Composers and Orchestrators - Who should get the credits?
It is general practice for composers working in TV to use orchestrators mostly due to the incredibly heavy workload and tight deadlines. Many composers I work with and respect define a vast majority of the score details, instrumentation, and secondary lines before handing it off to the orchestrator. The orchestrators are often paid well for their services, but in many cases where the orchestrator has done much more than simply “enhance” or “realize” the score, they are denied a fair percentage of the writer’s share (if given a percentage at all). In these cases, the orchestrator might create musical elements to support the original material by a composer including expanding sections of music and enhancing harmonies/voicings, as well as distributing harmonic material, lines and motifs from the composer among individuals and/or sections of the orchestra or ensemble.
The issue comes into play when credits are given as to who is the writer and who contributed to the creativity. This is a contentious issue amongst musicians and leads to lawyers having to get involved which often leads to people fighting and losing creativity in the process. We would love to hear your ideas and thoughts on this issue.
http://www.acomposersview.com/2010/02/16/does-a-line-exist-between-composer-and-orchestrator/
- Category: Advertising, Music, TV & Film
- Planted: 17th Feb
- Buzzed: 1 time in 2 years 12 weeks
What's originality?
In response to Matthew Kajcienski's thought-provoking piece on the relationship between composers and orchestrators, I thought it'd be interesting to provide a literary spin on it and focus on my personal work as an editor, and how my approach might differ from those with a closer focus on profits. In particular, I focus on the resultant work of my last collaboration, a book entitled The Chewy Cerebrum and Other Stories, and how it seems almost absurd to try and quantify individual input into it.
http://chrisjfraser.com/post/439430633/whats-originality
