December 2021 - 69

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are lower, but we have more access, and they
allow us to discover unknown songs,
unknown artists. They don't care who the
name is on it, it's about the song that works.
Your members have better access to the indefilmed
and I see footage, I now can take songs
and start to use and edit songs in and go,
" Oh, this type of song with the tech track will
start working. " We now have about eight
weeks of that, then the picture is locked.
Then I probably have about six to eight weeks
to work with a composer and songs until we
go to final mix.
Who is harder to have as your boss as music
supervisor? A director on a film or a showrunner
on a TV show?
A producer on a film, because they have very
little knowledge, experience, and sometimes
say, unless they have the best drama film. But
they have opinions, and they will come in.
The investors aren't so hard to deal with. It's
usually the other producers that just think, " I
helped shepherd this through; I put this
together, and I had this vision. " What I have
to do is navigate. Is the director a hired gun
" Don't spend too much of your time
trying to hit the studios with major
films, because they already have
their relationships; go to indie
films. "
-Mason Cooper
on a film? They usually aren't, but they can
get treated that way. Is their contract a DGA
contract? Would they have final say on the
final cut, or do they not, where the producer
has the final say?
I am just recently out of a project where I had
to navigate that and say, " Who's the boss? "
Because it is what I call a camel. Do you know
what a camel is, Michael? It's a horse made by
committee. And I had to navigate who was
the final boss, because I can't make
everybody happy. So that is a difficult
process. It's usually the director of the film.
I've gotta jump. Remind me the next time we
talk outside of this context. We've been working
with a young independent film producer named
Bernie, and the two of you guys will love each
other. He does small-ish films, but they're getting
bigger and he's getting more and more
traction. You should just know each other. You
guys would work so well together.
Indie films, and your people should be hitting
indie films. Don't spend too much of your
time trying to hit the studios with major
films, because they already have their
relationships; go to indie films. Our budgets
RECORDING DECEMBER 2021 69
FOR YOUR STUDIO
SIMPLE COMPUTER UPGRADES FOR THE RECORDING MUSICIAN
The Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is the centerpiece of the
modern production studio. While many current Macs and
off-the-shelf PCs are content creation capable, purchasing or
building a machine specked to handle the... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/simple-computer-upgrades
MICS & MIKING
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MIKING DRUMS: KIT SETUP,
WORKING WITH THE DRUM ROOM, MIC CHOICE, AND MORE!
One look at a professional multitrack track list should make the
complexity and importance of capturing a good drum kit sound
obvious. Even the most... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/beginners-guide-to-miking-drums
ACOUSTICS & MONITORING
AN ACOUSTICS PRIMER
GET STARTED WITH THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SOUND AND ACOUSTICS...
The latest and greatest gear may get all the attention, but if the
acoustics of your studio aren't suitable, all the toys in the world
won't make for great-sounding recordings. Let's examine the basics
of acoustics, look at issues that can affect... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/an-acoustics-primer
ACOUSTICS & MONITORING
MONITORS & MONITORING-WHAT'S RIGHT FOR
YOUR STUDIO: A HARD LOOK AT THE ART AND SCIENCE
OF HEARING YOUR MUSIC RIGHT
In studios of all types and sizes, every decision made-levels, EQ...
[full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/monitors-monitoring
FOR SONGWRITERS
A BASIC MIC PRIMER: THE MIC IS THE
CENTER OF THE RECORDING STUDIO, AND IT PAYS TO KNOW HOW
THEY WORK AND WHAT THEY DO.
Imagine that I am a typical pop music engineer, and I get called
up... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/basic-mic-primer
pendent films and TV productions.
Yeah. We hit it out of the ballpark. Every time
we work on an indie film we usually are getting
now seven, eight, nine songs in every indie film
through running TAXI listings. Most publishers
can't pull that off.
Anyway, Mason, you are the best. Not only have
you become a dear friend over the last few
years, a lot of that friendship is built on that I
have tremendous respect for your knowledge of
I can't wait to see you in person. Hey, is the
breakfast place open by you? Can we go eat outside
there, yet?
Yes, they've expanded into the garden.
Let's do it some Sunday. I'll bring Deb up and
the four of us can go out. I need to get a life.
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, Mason Cooper.
Thank you!
how the industry works, and we just get along
on a personal level, but I love sharing you with
my people.
I appreciate it, and I appreciate what you do
for all of your people.

http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/simple-computer-upgrades http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/simple-computer-upgrades http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/beginners-guide-to-miking-drums http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/beginners-guide-to-miking-drums http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/an-acoustics-primer http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/monitors-monitoring http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/basic-mic-primer

December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2021