John Mann

Director of Music, Warwick School

“Tom came to run a workshop with a selection of our Year 10 boys about composing music for film and TV. His naturally charming style worked well with our boys, and they were enthralled by the thoughtful questions he posed to them, with opportunities to get into philosophically engaging concepts such as semiotics, for good stretch, but also with opportunities to reflect on their (and our own) engagement with media. Tom made fantastic resources that the boys responded well to, giving them chances to be critical and evaluative in their thinking about music’s influence on a media experience, and it was a real pleasure to see them so stimulated by the engaging presentation he had curated. A fantastic experience and I would recommend him wholeheartedly for interested groups!”

The Workshop

This workshop is split into two parts. Part I is great for equalising the overall listening skills of the class, helping students to appreciate the role of media, form a connection between basic features of Media Music, it’s semiotic signs and immersive emotive nature.

Part II is slightly more advanced. It’s about reverse engineering music, getting composing, business, networking, understanding AI tools, and trying everything out.

Workshops can be customised to suit if needed. For a more detailed breakdown of the workshop, please see below.

I – Power of Media Music

Intro

  • A little introduction: who I am & what I do.
  • How I broke into composition for film & television.
  • Introduce Media Music

Questionnaire – Short Activity

Self analysis on media usage and its impact.

Role of Media

Briefly covering the media’s influence and regulation.

  • Introducing the role of the BBFC & PEGI
  • Dangers of Overconsumption
  • The role & function of Social Media, Video Games, Streaming, Film & TV, News, Commercials etc.

Music & Story

Introduce music as part of storytelling.

  • Immersion & emotion
  • Collaboration with Dialogue, Sound Design, Visuals, Acting
  • Basic Tools: Modes, tempo, instrumentation.

Name the Emotion – Short Activity

Begin training ears to link musical features with emotion.

Storytelling & Signs

Introduce semiotics in media music.

  • Introduce Semiotics as a basic visual concept
  • Link back to basic tools
  • Introduce: Familiar vs Unknown, Good vs Evil, Funny vs Serious, Tension vs Relief.

Guess the Scene – Short Activity

Interpreting Music Cues

Wrap-Up

Final Summary for Part 1.

II – Making Music & Money

Intro/Welcome Back

Short Recap of Part 1.

Composer’s Role and Process

A practical look at what goes into a media music career, following a project start through finish.

Guess the Brief – Short Activity

Reverse Engineer the musical examples to uncover what the whole brief was for each cue.

Business Skills

Introduce the various skills needed and hats that a composer has to wear.

  • Networking & Communication
  • Marketing
  • Legal & Governance
  • Health & Safety
  • Unions & Support
  • Team Roles
  • CPD (Continual Professional Development)

Human Bingo – Activity

Bingo style game to practice networking skills.

AI Tools for Business & Creatives

  • Research, Learning and Inspiration – Chat GPT, Gemini
  • Image Generation & Inspiration – DALL-E
  • Software Development and Music Technology – Cursor, Copilot, Figma
  • Introduce sustainable uses of AI, recent restrictions on AI generated content.

Earning from Music

  • IP & Copyright
  • Streaming Revenues
  • Mechanical & Performance Royalties
  • Publishers, Labels & Libraries

Creative Starting Points

Different approaches to starting a new composition.

Create a Short Sting – Activity

Students create a 5-15 second musical sting based on a brief.

Wrap-Up

Final Summary