Recording - October 2021 - 65
OC T OBER 2021
TAXI's Virtual Road Rally 2020
How Music Makes It Into TV and Film With
Music Supervisor Mason Cooper, Part 2
Interviewed by Michael Laskow
There are so many people that don't really have
an in-depth knowledge of how selecting music
for sync placements works, and that's exactly
why I wanted to talk to you about this today. So
many people think that it's the best song that
wins, and they think they've got a great new
song that's just so amazing. But it's unrealistic
to think, " Well, the song doesn't fit in the scene.
But you know what? [They're hoping you'll say]
Let me talk to the writer and see if they can
rewrite the scene so my song works better. Let
me talk to the writer; let me talk to the
director. " [Laughs]
Yes, it's hard for me to do this. And for anybody
out there that has seen me [speak at the
Road Rally] in the last couple of years, I
always do that. I ask them to " raise your hand
if you agree that I picked the best song, " and
everybody says, " Of course you picked the
best song. " I do not pick the best song; I pick
the right song.
There are some times where there's a song
that I want on my playlist; I love that song. I
could go work out, hike or hang out in my
backyard, and listen to that song, but it's distracting
when I put it up against a picture. I
have to pick the right song, because we're not
making a music video.
If people have read my bio and know
anything about me, they know that I come
from the music business. I have written TV
themes; I have produced artists and actors
and produced music. I'm a music publisher by
trade; I've worked with brand-new writers and
big writers. I am no longer in the music
business.
And what business are you in, Mason?
I'm in the film business and the TV business.
We're telling a story via visual, be it film or be
it TV. Other supervisors are doing it with a
video game or a commercial. If you're in a
Michael Laskow and Mason Cooper during TAXI's Virtual Road Rally
commercial, you're selling proverbial soap.
It's not about the song, it's about what you're
selling. Then, with film and TV, it's about the
story you're telling. Now, the song is supposed
to help propel that scene or support the story
or the emotion. A lot of it is about the emotion,
that that's where your song fits in as part
of the storytelling. It's not about your song.
That's the other thing that I love to do. It's
easier in person, so I will say that this is
meant to be with a sense of humor. I will sit
in front of a room full of TAXI members and
say, " I don't care about your music. " And
everybody goes, " Uhhh. " For those that
" We need to find that chemistry, the
chemistry between the music and the
scene is what matters. "
-Mason Cooper
haven't walked out, what I mean by that is
that I love your music, and your music should
be of utmost importance to yourself. But I'm
about telling the story, so just like you don't
cast an actor because you love that person;
they have to be right for the character or else
it's distracting. Have you ever watched a
movie or a TV show and you're like, " I just
don't believe the relationship; there's no
chemistry there " ? Sometimes the actors are
hired for the wrong reason; maybe it's
because of the budget they were hired. But
we need to find that chemistry, the chemistry
between the music and the scene is what
matters.
You know, if you asked a room full of a thousand
musicians-which is typically what we have
sitting in the ballroom at the TAXI Road Rally
when it's live-imagine you are a casting director
and the director gives you the mandate of
finding a burly lumberjack-looking guy for the
lead in this movie, but you know an actor who is
just an amazing actor... We're talking like
Joaquin Phoenix-level acting, who I think is
probably the best actor of his generation out
there right now. But the guy is five-five, weighs
about 125 pounds, looks like he hasn't seen a
ray of sunlight in about 10 years, has big old
nerdy glasses on, and that's what you bring to
Continued on page 66
RECORDING October 2021 65
Recording - October 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - October 2021
Fade In
Tech 21: Bass Fly Rig v2
A Family of Microphones Compared: The Shure Unidyne... or, The SM57 & Friends
Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Jangle Box Piano
Closer to GWAR: Recording and remixing the masters of the Slave Pit, with Ronan Chris Murphy, Pustulus Maximus and the Berserker Blöthar
Zeppelin Design Labs: Cortado MkIII Contact Microphone
Session Log: The AngelHeaded Hipster, Part 10: Bass and Percussion
Plugin Outlet: Slate Digital FG-2A and Custom Opto
Morton Microphones: KickTone Microphone
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: Nothing but the Mic
L-Acoustics: L-ISA Studio
KEMPER: PROFILER Head
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Compression in the Box
Teegarden Audio: PPC-125 MD Condenser Microphone
Hit’n’Mix: RipX DeepAudio
Thirty-Five Years of RECORDING
Fade Out: The Right Mic for You!
Recording - October 2021 - Intro
Recording - October 2021 - Cover1
Recording - October 2021 - Cover2
Recording - October 2021 - 1
Recording - October 2021 - 2
Recording - October 2021 - 3
Recording - October 2021 - 4
Recording - October 2021 - 5
Recording - October 2021 - Fade In
Recording - October 2021 - 7
Recording - October 2021 - 8
Recording - October 2021 - 9
Recording - October 2021 - Tech 21: Bass Fly Rig v2
Recording - October 2021 - 11
Recording - October 2021 - A Family of Microphones Compared: The Shure Unidyne... or, The SM57 & Friends
Recording - October 2021 - 13
Recording - October 2021 - 14
Recording - October 2021 - 15
Recording - October 2021 - 16
Recording - October 2021 - 17
Recording - October 2021 - 18
Recording - October 2021 - 19
Recording - October 2021 - 20
Recording - October 2021 - 21
Recording - October 2021 - Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Jangle Box Piano
Recording - October 2021 - 23
Recording - October 2021 - Closer to GWAR: Recording and remixing the masters of the Slave Pit, with Ronan Chris Murphy, Pustulus Maximus and the Berserker Blöthar
Recording - October 2021 - 25
Recording - October 2021 - 26
Recording - October 2021 - 27
Recording - October 2021 - 28
Recording - October 2021 - 29
Recording - October 2021 - 30
Recording - October 2021 - 31
Recording - October 2021 - 32
Recording - October 2021 - 33
Recording - October 2021 - Zeppelin Design Labs: Cortado MkIII Contact Microphone
Recording - October 2021 - 35
Recording - October 2021 - Session Log: The AngelHeaded Hipster, Part 10: Bass and Percussion
Recording - October 2021 - 37
Recording - October 2021 - 38
Recording - October 2021 - 39
Recording - October 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Slate Digital FG-2A and Custom Opto
Recording - October 2021 - 41
Recording - October 2021 - Morton Microphones: KickTone Microphone
Recording - October 2021 - 43
Recording - October 2021 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: Nothing but the Mic
Recording - October 2021 - 45
Recording - October 2021 - 46
Recording - October 2021 - 47
Recording - October 2021 - L-Acoustics: L-ISA Studio
Recording - October 2021 - 49
Recording - October 2021 - KEMPER: PROFILER Head
Recording - October 2021 - 51
Recording - October 2021 - 52
Recording - October 2021 - 53
Recording - October 2021 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Compression in the Box
Recording - October 2021 - 55
Recording - October 2021 - 56
Recording - October 2021 - 57
Recording - October 2021 - Teegarden Audio: PPC-125 MD Condenser Microphone
Recording - October 2021 - 59
Recording - October 2021 - Hit’n’Mix: RipX DeepAudio
Recording - October 2021 - 61
Recording - October 2021 - Thirty-Five Years of RECORDING
Recording - October 2021 - 63
Recording - October 2021 - 64
Recording - October 2021 - 65
Recording - October 2021 - 66
Recording - October 2021 - 67
Recording - October 2021 - 68
Recording - October 2021 - 69
Recording - October 2021 - 70
Recording - October 2021 - 71
Recording - October 2021 - Fade Out: The Right Mic for You!
Recording - October 2021 - Cover3
Recording - October 2021 - Cover4
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