Anton Reihl is a classically-trained composer specializing in music for film, TV, and interactive media. Holding a degree in music composition from the University of Northern Colorado, he took his career to L.A. and has been there for eighteen years.
In starting a career, he emphasized the importance of networking and building good relationships with people in your area of work. Having mentors to learn from and watch will give you key insight into how things truly work in your profession.
If you want to compose music via technology, Anton suggests helpful tools: have many applications available to use, such as Bitwig or Digital Performer; Dorico is also highly recommended for musical notation. He uses analog, which is creating sound via voltage and tuning knobs; he also uses MIDI, which are digital numbers that translate into sound. In choosing one or the other, he states MIDI is the musical standard, as it is ahead of other technology and in a league of its own.
One would think Anton’s work would be easy remote, and while it’s true when working on his pieces, it isn’t always, especially when he needs to collaborate with others to put the whole masterpiece together.
“Glamorous jobs are a fabrication of romanticizing aesthetics.”
His final words: “It’s a full-time job. There’s no glamor involved.” While producing music for mainstream media appears to be the dream job, Anton says it’s a lot of work. All sweat, no sparkle. But it’s worth it.
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