COMPOSING & CONDUCTING: WHAT’S IMPORTANT

Composing & Conducting: What’s important

with MARK WATTERS


Course 1:  July 13 – 16, 2024
(SOLD OUT)

Course 2: July 18-21, 2024

Schedule: 10am-1pm / 3pm- 6pm CEST

 

In this 4-day courses multiple EMMY-Award-winning composer MARK WATTERS will guide our students through the process of composing and conducting to all the other pertinent duties as a successful professional in film scoring.

 

COURSE OUTLINES 

DAY 1
10 AM
– Introductions/meet and greet, open discussion (2 hrs.)

12 noon – Composing assignments (1 hr.)
Students will be allowed to view a variety of video excerpts prior to the workshop and, if they choose to, can prepare their score to share with the class. Or, they can wait to do the composition after the workshop begins.

(Lunch break – 2 hrs.)

3 PM – Score study
(2 composers/numerous scores) (2 hrs.)
Video, audio and score study

5 PMStudent compositions presentation (schedule TBA depending on enrollment)
Students will be asked to present their assignments to the class for discussion. The goal will be
Present 3-4 composers per hour.

 

DAY 2
10 AM – Conducting workshop
(1.5 hrs.)
Mark will discuss the role of a studio conductor and how it differs from a concert conductor. Mark will use videos and in-class demonstration.

11:30 AM – “Breaking down a scene” (1.5 hrs.)
Mark will share his approach and techniques when beginning a project and a cue. He will share videos, scores and spreadsheets from past projects.

(Lunch – 2 hrs.)

3 PM – Score study (2 hrs.)
2 composers/numerous scores. Video, audio and score study

5 PMStudent compositions presentation
(schedule TBA depending on enrollment) Students will be asked to present their assignments to the class for discussion.

 

DAY 3
10 AM – The Olympics and the Oscars
(1.5 hrs.)
Mark is the only person to have served as music director for two Olympiads (’96 Centennial Games in Atlanta and the ’02 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City; Mark will also share his experiences from co-conducting the 2002 Academy Awards with John Williams

11:30 AM – The use of ethnic instruments (1.5 hrs.) Using video and audio examples, Mark will illustrate how to feature the unique colors and personality of ethnic instruments (“How To Train Your Dragon”, “The Road To Perdition”, “The Last Emperor”, “The Ghost and the Darkness”, etc.

(Lunch – 2 hrs.)

3 PM – “Orchestration” (1.5 hrs.)
Mark will discuss orchestrating for a full symphony orchestra, a chamber orchestra and a small chamber group; also how to integrate samples with live performances.

5 PM – Student compositions presentation (schedule TBA depending on enrollment)
Students will be asked to present their assignments to the class for discussion.

 

DAY 4
10 AM – Score study
(2 hrs.)
2 composers/numerous scores. Video, audio and score study

(Lunch – 2 hrs.)

3 PM – Managing Your Career (2 hrs.)
Mark will share a few “do’s” and “don’ts that may help you as you start and grow your career. Building a website; self-publishing; projects for work vs. projects for yourself; agents and lawyers; advice on getting work; creating your workspace/home studio

5 PM – Student compositions presentation (schedule TBA depending on enrollment)

Mark Watters is a five-time Emmy Award-winning composer 

 and conductor whose diverse career spans 400 television episodes, feature films, DVDs and video games. He has served several terms as Music Governor on the Television Academy’s Board of Governors.  Mark holds the distinction of serving as music director for two Olympics: the 1996 Centennial Games in Atlanta, and the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

His numerous appearances as guest conductor have included those with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony, the Detroit Symphony and numerous others. In 2002, Mark was asked by John Williams to co-conduct the Academy Awards. He conducted three tours of “Star Wars In Concert,” including Japan with the Tokyo Philharmonic.

 

Recent projects include serving as music director for the highly acclaimed animated series, “Have A Laugh,” a three-year project to restore and re-record 60 classic Disney shorts from the ‘30s and ‘40s. 2012 marked his debut with Pixar Animation Studios with his original score for “Time Travel Mater” and serving as principle arranger for “Pixar In Concert” which has enjoyed numerous performances around the world. In 2013, he scored the Oscar-nominated short, “Get A Horse,” which appeared in theaters with the blockbuster, “Frozen.”

In 2017, Mark took a full-time position at the famed, Eastman School of Music as head of their newly formed, Contemporary Media and Film Scoring graduate program. He also is the director of the Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media named after Eastman alum and Emmy Award-winning composer, Jeff Beal.

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