The Lecture

Lol Hammond is a music supervisor. As a music supervisor, Hammond has creative control over the choice of music used within films. This means that, when given an early cut of a movie, he decides when and where music should be used whether it be an already existing song or an original background piece.

Each time Hammond decides on a piece of music to be used within a film, it is his responsibility to start negotiating with publishing-companies and artists, working out how much money each party should gain in royalties, in order to gain the permissions required to legally use said music. Sometimes artists might not want their work to be associated with a film he’s working on. In these cases, it’s up to Hammond to either convince the artists to change their minds, or to decide on a different song to be used entirely.

If Hammond decides that original music should be composed for a film then it will be his responsibility to hire musicians and a composer. To save money, Hammond will often hire Eastern European orchestras as many of them will work for less money compared to some British orchestras. He will also sometimes hire a small group of musicians that can be layered to replicate the sound of larger groups.

How might this lecture apply to my audio project?

Hammond’s money-saving technique in which he hires as few musicians as possible has given me a few ideas. When talking to singers and instrumentalists, I should ask them if they can play any other instruments as they might have other skills that I can put to use. I must make as much use out of each guest instrumentalist as I can.