AIMP Creative Sessions - Songwriters Pitch for Film

Two up-and-coming filmmakers/directors, Juan del Río and Tristen Torres, will join a panel discussion on how their films were made and give creative briefs on either the perfect song or score for their movies. They will be accompanied by acclaimed music supervisors Susan Jacobs (American Hustle, Little Miss Sunshine, Diving Bell & Butterfly) and Jackie Mulhearn (Slow Learners, Mozart In The Jungle), who will each give advice and context.

Juan del Río (Writer/Director) was born in Spain in 1988 and has directed over a dozen short films. He is part of the Sundance Ignite Advisory Board and works as Creative Director at Digital Bodega, with clients such as Sony, 21st Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Netflix, creating advertisements, PSAs and web series. His short film is called Larry in love. Larry, a kid in a leg cast, spies on his neighborhood from his house window and becomes convinced that his attractive, 20-something neighbor and him should be together forever. He’s an inventor. He’s a gallant. And he’s five years old. Del Río is looking for a score for the short film.

Tristen Torres (Writer/Director) is currently in the Film Conservatory at SUNY-Purchase. The currently untitled film is about a character named Haley. Haley has the power to see into the past of anything she chooses, but when she decides to investigate the past of an abandoned home, she finds herself in the year 1988 with a family on their first and last day living in their new home. Tristen is looking for an end title song for the film.

Read More: FEATURE STORY: Music Supervisors Sound Off 2015

Session 1: April 20, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. – The event in New York will discuss the process of placement and creation of music for film and creative brief(s) will be presented for each movie along with visual segments. Songwriters will then be asked to go off and create and upload their video submissions by May 13. Publishers are also welcome to submit. Directions for submissions will be distributed on April 20. All songs will be reviewed and a list of top contenders will be made. Songwriters will be notified if their songs have made the top list.

Session 2: May 25, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. – The top contending songs will be played and discussed. The filmmakers will then pick their choice for the movies. If a choice song is selected, Ghetto Film School will issue a $1,000 all-in (master and publishing) synch license under standard terms and conditions for use of the songs in the movie. To be used, choice songs will need to be mixed and mastered and fully cleared. In addition to the placement, the song title, songwriter and artist name will be featured in the end credits of the film.

Interested entrants are encouraged to register ASAP as this will fill up and space is limited to 60 songwriters. Reservation cutoff is April 20.

*Due to limited space, this is a prepaid event. Members must register even though there is no charge for members. You will not be permitted entry if you are not on our list.

**Non-members should pay $20 (for this and including the follow up meeting on May 25) with a credit card to secure their place. Non-members who do not pay when they register will be considered standby until their check is received and may be cancelled once the 60 reservations have been received from members and/or paid non-members.

For more information and to register, visit aimp.org/login.