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Music
for your Independent Film
by Peter
John Ross www.sonnyboo.com
One of the
things that can make or break a movie is the
music. Can you imagine JAWS without the John
Williams music? What about the techno music
in THE MATRIX? As no-budget filmmakers, we
often times forget that sound is 50% of the
experience of seeing a movie, whether it be
a :30
second joke, or a 4 hour Lord of the Rings
DVD. And, thanks to technology, we can
easily add any music we can get our hands on
into our movies. Since we can take an audio
CD from any musician, put it in a CD-Rom and
quickly load that digitally mastered song on
to a timeline of our handy editing program,
temptation has an all new meaning. It's like
having a piece of forbidden dessert on every
tray at a buffet.
Pro Video Terms - Glossary
Pro Audio Terms - Glossary
Let's
talk about why you should NOT do this. First
and foremost - it's illegal, as in against
federal law. Maybe you've heard of this -
COPYRIGHT. Everyone already knows this, but
dirt poor, no budget filmmakers think this
law doesn't apply to them. Popular music
costs a lot of money to use in your movies.
That's probably why most people steal music
& use it without permission.
Secondly,
here's where you have to consider another
point of view (other than our own selfish,
"I'm the filmmaker" view). If you
can take their music without paying for it,
then why should anyone ever pay for any
aspect of your movie? Music is intellectual
property, just like your movie will be. If
you can steal their music without paying,
then someone at a TV station or a website
should have equal rights to steal your movie
& never have to pay for it.
On a moral
& ethical level, it's wrong to use music
without permission. I am quite sure if you
saw someone selling copies of your movie
without paying you, it'd be like restraining
Chris Farley at an all-you-can-eat lunch
special. What is the difference between
stealing your movie or stealing someone
else's music? NOTHING. What kind of
arrogance makes us think we are more
important than musicians?
Who
am I to preach? Have I ever put copyrighted
music into my projects? Of course.
Virtually every first-time filmmaker
puts music that's copyrighted into their
movies. I did it a lot when I first started.
Since then I have made every effort to get
original music into my projects or actually
make arrangements for obtaining the rights
and pay the necessary royalties.
THE
SOLUTIONS
There
are as many struggling musicians and
songwriters as indie filmmakers. Make a
connection. Help EACH OTHER out. You can get
their music exposed in venues previously
unavailable to them, and you can have
original music that doesn't make you nervous
to play at every film festival. It's also
much classier to have your own
“original” music. It differentiates your
movie from the dozens of others using the
same songs.
You
can also get cheap "loop" programs
like FRUITY LOOPS or Sonic Foundry's ACID.
These enable you to quickly and cheaply
create music from loops and to customize the
speed, tempo, pitch and many aspects to make
the music fit your exact needs. It's better
than a "cease & desist" letter
from an attorney and it's legal to use once
you BUY the program (illegally copying
programs is whole OTHER article).
Stock
Music libraries are also an option to
consider. These cost money, but in the end
it's much cheaper than popular music. Music
ranges from El Cheapo type stuff where you
can buy a CD of music for $250, then use it
anytime for free (also known as
"Royalty Free" music because you
buy it once & own the right to use it
anytime). Then there is the top of the line
EXTREME MUSIC which is very expensive, but
incredibly good. They charge "per
needle drop", meaning you pay for each
usage of the music, if you use it online -
there's one fee, and if you use it on
television, there is a different price, etc.
Before buying any stock music collection,
read the fine print and understand exactly
how you can use it and when.
If
you are dead set on obtaining a popular
song, SECURE THE RIGHTS. Go to ASCAP or BMI
and find out how to get the proper
licensing. "Internet Only rights"
are cheap, and they invented something for
no-budget filmmakers with the "Festival
Only Rights" to songs to make this more
affordable to Indie Filmmakers like us. Try
to do it legally, because if the RIAA is
going after individual users that download a
John Mayer song on KAZAA, then what do you
think they'll do to a filmmaker trying to
make money from using a song in their movie?
It's not a slap on the wrist anymore. It's a
lawsuit.
SUM
UP
Will
you get caught? Probably not, but lately,
the risk is going up. I recently got a
letter from an attorney for music I used in
a movie I did from February 2000 that still
lingered on a short film website, not even a
popular site. I have since removed the movie
from their site & I am re-editing to add
original music.
And
because I am a former musician myself, let
me say that I am not unsympathetic to the
plight of indie filmmakers. Resist the
temptation to steal music.
I am
giving away 9 songs for free to be
used by any Indie Filmmaker completely free
with full rights. These aren't the best
songs, but they're free.
http://sonnyboo.com/music/music.htm
Here
are other completely free music resources
online for Indie Film :
http://www.freeplaymusic.com
http://www.compositeur-arrangeur.com
I hope
this helps
Peter John
Ross
www.sonnyboo.com
SmartSound's new Indie Film Music Pack gives independent
filmmakers the creative flexibility and control to get a powerful,
professional-quality music score for a small cost. Priced at just
$499, it includes the SmartSound Sonicfire Pro software and a choice
of any 25 royalty-free tracks from SmartSound's library of more than
1,200 cuts. Sonicfire Pro helps filmmakers tailor the tracks to fit
the exact length and mood needed to score a scene. And because the
tracks are royalty-free, the rights are cleared from festival
screenings to theatrical or DVD releases.
Check
Out Other Articles by Peter John Ross
The
Truth about Robert Rodriquez - tips about
low budget film making
Use
Public Access TV to Promote Your Films
Indie
Film Cliches
How
to put Your Short Film on the Net
Get
Ready to Edit Your Digital Video Production
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