[Fmpro] Educating Filmmakers

[Christopher Alpiar]

I think you are much too nice of a person Adrian. Promise me in 10  
years you will try and remember your open and generous good will,  
brother. I think you have a shot at it as long as you stay the heck  
out of LA haha ;) From my experience people mistake kindness for  
weakness and if you come across too obliging they will dog-ear you as  
someone that they can push around. So I tend to be a little more gruff  
while still holding a light of positivity. But your letter is very  
well written and seemingly true of your nature. I hope that he either  
finds some budget and hires you or he realizes his errors and waits on  
this film until he has one

Chris

On Feb 22, 2008, at 8:46 AM, Adrian Ellis wrote:

> Marinho Nobre wrote:
> "Not attacking, but educating them, and furthermore making a  
> stand.With that, you will keep them from climbing over your head  
> anddancing a 20 day tango. It's all part of communication, drawinga  
> line, and yes, they WILL listen (it will also depend on how yousay  
> it). Start believing and maybe it will work for you."
>
> Hi Marinho,
>
> That's right, that's exactly what I was trying to say.  People are  
> more apt to listen and change their attitudes if they want to.  I  
> very much believe that it's possible to change this thinking with  
> good communication.  If I didn't, I would really have to give up,  
> right now.
>
> Here's a condensed version of my 'application'.  I'm interested to  
> see what the community thinks - was I too easy?  Were there further  
> points I could have made, or made better?  You'll notice that I am  
> flattering - this is by design, to increase the chances of the  
> reader not hitting delete too quickly and continuing to take in the  
> rest of my message.  It's not insincere, though, as I do appreciate  
> how difficult it is to make even the crappiest film.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Dear ___________________
>
> Your film sounds very
> interesting, and seems to have potential. Completing a feature film on
> a low budget is no mean feat. I admire the effort and courage it must
> have taken to complete this project.
>
>
> I would be very interested
> working with you to provide a score for your picture that is on par
> with your vision; I'm a skilled composer who places great value in
> professionalism. I work as a team player, someone who is fun and
> reliable to work with, and always strives for the highest quality of
> work. I operate an advanced writing studio that can produce a fully
> realized, great sounding synthesized orchestral score that will match
> your efforts as a filmmaker and enhance the your project.
>
>
> While I
> am used to working under time constraints and write fairly swiftly, I
> won't be able to provide you with a great sounding score in the
> proposed 2 week time frame. Writing an average of about 2 minutes of
> music a day (which is considered a good, quick standard for most), it
> would take me more than 22 days to complete around 45 minutes music,
> never mind fixes/re-writes, orchestration (a totally separate art),
> mixing & mastering (also arts in their own right). As an indie
> filmmaker, you'll understand the need for wearing multiple hats on a
> low-budget project, which is very time-consuming - with a decent music
> budget, I would be able to concentrate on writing, while copyists,
> orchestrators, and mixing engineers (and more) assisted with meeting
> the turn-around time.
>
>
> I would love to work on your film, because
> it sounds like a great opportunity and an interesting story, but I
> can't do it for no money. Beyond the costs of running my studio and
> keeping up with the orchestral sample libraries and software (in some
> cases, thousands of dollars +) that make synth scores sound great and
> real, I would need to at least be able to cover my costs - rent, food,
> and other basic necessities at least, because during the time I write
> your score, I won't be able to take on or keep any other work. Knowing
> that I can sustain my activities during and after this project will
> show in the quality of the score, because I won't be worrying about  
> the
> other stuff.
>
>
> I appreciate your taking the time to consider ... (etc) ...  I'd  
> love to figure out amutually beneficial way that we can work  
> together - I am sensitive tothe challenges of the low-budget  
> filmmaker, and I'm sure you canunderstand that I need to make a  
> living as well.
>
>
>
> .... (etc) ... check out my stuff, signed and so forth ...
>
>
>
>
> -----------------------------
>
> Adrian Ellis
> Composer/Producer
> em.  aelliscomposer at yahoo.ca
> ph. (416) 951-9845
> web. http://www.adrianelliscomposer.com
>

Christopher Kennedy Alpiar
Cinematic Composer
www.alpiar.com