Composers Stewart Copeland, Rolfe Kent, and Edward Shearmur were on hand at the Los Angeles Film Festival this afternoon for a very special "Coffee Talk", moderated by BMI's Doreen Ringer-Ross. These three talented artists discussed a plethora of topics that ranged from how to work with directors, how to break into the industry, their thoughts on temp scores, and more. As one of the audience members pointed out during the Q&A session, they could have been a comedy troupe! Copeland was very upfront and vocal, while Kent kept the audience chuckling with his understated witty interjections, and Shearmur hovered in the middle-range. A rather funny moment came when Kent mentioned "C-flat", and then realized his slip.


Doreen Ringer-Ross moderates Steward Copeland, Rolfe Kent, and Edward Shearmur.

Much of the Q&A session was dominated by questions involving process, and Copeland had a great suggestion provided to him by agent Richard Kraft: if you're an aspiring composer, find a small film that you want to be attached to, and then find the director's previous works - and submit a demo with you music on that film. Because then the director will see his film, and be more inclined to check it out! Look for more details on the Coffee Talk, along with audio clips from the event, on the BMI website later this week.

Special thanks to Hanna Pantle and Doreen Ringer-Ross at BMI