Meet the foxes

Pete Thomas · Apr 16, 2007

Sorry to post this so late

There's a Channel 4 documentray tonight (9 oclock I think) about urban foxes (Meet The Foxes). I wrote some music for this but it seems that thanks to C4's commision editor many scenes have been replaced by archive material in order to make the programme nicer for those with smaller brains, but I've just heard from the producer there may still be a scene with one or two of my pieces of music. If so I'm playing a soprano suppiled by my local online store Woodwind & Brass Ltd. We'll see if that one also ended up on the cutting room floor.

Linky Lee · Apr 16, 2007

If that was you just before the first break it was great!
I liked the strings or whatever they were in the background, and when the second sax line came in it really captured their rough and tumble in the dirt!

If it wasn't it was awful 😛

Bobby G · Apr 16, 2007

Bah humbug, more anthropomorphisationalism.

Cheers, Bob

p.s. I agree with Linky!

Pete Thomas · Apr 16, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
If that was you just before the first break it was great!

Yes, my bit was a soprano theme and noodly bits with strings and a beat in the background.

Also another bit with some whistling.

I didn't kill any foxes though.

old_git · Apr 16, 2007

Didn't see any credits.
Shall I complain to Four or kick the front of my television in? 😛

Rogerb · Apr 16, 2007

Shame, I just caught the last minute or two of it, turning over to see 'er' 🙁

tris · Apr 17, 2007

We are an animal loving household and we turned over and it looked as if this chap was hunting an urban fox to kill it... so being of a weak disposition we switched over. Sorry Pete..

(I worked in animal rescue for a while, my mother ran a local animal charity for 18 years [Knutsford and district trust for Animals].... looooooong story. I have seen the best and the worst of humanity in the process but anything to do with animal cruelty is a zero tolerance thing for me.)

Pete Thomas · Apr 17, 2007

tris wrote:
We are an animal loving household and we turned over and it looked as if this chap was hunting an urban fox to kill it... so being of a weak disposition we switched over. Sorry Pete..

No need to apologise. however that was just one part of it, there was quite a bit more about a couple who feed the foxes and a couple of blokes who run a fox rescue centre.

Pete Thomas · Apr 17, 2007

old git wrote:
Didn't see any credits.
Shall I complain to Four or kick the front of my television in? 😛

As most of the music was library (stock) music, there is no point in credits for music, it would be misleading.

old_git · Apr 17, 2007

Too late! Anyone swap a 42" plasma TV for this rare BG L13 Lig? 😉

Thanks for the site and as long as you received reasonable remuneration, everyone's happy.

Linky Lee · Apr 17, 2007

Slight question, feel fee to ignore it if it's too private.

I assume by your comments that you wrote more music than was used, in the industry do you get paid for the music they use or all of it, and do they get the right to use the music at another date if they don't use it or something?

Saxlicker · Apr 17, 2007

old git wrote:
Too late! Anyone swap a 42" plasma TV for this rare BG L13 Lig? 😉

T

Let me know how you get on.....I also have a BG L13 kicking around here that I'd be happy to trade...I may Gazump you and throw in a reed!

Pete Thomas · Apr 18, 2007

Linky_Lee wrote:
I assume by your comments that you wrote more music than was used, in the industry do you get paid for the music they use or all of it, and do they get the right to use the music at another date if they don't use it or something?

This was rather an odd situation. My contract was to write music for the film which I did, but on the final day (ie when my contract expired), Channel 4 commissioning editor (the production companies big client) decided the "story" of the film should be changed completely. This involved sacking the editor and recutting the whole thing. Normally I would have extended my contract to write music for the new scenes, but I was otherwise engaged, so the new editor used a lot of library music, and not much of my original score remained as it was to a totally different brief. E.g. I had written a sort of countryish theme to go with the male fox who had moved into town from the country, in the new story he moved in from the suburbs. (Makes you wonder how "true to life" a documentary is).

So I will be paid my full fee as I fulfilled my contract as required. The producer mentioned that although there is no point in a credit in this case, the agreed full composition fee I will be paid now only licenses the music that was actually used. This is not in writing, so theoretically they may try to claim at some stage they can use the other music I wrote, however the contract actually ties all that music in with only that one film and only gives them exclusive use of it for one year. Ironically, a lot of the library music they used was composed by me so I will end up getting more than my original commission fee.