Meet Alex Cap

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Cap. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Hi Alex, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
Early on in my career, I would either always be working, thinking about working, or feeling like I should be working. Aside from potentially causing burnout, this mindset (which no doubt plagues many a freelancer) is no way to go through life.

The first remedy I attempted was giving myself regular hours, outside of which I was not allowed to work. While it wasn’t foolproof, and I occasionally had to break my rule depending on the urgency of the project, this generally was already a step in the right direction. It freed me from the guilt of feeling like I should always be working, and enabled me to think about other things.

The next goal I had was to be well-rested. I have now been getting 7-7 1/2 hours of sleep (I acknowledge everyone needs a different amount of sleep) almost every night for several years, and the benifits have been obvious. First, I’m able to make it through the whole day without needing a nap. In addition, I am more focused and alert while awake than when I didn’t get enough sleep, which allows me to be more productive when working.

I can also remain alert and productive if I’ve exercised in the morning. So, I’ve added a 20-30 minute routine that I do at home. It’s a weekly schedule – each day of the week is slightly different. I didn’t like doing it first thing in the morning, so I usually work for a couple hours and then use the workout as a break.

Lastly, having other interests outside of music has helped. For me, that may be going to church, spending time with my church community, and playing tennis. I have a tendency to take on too many hobbies, so I’ve been trying to pare them down so I’m not spread so thin.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I write media music. This is music for games, film, TV, VR, and similar platforms. I mostly do underscore (think of those Netflix captions, like [suspenseful music plays]), but from time to time dip into songwriting as well as writing concert band music.

Every project is different. I might have to learn to work with a new director, understand the vision of a new project from the same director, or be able to think differently for linear vs. non-linear media. The variety is endless, and on top of that, there are often several ways to solve problems or achieve certain musical and emotional effects.

This has caused me, by necessity, to become a sort of chameleon. I have gotten the opportunity to write in many kinds of music styles (traditional music of cultures around the world, a wide range of genres, and all sorts of instrumentations) for lots of different projects (mobile games, animated films, VR games & films, desktop games, live action films, etc.). Working in this way has given me flexibility as well as more skills and tools to approach future projects.

As a side project, I have a YouTube channel where I upload piano covers. These are usually my arrangements of media music by other composers. This has given me an outlet to learn and improve new crafts, like lighting, video, and video editing. At the moment, I am just getting my feet wet, figuring out my workflow, and deciding if I have particular recording goals, but I hope for it to eventually become a sustainable business.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
As I’m sure you’ve heard, most of what you learn is gained not from classrooms or textbooks, but on the job, where you encounter real-life situations and have to think on your feet to solve problems. So, I’d say one thing you really need to know is where you can go to get answers. Sometimes that might be as simple as ctrl/cmd + f in the user manual or searching your software’s forum. Other times, that might look like calling or hiring a colleague. In a word, I think this skill is being “resourceful.” The key to remember is that you don’t need to know everything, have all the answers, or always do everything by yourself.

In an online forum interview with composer John Powell, I saw a member ask him the question “What’s your most important tool as a composer?” The forum member probably expected a piece of hardware or software as an answer, but Powell instead responded with “tenacity.” The more time I spend in this industry (now over a decade), the more I see people either giving up or leaving the industry for other reasons, so I could not agree with him more.

Lastly, I’d say you shouldn’t be afraid to put your work in front of others and receive honest criticism. You can see that there are two parts to this. For the first part, it takes courage to let your carefully crafted widgets leave the nest. Some people are quite unashamed about their work, regardless of the quality, and so do not need to worry about this first part. Then, the critical part is taking feedback. Some feedback will help you refine your craft, while other feedback will be next to useless. I’ve heard other content creators remark that the value of positive feedback diminishes exponentially the more advanced you become in your field. So I’ll call this third skill “selective listening.” It’s important, though, that you not close yourself off to all feedback; some of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve received came from others, and not from something I discovered on my own. Never underestimate the power of a new perspective.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Currently, my goal is to get more work on bigger projects. To accomplish this, I’m trying to meet new people. Aside from the obvious – attending conferences and networking – I am just doing what I like to do (I mentioned I have other interests outside of music) and being open to any opportunities that may arise from that, without treating those activities like networking events and without forcing any relationships. If you view every interaction you have with people as a potential networking opportunity, I think you have shot yourself in the foot and have diminished the potential quality of that interaction before it is even able to flourish. Also, it’s way more enjoyable to not have that pressure constantly hovering over your shoulder.

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Image Credits
Brandon Smith, Kevin Stiller, Jacob Ruttenberg

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