The Emmy-Winning Composer Behind the NFL, NBA, FAZE, and Kai Cenat. | Mic Ferrante

Welcome to episode 30 of The First Act Break podcast, the show where we dive into the art, business, and hustle of breaking into the film industry, and help you build a career doing what you love. Today, we bring on Mic Ferrante, an Emmy-Winning composer who's scored for the NFL, NBA, FAZE Clan, Kai Cenat and many more. He shares his experience going to music school and his recent career as a newly graduate pursing the composing dream.Timecodes:00:00 Intro00:01:58 Falling in love with scoring00:05:26 First real paycheck as composer00:06:28 Getting paid through commercial work00:07:15 How composers actually get hired00:08:59 Marketing yourself as a composer00:09:27 Biggest thing directors should know00:10:45 Working with big brands (NBA, USC)00:12:17 How people find him for gigs00:14:23 The USC “Among Us” horn00:15:40 Writing for narrative vs commercial00:18:52 How themes and melodies are born00:20:01 Why melody matters so much00:22:58 Writing personal music outside film00:23:40 Studying great music00:27:06 Do directors need “good taste”?00:27:59 Temp scores: helpful or cheating?00:30:07 Is there a “career path”?00:31:31 How composers actually break in00:33:59 Diversify or starve in music00:34:59 Balancing creativity and mental health00:35:12 Is music / film school worth it?00:36:59 USC: connections vs. classes00:38:02 Mozart vs. modern composers00:40:46 Money stress after graduation00:41:40 How much do gigs pay?00:44:33 Learning when to say no00:47:00 Will AI take composer jobs?00:48:59 How he’s future-proofing with AI00:50:00 Using AI in music workflow00:50:36 Handling jealousy and comparison00:51:57 Scoring for different directors’ styles00:53:35 Worst kind of project experience00:54:38 Running live sessions, leading people00:55:51 How to get good at piano00:58:17 Breaking down our scores together01:02:22 Melodies of War breakdown01:03:22 Love themes, character themes01:04:48 How sets actually work (drama)01:07:34 How we pulled off the musical01:09:35 Writing songs fast for production01:10:24 Question from last guest01:11:20 Freelance goals (director POV)