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vidsyn: old norse for broad vision of creative thinking and forward-looking perspective. How will you unlock your creativity today?
Today I’m happy to share with you an interview with a good friend of mine and successful songwriter/producer, Mischa Chillak. There are a lot of gems in this one so please feel free to forward to any musicians and creatives you know.
Tell us a little about yourself and your career:
I started my music career in Toronto as a hip-hop producer many years ago. Another producer (Kenny Neal Jr.) and I formed a small composer duo, and in 2003 we were hired to score an indie movie called “Love, Sex and Eating The Bones.” This garnered enough attention to push us into getting more work in the TV/FILM world. Around the same time, I signed a management deal with another producer (Bronze One), and we began producing songs for artists like Brandy, Estelle, and John Legend.
I moved to LA in 2013 and found a lot of success in the sync world, working closely with the sync agency The Greater Goods Co. That’s where I’ve been focused ever since. Most recent highlights include “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse,” Apple iPhone 15 ad, Hugo Boss ad, and EA FC 24.
Tell us about your first sync music experience:
In 2003, with my first movie scoring job, we had no idea what we were doing. They were delivering edits to us on digital tape, so we had to use MIDI sync to get picture synced, and it was quite a headache. We didn’t know there were easier, better ways to do things at the time.
Can you share your most memorable sync?
The most memorable sync was landing the trailer for “Baby Driver.” A singer (Ndidi Onuwkulu) and I had cut a really fun cover of “Nowhere To Run” by Martha and The Vandellas by request from The Greater Goods Co. It wasn’t really what trailer houses were looking for at the time. It didn’t have braaaams or strings. It was mainly drums, piano, a bassline, and a classic brass section.
We were all very excited about it and thought it would really stand out, but years had gone by without any sort of interest. Then out of nowhere (no pun intended), we found out “Baby Driver” was using it for their main trailer, which ended up being really killer. The trailer got a lot of attention. So much so that they ended up putting our version on the soundtrack to the movie. I’m not sure that had ever happened before and maybe hasn’t happened since.
What are some guidelines you’d suggest for creating music that’s syncable?
There are the obvious things like making your music very dynamic and having lyrics that aren’t too specific. You want to watch a lot of film/TV/ads and see what current style of editing and pacing is popular. I think a mistake a lot of people make is thinking they should be listening to what is popular and getting synced a lot, but that never worked for me. The competition is pretty high these days. You need to stand out. The best way to do that is to try and look for trends and guess what the next trend could be. If you get it right, that’s when you get those sync gems that will sync over and over again.
How has the sync licensing industry changed since you started?
When I first started, it just wasn’t something people really thought about in the industry as a way to make a living. Now I think people have really come around to the idea that you can make a lot of money with sync, so the competition is a lot higher.
How do you approach collaborating with other artists, songwriters, or producers?
I always remind anyone I’m working with that when we are making a song for sync, it shouldn’t feel like we are making a song for sync, if that makes sense. Just like you shouldn’t go into a writing session and try to make a “hit.” You just want to make a great song that excites you and that you enjoy. A great sync song is just a great song that happens to work well to picture.
What advice would you give to musicians looking to break into the sync world?
Write music to picture. Turn off the sound on your favorite movie and start writing music to it. See what happens when you speed up tempos or add dramatic space. Watch how it creates or releases tension. The better you are at this, the easier it will be to nail briefs down the line.
If I had to start from scratch today, I would hit up sync agencies and tell them I’m an aspiring producer/composer and ask if they had any briefs (current or non-current) that I could use to practice my craft with. I would submit my work back to them for feedback. I imagine some might not answer, but the art of sending off music for feedback is a good habit to get into. I would keep doing this until I started getting some responses back and try to develop a relationship with the agency. If/When you are good enough, most would be happy to start feeding you briefs.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about songwriting or production?
Everything is about process. Your process is the most important thing. We all get sucked into thinking our music/songs/beats/lyrics are what we need to work on, but in actuality, they are just the output. Like exhaust from a car engine. The process is the engine; the exhaust is the music. Focus on perfecting your engine, and the music will improve alongside it. Not only the music but the money, the success, etc. All of that will come as a result of a good process.
SO KEEP FOCUSING ON YOUR PROCESS!
Do you have any routines or methods to get creative work done? Combat writer’s block?
I’ve been a producer now for so long that being able to get creative means having to trick myself into not critiquing and second-guessing everything I’m doing. It’s my go-to to instantly hear things that need fixing and/or correcting. Great for editing and finishing tracks but terrible for creativity and experimentation. To counter this, the only thing I’ve found that works is SPEED!
So in order to get creative, I set a timer (usually 30 minutes) and I create fast. As fast as I possibly can. Faster than my producer brain can catch things. After 30 minutes, if I hate what I did or don’t feel inspired, I put it away and then I start a new 30-minute session. If I’m inspired by the idea, I’ll just reset the timer and rinse and repeat. I don’t listen to these tracks again until I’ve had a few days away from them. Then I can relisten on fresh ears and produce and finish anything that I think is worth finishing. I have some other little processes I do for writer’s block or boredom but that’s the main one and the one that works the best.
Key Takeaways:
- Focus on predicting future sync trends, not copying current ones
- A great sync song is just a great song that works well to picture
- Reach out to sync agents for briefs you can write to, ask for feedback and be persistent
- Combat creative blocks with timed, rapid creation sessions
- Refine your process – focus on improving your workflow, not just output
- Remember: Creativity flows when you outpace your inner critic!
Be sure to follow Mischa on Instagram.