Hi Everyone! As we get closer and closer to the filming of our new DVD’s I thought I would share some of the process with you and show you how it all comes together. This post will discuss the steps taken to create the music for our DVD productions.
The first thing we do is hire a music company that specializes in creating, producing and editing our music of choice. We are proudly once again working with Myfitjam. The next step is deciding what kind of music we want to use for the DVD’s. This is always a hard decision to make because obviously everyone has different taste in music so it is important to try to provide variety as a result. For my eight new workouts I needed to have over 80 songs created.
After I have made my soundalike song selections, we then have the music company rewrite them from the ground up. They first rewrite a new instrumental background for the selected songs and then create entirely new lyrics for each of these songs. Great care is taken to make sure the songs are in some ways recognizable yet still be different enough to be legally acceptable. Keeping it legal is hugely important and something we don’t take lightly at all. I know some people wonder why we just don’t use original artist music but the licensing/royaly fees are outrageously expensive and something that even if it were possible to do would costs millions of dollars on a project this size. So with that being explained, our choices are to create upbeat energetic soundalike music from the ground up or use abundantly available stockpile music which in my opinion sounds sort of like canned elevator music. Easy choice there!
Next I compose my list of songs and send them to the music company. Along with this list I write specific directions on the speed of the music, the instruments I do and don’t like, certain sounds I find irritating and distracting etc. I work closely with an appointed music editor for many long and late hours. First draft is just the instrumental version of the modified song I select. If it meets my approval, the editor next works on creating new lyrics to match the modified song. A few days later the next draft comes in with the newly created lyrics. I give it a listen to be sure the lyrics satisfy me. If I need to make changes, I point out the specific time code where I want the change(s) and send it back. I also will send it back if I don’t feel the vocalists voice is the right fit for the song. Then I get a second revision and that one usually always passes. Many times it’s a hit on the first try though which really helps to speed things up.
Once all the songs are approved they go into production and get mixed in the order I select. I’m usually always 100% satisfied at this point but if there is something that still doesn’t seem right to me in the final burned disc, it goes back to production to get fixed and sent to me again. And that’s how it works. This process goes on for every single DVD soundtrack we make. It is a long process that takes three to four months to complete, but one that is well worth it.
So let me share some of the music I chose for our upcoming DVD’s. It’s a combination of current top 40 radio hits, some classic rock hits from the 70’s and some dance music from the 80’s. You’ll hear soundalike remakes based on Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rhianna, Pink, Doobie Brothers, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Taylor Swift, Salt N Pepper, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Journey, Aerosmith, The Archies, Earth, Wind and Fire, Chris Brown, Flo Rida, ….and so many more!
I hope you enjoyed learning about the music process. Stay tuned for a future write up on how we create the clothing for the DVD’s.
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