Join a Century-old Tradition The OSU Bands are celebrating their 100th anniversary with the creation of the Cowboy Marching Band Fan Club. Members of the OSU Cowboy Marching Band Fan Club receive a newsletter and, depending on their membership level, merchandise ranging from window decals to stadium blankets to OSU Pep Band performances at tailgate parties. Higher donations bring the opportunity to guest conduct in pre- or post-game concerts and the opportunity to send a “band-o-gram” performed by members of the OSU bands. Membership contributions will purchase and maintain equipment, uniforms and other peripherals. courtesy And for Michael Ryan, who graduated in 1985 with a bachelor’s in music education, the journey has been a dream come true. “As music arranger for Varsity Revue for three years, I knew music and drama belonged together, but I didn’t know what type of formal education I would need to become a music editor,” he says. Today, as a two-time winner of the Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award for The Passion of the Christ and Naomi and Wynonna – Love Can Build a Bridge, it’s fair to say Ryan has figured it out. He’s also chief executive officer of Mad 4 Music, a music editing company in Sherman Oaks, Calif., which he and three partners formed in 2003. After graduating from OSU, Ryan accepted a job in California as a high school band director and was soon taking classes in film scoring on the side. In 1988, he left the teaching profession and moved to Burbank, Calif., to pursue his dream of music editing. To get his foot in the door, he started working as a driver and office assistant for West Production, a sound effects and editing company, and eventually was promoted to supervising dialogue editor. His credits include television shows such as The Wonder Years and small feature films such as Crime Zone and The Terror Within. When an opportunity to work for Segue Music arose in 1991, Ryan took a cut in pay and prestige to join the company as assistant music editor. He spent 12 years with Segue, working his way up to supervising music editor on numerous projects such as The Muse with Elton John, Mr. Holland’s Opus and The Fighting Temptations. “I’ve always loved music and listening to film scores,” says Ryan, whose 13 Golden Reel Award nominations include Raise Your Voice, Save the Last Dance, Anna and the King, 101 Dalmatians, The Three Musketeers and The Last of the Mohicans. Music editors serve as the liaison between a project’s director and composer, he says. “We’re the coordinator — the wrangler — of all things musical for a film or other project.” The music editor keeps track of the cues during the recording session, and once the music is recorded he spends days working with digital editing equipment to ensure the sounds are in sync with the action and dialogue. “It’s an arduous project,” he says, “because each sound and its placement must be at exactly the right time and the right level whether it’s a melody or a dog barking in the background.” When the project is done, the impact of the music and the sound can be amazing, even for the people involved in the project, he says. “Director Steve Herek gave me one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had after I had finished the sound for 101 Dalmatians,” Ryan says. “He said, ‘Now, it feels like a movie.’” Janet Varnum Life in the Reel World Phil Shockley It’s a long way from Varsity Revue to Hollywood. Michael Ryan Oklahoma State University 13
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