An Exercise in Revisions

Last week I was asked to do two spots for Progressive (the auto insurance, not the soup). Both feature that girl Flo. The first had a retro, 60s-esque feel and the other, they wanted a 'Whistle While you Work' vibe to it. I got working. I had a lot of fun on the spots, especially the 60s one because that's a style I wouldn't normally write on my own. Here are those pieces of music.

Ode to Flo 1



Business 1



So I sent those pieces in and a little later I got a response back. They really liked the pieces, but the agency wanted a more French or Italian vibe to it, so they wanted instruments that reflected that and the tracks modified. This was the challenge. At first I was worried because I only had that night to fix them and because I wrote what I heard in my head, I couldn't hear them written another way. I thought I would just have to write two new pieces of music, because these couldn't be modified.

But then I remembered the film scoring book I read, and this is a common thing that composers have to get over. Sometimes the director needs things to be different for a piece of music, even if the composer thinks it sounds perfect. I took this as an opportunity, and rather than write new songs, I would figure out how to modify these into what they wanted. And I'm actually really happy with the results. I feel it's something I wouldn't have come up with on my own.

Ode to Flo 2



Business 2



Regardless of what happens to these tracks, I'm happy with the experience of having to push myself out of my comfort zone.