Advertising Agency and Process Structure!! 11been edited and approved by the client, the final musical arrangement can
then be completed. Sometimes, this is a preferred working method
because if changes are made during the filming, it is easier for the com-
poser to adjust the final music track.
If the director wants the singers to sing live on the set, the music
should be prerecorded as a ‘‘scratch track’’ sans vocals. (A scratch track is
asimpletrack,e.g.,pianoorguitaronly.Thescratchtrackprovidesa
tempo and feel for the singers.) This gives the singers the ability to create
a more spontaneous, live performance. The sound engineer cannot play
the music track too loudly on the set, or the music will bleed onto the vocal
track and cause technical problems when mixing the music track; this is
calledleakage. After the film has been completed, the composer receives
a copy of the vocal track and creates the final arrangement based on the
performance of the vocals sung during the filming.
Unusual experience: The agency creatives decided that they wanted
the actress in their commercial to sing the musical ‘‘tag’’ (an identifiable
singing logo at the end of the spot). They wanted her to sing ‘‘wild,’’
meaning without any musical track to guide her. This could have resulted
in multiple problems:
- There was a specific number of seconds allowed for the singing, and
if the actress extended that time, the music would not have fit in the
commercial. - The key had to match the rest of the underscoring, so there would
be a smooth transition into the vocal tag. - Without guidance, the actress might not have sung the melody accu-
rately. Because of logistical problems, the singer could not attend a
separate recording session, so the tag had to be recorded on the set.
A temporary piano track was looped (repeated) numerous times on
a DAT (digital audiotape), allowing the vocalist to sing and record
the tag numerous times. The vocal was isolated from the piano track
and added to the final music. The result was perfect, but the client
decided to change the ending, so the actress eventually had to rere-
cord the vocal.
- Music is played on the set to help create an appropriate mood for
the actors.Even with a storyboard presentation, a musical background can
help sell an idea to a client.
Structure of a Creative Team
Composers work directly with the creatives: producers, writers, and art
directors. The creatives are usually specific about the musical direction of