Thursday, August 29, 2013

An unique opportunity for musicians of any age and genre to try their hand at composing music for film.

APRA|AMCOS and Tropfest are thrilled to announce the next installment of Tropscore and Tropscore Jr. – two exciting competitions that provide a unique opportunity for musicians of any age and genre to try their hand at composing music for film. 

The animated short film at the heart of the competition has been made by the winners of Tropfest New York 2013 - Australian filmmakers, Nick Baker and Tristan Klein. 'Apart' tells the sweet story of two lovesick characters living their version of a long distance relationship. Your music could bring this story to life and make its viewers feel empathy, sadness, joy and stay glued to the screen till the final bars. 

Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival will take place again this year on December 8 in a new, exciting venue – Sydney's Centennial Park. It will provide the perfect backdrop to the winners of Tropscore, who'll have the opportunity to perform their score live to an audience of more than 90,000 people and receive a generous cash prize to support their future career. 

For composers aged 15 and under, Tropscore Jr offers a fantastic opportunity to get valuable first-hand experience writing music for film. Entries for Tropscore Jr open and close at the same time as the Tropscore competition. The Tropscore Jr. film titled 'Where's My Sandwich' was directed by Trop Jr 2013 Finalist, Harri Gilbert.

"Tropscore doesn't have to be exclusive to those who are established or even aspiring film scorers," said APRA Tropscore 2012's winner Ben Allen. "I was a songwriter who entered on a whim and found it a very rewarding experience both for the opportunities involved in the event itself and also the obvious plus of the prize money." 

Jared Underwood, who won the Tropscore competition held earlier this year, has also spent much of his diverse career performing in bands like CODA and Grafton Primary and embarking on solo songwriting projects such as Batterie. Only recently did he make the transition to film composition with fantastic results to date. 

"It's fantastic that we've been able to partner with Tropfest again to provide this wonderful opportunity for budding film composers," said Michelle O'Donnell, APRA's Manager of Film & TV. "I'd encourage anyone out there with an interest in film and musical ability to give it a go to show just how powerful film score can be." 

So whether you're a singer-songwriter, play in a rock band, write electro music or have already written music for film, enter Tropscore or Tropscore Jr. and make music in films matter. 

To enter APRA TROPSCORE or TROPSCORE JR. visit tropfest.com/au/tropscore for more information as well as tips and tricks on how to make your score the best it can be. Entries must be in by 6pm on Thursday October 10, 2013. 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Derek Webb Says the Stigma of 'Christian Music' is Not Helpful for Evangelization


Derek Webb Says the Stigma of 'Christian Music' is Not Helpful for Evangelization (INTERVIEW PART 2)

The Caedmon's Call ex-frontman talks about the stigma that comes with the term "Christian Music."

BY JUSTIN SARACHIK, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
August 21, 2013|10:19 am
Derek Webb, former singer of Caedmon's Call and President of NoiseTrade music sharing website, discussed his new album, I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry & I Love You, what it's like being a 20 year veteran in music, and why the label of "Christian artist" is not always the best thing for getting the gospel heard.
Christian Post: Do you feel music is a gateway to evangelism, and why do you think people are more receptive to music?
Derek Webb: I don't really feel like music is a gateway to evangelism. I certainly don't use it that way. There are some people who feel called to be professional vocational ministers, that their job is ministry, I don't personally feel that way. When I go and I play shows, make records, write songs, I don't consider that vocational ministry for me. I'm a singer/songwriter. I'm an artist. My job description and the basis upon which I make choices about how to do my job is hoping to make excellent art and to write and perform songs with excellence.
Now in any job there are going to be opportunities where ministry can happen and you want to be ready and aware of those moments. My brother, for instance, is a family practice doctor in Lincoln, Nebraska. He's also a Christian, as am I. He's not a vocational Christian minister; he is a professional doctor. He doesn't go to work everyday to evangelize, he goes to work everyday to provide excellent healthcare. It's very much the same for me. I don't do that in order to evangelize, I do it to make excellent art that's engaging that people resonate with.
I do acknowledge that music is really powerful and I've seen that. But I think that art is not at its best use when it's being used as a tool to do something else. The entire first chapter of the Bible is our marveling at God for making all things out of nothing. In the beginning God created. It's the first attribute we learn of His in the Bible; He's creative. There is intrinsic value in creativity and making things that are excellent and that's more how I approach my job.
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CP: Do you think putting the label Christian over an artist hinders what they can do musically, and also alienates them from a group of people who might genuinely enjoy the music?
DW: I've always felt, even back to the first earliest days of Caedmon, that the term 'Christian' has never been helpful, in my opinion. Caedmon got its start playing at a lot of colleges. If the promoters put "Christian band" on the flyer, then half the amount of people would show up just because they weren't interested; not because they had heard us, not because they had any idea of what we were going to say or how it was going to go down. They just weren't interested and I probably wouldn't have been either.
I feel like even if you're intention is to evangelize and do ministry, it's smarter to not put a category on something before people even have a chance to hear it or experience it. That might alienate them and keep them from even wanting to give it a try in the first place, especially if they might really love it. If you have no idea what people think of that word, why would you use it? Especially when, in my opinion, the term Christian when applied to anything other than a human being is a marketing term.
CP: Between Caedmon's Call and your solo career, what was your defining moment as an artist that made you say, "Wow, I did it."
DW: I don't know. I feel like it's probably a thousand seemingly insignificant moments along the way. I remember Caedmon spent three or four years independent. We put out a couple records and were touring nationally before we found our first record deal. When Caedmon signed our first deal, as a songwriter, for me, I was poor as poor gets. When I started to make money, I had to go open a bank account and I realized that I was going to be able to support myself, that this is actually a job that I could do. Now that was a big moment.
I remember several moments along the way where it was dawning on me that I was going to be able to do this for the rest of my life. Nowadays, the dream is just different. The dream now is to make a sustainable wage being blue-collar, learning how to find your tribe and make art that resonates with them. If your ego can bear not being a household name or ever making seven figures in a year, you can have a great job as an independent artist. But if what you're looking for is fame and fortune, you should probably get into another line of work.
CP: Aside from the new album, what's on the horizon for you?
DW: I'm going to spend some real time promoting the record. I'm going to get out on the road before the end of the year. I also am the President of Noisetrade and run that company, so that's about three days a week for me and part of my every day work that I do. I have two small kids and a wife. So that sounds like three or four full-time jobs right there.
I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry & I Love You will be released September 3. Webb wrote, recorded, and produced every song on the album.
Follow Justin on Twitter - @JSarachik_BRMag