Hello, Just signed up on these forums today, though I've lurked on Gamedev quite a bit. I am a music composer... blah blah. It is so crowded and crazy competitive now, perhaps I should just cut to the chase. Hire me, and here's some information: http://www.robhowardmusicproduction.com. In all seriousness, I love working on game projects, and I'm very lucky to have one that in finally getting somewhere close to being done... so of course I have to find new work, so I can make next month's mortgage payment. Just kidding (about making next month's mortgage... not about finding work!). Also, in seriousness, there are some talented people here with great gear and better compositional sense, and I am -not- gonna pretend to be some hot crap composer when I post on these forums... I really do hope to learn from you all and already have. -Rob

Hm, I have one or two things that you might want to consider:

1) Don't sell yourself short. Self-deprecating chat is great for the pub, but horrible when aimed at prospective employers/team-members. After all, if they only just met you, what's to say their first impressions aren't going to be assumptions based on your poorly worded sales pitch (I'm not picking a fight, just trying to be objective, so hear me out).

2) We have a forum for networking and getting together: Help wanted.
That's where you want to let people know your services are available.

3) Help wanted has a great FAQ which should help you complete your objective in a manner that is concise and easy to understand -- so when people wonder what you're getting at, they'll figure it out from the heading -- not half way down the page.


Finally, welcome; I hope this stuff helps you out and I'll see you around no doubt :)


~Shiny

@ Shiny:

I was really just attempting to introduce myself on this forum. Perhaps I made a poor choice in which area to do that, and perhaps the way I worded my post made it seem like much more of a "help wanted" posting.

In any event, I would have to disagree with the premise that a little humility is a bad idea. I'm not saying I would word things like that in my reel, and I don't sound quite that cavalier on my website either. That said, if I'm going through piles of reels or reading through hundreds of "help wanted" posts, they are probably all going to say essentially the same thing "I'm great! Here is why."

Perhaps I would notice a person that showed a little personality, and maybe one that had a sense of humor? Isn't it true that, in traditional jobs anyway, one has to keep in mind that an employer is also inclined to hire somebody who is fun to chat with in the break room (provided they are qualified)?

This is all moot anyway because I really didn't mean this post as a serious sales pitch.. just a hello to other composers. Just because I don't take myself too seriously does not mean I take my own music or my own work lightly.

-Rob
www.robhowardmusicproduction.com

Quote: Original post by Rob Howard
In any event, I would have to disagree with the premise that a little humility is a bad idea.

There's a difference between humility and making yourself sound like unprofessional though. [wink]
(No offense, and if this wasn't meant to be a sales pitch, it obviously doesn't matter in any case)

Quote:
Perhaps I would notice a person that showed a little personality, and maybe one that had a sense of humor? Isn't it true that, in traditional jobs anyway, one has to keep in mind that an employer is also inclined to hire somebody who is fun to chat with in the break room (provided they are qualified)?

Yep, but *if* we read your post as a job application (which it isn't, so let's keep in mind all of this is just a thought experiment, nothing more), then you sonuds like someone who's unqualified (you pretty much actively try to *avoid* talking about your qualifications, and while the next part is very subjective, I'd say not particularly fun to chat with in the break room either (again, very subjective, but mostly you just come across as shallow, insecure and fake. I'm just not a fan of people interrupting their own sentences with "blah blah", or saying you should cut to the chase instead of just doing so, and when the joke/sentence ratio gets above 1.5 it seems a bit forced too... [lol]

Not that it matters. This is just my reaction *if* I were to read it as some ind of job application/help wanted post. [grin]

Quote: This is all moot anyway because I really didn't mean this post as a serious sales pitch.. just a hello to other composers. Just because I don't take myself too seriously does not mean I take my own music or my own work lightly.

Hello. I'm not a composer, but hello anyway. [grin]

Anyway, more seriously, is it really so crowded and competetive? I mean, are there that many games music composers around? I was under the impression that it was nowhere near as crowded as, say, art or programming. (But also has fewer jobs available because most game dev studios are cheap and don't consider music to be important, so while it might not be that crowded, it's probably still competetive)

Anyway, that's just my impression as a completely-incompetent-at-music programmer. [lol]

Jesus Christ guys give the man a break. lol

This confirms my theory that composers and programmers do not mix.

Hi Rob, welcome. Despite their eccentricities, good compositional advice can often come from unusual sources... (ie programmers :p) All in all, the amount of different perspectives on this forum is pretty mind boggling but once you get used to it you will see that most people are genuinely interested in helping others to succeed. That is a very rare thing. Anyways, good luck with your composition and don't try to take anything too personally/ seriously here. Making games is fun, after all.

cheers,

Ryan

Hello Rain 7, thanks for the support (-:

No worries, though. The points made in the previous posts are well taken. As far as the competition for music composer jobs go, my perspective on that was changed by attending the GDC last year. It just seemed like every other person I saw had a music demo reel, and the audio only events were jam-packed.

It really hit home when I saw people actually playing instruments in the hallways with little placards next to them that said "I do game music!"

Music is an extremely attractive vocation for many, yet because it is art, once you make that big decision to try to make a career out of it, it's hard because not only do you have to compete with pros, but there are also many capable part-timers doing it with day jobs, therefore not really needing to make as much money (I have a day job, only out of sheer necessity; hope to phase out of that as soon as I can) as the struggling full time pro.

It's probably very hard for a programmer to get in the game industry, but it is different than music inasmuch as there are "non game industry" programming jobs; in other words, if you can't make it, it isn't like your skills are useless. Outside of gigging (very tough) and teaching (better, but not for everyone, and the lifestyle sucks if you aren't doing it at the university level), it is quite difficult to find other avenues for musicians... hence the high demand for game music work.

Okay... better wrap it up before I make more grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Cheers!

-Rob
www.robhowardmusicproduction.com

Rob- man your last paragraph detailed my current situation to the "T". Have you been spying on me?! :)

I'd like to welcome you as well. I've been on this forum now for about seven months and like Rain 7 said, most people are here to help you out.

You're correct about how competitive the game audio field truly is. I've been luckly to land some big client right out of the gate (I've only been doing this professionally since Oct 05) but I'm still not at the point where I can quit my day job and do this full time. I'm a band director- and you are correct again- the teaching is okay but not for everyone....including me.

I'd like to eventually teach college if the game audio never works out- but that is another very competitive field. I've heard from Deans and colleagues that there can be up to 200 applicants for one position at a college- often times more.

I'd love to help you in whatever way I can and also get feedback from you about my music. I'm planning on going to this next GDC- maybe we could grab a drink? :)

That drink sounds good... we'll see if I can afford the GDC this year. I'm pretty sure I can swing it, I'm about 90% sure at this point.


I PM'd you with some of the usual computer musician chitchat, what stuff you use, etc. Didn't want to clutter up the board with it.

-Rob
www.robhowardmusicproduction.com

Everyone and their freakin' grandman has a demo reel of some kind, and every composer thinks that they can score a huge game as well. Everyone has "connections" as well as a big project coming up :P After a while, you just get used to targeting the fakers and the makers.

Regardless, welcome to the fourm, and nice tunes. I am from Columbus Ohio. We will have to talk sometime.

Cheers,

Hi Sean,

Thanks for the compliment; I've listened to your work and it is excellent.
I live in Findlay, about 2 hours West of Columbus.

I've always thought, despite how frustrating it can be sometimes, that those who make it in game audio are probably those who simply persevere and do all the various legwork... that is, one has to outlast the folks who try this out for 6 months and fade away.

-Rob
www.robhowardmusicproduction.com