Today we’d like to introduce you to Scenery Samundra.
Hi Scenery, 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?
I’m a Music Supervisor, currently at Motive Creative, which is an LA-based trailer agency. I recently moved into trailers after working on the film and TV side. Growing up in the Bay Area punk scene, I’ve always been obsessed with music, and that obsession continued to lead me down the path I am still on today. I pretty much decided to go to college at UC Davis because of their radio station, KDVS, (also their pre-med program), and immediately became involved in the radio station where I had access to one of the largest public record collections on the West Coast. Being at a 24-hour radio station with an insane collection, I had unlimited access to an immense wealth of music across all genres. I did a weekly radio show and was involved with the station for about 7 years which was the basis of my musical education. While visiting my sister in LA, I would go out to shows almost every night of the week. Everywhere I went, I would meet musicians I had admired for years. I was so inspired by all of the creativity here and the expansiveness of the music scene that I ended up staying in LA. I became immersed in the local music community which led to working with record labels and artists. That eventually led to working at Sundance in the Film Music Department, where I learned about the job of Music Supervision. Suddenly everything clicked and I realized this is what I was meant to do. I honestly never thought I could turn my love for music into a career.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been so many challenges! When I finally found out about the job of Music Supervisor, I became very determined to become one. I read every article and interview that I could find about music supervision, researched everyone and everything on IMDb and tried to create a roadmap of how I could get in the door. But nobody would hire me because I didn’t have any experience and I couldn’t get experience if nobody was willing to hire me. So, getting hired was the first challenge. Once I got hired, the next challenge was managing to not get fired. Music Supervision, like any job in film and TV is very high-stress, a lot can go wrong at any given moment. To top it all off, Music Supervisors are still not unionized, so the working conditions and pay are not great. It’s a very challenging job that requires a lot of specialized skill sets. You have to be creative and analytical at the same time, juggling numerous moving parts, especially if you work on any show with on-camera performances (that’s the term for whenever you see a character perform a song live on set). I worked on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist with my former bosses, and those on-camera heavy shows require a whole other aspect of production and coordination. It’s sort of like putting a giant puzzle together when all the parts are constantly moving and changing. Most of the time, you are working overtime, weekends and holidays without any additional compensation.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Any time there is music of any kind in a TV show, film, ad or trailer, there is a ton of stuff that has to go on behind the scenes to make it happen. A Music Supervisor is someone who oversees all aspects of the music on a TV show, film, trailer, etc. So, depending on what medium you are working in, you can be doing a whole range of jobs from clearing the songs to selecting the songs for scenes, to negotiating contracts, hiring songwriters, music producers, and composers, guiding the creation of original songs or covers for a show or film. In trailers, almost everything you hear has been customized so we are taking a pre-existing song and working with our composers to trailerize a song and make it fit with a specific structure. We go through numerous revisions with our composers on tight timelines, and sometimes, there can be two to three different pieces of music in a trailer along with sound design. We work very closely with our in-house editors and producers as well as studio clients to fine-tune a cut. It’s all marketing but it’s an extremely creative process that’s been really fun to learn. Most people who see trailers have no idea what goes into making them.
As far as what I’m known for, that is a hard question because Music Supervision is always a team effort, whether you are working on trailers, film or TV or another medium. Everything has to move up through multiple rungs of approval so it’s not like I get to impose my ideas without everyone else being on board. Ideas can come from anywhere but it’s great when everyone is willing to take risks and do something outside the box. We recently did the trailers for Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, and Todd Haynes’ new film May December as well as Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla. I pulled the ESG song that you hear in the Priscilla trailer, which was great not only because ESG is such an awesome band but because I had interviewed them years earlier and that relationship ended up being critical in clearing the song. Those are just a few things that are fresh in my mind. The ideal scenario is when you get to work with directors like Sofia Coppola and Todd Haynes whose music taste allows you to explore ideas you don’t hear too often. Or if the client’s creative vision allows you to do something more interesting. I feel lucky in that everyone I work with at Motive is very talented and creatively aligned so that makes it a lot easier but ultimately, it’s about what works.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think curiosity, persistence, creativity, and scrappiness are qualities that have come in handy. I grew up in the punk scene and still identify as a punk at heart, so I learned how to make do with limited resources. In Music Supervision, you have to be a detective and know how to scour the corners of the internet sometimes to track down rights in order to clear a song. I was taught by my first boss, Robin Urdang, that you should never let any roadblock stop you when it comes to clearing a song because our job is to protect the creative as much as possible. She taught me that if a director has their heart set on using a specific song, we do everything we can to clear it for them. If we can’t track down the rights to something, keep looking. If an artist denies a use, find out why – there is always a reason and if you know the reason, you can figure out a solution. A big part of clearance is psychology and negotiation. Artists are sensitive and everyone has a right to say how their music is used but a lot of times, people take no for an answer without digging into the “why”. I find clearance to be one of the most rewarding aspects of the job, especially if a song has never been used before or if it’s a really special and particular artist it always feels like a huge victory.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.scenerysamundra.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scenery-samundra-66755788/
