Music Supervisor Hunter George Shares Tips for Soundtracking Our Contest Clip

One of the most exciting aspects of music supervision is placing music to moving pictures—finding the right song to amplify a scene, tell a story, or create an emotional connection with an audience. That’s exactly what we’re asking you to do in Berklee Online’s Music Supervision Contest.

Download a short video clip, add music using Instagram’s licensed music library, and submit your entry for a chance to win a free undergraduate Music Supervision course. It’s an opportunity to try one of the most visible parts of the profession while getting a taste of what music supervisors do every day.

Of course, music supervision itself involves much more than choosing songs.

Hunter George, who is writing and teaching the two Cumulative Experience in Music Supervision courses in Berklee Online’s brand new Master of Arts in Music Supervision program, knows that firsthand. He has been working professionally as a music supervisor for more than a decade, and is currently executive music producer and music supervisor for Phantoms Creative Music Services.

Hunter George

Early in his career, Hunter spent years handling complex music clearances for film and television. Working on the CBS series Training Day, he helped secure rights for music by artists ranging from Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams to Johnny Cash, AC/DC, and N.W.A.

“I was doing clearances for things like Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ with Pharrell. I think it was the first thing I ever cleared,” he says. “I didn’t actually place anything for a few years.”

As for selecting music itself, Hunter says the job is often less about personal taste and more about reading the room, and understanding the creative vision of the people making the project.

“There’s a dynamic conversation happening in a room with a very small group of people, and you’re serving the director’s vision at the end of the day,” says Hunter. “Understanding the dynamics, understanding the etiquette, understanding who’s really leading the creative direction and not getting that confused—that’s important.”

Sometimes that vision starts with temporary music used during editing: “Your job is to wow them with options in the same zone,” Hunter says.

Other times, the direction can be surprisingly specific: “A good music supervisor is trying to find the next song that could find virality, six months to a year early: That’s the high we chase.”

Beatles Clearances and ‘Waiting for This Moment to Arise’
Recently, Hunter worked on Netflix’s hit Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The scene where Edward Norton’s character is sitting on the beach and playing the Beatles’ “Blackbird” on guitar was a moment that Hunter had to navigate with the rights holders.

“We were going and securing that Beatles clearance, which is one of the trickier ones,” he says. Because the scene depended on a specific joke, the team also had to prepare backup plans in case the clearance didn’t come through. In some ways, Hunter says, his years working on Training Day served as training for moments like this.

“That goes back to my early days of clearing all those legendary, iconic records. I kind of know how to navigate that path,” he says. “I thought it landed really well once I finally saw the scene.”

What Would Hunter George Pick for the Contest?

Naturally, we couldn’t let Hunter George go without showing him the same 40-second clip you’ll be soundtracking for the contest.

His first impressions?

“High energy and inspiring would be my first two angles,” he says. “It’s hopeful: It seems like the scene calls for hope.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean contestants should all head in the same direction. In fact, Hunter was careful not to prescribe a specific genre.

“I wouldn’t even pigeonhole genre here.”

If he were approaching the scene himself, Hunter says he’d likely lean more toward score rather than a traditional song.

“My instinct would be to go toward inspiring and instrumental.”

And while he personally hears the scene that way, that’s exactly what makes music supervision interesting: different people can watch the same footage and hear something completely different.

CONTEST DETAILS
Berklee Online will provide a short downloadable video clip (which you can watch below and download at the official contest site) and participants are encouraged to pair the clip with a music selection from Instagram’s licensed music library. One winner, chosen by Berklee Online, will receive a free undergraduate Music Supervision course valued at $1,575.

The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2026. More information on the contest is here.