In the second installment of my Composer Routines series, I spoke with composer Darren Fung (The Great Human Odyssey, Equus: Story of the Horse). Darren wears many hats; not only is he a skilled composer, he's also a conductor, serves on the Board of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada after recently stepping down as the Second Vice President, acts as a Program Advisor for the Canadian Film Centre's Slaight Music Residency, and is a husband and father.

Joey Newman – composer, husband, father of three daughters, four cats, and a dog. If you know Joey, or at least know his work, you know that he's composed for dozens of TV shows including Little People, Big World, The Mysteries of Laura, and The Middle. So how does a composer juggle the responsibilities of week-to-week TV work while simultaneously being family man? I asked Joey about his daily routine to find out...

So, you've graduated from college. Now what? Nothing fills your soul with equal parts exuberant triumph and debilitating anxiety quite like being thrown into the real world. Whether you're feeling confident or paralyzed by fear, many college graduates will be faced with similar post-college learning experiences. In this blog post, I'll be going over what you know, what you don't know, and some next steps and what to expect.

How do you get started when scoring a film that requires ethnic influence in the music? Over the next couple of months I will be scoring a number of ethnic influenced films and I'll be sharing my process with you every step of the way. Our first step is the research, but it includes much more than music.

Films I will be scoring include an Irish influenced animated short by Grounded filmmaker Justine Howard, a Greek influenced documentary feature by director George Tsioutsioulas, and an Asian influenced Legend of Zelda fan film by A Boy Named Bellamy filmmaker Israel Combs. 

To college, or not to college? That is the highly debated question (one of many) in the music industry. With success stories ranging widely from both college educated and non-college educated musicians, it can be difficult to weigh the pros and cons of spending time and money for a piece of paper with some black ink on it. Let's take a look at our options for the Film Scoring career path.

When you're done, check out my list of Film Scoring programs.

Happy New Year everyone! 2014 flew by, but I'm already super excited about 2015. Those who know me know that I'm a planner and an obsessive organizer, so I take my New Year's resolutions very seriously. I write them down, put them on my fridge, and stare at them for hours. Maybe not hours. But now it's time to write some new ones! When you're done reading my recommended list, tell me what your resolutions are in the comments. 

We've all been there - you're on a roll, the creative juices are flowing, and then out of nowhere you hit a wall. It can happen at any moment, sometimes even before you get started. So what can you do to generate new ideas and get the momentum going again? Here are just a few things I do to get the gears moving again; give them a try, you'll be surprised how well they work!

Last week I posted the first part of my 5 Ways to Become a Better Film Composer, which focused more on the non-musical side of the profession. This week is part two, and I'll be focusing more on the musical aspects. Today's film composer is very interesting, it's not at all the same as the classically trained composer of the pre-1970s or 80s eras. Because of this, there have been some drastic changes in musical styles and aesthetics in film, so today I'll try to be broad about the genres, but will include some things I think are still very necessary.

There's a lot that goes into being a good film composer, it's more than writing good music and having expensive equipment. This is the first of a two-part list where I'll give you a few ideas on how to be a better film composer. This is not a "how-to" post, but rather a list to inspire you to take a critical look at yourself as a musician and address areas you can improve upon. When you're confident in your abilities, I also have an article for 10 Ways to Make Money as a Film Composer!