The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film & TV Music Conference is slated for Nov. 19-20 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. The two-day event offers industry speakers, panel discussions and a forum for the exchange of ideas among film/TV and music professionals. Included in that mix will be artisans from the spotmaking world, as SHOOT is presenting two panels on the afternoon of Nov. 20.
One of the SHOOT sessions is "Music for Commercials," in which ad agency music producers and commercial music production executives and artists will discuss the major issues of the day in music for spots.
The second is "Top of the Spot Charts," in which talent from SHOOT’s quarterly Top 10 Spot Tracks will provide insights into some of the year’s highly ranked commercials.
Panelists for the SHOOT sessions will be announced shortly. Among those already confirmed for the "Music for Commercials" session are Josh Rabinowitz, associate partner/music producer at Young & Rubicam, New York; and Dain Blair, owner/executive creative director of Groove Addicts, Los Angeles.
The overall conference agenda is star studded. Among the highlights are: an opening session with filmmaker Clint Eastwood; a look into the relationship between a director and composer featuring motion picture helmer Gore Verbinski (whose roots are in commercialmaking) and composer Hans Zimmer; the independent filmmakers’ perspective on overcoming tight budgets to achieve musical goals; and TV/record label tie-ins that jointly promote new music and TV projects.
Also scheduled is an "Anatomy of a Film" session, which will explore the use of music in The Matrix Reloaded, with insights from the film’s music supervisor Jason Bentley, composer Don Davis and editor Zach Staenberg. In fact, Davis recently made his debut in the ad discipline, scoring three Honda spots via Groove Addicts for Rubin Postaer and Associates, Santa Monica. The commercials—"Inanimate Objects," "Avoid Imitators" and "Foot"—were directed by Rocky Morton of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More