Film scoring workshop Overview
“Whether your interest is in Film, Television, Games, Animation, Interactive Web, or preparing yourself for the myriad unknown media platforms of the future, we provide the highest level of professional guidance in artistic terms and business realities towards the pursuit of your musical and professional goals.”
Located in a beautiful retreat setting
Composing New scenes everyday
daily One-on-One Mentoring, playback, discussion, and feedback
morning presentations & guest speakers
Culminating professional recording session
Retreat EXPERIENCE
The rustic accommodations and outlying grounds of the Lazy H Ranch – nestled art the foot of Palomar Mountain – are the ideal location for a meaningful retreat experience. Interacting, collaborating, sharing ideas, and making new friends and colleagues will be a natural result of the retreat experience. Group meals always provide lively opportunities for further discussion of the craft of film scoring and current industry trends. We’ll also spend a day on Palomar Mountain where we’ll visit the Palomar Observatory and have class at a cozy mountain lodge.
Composing Everyday
Fresh scenes are handed out each day for you to compose to. Every afternoon, one-on-one mentoring occurs while you are writing so you can revise and improve your work as you go. You’ll learn how to analyze a scene and hone in on the important elements of the drama, how the spotting process works, and effective methods for communicating with the filmmaker. Each day ends with invaluable group playback and discussion of the day’s work.
One-on-One Mentorship, feedback and critiqueS
One-on-one mentorship is what sets PFMW apart from other film scoring workshops. The faculty individually mentor and assist each participant throughout the scoring process. Through daily playback sessions you will practice talking about your music, provide constructive feedback to fellow participants, as well as translate the feedback that you receive into meaningful revisions of your cue.
Presentations & Guest Speakers
Each morning will include a presentation from workshop faculty and/or visiting industry professional. Guest speakers share their passion and experience on scoring for film, TV, and games; how royalties and the business of music works; how to build, cultivate, and sustain relationships in the industry; as well as professional tips and advice on navigating the Hollywood system. You’ll even experience a live scoring-to-picture demonstration from guest speaker Rick Marvin.
Professional Recording session
The workshop will culminate with a Hollywood level professional recording session – where the best cue from each composer is recorded and mixed by top LA scoring engineer, Jason LaRocca. You will learn how to create stems and industry standard scores and parts; pre-production tips to get the most out of the recording session; as well as interact with and get feedback from the session musicians performing your cue. Each participant will leave with a powerful showcase scene serving as a substantive addition to their portfolio.
2024 Workshop Schedule
Day 1
Monday, June 18
Afternoon arrival and check-in at the Lazy H Ranch, orientation and meet & greet, first group playback and discussion, group dinner.
Day 2
Tuesday, June 19
Group breakfast, morning presentations by Larry Groupe´and Roger Neill, group lunch, composing and mentoring, group playback and discussion, group dinner.
Day 3
Wednesday, June 20
Morning presentation by guest Rick Marvin (TV composer) with live scoring to picture demonstration, group lunch, composing and mentoring, group playback and discussion, group dinner.
Day 4
Thursday, June 21
Group breakfast, DAW/tec-talk and hands-on demonstration with Music Editor Steven Wayne Thomas, caravan to Palomar Observatory and mountain lodge, group lunch, afternoon presentation by guest Garry Schyman (game composer), group playback and discussion, group dinner, return to the Lazy H.
Day 5
Friday, June 22
Morning presentation by guest George S. Clinton (film composer), group lunch, composing and mentoring, group playback and discussion, group dinner.
Day 6
Saturday, June 23
Group breakfast, morning presentation on orchestration for the screen, group lunch, score & stems procedures walk-thru with the “prep team”, composing ends and orchestration/stem prep begins, group dinner, orchestration and stems preparation continues.
Day 7
Sunday, June 24
Group breakfast, orchestration and stems preparation continues, group lunch, orchestration/stem prep concludes, scores and parts preparation begins, group dinner, preparation concludes with printing and taping and assembly of the final score and parts.
Day 8
Monday, June 25
Group breakfast, Lazy H check-out, caravan to recording studio, live orchestra recording session, group lunch, mixing session with Jason LaRocca, caravan to mountain lodge, playback and wrap-party.
Day 9
Tuesday, June 26
Group breakfast, depart for airport and travel home.
*schedule is subject to change
“Palomar was a huge eye-opener for me. It provided me with training, experience, advice, and a new family that has all confirmed my love for this craft and pointed me in the right direction. Palomar showed me first-hand how the industry really works, and I can’t wait to enter it.”