Writing for Sync Licensing
Write for a Mood! Be sure you can characterize the mood of your song. Take a minute to listen to your song catalog and assign each one a mood. Often a music supervisor is looking for specific songs, having everything categorized beforehand will help you find what is needed fastest.
Exercise 1
Below is a list of moods. Listen to a song you wrote, your favorite song, and a song off the Top 40 chart. Categorize the mood of each song, then write 5 reasons why that song reflects the mood you choose.
Afraid • Aggravated • Angry • Anxious • Ashamed • Assertive • Burdened • Brave • Calm • Cautious • Challenged • Cheerful • Cherished • Comforted • Contented • Creative • Curious • Depressed • Embarrassed • Energized • Envious • Excited • Furious • Guilty • Grumpy • Happy • Hopeful • Humiliated • Hurt • Indifferent • Insecure • Irritated • Lonely • Loved • Mad • Optimistic • Overwhelmed • Panicked • Peaceful • Positive • Pessimistic • Prepared • Proud • Ready for change • Regretful • Relieved • Renewed • Sad • Self-confident • Shameful • Skeptical • Sorrowful • Suicidal • Worried
Song 1:
1.
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3.
4.
5.
Song 2:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Song 3:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Write for a Character! Does the song make sense for the character's direction? Make sure that your song fits the timeline of the character. The genre, mood, and setting will affect which song is chosen to use.
Exercise 2
Pick your favorite character from a tv show, movie, book, poem, or historical event and write down specific vents in that characters' timeline that you need to be aware of when writing a song for them. Then write a song for them.
Name:
Age:
Time Period:
Setting:
Known facts:
Write for the Scene! It is important to remember when writing for sync that the music in a scene will always play a supporting role and is there to support the mood of the narrative.
Exercise 3
Select a song, one of your own, a song you have already written, or write a song you think would be a good fit to go with the following narratives:
1. A woman who lost her husband three years ago finds his wedding band behind a bookshelf while cleaning the house. She lost it one month after he passed and was devastated. For days on end, she searched high and low for the ring but to no avail was unable to find the ring. She finally wrote it off at a loss and hoped one day it would show up. She was certain that she looked behind the shelf and found it curious to have found it that day since it was their wedding anniversary.
2. There is a young man of about twenty years old, sitting in the library reading a book for a class assignment. He momentarily looks up to take a sip of his coffee and survey the room. Upon looking around he sees a young girl about his age struggling with a large stack of books. He drops what he is doing to rush over to help because it seems the books are about to topple over. After helping her they both sit down and have the most fantastic conversation about literature. The library is beginning to close so they start to gather their things to leave. Outside the library, they exchange phone numbers. Both walk away smiling, hopeful to see each other soon.