What is a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl? “That bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” – Nathan Rabin avclub.com The term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” was coined in 2007 by film critic Nathan Rabin. […]
Reality show music is a style that is formulaic and contains distinct elements that are used universally irregardless of Musical genre. Some of these elements include: underlying pulsing drones, beds, heavy percussive hits, quick mood transitions, rises, sound design, tension and builds. These elements are the bells and whistles that create high level energy and […]
Swagger Music, is a style of music that evokes a sense of cool, hip, slick and sometimes sultry moods. It can be used in scenes that involve “the cool walk” with the “I’m tough” look.
Swagger music can be considered a sub-genre or found as a “Style” tag or “Music For” tag.
Here are some examples of how certain genres of music can be used in a “Swagger” scene.
When tagging moods, I like to approach this with a strategy or plan that is similar to the logic of deductive reasoning (more general to more specific). By using general mood tags such as “Happy” or “Sad” and choosing tags that specifically fit under this category can help to effectively describe the intention of a song. Using mood tags in relation to Genre/Sub-genre tags can help the process.
Film Noir, Blaxploitation and CSI
These specific film genres have one major factor in common, they all feature action crime scenes. Each film genre and affiliated music represents a specific era.
The term Dramedy is used for film spots that depict a mixture of both comedy and drama. Music used for Dramedy can be described as animated, sometimes energetic, light and usually bright and bouncy in texture.
The terms “Earthy” and “Organic” are used to describe music that creates a bright and warm feel and usually found on commercial spots that create an outdoorsy image. Imagine a scene in a golden field or a flowing river with sunshine, sunset or sunrise. The mood is often characterized as happy, carefree, lighthearted, bright, cheerful, feel-good, satisfied, breezy, and sometimes even lazy.
Just wanted to throw out a few industry usage tags that might be beneficial to your library or original music if you represent Electronica, Rocktronica, Dubstep, Urban, Hip Hop or heavy grooving tracks.
Read more for the specific musical features and examples that make the best fit for Sports Music.