For me it started with a spec spot for the Porsche Boxster. A bus driver sees one parked, imagines himself behind the wheel and goes hooning off around the city, rather to the surprise of his passengers. It had some spectacular stunt driving (a bus!) and was beautifully shot. My best friend and I were pitching to get on the reel of a super-hip commercial director. We scored it with some noisy drum and bass - still a fairly alternative choice at the time - and at the end of it I was hooked. I had never seen my music to picture before, and the way it just made the story come to life was a revelation. Next was a Healthcare provider, not spec this time, and I was off and running.
Writing music for commercials kept me busy for a while after that. I got an Addy and a couple of mentions in Shoot magazine, and scored campaigns for Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Nintendo...
A couple of years into it I was in a studio in Hollywood with about 30 string players. I had written a piece which was to be recorded with an actual orchestra. The concertmaster was Endre Granat, a Hollywood legend. We were in the control room listening to a take when he leaned in to me and quietly said "This is beautiful writing, John". It was just a kindness to a young composer, of course, but it has stayed with me ever since. At the end of the session the musicians applauded as only string players can - by tapping bows on music stands. I cycled home on clouds.
Filled suddenly with a burning desire to be a proper composer, and work with people like Endre Granat again, I hit the books. I did the UCLA film scoring course (twice, for fun), studied privately with UCLA and USC faculty members, attended lectures, seminars, clinics. Orchestration, species counterpoint, the six-four chord. Stravinsky, Hermann, Williams. I inhaled it all. Still do. Pretty soon I picked up a feature, a pilot, a short-lived sitcom, and a show which went on to nine seasons, collecting a handful of ASCAP awards and an Emmy nomination. There's a credits page around here somewhere...