Creating Sound for Video: A Creative Commons Journey

Ted Laderas is a sound engineer and an amateur cellist from Portland, Oregon. A track called “Silhouettes” he submitted for the “Instagr/am/bient” weekly challenge from communal sound-making SoundCloud group Disquiet Junto has landed in different videos through Creative Commons. See the videos in which “Silhouettes” has been used here.

“It’s incredibly energizing to see that people like your music so much to include it in their video,” says Ted, who says “Silhouettes” has led to opportunities to work with dance choreographers and more video producers. “It provides me with new contexts with which to think of my music.”

SoundCloud has become a tool for Ted to showcase his portfolio of sounds easily. “SoundCloud has been incredibly useful as a way to show my work to others, especially video producers. I keep a wide variety of tracks available on my page, and one of the people I worked with who produced a video for Stumptown Coffee discovered a track he wanted to use in the video.”

Beyond using SoundCloud as a tool to upload and maintain his work, connecting and being inspired by the community has compelled him to continue to create music. From participating in SoundCloud groups like Disquiet Junto or fuelling feedback from track comments to create an album, Ted finds that putting your work out via Creative Commons means more people can hear your work.

“Hone your craft,” he says, “Put it out there for people to hear, even if you’re not completely finished. Listen to audience feedback, but don’t be a slave to it. Encourage like-minded people and share their work with others. Be grateful for what you’ve achieved. Your positivity will drive you forward.”

We’re continuing to profile more creators involved in creating for video and film. Stay tuned on the blog, Tumblr and Twitter this week.