"The most erudite and dramaturgically hip teacher on the internet today." -- John Robert Wood, Composer/CCC Client (John's credits include Psych: The Movie and TV series; Sparrowhawk, and the short film Weltschmerz)

"Les sessions avec Andy m’ont aidées à évoluer grandement en très peu de temps. Il a une oreille attentive qui reconnait les failles et mauvaises habitudes tout en révélant les trésors cachés qui m’aident à développer ma voix unique comme compositrice." -- Nathalie Bonin, Composer/Violinist (Nathalie is currently working with composer Christopher Young. She has been a featured performer on many Canadian feature films and TV programs, a soloist on over 60 pop and classical recordings, and is now adding the title of 'composer' to her stellar résumé)

"Andy es un excelente mentor, no solo por su vasto conocimiento en los temas del cine y la música, sino por su gran entendimiento del drama y de las fortalezas y debilidades de sus alumnos. Su capacidad de guiar sin perder de vista la voz del propio compositor es su fortaleza mas grande." -- Edy Lan, Composer (Los Parecidos, Parallel)

“Andy has an energy which always leaves me feeling completely empowered and focused as a composer. I've seen substantial growth in my work as a result, especially in finding my own unique “voice” for the scene. In terms of training, Andy is the closest person I am aware of to a real-life Jedi!"— Teo Weldon

“As we worked through the structured assignments together Andy was able to identify the areas that I needed to focus on in order to expand my repertoire and start producing music worthy of placement directly from my DAW. The results speak for themselves as within 5 months, whilst still on the program, I had scored my first short film and received my first IMBD credit.” — Tim Seymour

“Los conocimientos de Andy en los campos del cine y la música así como su experiencia en la industria, son amplios y profundos. Esto se hace evidente en cada una de las sesiones donde, lejos de imponerse, se adapta a los intereses particulares de cada artista, prestándole ayuda en la consecución de sus propias metas. Andy es además un humano muy humano. Trabajar con él ha sido, es y será siempre, una suerte. Una suerte buscada y encontrada que no me cansaré de recomendar.” — Natalia Laguens

“I met the Maestro during my graduation in film scoring and immediately became passionate about his teaching method. We continued our lessons after graduation and I can only say that before him I was struggling not only to find my voice as a composer but also to name my way of composing. With his help today I am able to better analyze the projects I happen to compose, find the right version of me as a composer, and give my best.” — Joseph Sfregola

NOTE TO COMPOSERS: Please write me at andyhill@cinemuse.us before enlisting in any of the programs described below, and before making any payment. Doing so will both ensure that I am able to take you on as a client and that you understand fully what the terms of engagement are. We can schedule an informal call or Zoom session if further discussion or clarification is necessary. Composers from all nations are welcome, but sessions are conducted in English. 

MIND THE GAP

Most aspiring film and media composers today are either self-taught or emerge from one of the academic programs offered at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels by institutions such as USC, NYU, Columbia College Chicago, Royal College of Music, or the MFA program I currently direct at the Film Scoring Academy of Europe. A few are lucky enough to enter the profession through active mentoring by an industry figure, but for the great majority, there is a wide and seemingly untraversable gap between earning a degree or certificate and earning the first major scoring assignment--not to say obtaining professional representation or management. Young composers often seek to bridge this gap with an internship or assistantship to a working composer, and these can be of great value in the right circumstances. A working composer, however, is generally not able to serve as your coach or your champion, nor are they in a position to mediate industry contacts for you outside their sphere of work. This isn't really their function, nor is it always in their interest. The mentoring programs described below are purposed to address "the gap" in another way: in the fashion of the A&R (artist and repertoire) people and staff producers who once worked for the major pop, jazz and classical record labels. Their job was to seek out, recognize, and develop talent, and to make sure this talent was exposed. 

I can't offer you a record deal, nor can I make any guarantees of work. But after a lifetime of service to the media music industry, I can promise that your work will be heard by the right people, and that its presentation will meet the high standards and expectations of the 21st century media industries. I won't take you on if I don't believe we can achieve that. 

ANDY HILL

RATE SCHEDULE

Tier 1: One hour initial consultation/assessment/brainstorming ($50.00)*

*Can be purchased "a la carte" as needed

Tier 2: 12-hour personal mentoring (includes professional assessment, critique and compositional troubleshooting, online tutorials, exercise regimen, reel assembly, letter of recommendation/introduction to career catalysts) ($500)*

* Hours do not need to be used consecutively or in a block, but can be booked at the composer's convenience and subject to availability.

Tier 3: Full client service package includes all Tier 2 services rendered on an as-needed/on-call basis over the course of one year from initial engagement, with a limit of sixty (60) hours "billable time" (i.e., time logged in Skype/Zoom or other video consultations, correspondence, evaluation and assessment of exercises, score notes, industry networking done specifically on your behalf, etc.).* Additional services include project searches, networking, cold contacts, and website consultation. Once we decide together to undertake this program, and you have invested in me, I am likewise invested in achieving a benchmark measure of success as we agree to define that. ($2500)**

*you will receive an accounting of all billable hours

*to keep this simple and straightforward, and akin to many standard composer contracts, we'll structure the payments this way: $500 deposit to hold the time commitment, with any standalone one-hour sessions you have previously purchased credited against the deposit; $1000 on commencement of services and beginning of the one-year period of commitment; $500 one month prior to completion, upon launch of campaign on your behalf, and the final payment of $500 on the one-year anniversary date of the contract. You may discontinue the program with no further payment obligation at any point where/when you feel the sessions are no longer of benefit to you, or that you are ready to take off on your own, but no refunds will be issued for payments already made (Note: in such a case of early termination, terms will revert to the "a la carte" model and any monies paid can be credited toward individual sessions figured at the $50 per session rate).