I just caught this thread. You and I were in the workshop together. Good luck with your film and if you need any orchestration help in the future, drop me a line. Best wishes.
Sean Paxton
scpax@aol.com
190,630 users have contributed to 42,756 threads and 257,207 posts.
In the past 24 hours, we have 4 new thread(s), 11 new post(s) and 47 new user(s).
I'm afraid that the bottom line is this:
1) Orchestrators and Engineers get paid. If the composer does really well out of the film, it is extremely unlikely that they will pass on a bonus. Do orchestrators get a share of the Royalties? Not in my experience.
2) Just because an orchestrator has worked for a composer before, it doesn't mean that they will be asked again. I was bumped off a film earlier this year simply because the Producers were unfamiliar with the Director's choice of composer and insisted on a team that had worked on one of "their" films before. I had worked for this composer for around 4 years, earning him 2 BAFTA's in the process.
So as I said in point 1), orchestrators get paid. If you can't afford an orchestrator, then do it yourself, or use samples. Why should the film company get something they haven't paid for anyway?
DG
@magates said:
no one's pocketing a lot of money these films (like the one I needed help with) at best break even and often lose money as they go direct to DVD.
Really?? Who ended up with the $300K. The camera man? Editor? Actors?
"... because it sounds better than just synths" - magates
How does it sound compared to VSL? Is that a "synth" ? What is that statement supposed to mean anyway?
BTW, it is obvious you are screwing people blue. The simple fact of the matter is - people always want music. But they never want to pay for it. And in filmmaking, the composer is usually the single most artistically talented person involved in the entire production. And gets screwed most of the time...
I would advise anyone to tell this guy to take a flying fuck. If you have any self respect.
and one last thing -
stay true to yourself, and avoid Maggots. Sorry sir, Magates. I need to get that name straight. My apologies.
You my fellow composers, are worth more than any asshole who tells you your work is worth nothing. It is NEVER worth the experience. You already have the experience. You are an artist! You must be paid, IN HARD CASH, every penny you are worth. The greatest example to emulate, who would tell Maggots to f*** off, is Bernard Herrmann, the divine inspiration of all true film composers. His salary was often the biggest single item in the budget.
Yes, that was a bit extreme of me, eh? Sorry about my obscene presentation, I apologize for that. I get highly irritated by some things here. However it is not slanderous, and on top of that I still feel exactly the same. One should absolutely never do this kind of work for any reason whatsoever. Unless it is your OWN project that you are doing for free. That is different, but this is just being used.