Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Chontow
Hi Jeremy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Hello! Absolutely. Music for me and my life as I know it started on the floor of a daycare center. Someone had laid out a large piano mat to keep us occupied, the kind that made sounds when you stepped on it. I think I was about 6, and it was the first time I ever saw a piano. It took me a while after that to learn what they actually were, but I remember stepping all over the mat and having the time of my life figuring out what it and I could do. I was hooked. Some of the daycare teachers noticed my love for the thing and brought out a smaller keyboard they must have had in storage somewhere. From then on, I climbed the rungs of piano performance until I had a full keyboard of my own, courtesy of my very supportive parents. Playing professionally as a concept lingered throughout my early life until about high school, when I started creating music. My keyboard had recording and looping capabilities, up to 8 tracks, so I started remaking some of my favorite pop songs at the time, which helped me break down the composition process into their respective elements. Plenty of that later, I was more comfortable writing my own music. Not only inside of 8 tracks but in mobile apps like Caustic and Sunvox for EDM and cinematic music. I actually got my first gig writing the theme song for a video game my friend was working on in Caustic! Shortly after that, a filmmaker friend of mine came to me asking for an original score for his short film. I upgraded to Logic Pro, finished the score inside a week, and took it to a film festival where we won the audience choice award for best narrative. I’ve had my sights set on-screen scoring ever since.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Relatively! I’ve been fortunate enough to have plenty of support along the way, but the road to screen scoring wasn’t a straight shot. I decided to take a break from music following my undergrad, though if you asked me then I would have told you I was pivoting into a new career path entirely. I studied classical composition for my bachelor’s degree and learned everything from 16th-century counterpoint to serialism and obscure post-tonal technique and philosophy. I can’t say I haven’t reaped the benefits today from learning those concepts, but my passion and aptitude fell short compared to the rest of my cohort. While I respect the hell out of concert composition as well as those with the courage to contribute, it was not a trajectory that spoke to me. In turn, I lacked the drive I needed to see the value in what I was doing. A couple years of that chipped away my love and perception of music bit by bit. Once I graduated, I took to theater and screenwriting, putting together a few plays and short films that never saw the light of day but gave me a purpose again. I knew I loved film and couldn’t see myself outside of it, so having the opportunity to explore a new angle of that, on my own terms, gave me that drive back. I remembered how much storytelling spoke to me and how much I liked not just collaborating with instrumentalists but other creatives in various departments like directors, photographers, actors, etc. I loved working with that team to serve the story and create something that an audience could relate to, connect with, and love in their own unique way.
I kept this up for a bit, even working as a judge for a screenwriting contest one summer, but continued playing piano and writing solo works when I could. It took being outside school for long enough to inch back into media composition, where I eventually started amassing new software for screen scoring specifically. I learned how to use Kontakt, how to mix, what mastering was, and what string libraries sounded the best. My first gig back into the realm of screen scoring was for a screenwriter two years after finishing my Bachelor’s. I composed a theme for his TV script and made my first buck doing the thing I had wanted to do all along. I haven’t stopped since and am incredibly proud of myself for finding my way back. Breaking the mold and finding my own way is what it took.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently, I’m writing production music for TV. This is essentially writing mood music for episodic television, like love themes, tension themes, dramatic themes, etc., which editors will then place to picture. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll have wrapped up a show that’s set to stream on Netflix! I’m collaborating remotely with a studio of a few other composers to deliver as many tracks as I can before the deadline to complete a full score. Once this show finishes, we’ll move onto the next one. There’s always a demand for this kind of music, so I’ll be pretty busy for as long as I want!
Occasionally, I’ll also dabble with trailer composition, sound design, and dialogue editing. I’ll also compose original custom scores to picture for filmmakers, whether that’s a short film, promo, anything. I’m starting to develop a passion for orchestration and engineering, so my skillset is fairly technical. I love getting hands-on with software and learning new ones that can help streamline the whole composition and notation process. Right now, I’m transitioning into Cubase after being in Logic Pro for the last 10 years– I’d love to be as versatile as needed for anyone looking for postproduction audio expertise.
The biggest thing that sets me apart is the calibre of my ‘synthestration’ or mockups. I put serious time and attention into the quality and realism of sound I get out of the sample libraries I work with so that the production is as impactful and indistinguishable as a real orchestra. Obviously, nothing gets better than the real thing, but when you’re on a tight budget and deadline, having a good familiarity with the tools needed to create a realistic mockup is a significant asset. That aside, I consider myself a team player and a major collaborator. I think the second-best thing that sets me apart is the love I have for the industry and the people within it– I love working with other creatives and will always seek out new opportunities to network, explore, and experience.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
This is an interesting topic! I never had one so I can only speak to my own experiences.
For a while, after I finished my undergrad, I went looking for guidance in all sorts of avenues. Bosses at day jobs, people in forums, friends, family, you name it. Looking for a mentor was fine until it became more than a side quest. “Finding myself with other people” eventually became “finding myself in other people,” and that was my first mistake.
Being freelance for a while helped shift my perspective. I made and marketed my own music and myself as an entrepreneur in media music. I learned what kind of work ethic I had, what kind of music I liked writing, and how to network with other filmmakers on a more professional scale. While it would have been helpful to follow a path that another professional had laid out for me, I can say I’m pretty grateful now for having paved my own way. I’m more extroverted than I’ve ever been, I’m more comfortable in high-pressure situations, and I’m more embraceful of new changes and environments. That’s all to say, there’s a great deal of independence and inner peace I’ve grown accustomed to by having never found someone to teach me how to do it. Sure, that may result in more mistakes in the future, but failure is growth, and street smarts are just as important as book smarts.
If I could help someone else by imparting my experiences and knowledge, however, there’s no doubt I’d offer that helping hand. There’s no one way to find ‘success’. There’s only supporting the people around you, with the hopes they’ll continue to pay it forward for others down the road.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeremychontow.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremychontow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.chontow/
