myHitOnline sat down with
Adam Swart who is the music coordinator and co-supervisor at
music supervision and consulting firm 35Sound in Los Angeles,
California. Together with his partner and veteran music
supervisor G. Marq Roswell, who founded 35Sound, Adam handles
music supervision projects ranging from TV, and documentaries to
major motion pictures.
35Sound music supervision credits include
among others:
End of Days
(Arnold Schwarzenegger), Walking Tall
(The Rock), Pay
It Forward (Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt),
Dawn
of the Dead,
Varsity Blues (James Van Der Beek), An Unfinished Life,
Baadasss!, Spy
Game, Auto Focus, The Hurricane, and
The
Commitments. Recently 35Sound produced and provided music
supervision on Mario Van Peebles new movie "Hard Luck" starring
Wesley Snipes.
Adam gave us an insight look
into how the music selection process works and offers some
invaluable advice when pitching music to music supervisors.
|
|
|
 |
How did you become involved
in selecting music for movies?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: I always had a passion for
music and even played in several bands when I grew up. When I
moved to Los Angeles, I basically hustled my way into two
internships, starting off working at a music library and later I
bumped into Marq Roswell at UCLA, which led me to music
supervision by chance.
What do you like about
music supervision and what's a typical day in the life of Adam
Swart?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: The thing that I love about
music supervision is that it's very creative and that there's
always a new challenge. In essence, every day is a new day and
there isn't really a "typical" day for a music supervisor. For
example, yesterday I was out working on a score for a project
and today I'm working on a high-profile assignment where we're
looking to cast singers. In that case, we're searching not just
for music but for the singers as well, which is quite exciting.
On other days, I might be
working on clearing and licensing music or just finding the
right songs for specific scenes. We even get down to the
nitty-gritty by editing music in Quicktime for directors. As you
can see there's not really any sort of typical structure. It's
more just going with the flow and seeing what's needed on a
project-by-project basis.
How do you get involved
with these projects? Do they usually find you or the other way
around?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: The projects land on our desk
mainly as a result of our relationships we've formed while
working on assignments with past producer and director clients.
They in turn also recommend our consulting and music supervision
services. We've also received a number of projects through
agents.
|
For what type of work do
they typically come to you? Do you specialize in a particular
area where people say "oh yeah, we're going to go to Marq and
Adam for this"?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: Actually, we try to be as open
about projects as possible. We don't pigeonhole ourselves
creatively and very much enjoy working on a variety projects
including documentaries, TV and feature films. For example, we
recently finished work on Robert Greenwald's documentaries "WAL-MART:
The High Cost of Low Price" and Iraq for Sale. At the
same time, we work on major studio films, anything ranging from
African American to Country music films.
Who makes the decision as
to which songs get picked for a film?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: The director along with the
producers ultimately have the final call as to what actually
makes it in. What we'll do is we'll edit 4-5 song choices into
the film and then it's a matter of seeing what works creatively,
along with what we have in the budget. And sometimes what works
creatively and what you have in the budget are two very
different things. It's a matter of matching up these two
criteria.
|
|
How much music do you
typically need for a film or a TV project?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: We primarily work on film
projects and, on average, I would say we need 5-6 songs. The
type of music can vary from original songs to customized scores
to sound-a-likes.
How do you select songs? In
other words, when do you say "oh, this is something we'll
present to the director or producer?"
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: For me personally, it's
primarily a gut instinct. When we receive a script that is in
pre-production the first thing we do is break down each scene.
For example, if there are people in a car and if it feels like a
song could go there - then we'll note that. Or if they are in a
bar, etc. We'll just take notes throughout the script and a lot
of times the scriptwriter will already have thoughts on where he
wants songs, so we'll just do a complete breakdown on that, and
then you really get a good sense of what music the script
requires.
We then send two or three CDs off to the director and
get feedback. At that point, the director might not like any of
the music, but at least you get a musical conversation going
from there. Or he might say "Hey, those 3 or 4 songs are
perfect, let's see how much they are going to cost." It's just a
matter of getting a dialogue going from there.
|
|
 |
Is the process different
when selecting music for film than when it is for TV?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: For TV, there are a few more
cooks in the kitchen because you're dealing not only with the
director, but also with the writer and there are many more
producers. It becomes more bureaucratic and more political.
TV projects move much faster
than film, since there's less time available. For most films you
have up to about a year from the time you begin to the mix date.
In television, for example, we're developing an eight part
mini-series on
ESPN and we're basically mixing one show a week, which is a
pretty hectic schedule for eight weeks. You have to basically
clear the music ahead of time in anticipation of the mix.
To have one-stop shopping
(i.e. master and publishing rights) especially in independents
is really important and I'd say it's even more important on
television projects because you just don't have the time to go
out and clear the publishing and mastering. Especially, when
you're dealing with the large media companies. It's a really
laborious process and it can take up to a month and you know we
don't have time like that. One stop-shop is a gift in a way for
TV projects and for any other projects for that matter.
Sounds like you must be
listening to music 24/7?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: Yes! If I'm not at work I try
to pick out 10-15 new artists which I listen to during the
weekend. This way I can always listen to new things.
What issues do you
encounter as a music supervisor?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: Sometimes you have to make
compromises when selecting music. That is, sometimes what you
think might work might be different from what a director or
producer feels is right. And of course, financially, you're
working with a finite amount of money in your budget. So a
studio says you have $200,000 to fit all the music and then it's
our responsibility to work out the puzzle, piece by piece. So
even though a director might want a specific song, you might not
be able to supply it, because of budget constraints. So in that
sense you are limited and have to find creative compromises. You
have to make the best of what you have available if there are
certain constraints.
|
What type of projects do you prefer to work on? Big budget
films, or independent and smaller budget projects?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart:
We don't really have a preference as far as that goes.
Independent films are a lot fun to work on, because you are
collaborating more with the director. It also becomes a lot less
political. On the other hand, these projects also require more
work, especially if the film goes through the film festival
circuit (such as the
Sundance
Film Festival or other). That means we've got to wait for a
distributor to come in and then re-clear a lot of the songs for
distribution, which translates to basically doing twice the
work. Which is fine, but it's lot of work.
Nevertheless, in the end it's all worth it, because I just love
the collaborative process and working creatively with the
director and trying to find the right music for the film. Seeing
the movie on the screen is sort of like a "delayed
gratification". You don't really see everything until the end,
because you're just working on specific scenes and small pieces
and once you see it on the big screen, it's pretty magical.
How many music submissions or music CDs do you receive in a
typical week?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart:
It depends, but on average I would say we receive around 100-150
CDs. CDs make up approximately 75% of all submissions with the
balance of 25% either being FTP uploads and mp3s or virtual CDs.
But it's increasingly becoming more digital with virtual CDs or
links to mp3s. It's really nice, because when I get 100
submissions, I can quickly go through them and pick something
for what I've been working on. I then download the songs I like
and create another playlist and listen to them again. After that
I create a couple of compilations and make CDs for the directors
and producers. You can have things done in a 24 hour turnaround
versus snail mail where it takes a week to receive a CD.
Is there anything people should be aware of when submitting
songs to music supervisors?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart:
Two things:
1) I think you have to strike a fair balance between following
up and being patient. Don't push too hard, but do make a follow
up.
2) Pay very close attention to what a music supervisor is
looking for and don't send music you just composed you think is
great, but that doesn't fit the scene. Don't bombard with 5 or
10 CDs that aren't specific to what they're looking for.
The
more precise you are when submitting music, the greater the
likelihood a music supervisor will listen to your submissions.
In other words, sending 5 songs that exactly meet the criteria
rather than 5 CDs with lots of music will be much more
appreciated.
Remember, music supervisors receive thousands of
songs every week and don't have a lot of time, so you want to be
savvy in filtering your music to the exact requirements.
Do you also help in
selecting composers when casting for a music score?
 Music
Supervisor Adam Swart: Yes, we have worked with a few
great composers. For examples, we worked with
Tyler Bates who we first collaborated with on a little Indie
film called "Baadasss!", which in turn helped him to work with
"Dawn of the Dead" directed by
Zack Snyder.
Zack Snyder didn't hesitate to work again with
Tyler on his most recent box office hit "300".
So it's definitely very rewarding for us to help directors find
not only the right kind of music, but also composers for entire
film scores. Marq is really good at working with composers,
because he's also seen the whole label end.
Do you have any thoughts
for composers who are trying to break into film scoring?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: Any composer that's trying to
break into scoring film projects should pick up any project,
even if you are losing a little money on it, so you can say that
you have a demo. Even if that means doing it for free. It's all
about momentum, because once you meet a few directors, they will
have friends who also direct movies and so they'll be able to
recommend you.
Do you see yourself
directing films yourself in the future?
Music Supervisor Adam Swart: Yes, definitely, I would like
to direct a few films and have been pursuing that on the side.
|
About Adam Swart
Adam Swart is music
coordinator and co-supervisor at music supervision and
consulting firm 35Sound in Los Angeles. Adam handles all
clearance requests for 35Sound film and TV projects.
About 35Sound Music
Supervision + Consulting
35Sound, founded by industry
veteran G. Marq Roswell, handles music supervision projects from
TV to documentaries to major motion pictures.
35Sound music supervision
credits include among others: End of Days (Arnold
Schwarzenegger), Walking Tall (The Rock), Pay It Forward (Kevin
Spacey, Helen Hunt), Dawn of the Dead, Varsity Blues (James Van
Der Beek), An Unfinished Life, Baadasss!, Spygame, Auto
Focus, The Hurricane, and The Commitments. Recently, 35Sound
produced and provided music supervision on Mario Van Peebles new
movie "Hard Luck" starring Wesley Snipes.
About myHitOnline
-
#1 A&R Tipsheet:
myHitOnline is the leading professional
music industry resource & pitch sheet for music publishers,
record labels and professional producers/writers. It provides
information about pitch, production and licensing opportunities
worldwide for: Newly signed & established artists, Film & TV,
Video Games, Advertising, Licensing opportunities, e.g.
compilations. Updated daily.
-
The Best Song Pitch System: myHitOnline offers access to
its Song Pitching System, allowing clients to manage their
music catalogue online, submit songs for pitch opportunities
instantly with its fully-automated email pitch system. With a
click of a button, users are able to create an unlimited number
of customized song-pitches that can be viewed instantly.
-
News & Online Community: Read insider's articles, share
thoughts on an upcoming project, connect with other serious
music industry professionals, or simply browse the latest news.
|
|
   |
More
Featured Interviews:
MTV Music Supervisor Carrie Hughes
Production Team Stargate
Multi-platinum Producer Michael Jay
Universal Music Publishing Executive Lisa
Cullington
Billboard Award Winner Eddie G
Multi-platinum Producer Toby Gad
|
|
|
|
|
|
|