We recently connected with Scott Ampleford and have shared our conversation below.

Scott, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’d always had an interest in music, but with the exception of pop stars there weren’t really many visible musicians for me to latch on to growing up. I was however, also very interested in acting and actors were EVERYWHERE.
So for the longest time, I wanted to be an actor! I threw myself into school plays, amateur theatre, small parts in TV and film. All the while, making music on the side.
With a group of friends, I’d begun making silly little films to post on the internet. To avoid copyright troubles, I started composing the music to those films.
When I reached university age, I applied exclusively for acting/drama/performing arts courses. But ended up having a sort of ‘crisis of faith’ regarding music. I’d been in bands and performed solo throughout my school career, I loved music. But I’d never really thought about it as a career path. My Northern English upbringing was trying to convince me that any job in the arts was ‘not a real job’ and at the time, university very much felt like the final decision to define what I’d do for the rest of my life.
I panicked.
Withdrew my university applications and went to college instead for 2 years.
Within 6 weeks of studying music at Newcastle College, I met film students, began scoring their projects and realised that this was something I wanted to make a life out of.

University applications came around again and this time the decision was easy. 3 years later I graduated with Honours with a degree in Film Music, experience, contacts, friends and the fledgling beginnings of a career.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

First and foremost, I’m a composer for media. I write music for whoever needs it.
This process also includes arranging, recording and performing that music. Occasionally pulling in external people for performance and production reasons.

A large part of my job is finding the right sound for a client, helping to shape the landscape of their project.
Whether that be traditional orchestra, electronic, sound-design based, contemporary band, world music or any fusion of sounds. My expertise lies in scoring to picture, classic composition and synthesis.

On the side, I occasionally act, provide voiceover and in the last few years, writing and directing my own films.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Understand that creating art requires time, effort and skill.
Over the last decade I’ve seen art become a commodity, especially music. Streaming services and audio libraries have done a pretty good job of convincing the public that music shouldn’t cost anything. I’ve had struggles with clients unwilling to pay a fair price for my services and I’ve found myself in difficult financial situations many times.
A lack of understanding and respect for the work is possibly the biggest issue any artist faces. Buying music instead of streaming it could make an enormous difference to some artists.

Music is not a physical thing and so it’s easy to write it off as ‘without value’. But making that music took time, education, equipment. It cost money to make.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Further social understanding could help to bolster creative industries in times of crisis.
A perfect example is that during the 2020 lockdown, all of my work disappeared overnight and being in the arts meant that I was not eligible for government support. I made nothing for over a year. Something I’m still recovering from now.
I know that I’m far from the only person in that situation.
A societal change in how we view creative industries could be life-changing for so many people.
It’s easy to look at a celebrity actor, director, pop star and think that they don’t need help.
But the creative industries are full of people that you don’t see, just doing their jobs and trying to get by.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scottampleford.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottampleford/
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/mrottscay