who know zip about shit. It's pure luck . You are very lucky my friend. There are no visionary people in Los Angeles. money vampires kill everything. It's not what you know it's who your in the circle with. Only one percent of us actually smell good enough or speak the insiders lingo in a fashion that's makes any difference. Interning is only a reality if they are your pals to begin with. ✌️👽😏🎶Christo
Which other composer takes time out to give advice and insight like this???
Thats how you know that Junkie not only greatly appreciates where he is now and how he got there, but wants to give back the best way he can by giving advice of this calibre. Not only an amazing composer, but the people's composer!!!!!
Thank you for this video. As a 19 y/o audio engineer it's scary as fuck going into this career. I intern at a small studio and have been getting a few gigs here and there, primarily mixing and mastering but a couple of recording gigs too. It's a weird "who knows what's going to happen" period if my life and just the fact that you echo that and know what it feels like it really encouraging.
Thank you. Your last words, the fact that you were 44 when you got into it and you were considered young made me feel so good about it and motivated me to work harder and harder and focus on my passion rather than on getting "that" job.
Great advices as always. You must work day by day, year by year, even without any success. Why? Because if opportunity suddenly comes, you will be ready to meet the challenge.
Btw, saying that "You was young" being a 44yo composer calmed me down haha.
As a 20 year old composer, it stressed me out, hahaha
People like Junkie are destined to be in their respective positions. Not many people can live by this philosophy. Very honest and open interview here.
Your advices work in the life in general, I got the the same feeling and recognize myself in your description while I am a graphic designer. thank you to be so honnest.
You are THE MAN!! And , in many ways, validating my path :-) Since I'm not a "young'un," I don't have the means of going to film school and hanging with up-and-coming directors, doing student films, so I too (in addition to teaching at Musicians Insitute, writing for Guitar Word magazine, and loads more things) have been assisting different established composers... and it's been such a rewarding path and process!!! Onward and upward! Thanks for the inspiration maestro mayun!!! Your efforts as an ARTIST and EDUCATOR are MUCH APPRECIATED!!
It's good to hear about these behind the scenes tips, because nobody talks about stuff like that ;)
I tend to overthink and grind things myself... sometimes you just need to let things go! Oh and patience, you gotta be patient!
Listen to Tom, it took him 10 years Folks!
Contentment, patience, and acceptance is what carries you through this life, and brings you more and more Divine grace. Thanks for all your insight and inspiration, Tom. I hope I meet you at that bar one day.
Patience and be persistent!!! And of course ,the will to try to achieve all the goals you set..
Really interesting and motivating thanks for sharing your story. Hope to get there one day as well. ❤️
Thank you Tom, your the best! I always hear the same wisdom..."It's not enough to be skilled and talented, you need to work your hardest at what you want."
Thank you Tom.Your words just light up this side of the world.
Thanks for taking the time to do these videos. You have some valuable advice. I admire your candor and humility. It made me feel hopeful when you said you didn't so your first film until you were 44.
I would really like to see a video/interview about the story/process behind the Elvis remix! I LOVE that track!!!
Your awesome for sharing and as a gear geek I love seeing your studio. David Porter has a similar story ( forgive me if it's not an exact recount it's as I remember) he moved to LA from NYC after a successful music career in advertising and sat on the couch for two years. Then an editor he knew was working on a TV pilot called Breaking Bad and asked him to work up a theme. Junkie was already a world class performer with ties to stars yet initially he hit a brick wall. I do film scoring and music part time but as a life long professional musician who played lived for years I also wanted to get into scoring and hit a wall getting past student and ultra low budget indie films until I won a national audition to score a film with industry producers and real actors, stars. This was after years of hard work doing demos and working on the craft even without having a score assignment. It did that because I had the passion for the craft. It's that hard to get in. From there it's all about building relationships and trust and of course if they like your music you will get asked to do more. There are many challenges once you are in however for now my advice is if you are very young and planning on attending music school the holly grail is USC music program where you will be surrounded by industry and get to intern with A list composers, basically you will end up where Junkie got his break, but fast track...But not everyone can afford that, I know, so plan B can work too. The joy of creating if nothing else happens, is the reward.
I've wanted to get into scoring forever, been building my studio and sound library and writing, and what you said at 6:40 just gave me so much hope. Thanks, Tom.
Always really inspiring to hear you tell your stories. Hard work and dedication pays off and it's always a good reminder to keep going and do what you love. It takes a lot of passion and belief in yourself to get to where you want to be and hearing stories like this is inspiration to keep moving to achieve your goals. Patience and hard work is important and Rome wasn't built in a day. Really happy that you're sharing your experiences with us, so thanks for the inspiration Tom and you deserve everything you've achieved with so much hard work, passion and patience.
You already have your name carved in the film industry memory stone Tom... Thanks for this insight.
This video is so important to me at this very moment. Working on a movie at the moment, and it is a constant struggle, I feel like I'm running around in circles.. This was just the right kind of inspiration I needed. Thank you Tom.
I love that Elvis remix, one of my favourite songs back in high school. That means I've been listening your music years ago without even knowing..
thank you so much for sharing. im not aiming to be a composer but im an aspiring filmmaker who loves scores especially yours tom. i am currently having that feeling where i feel like its not gonna be worth it for all this trying. but listening to your advice saying on how sometimes its okay to not get it and also it will take years and years of work. I am now more optimistic to keep working. thank you tom. love your askmeanything segments
You are the Man!!!! Hats Off Maestro Holkenberg!! ( been following your work since TODAY album. YOU the Shnits Mann!!!
You are always full of great advice, Mr. XL. Young aspiring composers are very fortunate to have the like s of you here on YT to give them great advice. In my late teens the Internet (as we know it today) hadn't been invented yet, but man, I would have benefited from your words back then when I was a young aspiring composer living in LA at the time. When my son gets older, I'll definitely have him watch your videos if he shows an interest in composing for a living. :)
Great advice Tom! I managed to get a feature film, low budget of course when I was 21 I'm nearly 25 now and have ok input in film and will be working on hopefully two new features. But ever since I was really young I wanted to do film music and self taught everything I could retain and studied it after I finished high school. Currently studying song writing as a bachelor degree and hopefully when I get the qualification I can get my foot even more through the door.
Great mindsets. Thank you for participating at your history / story.
Tom! you make me feel good and sad! I have just 31! Kkkkkk i love your music and your conversations about music and score! Tks!
Thanks Tom....great life advice
Best video EVER from you JXL! Thanks for doing this :)
I Love This! Thanks for keeping it a stack Junkie💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
Hi Tom, I love your mindset here.
I'll try to think about that, next time I feel down for not having achieved what I want yet.
Thanks a lot!
As a 20 year old composer, it is good to see I still have 24 years of practice in me before getting the gig, hahaha.
You're awesome Tom
Thank you soo much Tom! Great insights in the industry
There's a huge amount of work and luck, but like Josh Homme once said: "...when you expect anything from music, you expect too much." I think we should be content with having the gift of being able to play, write and compose. With that in mind, let's keep working harder and harder and maybe someday some of us will find the right plug, the right contact or the right gig!
Seems I've got it back to front.... got to remix me some Elvis to travel the world ;)
FWIW, great your sharing this... A window to your world, unfiltered.
thanks for uploading Tom. I was just let go of my last job and I am back on Audio. I am going full on it.
Hi Tom when are you doing a video of the Yamaha CS 80. Looking forward to your demo and insight ☺👍
Thank you so much for this insight! I've composed the score for several indie features and have done a lot of TV sync work. It's been a long and arduous haul filled with a lot of "what the hell am I doing?" and countered with the satisfaction of the actual work. This was encouraging and much needed. Do YOU have an internship available?
The subtitles are the best. "Junk Excel Korea"
how to you record your synthesizers? do you use DI box, channel strip or straight to audio interface?
spot on !
@junkiexlofficial
Hi, Tom. I was wondering if you would consider making a short video about your mixing process. Stuff like fader level mixing, when to use compression and EQ, controlling the stereo field, etc. I've been reading online tutorials about this stuff for years and a lot of it is contradictory, so it would be nice to hear the process from an accomplished master to help clarify things.
Thanks!
Amazing ! insight,
Thank you so much for this.
Love this dude. Always inspirational and willing to help others. Junkie, what made you decide to transition into film scoring? even with a successful electronic music career? I'm very curious about that.
"44 is young! " - that's inspiring
Thanks dude!
Thanks!
Hi Tom! Thanks for this. What was your method to learn strings? Any book reference?
Oooh what's this strange feeling I have? Is that what hope feels like?!?! I also scored my first feature at 44! i'm not too late to the party?! YES!!!
Funny that so many people want to have a success-guarantee for their work, otherwise they don't think this it is worth the effort!
So Tom, are you taking any intern(s) on board? ;) Keep those great videos coming up - thank you for them!
thanks so much for this 😸
You are really "ganzo" (as we say in Italian) Mr Junkie. Congrats!
Great!
In order to get those internships, do you have to have personally met the composer you're intending to be an intern for?
Nobody is to old for making (movie) music ♥ ;). [And there are many great people around the world, but my favourites [from the big] are: daft punk, John 5 and Junkie XL]. And yes, learning is a hard + important part. Thank you for that, what you have told us and have nice days + be happy ^^V
i have a question. in what samplerate do you work and can you hear a difference between different rates? thx much
I love you, Tom. Just wanted you to know that.
another honest view ...
Inspiração❤
Any chance you could reprise your epic DJ dancing in a future vid?
What do you do when you get stuck in the middle of a project and you're not sure how to approach the piece next? Especially when you're on a deadline
Long story short, make friends with the gatekeeper (Hans) and have your tool box ready
It's all about who you know.
Tom what percentage of the film budget is allocated for the composers side? I know it's different for someone like u but in general for someone else who is not established.
Ok now how did you get the gig doing the electronic dance music?
Do you think you could have followed same path re film scoring if you would have started there when you were younger, or do you think you needed the "cushion" of already being really successful and I assume somewhat financially sound? I know it's prob hard to answer. Just curious.
Being disconnected to the outcome. The scope through you can get on with many things and life and be happier :)
Ich schreib mal auf Deutsch...ich bin sicher du verstehst mich trotzdem :-) Es muss noch einen anderen Weg geben. Also einen bei dem ich nicht meine Frau und die 2 Kinder mittellos hier in Deutschland zurück lassen muss :-) Trotz allem....deine Videos sind klasse! Mach bitte weiter damit!
short answer: make friends with hans zimmer
Lol
message felt:" can i work for you JXL"?
Gawd, in other words - forget it.
*out of the blue* that sounded quite suspicious
What do you have to say about Joss Whedon replacing you with Danny Elfman?
We, fans are furious and want you back so badddd!! >.
Petje af ;-)
But you didn't address what an ugly, uninspiring, and vapid place the vast majority of L.A. is (from there, much rather be in The NL!) But I guess if you work in the film industry you can ignore all that..nonetheless, good advice about perseverance. I often think the difference between success or not in any medium is simply just lasting after everyone else has given up (and of course, continually being dependable, contributing, along the way).
So basically, 1) be rich enough to live in LA without any work and 2) make friends with a gatekeeper. Great.
Ask you anything? Of all the songs you've written or, movies you composed music for, what compilation would best suit the Trump White House?
Cliche
Kissing the shiny butts of industry executives who know zip about shit. It's pure luck . You are very lucky my friend. There are no visionary people in Los Angeles. money vampires kill everything. It's not what you know it's who your in the circle with. Only one percent of us actually smell good enough or speak the insiders lingo in a fashion that's makes any difference. Interning is only a reality if they are your pals to begin with. ✌️👽😏🎶Christo
madonna SUKS man , devils bimbo dude