Tom Brown | Film, TV and Composition | Essential Tips

Tom Brown, our Emmy-winning BA Music Production for Film, TV and Games Programme Leader has enjoyed some fantastic success within the world of visual media as a composer. 

Initially starting out in bands, he was increasingly drawn to music composition and production. His subsequent achievements include scoring the music for the Emmy-Award winning 'The Nightcrawlers' and for the Hulu documentary and podcast, 'Making of an Activist'. 

We caught up with Tom to learn his essential tips on the best way to navigate the industry. 

• Studying can be a great platform for launching a career
• Remember who you meet on your musical journey
• Choose what you work on
• Think carefully about what you add to your CV or showreel
• Being trustworthy and reliable = work
• You will have to work across time zones
• Remember your place in a project 
• But remember to make the music your own too
• Get your technical skills up to scratch
• Artists and bands should explore music sync as an income stream
• Use social media and websites to present yourself
• Core compositional skills work across film, TV and video games

Studying can be a great platform for launching a career 

I studied a Masters in Film Composition after my BMus in Popular Music Performance. I came from a band background so this was to get some experience/confidence in the field to further understand what it was all about. 

Going to university also meant I could network and forge connections. We shared each other's skills for our final major project and I continued to work with them (from other departments of the university - animation/film).

I continued to work with some of my peers after I finished my Masters in Composing For Film & TV on some short films and a couple of animation projects. A great, organic way of opening doors."

Remember who you meet on your musical journey

No matter how good you are, film and TV work can depend on your networks and who you meet. 

One of my first professional projects on the next level up was with someone who did a music video for my old band some years ago. He went into film and post-production. Some time later, I reached out to him to see if he knew anyone who was looking for a film/TV composer. He did, pointed me in their direction and I ended up getting on the project. They were looking for a composer at that time so it just worked out. Timing can be crucial! We went on to do this documentary called 'The Nightcrawlers' which took three years to complete. We got close to the BAFTAs and Oscars before it won an Emmy, which has led to further work. 

Choose what you work on

If you believe in a project and trust it will be a great film, then you have to do it. 

I know people are keen to do films and just want to do something but I wanted to be more choosy with what I did and be inspired by the project. 

It's sensible to think about why you want to get involved. It's not always about money - and shouldn't be at the start for sure. There are other benefits for your career and CV. 

Think carefully about what you add to your CV or showreel

On your CV or showreel, if you want a project on there, you have to believe in it. 

I don't want to give a director my showreel, they watch it and think one of the films I've worked on is not as good as it could be. The music might be great but they will wonder if it's your judgement that led you to work on it. Even if the music is good, if the film isn't, it can be detrimental to your chances of gaining future projects. 

Being trustworthy and reliable = work

Be reliable and nice - these are the golden rules. If you can work with someone as a director or producer from early in your respective careers, then you can also progress together. 

For a filmmaker, it's often easier to continue a collaborative relationship with a composer who they know is good and can deliver rather than having to find someone new. If they can trust you, then they will come back to you." 

You will have to work across time zones

Always show integrity although it does get stressful when you work to crazy deadlines and across time zones. 

Sometimes on projects I've worked on, the production team and director are in different parts of the world so it can be an extra challenge on top of the work itself. You might [and when I say might … I mean definitely will] have to work at unusual hours or take calls late and this can add an extra layer of complexity! 

Remember your place in a project 

As an artist, your music's centre stage. 

However, with a film project, you have to fit into the rest of the creative team's work. Your role is a supporting one and you have to realise that everyone is working together as cogs in a wider machine.  

The music has to get through a lot of people before it is accepted and approved - production company, director, producer, editor, and more - it can get complicated and this is something you might not realise until you are in the midst of a project. 

But remember to make the music your own too

You have to compose music to fit in with what the team wants - but then you have to make it your own within the confines of the brief that has been provided. 

The more you do it, the more kudos you have to say it's going to be like this - then you can increasingly impose your own style as you go. 

It's like a puzzle to solve - consider how you can bring different elements in to serve what they want. By putting all of them together, it can ultimately end up being your own thing. 

Get your technical skills up to scratch 

There are plenty of hard skills you will have to get to grips with alongside the softer skills - producing, arranging, mixing, even mastering to a degree, recording, programming, all the composition techniques. 

Be good at your craft so when the opportunity does come, you're ready to take it.

It would be a waste if a project came up that you couldn’t take advantage of as you'd been working so much on sourcing the opportunity and neglecting your studio skills."

With DAWs, make sure you have one you feel very comfortable in; you want to be so efficient that it doesn't get in the way of creativity and productivity. But I'd also say, have some experience with at least one more. It's always good to be versatile and different DAWs have different strengths. Some to consider are Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools, Ableton and Reaper.

Artists and bands should explore music sync as an income stream

If you're an artist or a band, then one area you could consider exploring is sync - with this comes exposure and income. For example, Kate Bush was featured on the Netflix series 'Stranger Things'. Her track 'Running up That Hill (A Deal with God)' was completely revitalised and it became huge again, but this time with a whole new audience. You just need one of these to happen and you can gain huge exposure from streaming. 

Use social media and websites to present yourself 

In the industry, networking is important and different social media platforms provide different opportunities for you to promote yourself. 

For example, LinkedIn is great for businesses - there are plenty of game development companies on there. Facebook is more about the composer community. Instagram is more about your visuals and adding a showreel.  

Also, a personal composer website that has everything there can lend your career legitimacy - even if the site simply hosts links and acts as a landing page to everything else and can feature your credits as and when you have them. 

Core compositional skills work across film, TV and video games 

Universal composition skills go across these three different mediums. There are subtleties within them and of course ads and films are of totally different lengths. But there are definitely universal concepts around composing, arranging and producing that work for all three. 

Visit thomasebrown.co.uk to find out more.

'The Nightcrawlers' | 'Making of an Activist'