Crack The Code

Crack The Code was a training site for composers who wanted to learn how to write music for film, TV, commercials, and other media.  I started the site in 2002 with fellow composer John Miyagi Author.  I was the instructor for the film/ TV side, while John ran the commercials side.

Below is a screenshot of the site’s homepage:

Composer training sites are quite prevalent now, but we were one of the first to provide a comprehensive curriculum.  You can see in one of the photos that the courses included three large binders of content, plus a VHS video (with timecode!), as well as on CDs, which was a new development.  The whole package was shipped in a big box; of course, today it would all be a fast download.

We also sold a music supervisor guide, which was quite popular.

Here are links to all the manuals that were part of the courses.  While some of the materials are dated now, the sections on union contracts are still valid (except the rates have increased since then:

Film/TV Manual #1
Film/TV Manual #2
Film/TV Manual #3
Commercials Manual #1
Commercials Manual #2
Commercials Manual #3