by Audrey Arbeeny
Working with music in Television and Broadcasting is exciting, rewarding and offers tremendous opportunities for those in the music field. I’ve been fortunate to have built a career of telling these stories with music and sound. For me, there is no greater thrill than hearing your music, or musical selections, broadcast to millions of people. Music and sound are a pure emotional connection with the audience, creating memories and evoking imagery long after the broadcast is over.
In creating music for broadcasts, we work with Producers, Directors, Editors, Branding, Marketing, Promotions, Legal, Technical, Visual Designers, Interactive and many other teams that are all involved in the music process. All have an influence on what we create, and how we create it.
I then worked as a Music Supervisor for a new live sports event for this same network. Being there onsite, watching the athletes compete, recommending the music that best supported the stories, working side by side with the Producer and Editor, and hearing their passion for their features became my passion. Although my company creates many original compositions, the role of Music Supervisor is also vital to the storytelling. Sometimes, especially with large, live events, there simply is no time to compose for the moment. Given such urgency, it’s necessary to spend considerable effort in advance of the event creating a very specific sonic library of potential music. We often think of all the scenarios that could come up, and what the core storylines might be. We often will pre-clear music that we might want to use. But live television always holds unexpected moments, so the pace is fast, and the adrenaline runs very high. And when you find that perfect cut of music, all of the creative is elevated. And you know it the minute your hear it. There is a visceral, physical response that occurs, and you just know you have the one.
This year we composed the original score for “ The Last Gold”. Narrated by Emmy-winner Julianna Margulies, The Last Gold is a feature-length documentary film that reveals one of the greatest untold stories in Olympic history, forty years ago, at the 1976 Montreal Games. Unlike live events, which have the fastest turnaround imaginable, film scoring is a longer process, and often it is with painstaking detail that we define the sonic themes, sub narratives for the various storylines and characters, and crafting just the right music, or silence, to enable the viewer to have empathy; to feel the story, feel the pain, feel the triumph, feel the tragedy, and become emotionally invested in an unforgettable story. The Last Gold had its theatrical release in June 2016 at the L.A. Film Festival, but my most unforgettable moment was when NBCSN broadcast it with limited commercial interruption the Monday before the opening of the Rio Games. It was a very magical moment, not just for me, but for the whole production team: USA Swimming, who were the film’s producers, Brian T Brown, the Director and Writer with 15 Emmys of his own, the producers and editors, and most importantly the amazing women of the 1976 Olympics who now, finally, had their true story told and broadcast throughout the country on a major sports network at such a timely moment.
I have also provided Music Resources for eight Olympic Broadcasts with NBC. Audiobrain’s system support role includes music search assistance, editing, as well as creative and technical support to NBC producers before, during, and after the Games.
Since we have worked with NBC Olympics for many years, we have been able to evolve for the changing needs over time, as new media and extensive live broadcasting becomes increasingly more significant. We understand the producers and their needs very well. Since we specialize in sonic branding, we recognize the importance of ensuring that every sound enriches NBC’s coverage and audience experience. Along with NBC’s exceptional internal Music Services Group, we have access to nearly 1.5 million music tracks from every genre, mood and culture. Events and stories unfold quickly and in real time, and it is our job to be as prepared and responsive as possible for all of them.
In my 20 years of creating music and sound for many broadcasts, the technology has profoundly evolved. There now is vast digital content, on demand, virtual reality and social media tie-ins. But one thing has remained constant. People will always seek, watch, and listen to a good, well told story. No matter what the vehicle, a story will require telling, and well-crafted music will bring a significant emotional element to the narrative. People will care and continue to watch if the content, quality, passion and execution are pitch perfect.
Audrey Arbeeny currently sits on the NY NATAS Board of Governors and is the Music Founder/Executive Producer of AudioBrain