Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Somewhere at the beginning.....

So I'll try to update this thing when I can....right now I have a lot of free time, but don't want to spend hours blogging, you know? But maybe you find yourself in my shoes, wanting to pursue your pipe dream and finally having the courage....and to some extent, money....to do it!

First, some history. I'm a pianist by day (got my master's in it), but an aspiring film composer by night. I've always wanted to pursue this, and have gotten/read a few reliable books on it (can list those if you like). Watched the Richard Davis YouTube series, and feel like I at least know something of the process of filmmaking. I find my music CDs consist of 90% film soundtracks, and transcribing film scores to piano has been a hobby of mine since the 4th grade. Don't get me wrong, I have a varied taste in music. There are some 60 songs I've transcribed (some with, you know, 8 bars), but all but a few are hand-written. Worked with Finale in college and have a version right now :)

So -- I'm now beginning to really wade thru the jungle of software and equipment. Should I buy/save for this, is something worth it or no. There are so many CHOICES - esp within each software program - that it's bordering ridiculous for those who are starting out like me....

Some programs I think would be reliable:

Logic Express
Ableton
Garage Band (actually have worked with this and like it)
Avid
Pro Tools

If you have any other suggestions, chime in :)

Half the battle of the modern film composer is getting and learning the gear. I'm trying to decide what software program(s) to use and just get started with that. I have a Powermac G4 with Panther (yeah it's old but the processor can't handle more than 10.4) flat screen, M-Audio keyboard and used to have Garage Band but that's another long and sad story.

That's it for now. Stay tuned - don't touch that computer dial ;)