ASCAP Coverage of the Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film and TV Music Conference

Keynote Panel with Sacha Baron Cohen and Erran Baron Cohen (l to r): moderator Dan Kimpel, Erran Baron Cohen, Sacha Baron Cohen, ASCAP's Mike Todd

The 2009 Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film and TV Music Conference was held on October 29th and 30th at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA. This year's edition of the annual confab brought together music creators and industry insiders from across the spectrum of the Film, TV and video game music world. ASCAP was the founding sponsor of the Conference.

ASCAP presented Thursday's keynote panel, which featured actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his brother, ASCAP affiliate composer Erran Baron Cohen (PRS), to discuss their partnerships on Da Ali G Show, Borat and Brüno. The pair talked about the process for their collaborations, gave running commentary on a series of clips from their projects together, and shared irreverent anecdotes with moderator Dan Kimpel.

Friday's activities kicked off with the Fame: The Anatomy of a Film Score panel, also presented by ASCAP. In this illuminating discussion, Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning ASCAP composer Mark Isham talked about his original score for Fame with the movie's director, Kevin Tancharoen. The two delved into the delicate process of recreating such a beloved story, and how they made the lives of the movie's performing arts students come to life through music. ASCAP's Mike Todd moderated.

Keynote Panel with Mary J. Blige (l to r): ASCAP's Alonzo Robinson, moderator/Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell, "I Can See In Color" producer/co-writer Raphael Saadiq, Mary J. Blige, ASCAP's Alisha Davis and ASCAP's Jay Sloan

In one of the conference's most anticipated events, R&B legend Mary J. Blige discussed her career and contributions to film and TV music in Friday's keynote panel. Blige gave a preview of "I Can See In Color," the song she co-wrote with ASCAP member Raphael Saadiq for the recently-released Lionsgate film Precious. The film was an Official Selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and 2009 Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard, and won three awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Blige's next album will be released in fall of 2009. The panel was moderated by Gail Mitchell, Senior Editor at Billboard.

The Case Study: The Music of Battlestar Galactica panel found ASCAP composer Bear McCreary going scene by scene to discuss his inspiration for the four seasons of music for SyFy's hit show Battlestar Galactica. McCreary's current project is working on the music for Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel that debuts in January of 2010. Ann Donahue, Senior Editor at Billboard, moderated the panel.

ASCAP composer James Dooley (inFAMOUS, SOCOM 3, Obsessed, Pushing Daisies TV series) was a featured speaker on The Secrets Behind Video Game Music panel, moderated by Greg O'Connor-Read, founder, Music4Games, Inc. Dooley and other top names in the video game music world shared their secrets and strategies for integrating and composing music for video games. Other speakers included Chuck Doud, Director of Music at Sony Computer Entertainment America (inFAMOUS, Uncharted, God of War, MAG), composer Sascha Dikiciyan (Prototype, Splinter Cell 4, Quake series), Don Veca, Audio Director at Visceral Games/Electronic Arts (Dead Space) and composer Cris Velasco (Prototype, God of War series, Clive Barker's Jericho).