The course begins with an overview of the historical and current uses of songs in order to succeed as a songwriter for film and television. You’ll then explore the elements of a visual-media-friendly song, including appropriate harmonic colors, rhythmic elements, and intros, vamps, and endings. Whether your material is background source music or a featured song, the course will teach you how to successfully write on demand and how to write for music libraries. You’ll learn effective techniques for collaborating, both during the writing and production process. Your ability to collaborate with other writers and performers will expand your network and greatly improve your chances for successful placement of your songs in visual media. The course will also explore important business considerations, including negotiation, payment, and rights.

Throughout the course, you will write several short songs—each of which provide an opportunity to master specific techniques needed to succeed as a songwriter for visual media. You will also write and produce a full-length song for a featured use in a movie scene. You will have several opportunities to improve your songs through collaboration with your classmates and guided feedback from your instructor. The goal of the course is to give you the knowledge and tools you need to successfully place your songs in a hit movie or a popular television series. You’ll start thinking more like a director and gain the skills to write songs that will enhance the overall production.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Write or modify their songs to make them “media-friendly”
• Collaborate effectively with other writers and musicians
• Find opportunities for your music to be placed into visual media
• Exchange audio files for flawless collaborations
• Ask the right questions and listen effectively, when speaking to production staff regarding their needs for songs
• Negotiate effectively when entering into agreements with publishers and producers
• Understand the details needed for cue sheets to enable writer and publisher royalty income
• Understand key components in agreements between songwriters and third-party publishers specializing in song placement
• Write a song to work in sync with on-screen action (dancing)
• Write and orchestrate songs so the song effectively communicates time, location, and dramatic tone

Syllabus

Lesson 1 Historical and Current Use of Songs in Visual Media

Lesson 2 Songwriting “On Demand”

Lesson 3 Writing a Visual Media Friendly Song

Lesson 4 Writing for Music Libraries, Part 1

Lesson 5 Writing for Music Libraries, Part 2

Lesson 6 Background Source Music Not Sync’d to Picture

Lesson 7 Music Front and Center on the Dance Floor

Lesson 8 Collaboration, Part 1

Lesson 9 Collaboration within the Production Phase

Lesson 10 Featured Songs

Lesson 11 How Do I Get Paid for My Songs?

Lesson 12 Final Projects and into the “Reel” World

Requirements

Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements