MCB Interviews Marc Caruso
Almost anyone can set up shop in their bedroom and produce broadcast quality audio. Add a flashy website and you've got an audio post-production company! For experts like Marc Caruso and his company Reel Fusion, the flood of competition is a welcome challenge.
"On the one hand, it’s pretty cool that the tools to do things are accessible by so many people," says Caruso. "They are able to develop their talents using the same tools as the 'pros'. On the other hand, tools do not equal talent."
Having a diverse set of skills helps Reel Fusion offset the struggling economy - but music often hits the chopping block when dollars are tight. Companies began looking for "cheaper and cheaper ways to produce product," Caruso explains, which led to "the explosion in reality and other non-scripted television. Production libraries fit the cheaper way to produce a show so almost all of this non-scripted fare uses library music to score the shows." Because "there’s actually no time for a composer to spot, write, and record a show" the temp music used during editing becomes the final music.
Movie trailers have also been impacted by the increasing quality of library music. "Trailers used to be custom scored," says Caruso, but "today, it’s all library." Fortunately, traditional scripted TV and feature films are "still well protected for custom scoring."
Reel Fusion is often called on to produce custom TV themes and scores, which requires a careful evaluation of the show and its demographics. Although the producer or director should have a vision that fits the audience, Caruso says that "you still need to be aware that the audience for NCIS (avg age 50-something) may not understand your hip-hop flavored cue." When it comes time to make various edits for TV, "having stems from the composer is always key to constructing something that makes sense musically."
For Reel Fusion, a team mentality is critical. "Successful composers understand the role of music in a production," Caruso explains. "It’s not a symphony where their musical vision reigns supreme. Music’s only role is to support the storytelling. Successful composers know that they are being paid to please the directors, not to please themselves. Creative choices will be made concerning music that the composer may not agree with. Successful composers don’t take this personally because they realize the general film-going public isn’t buying a ticket to listen to the music." The story comes first and "the composer’s role is to help tell the most entertaining story possible."
In a perfect world, producers and composers would speak the same language. "Many times producers can’t articulate in musical language what they like or don’t like about a piece of music," says Caruso. "The key is to speak their language, which is not music. Filmmakers speak in the language of emotion."
Working in film is often a balancing act, but the best composers know how to navigate through difficult situations. "For example, they may find themselves caught in the middle of a power battle between a director and a producer," says Caruso. "Or they may have had their music budget trimmed due to overages in other departments. They will know how to navigate their way through these sometimes sticky situations without burning a bridge."
Where will the audio post-production industry be in 5 years? Caruso envisions "there will be more consolidation in the larger houses. The larger independent (non-major studio associated) houses will trim back in numbers but they will still have the lion’s share of the top level productions. Boutiques will grow their service offerings and gain a larger share of the mid-level budget productions that may have gone to large houses in the past."