Featuring instruction by experienced film composers
Sean McMahon and Christopher Young

Co-sponsored by the American Composers Forum
and McNally Smith College of Music

Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18, 2010
McNally Smith College of Music
Saint Paul, Minnesota

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, April 17

• 9:00 - 9:30: registration/coffee
• 9:30 -10:45: Introduction and The Process of Film Scoring, part 1
• 10:45 - 11:00: break
• 11:00 - noon: The Process of Film Scoring, part 2
• noon - 1:00: lunch (provided; McNally Smith Café)
• 1:00 - 2:30: Gear and Mockups
• 2:30 - 2:45: break
• 2:45 - 3:30: Chris Young: From Fledgling Composer to Hollywood A-lister
• 4:00: IFP Networking Session (Tier One participants only)

Sunday, April 18

• 9:00 - 9:30: coffee
• 9:30 - 10:45: Conventional Hollywood Writing, part 1
• 10:45 - 11:00: break
• 11:00 - noon: Conventional Hollywood Writing, part 2
• noon  - 1:00: lunch (provided; McNally Smith Café)
• 1:00 - 2:00: Orchestration and Music Prep
• 2:00 - 2:15 : break
• 2:15 - 3:10: Breaking Into the Business
• 3:20 - 3:30:  break
• 3:30 - 5:00: Chris Young: Establishing and Sustaining a Career in Film Music

FACULTY BIOS:

Sean McMahon holds a Bachelor's of Music in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and a graduate certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, from the University of Southern California (USC). At USC Sean was under the tutelage of Hollywood film composer Christopher Young, conductor/orchestrator Pete Anthony and agent Richard Kraft. After finishing the program at USC McMahon was hired by teacher-turned-employer, Christopher Young, to help out on a film called The Grudge in which Young was writing the score. That would be the beginning of a 5-year working relationship for McMahon and Young. McMahon has served Young as an orchestrator, transcriber, and project manager.

Since The Grudge, McMahon has assisted Young with over 15 feature films, including Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider, Love Happens, When In Rome, and Drag Me To Hell. McMahon has also served as an orchestrator for such films as Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Invasion. Recently, he conducted the film score to All Good Things, starring Kirsten Dunst and Ryan Gosselin, that will be released later this year. He has also scored his own films such as The Grudge 3, produced by Sam Raimi. For a full list of credits please visit: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1765484/

McMahon has written two guidebooks for the fledgling film composer named "From The Classroom To The Scoring Stage" and "112 Hollywood-Insider Film Scoring Tips." You can read more about the books at: www.filmmusicjobguidebook.com. Since moving to the Twin Cities, McMahon has been a member of the Composition faculty at McNally Smith College of Music and maintains active in Hollywood film scoring through his Los Angeles-based, working relationships.

One of the foremost talents in film music today, Golden Globe-nominated composer Christopher Young has scored an impressive number of features in virtually every genre, all with strikingly original music. The spine-tingling Hellraiser showcases the composer's seminal upbringing in horror; the new-techno sound of Swordfish displays his versatility; the resonant, genuine Celtic sounds of The Shipping News display his attention to detail; to the heart-pounding rhythms of Spider-Man 3 are all evidence of his willingness to experiment. These scores are among the nearly 100 films that embody the work of this prolific composer. Young had established himself as working with the brightest and most-talented directors.

Sam Raimi hired Young to score his high profile film The Gift, starring Cate Blanchett. The relationship would continue to include additional music on Spider-Man 2, scoring The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Spider-Man 3, and Drag Me To Hell. Young has also collaborated with Oscar-winning director Curtis Hanson on Wonder Boys starring Michael Douglas and Lucky You starring Drew Barrymore. More recently, Young's film scores include The Uninvited, Love Happens, When in Rome and Creation. Young is currently working on Rum Diary directed by Bruce Robinson, starring Johnny Depp. For a full list of credits please visit: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002366/


REGISTRATION OPTIONS:

Tier One = $150 -- NO LONGER AVAILABLE
(This Tier was limited to 20 participants, and has been filled)

• fee for auditing the Day 1 workshop sessions
• breakfast and lunch that day

• fee for auditing the workshop sessions on both days
• breakfast and lunch both days