Hello brothers. It’s really funny reading
you two write blog posts cause you write them just like you’d talk to each
other. At least, how you’d talk if you talked in really, really long blog
posts.
Anyway, my creative process:
Unlike you two, I get paid to compose music,
so there’s a great deal of pressure that I get things done. And when there’s that pressure, that you have
deadlines when you have to hand it over, and often reasonably strict
guidelines for the music itself, it’s actually a lot easier to get things done.
You both talked about universal truths that are faced by people who have to be
creative for a living, and I think that one of those truths is that we can keep
working on something indefinitely if we’re given the option. I would probably
still be changing the first song I ever wrote if I didn’t have to hand it in to
class. So having deadlines and guidelines really does help me. I know you two
must be cringing at the thought of limitations put on your work, but believe
me; it helps. Often the best thing you can do for a project, is let it go.
R. A., if you just give yourself a word
limit, or character limit, or really any kind of boundary that you cannot pass,
and Dan if you give yourself a time limit, or budget limit, or write something
that only has a limited number of days to be filmed, then something will very
quickly change. Both of your focuses will move from adding more and more
content to your story, to making the limited amount of content you are allowed
to use the most substantial and well developed it can be. This little change in
the way you write will make a huge difference. So while you may not like the
idea of self-put arbitrary limits on your creative process, I know from nearly five years of personal experience, it works.
With all that said, composing isn’t all
that difficult to start with, and it gets progressively harder as you go along.
You can sit down with any combination of instruments, and keep hitting and
strumming and blowing till you find a sound that works, and form a tune that it
works with. After that, it gets hard. That first stage is my favorite because I
can create very distinct sounds for each of my compositions, and people who employ
me love to hear this diverse range. Once you are on a project though, all of
those limitations set into place. There may be dialogue, or sound effects, or
producers that have such a specific vision in mind that they basically compose
for you. There’s also the timing of the picture to consider, and what tone is
currently on screen. One of the most baffling parts of the process is that what
tone I think each scene is, eg. Happy, sad, intense, passionate etc. might be
completely different to what everyone else sees.
But it all works to give me more boundaries
to work in, and the deadline only approaches faster. But by this point, I have
the sound the composition needs to be, I know if it needs to be happy or sad,
how long it has to last, the instruments that go into it, and I usually have
some idea of what kind of music the producer likes, so I try to play into that.
And then, all of a sudden, it’s done and out of my hands.
I guess that’s something that not just the
two of you, but all creative hopefuls and professionals should remember. Ultimately,
you’re not making something that only you can enjoy, and that is never going to
leave your personal property, you’re making work for other people.
The less you
think that the work is only about you, and the more you realise that it is for
other people, the easier it will get to just let go, and produce some amazing
products.
That’s a little bit about my creative
process.
Dan, R. A., it’s been an interesting few days, and I’ll read from you next
week.
Andrew Lyons.
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