5 Regras Para Composição Para Comerciais De TV, Teasers ou Sequências

5 Unwritten Rules For Composing a TV Commercial, Ident or Title Sequence

Written by Tim Rabjohns & Fridel for 

As TV composers and course leaders we come across many unwritten rules that

are simple but sometimes forgotten when working as a TV composer. Some of

you will agree that these are very simple but it sometimes make sense to go back

to the basics.

1) When you read the brief try to understand what's written in between the lines.

Remember that most likely it was not written by a musician, and so they do not

have the same way of expressing music as you do. Try and think of the brief that

describes the emotional journey that sets the mood of the piece, rather than

always just the style of the piece. Always ask as many questions as you can,

(preferably to the person making the creative decisions) before starting to

compose. It also pays to ask for specific examples of existing music - this can

save a lot of time and make things clearer..

2)Many people only submit a single option when they are pitching. We really think

it’s worthwhile trying to submit more than one option. (some of them may be from

pitches that you have done before). We normally send one version that is exactly

what the brief asks for, one that is a bit more extreme and one that follows your gut

feeling (i.e. how you think it should sound).

3) Although it is a short (ie 10 - 30 secs) it will often need to have a ‘Narrative’ of

some sort. By this we mean a short intro, a middle or body and then a build

towards the end and a finale. We find it helpful to think of it like a song - with

different “sections” - although much shorter.

Obviously not all jobs will require this format - especially some TV commercials

which want the soundtrack to sound like a slice of a song.

4) If the job needs a “mnemonic” (a memorable melody line at the end - think “Intel

Inside”) make sure it is a clear memorable melody and better if it appears in more

than one place in the music. Nowadays a mnemonic can also consist of a

signature “sound” rather than a melody - so it’s always a good idea to ask the

client what they want.

5) Subtle sound design can give lots of life to your ident composition. There are

lots of sound design libraries full of sounds, so it is very easy to do. It's worth

noting that you will always score more cred points if you create your own sounds -

that nobody else has.