This Link is to the website containing the EPK
https://jacobjhoward.wixsite.com/epk–jacob
The attached images of website are there as a reference to stop the adaptation of the website after submission.
EPK supporting commentary.
This EPK has helped me establish a professional identity for Jacob Howard within the competitive Film, TV, and video game scoring market. Industry expert, Leanne Mison (co-founder, Bang On PR), says, “ [An EPK is] super important, it goes hand in hand with the music to form your pitch. It gives your music valuable context and helps build a picture of your work.” This shows that it immediately communicated a creator’s brand to the right opportunities with professionals who have very busy schedules. My EPK targets independent film directors and music supervisors, providing a streamlined portal to my music identity.
My intended audience consists of independent directors, producers, and filmmakers. I wanted to use my history in cinematography and filmmaking to support my design and content within my EPK. I wanted it to be sleek and straightforward, but have a visual edge which would stand out to filmmakers as they aim to create something visually beautiful. To achieve this, I chose to follow a strict colour scheme the whole way throughout and chose aesthetic images which fit within the colour scheme. I chose to have my name be part of the page design so that my identity is part of the aesthetic of the page. Following this, I kept a very short bio underneath to get straight to the point and have a clear message established. “Jacob Howard is an indie and classically trained composer with a background in filmmaking based in Leeds, UK”. This short Bio establishes my style, my background, and my location very quickly. I allow space at the top of my page to set apart my image and larger blocks of text, which may cloud the visual aesthetic of my EPK. I next chose to write a larger bio, which goes into more detail on specific experiences I have gained and my composing style and process.
Next, I wanted to showcase some of my own work, I have created which establishes my style and the variety of work I can produce. I start with a re-scoring of a clip from a video game, which further establishes my diversity in style of composing and shows my ability to compose for video games. This score is also a hybrid score showing my ability to write for the whole orchestra as well as create and compose with synthesisers and find a balance between the two genres. The other clip I have chosen to include is a re-scoring from the TV show Broadchurch. This scene is not focused on music at all is highly emotionally driven, and as a result, I wanted to show my ability to balance a musically intense score and a score which subtly lies under the image and complements what is being played on screen. Here, in my design of my EPK, I have chosen to keep the style quite relaxed and allow space on the page so that the viewer is not distracted and can focus on the image and the score I have composed.
Following this, I chose to show my professional work with creators in the industry. First, I showcased my work with James Boughhen, who is a comedy writer based in Yorkshire. He has written for many TV shows, including Shooting Stars (BBC2), Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC2), Mock the Week (BBC2) and Celebrity Juice (ITV2). I worked with James in 2024 on a 5-part scripted comedy series for BBC Radio 4, where I composed a large selection of music for the show. Here on my EPK, I have included a video which shows my work on BBC iPlayer, a quick bio on my work and then a testimonial from James on our collaboration together. I then included a selection of audio files from the work I wrote, separate from the final product, so that the viewer can easily view the work I completed. I then show the work I completed with Grace Barber, an aspiring filmmaker based in York. I included the final version of the whole film, which I scored. I then followed this with another testimonial of the collaboration between the two of us. The showcase of the collaboration shows that I am desirable in the work which I complete and am easy and enjoyable to work with.
The next section is exemplary music of individual tracks I have written in the library music style. I have included 3 in very different styles, showing my ability to compose in a wide and varied set of genres. I have made all the media players within the page easy to use and accessible, allowing the showcase of my music to be simple and easy. Following this section, I chose to write an extended Bio which allowed me to go into more details of my experiences, my skills and my composing styles, talking about specific experiences like working with highly skilled individuals and performing in impressive venues.
Reflecting on my completed EPK, I can see a lack of photos relevant to my composing or performing. In the future, I would like to improve on this space and add photos specific to composing, including my composing style and skills, as well as potential photos of performing my own as a conductor, etc. I would like to progress my experience working in the industry and provide more examples of testimonies as well as work being used in the industry, which would allow me to step up to working with larger names in the future.
My decision on brand design and the aesthetic of my work highlights a strong balance between aesthetic competence and practicality. I believe this decision works well with the design I was trying to achieve and targeted the desired audience I was aiming for. After working on my EPK, I believe the creation of an EPK is very valuable and a stronger product than created a specific Instagram or other social media pages. An EPK is very professional and fits in well within the industry. Providing a strong history and large batch of information about an individual to the right people very effectively and efficiently. My work on my EPK will directly support my work as a creative, as it allows me to easily share my work and my skills with others around the industry and will, as a result, drive revenue and opportunities. My background in cinematography and photography has allowed me to create high-quality photographs with no cost, as I already owned the required equipment. This has also supported me in my creation of the identity and aesthetic I wanted to create. The use of the BBC name without the logo is protected under fair dealings, meaning that I am not breaking any trademarks or implying endorsement. As this specific EPK is for university submission, the use of the videos is allowed as the university has been allowed to use such work for submission. If I wanted to use these videos in the ‘Real world’, I would have to gain a synchronisation license ( the right to pair my music with a film).
During group work discussions, I was given feedback on the design, content and overall presentation of my EPK, which allowed me to improve and create a stronger final submission. An area of feedback I was given was the arrangement of the page layout. I was informed that my content was all focused on the centre of the page. I had initially done this so that the content would be easily viewable on all devices. When looking at this area again, I discovered that I was able to push the design more outwards, which gave more space on the page and improved the overall aesthetic. Another area of group feedback was that there was a high volume of text before reaching any content or a showreel. As a result, I shortened my first biography and added more visual and audio content. I then added an extended biography at the end of the EPK, allowing more information to be gained. I was also told to bolden and highlight my experiences, especially work with the BBC. To achieve this, I removed any excess text and allowed the achievement in itself to be the highlight of the area. A final piece of improvement I was given was that my broad experiences from musical theatre to indie synth music could be a bit confusing. As a result, I added more detail on how I bridge the different styles and added a specific line on combining classical tradition and electronic innovation to show my diverse background, but my ability to use that as a strength rather than diluting my skill.
