These TV Composers Have Solved The ‘Rubik’s Cube’ Of Working Virtually And Without Full Orchestras

“Over the summer, the husband-and-wife team of Michelle Lewis and Dan Petty, along with co-songwriter Kay Hanley, wrote songs for the animated series Ada Twist, Scientist, a co-production of Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions that Netflix plans to release.

The trio typically writes and records together in Lewis and Petty’s L.A. home studio using keyboards and guitars. With five songs and a theme to write before the show started recording at the end of summer, the trio couldn’t delay the process. So, the process moved outdoors around the couple’s backyard fire pit, and the resulting songs were recorded on the trio’s mobile phones. From there, Hanley and Lewis recorded their vocals individually in the home studio. Hanley went first, then, after a 24-hour pause, the studio was sanitized and Lewis took her turn. These demos were used as guides for the pre-tween Ada Twist actors who will eventually perform the songs. To keep the production moving, Netflix also sent recording kits to the voice actors and instructions on how to soundproof a room at home, says Lewis.

Read more…