April 2022

Kelsey Mitchell is a Latinx Music Supervisor for film and entertainment advertising, based out of Los Angeles. Her work in theatrical advertising has been nominated for a Guild of Music Supervisors Award for ‘Best Music Supervision In A Trailer’ for Lionsgate's Bombshell.

Other clients include Universal, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Disney. Her most recent film, INIT!ATION, was released by Saban Films in 2021.

Kelsey is currently the Director of Music at award-winning agency Ignition Creative, following her role as Music Supervisor at Workshop Creative. She also heads the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee for the Guild of Music Supervisors.

So, Kelsey…

MASA: Can you tell us a bit about how your career started and when your musical journey began?

KELSEY: My career actually started in live music! I programmed concerts for students while I attended UCLA and went into promotion from there. I ended up booking bands at The Bootleg for a while and doing artist relations for stadium acts before I decided to pivot careers to sync licensing, specifically trailers. I wanted to be in the music sector that put the most money into artists' pockets. Hence - trailers! My time in live music gave me the ear and the connections that I took into supervision.

MASA: What does the average day looks like at Ignition…?

KELSEY: I always tell folks that our jobs as trailer supervisors are often a pretty even split between creative and administrative. A typical day includes creative brainstorming sessions with producers/editors/clients, working on licensing paperwork, ingesting new music, working on music pulls, working on customs with composers, among loads of other things. But mostly, no one day looks the same, and depends on the projects I touch that day. We work on about a dozen different projects at any one time. Out of office hours I'll normally put a little work into my freelance film projects, and work on the DEI initiatives through the Guild of Music Supervisors.

MASA: How do you help clients think about what music is right for their project? What makes Ignition stand out from other competition?

KELSEY: Every client is different, with different ideas and preferences! Some are more receptive to new ideas and directions than others. It is a delicate balance.

MASA: What kind of project excites you the most?

KELSEY: Anything we're dealing with with any sort of customization. It’s totally new terrain, which is exciting. I particularly love working with a composer directly on a new composition. Putting something into the world that hasn't previously existed!

MASA: Have you noticed any shift in trends in terms of what type of music is being sought?

KELSEY: I think customization is now an expectation - so overlay, trailerization, remix, invisible remix, or something made completely from scratch. As well as ‘signature sounds’; a unique sound created for a campaign which a consumer then associates with that campaign.

MASA: How do you think a competition like The Music+Sound Awards impacts the industry?

KELSEY: It's always good to reflect on work that has been done. That's how we improve and move forward.

MASA: And lastly, what will you be looking for when judging? What makes a piece of work worthy of a Music+Sound Award?

KELSEY: Thinking outside of the box. If I'm surprised, I'm delighted, particularly because thinking outside the box often scares clients.

MASA: Great to hear all about your work there Kelsey. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us and for being on the jury panel this year.

Find out more about Ignition Creative HERE