Score a Score is officially 13 years old! It has been such an incredible adventure seeing our company grow into the team it is today. To celebrate, we want to take you all on a trip down memory lane with our 13 most happy scoring moments since SAS first began.
Our Top 13 Moments For Our 13th Birthday
The whole crew at our 2022 team retreat.
Day One!
It was the year 2010 and our CEO and founder, Jordan Passman, officially starts Score a Score from his parent’s house in Los Angeles.
Reaching New Heights
In 2011, Jordan was selected by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs.
A Major Milestone
In 2014, Jordan gets selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list!
A team that does the Hot Ones hot sauce challenge together, sticks together!
Go, Team!
2014 was a year we will never forget. In addition to Jordan making it onto the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, our COO, Jake Weinreb joins SAS and we get our first Los Angeles space.
Time To Supervise
For those who do not know, the world of music supervision holds a very special place in our hearts. In 2015, SAS got its first Music Supervision credit for Netflix’s breakout docuseries, Chef’s Table (Season 1).
Score a Score Takes On The East Coast
In 2017, our COO Jake opens up a SAS East office in Boston.
Milan, Mindy, and Jessica attending this year’s GMS Awards
They Like Us, They Really Like Us!
It’s always nice when your hard work pays off. In 2018, we were the winner of six Cannes Lions, a Bronze Blio Award, and Best In Show for Share a Coke’s 1000 Name Celebration campaign.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
In 2020, we were credited as one of the fasting growing companies by Inc. 5000 for 5 consecutive years (2016 to 2020)!
Lucky Number 7
The world may have slowed down in 2020, but SAS didn’t! We went fully remote and the team grew to a total of seven by March.
Throwback to our team meetings at the old office in Weho.
Touchdown Baby!
In 2022 Score a Score had the honor of music supervising our first Super Bowl LVI commercial for Bud Light Next.
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
2022 kept us busy! So busy that our team grew to a total of 18 members spread across the U.S.
Reaching Our Teens
Our last highlight, and rightfully so, is turning 13 years old!
We may all work from home, but we never miss out on an opportunity to grab lunch when one of us is in town.
Let The Happy Scoring Moments Continue!
From everyone at Score a Score, we want to say thank you to all of our composers, clients, collaborators, believers, supporters, and team members past and present, for helping us get to where we are today. The very best is yet to come!
This month on our SAS Speaker Series, we are joined by the one-and-only Lindsey Kohon, Head of Music at gnet agency! In this episode, Lindsey gives us a deep dive into the intricacies of selecting music for video games, the best approach for composing music for video games, and the importance of sound design.
Exploring the World of Music for Video Games with Lindsey Kohon
Jordan Passman: Tell us about your creative process for selecting video game music.
Lindsey Kohon: At gnet, it varies depending on the project and client. Sometimes, a client will come in with a very specific idea, but that is pretty rare. What usually happens is a client comes to us for our creative input. We have a very strong and talented creative team and that is where the ideas start. It will be either myself or another creative director who sits down with the creative team and we just start bouncing ideas around.
Jordan Passman: What sort of trends are you seeing in music for video games? Have some of them come and gone and then come back again? I’m curious what your predictions are of where the trends are going for video game music.
Lindsey Kohon: We haven’t seen the end of mashups yet. The same goes for covers and remixes. Two years ago, we did a really cool mashup for Call of Duty with “Eye of the Tiger” featuring Missy Elliott and Lizzo. That was so much fun. For me personally, I am really big on sound design. I always love a trailer that is heavy in sound design and I’d love to see more of that.
Jordan Passman: The gaming industry fans are probably some of the most dedicated fans in the world. So every time you’re putting out new content, it feels like millions of people are going to be looking at it and scrutinizing it. How do you incorporate that feedback into future decision-making when it comes to music selection and creative? Is that something you weigh out personally or is it the company?
Lindsey Kohon: I think fans have a lot to say and rightfully so. We want them to think what we’re creating is cool and exciting. Take Call of Duty, for instance. Going into every season of Call of Duty, you try to do something fresh and something that they haven’t seen before. I think that’s always the take. Juxtaposition for each new season is so important. Oftentimes, you’re in a different era. Maybe it’s the Cold War or maybe it’s the ’80s. That aspect can be indicative of where our music selection and creative goes.
Jordan Passman: What advice do you have for composers trying to get into the game?
Lindsey Kohon: I have a lot of young composers reach out to me and what I tell them is to build up their own library. Go onto other sites and go onto YouTube because a lot of libraries post their work on YouTube as well. While doing that research make sure to listen. Listen to what’s out there and start building up your own albums. Also, network. Start on LinkedIn and just keep on connecting with people in the industry.
That’s a Wrap on Music for Video Games with Lindsey Kohon!
We want to send another big thank you to Lindsey Kohon for sharing her insights about the process of selecting music for video games. Make sure to stay tuned for upcoming episodes by following us on LinkedIn or Instagram. Until next time!
We’re turning up the volume with another installment of Sonic Stories! Tune in for an invigorating conversation where the one-and-only Dan Rosen gives us a unique look into the ins and outs of composing music for trailers and advertisements.
Sonic Stories With Dan Rosen
What is your creative process like?
It depends on the project. Given that I’ve been stuck in renovation hell for three years, I’ll use a construction metaphor. Think of it like building a house: there’s the structure, which includes the beams, joists, and framing (equivalent to the basic structure of the piece, including melody and progressions). Then there’s the interior work, such as walls and appliances (interesting sound design, rhythms, harmonies, etc.). Finally, there are all the finishing touches like painting and tiling to make it look like a complete house (equivalent to tightening everything up, mixing, and mastering).
The most efficient approach would be to complete the structure of the piece first and then go back to refine and add details before finishing with mixing and mastering, although this doesn’t always happen! What usually occurs, though, is that I’ll start building the first floor and then think, ‘Oh, this would be a good spot for a bathroom! Ooh, this wallpaper would be nice. Actually, the kitchen should go here. Oh, that gives me an idea for upstairs!’ Then I end up with a finished first floor and a third floor suspended in mid-air, and I have to figure out how to connect the two. Additionally, sometimes I’ll create some cool sound design, get inspired, and keep adding elements until it becomes a finished cue.
What are you known for when it comes to your compositions with SAS?
I don’t know what I’m “known for,” per se, but the stuff of mine that gets licensed the most broadly falls into two categories: A big epic sci-fi trailer with a softer/whimsical edge and pulsing string-based ad music. In the more nitty-gritty specifics, if you get a Dan Rosen track there’s a high likelihood of bendy synths, strings, and sparkly arpeggios. I try to avoid piano pings but sometimes they’re a necessary evil.
Are there any new trends or techniques that you are loving right now?
This gets me into trouble but I think, definitionally, I don’t really like trends. I spend a larger portion of my waking hours than the average person writing trailer music and watching trailers. As soon as something becomes ubiquitous enough to be called a trend I’m already bored with it. That’s not to knock the trendy things. They work! I just crave the unexpected and I can’t write the same thing over and over. I used to work at a guitar store and eventually saw so many guitars per day that I only gravitated to weird one-offs. A sunburst Strat is a classic for a reason, but I’d rather have a heavy relic shell pink over shoreline gold Tele with P90s. I love any trailer that has an atypical structure or sound. If the music doesn’t follow the typical formula of a sparse first act, a building second act, and an epic third act, or if it doesn’t involve an epic cover or overlay of a preexisting pop/rock/rap track, I am fully on board and inspired. For example, the teasers for The Killer and Ferrari do very cool and unexpected things with their music and structure while remaining effective, and I’m really into those.
How did you discover SAS?
I was watching the first season of Chef’s Table and saw they were the music supervisors. At the time, I was primarily focused on documentary scoring, so I thought it might be a good fit. I sent in some samples, got accepted, and now, here we are, 8 (?!) years later.
What are your top three spots that you did for Score a Score that you are most proud of?
The FYC trailer for Nope was a definite highlight. I love Jordan Peele and it’s one of the rare trailers I’ve done where the whole spot start to finish was my cue, basically unedited. Also, it was nominated for a Golden Trailer, which is neat.
Avengers: Endgame was only a 15-second TV spot, but when people ask “Where might I have seen your work?” I say this and they go “Oh I’ve heard of that!” I was giving a talk at my old high school about careers in music, and the students weren’t paying much attention until the teacher asked, ‘Can you name some things they might have seen?’ As I listed my projects, their interest suddenly peaked when I mentioned this one.
I’m very proud of Devotion. It’s one of the rare movies where I ended up doing the music for almost the entire theatrical campaign. It started with a custom total re-work of one of my tracks for the teaser, which finished. Then they used a completely different track of mine for trailer one, which was also customized, and finished. They then re-cut it themselves for the final trailer and some TV spots. It’s just so rare to 1) have two custom spots finish that close to each other and 2) have multiple different tracks in the same campaign; so I’m taking that one as a big win.
What have you learned about yourself as a composer since creating music with Score a Score?
I don’t like to repeat myself musically, which is a problem since most of this business is based on finding something that works and continuing to do that forever. So, I’ve definitely had to learn how to sublimate my ego a bit and find interesting ways to do the same things, but differently.
What’s the first piece of music you ever composed, and how do you feel about it now?
It’s not the first piece of music I composed, but I think it’s the first piece of music I recorded. It was a project for my electronic music class in college years ago. It’s very different from what I write currently and is basically a weird ripoff of Ratatat. However, there are some moments of interest, compositionally. I didn’t know the first thing about actual recording or mixing, so, from a production and mix standpoint, the whole thing sounds quite rough.
What lesson took you the longest to learn in your career?
How to organize. I am not, by nature, an organized person, but I eventually learned the hard way that I needed to be. The nature of this type of composing is that clients will need customizations on super quick timelines, often for tracks that were written over 2-3 years ago. So you need to be able to pull it up, know where the instruments are, what your plugin settings are, be able to recall any outboard gear, and deliver everything quickly with stems. A couple of years ago, I made a template for both writing and mixing. It took almost two weeks off and on to do, but it has saved me so much time in both the writing and recall stages. Every time I bring up an older track pre-template I cringe at how hard I made it for myself.
If you could talk to your younger self when you first started composing, what would you say?
Just write. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think people will listen or like it or if it doesn’t have a “home.” If you have an idea, put it down. You’ll never know when it’ll be useful or inspire you later.
When was the last time you surprised yourself both personally and professionally?
I have a 2 and 4-year-old and I’m genuinely shocked at how I’m still able to function at all on such little sleep, let alone produce nothing but bangers.*
*citation needed LOL
If your life were a movie, what genre would it be and who would compose its soundtrack?
I wish it was something cool, but it’s probably one of those movies where a male comedian wants to prove he has dramatic chops so he grows a big beard and has a sad face even though his life is objectively pretty good. Ideally, a soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat or Nicholas Britell, but we can’t afford them.
Cue the Outro!
As the final chord fades into silence, we extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Dan Rosen once more. You can stay in the loop on his latest and greatest work by following him on Instagram. Until next time!
Have you ever heard a sound that brings back old memories or provokes certain images? Sound is the native language of the brain which is processed twenty to a hundred times faster than visual input. In fact, hearing is the most responsive human sense, and listening to a sound can help predict what we are about to see. For this reason and many more, sound and sound branding are powerful assets in any branding strategy.
What Is Sonic Branding?
With the rising use of sonic channels, relying solely on a logo or visual element to solidify your brand is no longer sufficient. On the other hand, sonic branding can play a much more significant role in making your brand identifiable.
Also known as sound branding or audio branding, sonic branding refers to using music and sound to create and reinforce a brand’s image. It is a collection of audio touchpoints that act as a unique and memorable soundscape for your brand and reflect its personality and values.
This sound can be a melody, jingle, or voice and is simple, short, and emotionally appealing. You can use this branding strategy across various platforms from television commercials to radio ads to get your name out and engage more customers.
Why Is Sonic Branding Important?
As the world is moving into the next phase of technology, dominated by screenless and voice-driven devices, how a brand sounds is paramount for giving it the needed cut-through. Just a few notes and the audience is ready to listen and connect with you. That is the power of effective sonic branding. Brands that invest in this holistic approach can bring many benefits for themselves. These include:
Increased Familiarity
The first major advantage of sonic branding is improved recall and familiarity. According to this study by Spotify, audio ads tend to leave a more lasting impact and result in about 24% higher recall and double the price intent.
Judge for yourself; on an average day, how many logos do you see? The number can easily be between hundreds and thousands. Now, compare it with the number of tunes you hear daily. You get the point.
Because of their rare occurrence, audio messages can effortlessly grab the audience’s interest and increase familiarity by helping your brand get instantly noticed in the crowded market.
Builds a Loyal Customer Base
Sounds can mix with people’s moods and feelings and have a much more emotional impact. Think about all the times you listen to music without any visuals, yet the music makes you feel a certain way.
Similarly, these jingles can trigger strong emotions in the listeners and foster a sense of companionship. This emotional connection is crucial for building a loyal customer base and financial success.
Clearly Conveys Your Message
Using the right sound for your brand can help communicate your message to the target audience creatively, effectively, and better. Each chord and beat work together to convey the brand’s message and familiarize the audience with its objectives and values.
Examples of Famous Sonic Identities
Sonic branding has been used for years by numerous brands to get the upper hand on their competitors by forging a lasting 360-degree user experience. One popular example of this is McDonald’s famous “ba da ba ba ba.” Memorable and instantly recognizable, this cheery tune fills the air with joy and happiness and makes the listener automatically think of a delicious Happy Meal.
And let’s not forget about NBC’s legendary three-tone chime, which has been associated with the brand since the early 1930s. Together with the company, this sound mark has also gone through many updates and rebrands over the years and still manages to hold the same authority, connection, and familiarity with its audience.
How To Find Your Sonic Logo?
The purpose of sonic logos is similar to that of visual logos: to act as a medium of association for your brand and attract more customers. To find the right sonic or sound logo, consider the following points.
Extensive Research
If your brand is already launched, chances are that your future sonic logo already exists. The catchphrase or backing music you use in the advertisement can act as a starting point, and then you can work your way through until you find the perfect sound. Do a sonic branding audit and consider different sounds. Then, choose or create one that matches the brand’s personality and goes with your nature of work.
Keep It Simple
Many of the world-famous sonic logos are just jingles or tunes without any lyrics, and this is what makes them so easily recognizable. With sonic branding, you don’t always have to go over the board since it can get overwhelming quickly and lead to something awful instead. Therefore, it is always better to keep things simple. Just choose a catchy and fitting background sound, throw in a few design elements, and you are good to go.
Create Something Unique
Using other brands’ sonic logos as your own is illegal; even if you could use them, it would certainly not help your brand stand out. That is why your primary focus should be to create unique sounds with a personalized touch that can establish and stabilize your company’s position in the market.
Easier said than done, though. Creating the “it” tune for your brand can take plenty of focus, perseverance, and time, but once you overcome these hurdles, what awaits you is higher engagement, increased sales, and an even greater impact.
Final Thoughts
Sonic branding is the present and the future. With the world’s leading names investing heavily in this strategy, it is a hot topic and is not going anywhere anytime soon. Whether you are an international or a local company, getting a sonic brand identity can add immense value to your business and position it better for success. And isn’t that what we all want?
No matter how beautiful the visuals are, a film needs great sound design to provide an immersive experience to the audience. From background music to dialogue lines, sound design is a crucial component of filmmaking that can enhance the production value of any project. Even though it is mostly overlooked in favor of flashier disciplines, like editing or cinematography, this creative process is just as necessary and works with these elements to deliver a top-tier cinematic experience.
What Is Sound Design?
Sound design refers to developing and editing all the audio in the movie, including the speech, sound effects, ambient sound, and soundtrack. This meticulous work consists of a series of steps, ranging from synthesis to audio manipulation to layering, and is performed by or under the supervision of a Sound Designer.
What Is a Sound Designer?
The sound design team or sound designer elevates the overall creation intent and provides a complete auditory experience. They work with recording engineers, audio editors, mixers, and various other personnel to ensure that your project looks realistic and that the audience is drawn to it.
In the past, sound designers were often the last people arriving on the set and were mainly considered an afterthought. However, with the advent of voice interfaces, 3D audio, and the ever-expanding vogue of immersive experiences, their role is now no less than a necessity.
Whether working on set or post-production, these experts make the magic happen. They clean up the audio track from any unwanted or extra noise, add layers upon layers of SFX, and manipulate audio using various tools to transform a mediocre project into something truly cinematic.
The Importance Of Good Sound Design
Visuals are the first cut in any project, but the sound design is just as important in storytelling and pulling people closer to the picture.
The power of a good sound design is undeniably evident. It tells the story where words fail, sets a tone to the scene, and hints at what is coming next. Most importantly, good sound design spurs emotions within the audience, be it love, sadness, joy, fear, or even contempt, which brings them closer to the movie and makes the whole experience unforgettable. And isn’t it what filmmakers want?
Think of Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg– would it be the same if you removed all the sound? Or imagine your favorite horror movie without those chilling shrieks and creepy footsteps. Paints the picture, right?
Neglecting your film sound design means bad production value and a worse watching experience. Of course, videos can work without perfect sound, but they will be sub-par at most and would not stand a chance against other blockbusters. And in the competitive world of content creation, where directors are releasing hit after hit, are you willing to make this choice?
What Makes Good Sound Design?
Sound design is multifaceted, and sound designers are equipped with various tools and skills to make the process as smooth as possible. Many factors and elements play a role in a good sound design.
Developing A Vision
The work of a sound designer begins from pre-production and runs through post-production. To kick-start this highly creative and intuitive journey, the sound designer studies the script with the director and asks them about their views and expectations. Some directors already have particular visions regarding the aural landscape, while others are more open to collaboration. The designer may also visit the set or attend rehearsals to develop their vision and determine appropriate music and sounds.
Creating Unique Sounds
Designing audio elements is a specialized and highly technical job requiring high creativity to tackle real and creative sound design challenges.
Real film sound design is the creation of sounds mimicking how they would occur in reality, such as ocean waves or birds chirping. A designer’s goal while working on such audio elements is to make them sound right for their environment. To do this, they can either record the sound by replicating the scene and making a field recording or using unrelated tools to make a unique sound. But what if a particular sound does not exist? This is where creative sound design comes in.
Creative sound design is the production of sounds that are outside reality and have no recognizable sound to use as a basis, such as that of zombies or aliens. Crafting them requires expertise and ingenuity. You can create these sounds using digital tools like filters and oscillators, by manipulating or layering different recorded sounds, and, at times, by merely using everyday items such as soda cans and cutlery.
Again, creativity and experimentation is the key. You would be surprised to know how some of the most legendary cinematic sounds were produced from wholly unusual means.
Examples of Good Sound Design
Different genres call for different approaches. Do you want to put the audience on the edge of their seats? Bring tears to their eyes? Or do you want them to feel the tension during a particular fight scene? A good sound design is the only way of achieving this and building a world beyond the viewer’s eyes.
History is filled with films that take this art to the next level. For starters, let’s talk about the iconic roar of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park, which rattled audiences to their core. Gary Rydstrom created that using a mix of animal vocalizations of tortoises, horses, and crowned cranes. And the specific sound of the T-rex breaths? Well, that was just the sound of air escaping a whale’s blowhole.
The Star Wars franchise further raised the standard for the best sound design through its wonder-filled and exhilarating soundscape. From the electric zoom of the lightsaber to Darth Vader’s menacing breathing, the series invented a plethora of unique sounds through the combination of saber sounds, TV interferences, and moving mics.
Of course, this list isn’t complete without mentioning Halloween, one of the greatest horror movies of all time. The entire score of the movie was composed by the director John Carpenter himself. He experimented with stabs and synth, something never done before, to create a dreamlike, propulsive sense of dread that continues to terrify the audience today.
Final Thoughts
Great sound design is what makes a movie work. From the subconscious hum of strip lighting to the growl of a car engine, it creates realism and carries the entire project in one flow. So, next time you start your film production, remember to call in Score a Score to amp up your project and make it extraordinary.
