Some of you may know that I was at one time (many years ago) a martial arts instructor. During that time I’ve seen plenty of kick-and-punch prodigies prancing around the mats, unable/unwilling to really translate the mechanics of how they do what they do, severely limiting anyone’s ability to actually learn/benefit from their skills and experience. The same can be said for the software/IT industry. Several good books have been written about how “technocrats” can seem incapable of externalizing their methods and translating their techniques to others. Even if they have the capability to teach what they know, you’ll often see “leaders” meting out what they know in order to maintain their relative position of superiority. One of my martial arts instructors referred to it as “the 90% syndrome” – where successive generations/iterations of knowledge lead to loss of salient knowledge because each generation tacitly learns that holding back information maintains their relative position of authority – but in the end it leads to “cultural erosion” that can decimate a social or working group.
However, every once in a while you’ll find that exception to the rule. Even in the cut-throat world of the film music biz, there are a few kind souls that feel confident enough to put all of their cards on the table. Deane Ogden is one of those people. He was one of the first composers that I met after moving to Los Angeles. I was surprised by how candid he was about *all* sides of the business, and how forthright he was about his own perceptions and experience. With his easy-going demeanor and open-book approach (to nearly everything), it can be easy to overlook that he’s not only a talented composer but also a world class drummer/percussionist. I would even call him a prodigy if there weren’t so many pejorative connotations associated with the term. It’s been several years (and a handful of successful collaborations between us) since then, and in that time Deane has scaled up to publish his own audio blog about the art, craft and business of music for film. The “Scorecast” podcast on iTunes (and Gcast) gained a worldwide following. And now has recruited a team of like-minded souls (myself included) to join in on writing a blog to have frank discussions about the myriad aspects of working in the film, television, and new media business as a musician today. Scorecastonline has quickly developed into a highly valuable resource for budding composers (and I’d imagine that a few seasoned vets can get something from it as well).
The reason why I’m publishing this blog entry now is that there’s a particular article that Deane published on the site recently that has really put hits the nail on the head. Deane covers the “verboten” territory of what to do when there’s no gig in the queue. That topic seems to be a really radioactive subject, like the 800 pound gorilla in the room that most groups of composers are loathe to discuss. It’s articles like that (and the online discussions that follow) which makes it so rewarding to know and work with guys like Deane as well as the rest of the Scorecast crew. They’re all guys that relish the “keep it real” vibe, and makes it a lot of fun to work with them.
I’ve learned a lot by hanging out with Deane, and continue to pick things up along the way. Anyone that’s interested in seeing “a day in the life” of a film composer, the Scorecastonline blog is a great place to start. I’m proud to be a part of it.
