[Fmpro] Yes We Can) The Arts

[Jim Chase]

Chris Merritt,

"How is your income split up? (this may be too probing, sorry.)"

     No apologies necessary, Chris.  Our business plan is not a  
matter of national security.

     To tell the truth, Billy Hale receives 100% of the gross from  
client, and a lion's share of the back-end.  Billy's finances are  
largely hidden from me, but recently the addition of PayPal to our  
site is my responsibility, along with shipping and invoicing.

     While Billy writes film scores, I work mostly in an  
administrative capacity; dealing with incoming, web-site, and  
whatever else I can do to take the heat off Billy so he is free to do  
that voodoo that he do.

     ... And then there is the opportunity for me to compose a cue or  
three.  That is the payoff.  I don't need the money, but I've always  
needed some creative outlet; don't we all?  Traveling and performing  
did the trick for twenty years, until I turned fifty, and the chrome  
plating done wore off the ol' trailer hitch.

     Some Film Music Professionals would call me a hummer/whistler  
(I've often heard that term here, and I love the badge!)  However, I  
can translate the melodies and harmonies that I hum and whistle onto  
staves.  Blessed with a near perfect sense of pitch, I use my trusty  
E 329.6 tuning fork when my ear gets the slightest bit confused

     Although a bit of tinnitus has taken its toll -- working around  
machinery, two decades of live performance, and a passion for large  
caliber handguns -- the music in my head is sometimes louder than  
normal conversation.  "Say What?"

     What amazes me is the fact that notes in my head can be input  
into notation software, and transposed to another key and any midi  
instrument voice, at any tempo, with unique velocities and ADSR for  
each note, and synched to video frames!  This is a tool that was  
unimaginable to me as recently as five years ago.

     Other than being empowered with computer technology, nothing  
much has changed in this half-century journey, since my dad first set  
my diapered bottom down in front of the baby-sitter du jour, the  
Capehart monaural.  He placed the needle on a 33 1/3 LP.  I used a  
nutpick as a baton to direct the music a la Leonard Bernstein, and  
Arthur Fiedler.  I tried to draw pictures of the musical notes with  
crayons, before I could even write my name.
====

You Wrote.
"By far most of my income is from the front end pay.  I do mostly
promos, themes, and commercials.  A good month might be $15k"

     Chris, keep up the good work.  And toss anything you don't have  
time for to others on this list.  They might appreciate it.  I know  
that I would, and I'll do the same for you.  As an homogenous  
community, we stand a better chance of surviving.

Jim Chase