Here’s a fun diversion. Take a movie, any movie, and skip to the end credits. These days, a ton of people work on any given project, and yet very few of them get the “credit” they deserve. Why? Well, I’d posit that many people have no idea what some of those titles mean. What’s a key grip? Answer: they set up the lights. Well, what’s a best boy? Answer: they help the key grip. There’s all sorts of trades who contribute but one of the more nebulous out there deal with audio.
So, Marc, what’s with all this preface? Just tell us who we’re going to hear from. Ok, then, allow me to welcome Music Supervisor Cody Partridge back to the site. We first got to know Big C back in 2020 (during our pandemic set podcast series) while talking to him and David Hayman about the world of film and television music.
While the idea of placing music in a film (working with a director’s temp track, finding a suitable alternate should the rights and/or fee not allow for the first pick) sounds like a dream job, it’s quite tedious. Cody has been navigating that world for more than a decade. Truth be told, it’s much less about bringing your own catalog of favorite tracks and much more about understanding what the director/writer wanted. The goal is always helping them achieve their auditory vision.
Cody (who has worked on Copenhagen, Schitt’s Creek, and 10 seasons of Letterkenny) will be the first to tell that you working on contracts – the art of crossing Ts and dotting lower-case Js – and making the right connections is, sometimes, more professionally satisfying than placing Blink 182 and A Newfound Glory tracks wherever it works out.
We had a blast catching up with Mr. Partridge who left Supergroup following the unexpected passing of his mentor David Hayman. Since 2020, he’s started his own brand: the very holiday-esqe sounding Pear Tree Music Supervision.
This interview might be a dream killer for some of you looking to enter this profession, but it also feels like a masterclass from someone who has a real skill for number crunching. He has a lot of fun doing it, so enjoy our time with Cody Partridge!
