Anime Instrumentality’s Call for New Staff Writers

Anime Instrumentality has come a long way since its nascent days reviewing anime titles as the site slowly made a concerted effort to live up to its title (the music-related meaning of “instrumentality”) by ramping up its coverage of anime music with the goal of becoming a thorough resource for opinions about the music that accompanies the anime we watch, be it openings/endings, background music, the occasional insert song, and even an arrange album or two.

Needless to say, we’ve had a great deal of success on developing that front and our shtick has become relatively well-known. We’re nearing our third year of existence, and managing this site has reached a stable point where I think the time is ripe to expand Anime Instrumentality’s music coverage even further! To that end, I’m putting out a call for new writers to join the current team.

Who we’re looking for:
People with strong writing skills who are enthusiastic about both anime and anime music. Obviously, some knowledge of music is helpful but not necessary (as I, myself, have only one semester’s worth of music appreciation in me). What’s important is being able to opine on music and conveying why you like or don’t like this, that, or the other by backing your opinions up with well-thought-out reasoning and analysis. By virtue of the fact that you’ll be covering anime music, you should also be listening to a lot of it. But that kinda goes without saying.

What you get out of it:
The best part (I think) is letting your voice be heard on all matters related to anime music to an established audience, many of whom are knowledgeable about this aspect of the anime fandom and who are willing to engage with you by discussing what you’ve written. Furthermore, you’ll get plenty of support from having someone edit your work or help guide you through the writing process so that you can develop into a better writer. You’ll be surprised by how much you improve! Finally, the work we do on here qualifies staff writers for press passes at a few select anime conventions, so consider that a bonus for the hard work that you’ll be putting into Anime Instrumentality (you’re still on assignment though, so you’ll be expected to cover the convention in some reasonable amount of depth).

The application form is fairly short and simple. Just copy and paste the form below, fill it out, and e-mail the contents to webmaster[ATSIGN]animeinstrumentality.net by January 25, 2011 to be considered. Please make the topic of the email “Anime Instrumentality Application 2011.” It would be appreciated if the short answer questions are kept under 350 words each.

Internet Handle:
E-mail:

Short Answer #1 – Why are you interested in writing for Anime Instrumentality? What part of anime music are you interested in writing about (example: OP/ED reviews, soundtrack reviews, editorials, concert reports)?

Short Answer #2 – What got you interested in anime music? Name a few of your favorite artists/composers and what you like about them.

Short Answer #3- What genres of music would you say you have an affinity for, in general? Why? What do you think makes you stand out from the other applicants?

Attach a sample of a review or article that you’d submit to Anime Instrumentality. If you choose to submit a Concert Report, the concert must have taken place within the last six months. Please consult existing articles and reviews for formatting and length guidelines. Writing a detailed info table and tracklist chart isn’t necessary, but a simple list of the songs in order would be appreciated.

Good luck to you all and we’ll announce the new writers on February 5, 2011!

Note: guest writers (the two of you + Nihon Review staff) will be unaffected by this and can continue to contribute.

zzeroparticle

Anime Instrumentality's Founder and Editor-in-Chief. As you can probably guess, I'm a big anime music junkie with a special love for composers who've put out some beautiful melodies to accompany some of my favorite anime series. I tend to gravitate towards music in the classical style with Joe Hisaishi and Yoko Kanno being a few of my favorite composers, but I've come to appreciate jazz and rock as anime music has widened my tastes.

25 thoughts on “Anime Instrumentality’s Call for New Staff Writers

  • January 6, 2011 at 6:05 pm
    Permalink

    Don’t be shy! Zzero is one of the nicest guys on the whole internet.

    Reply
  • January 6, 2011 at 6:13 pm
    Permalink

    So… professional.

    Typing ‘Hey guys, apply to join our team, and you’ll feel good about yourself.’ would be much, much, easier. :v

    Reply
  • January 6, 2011 at 7:03 pm
    Permalink

    I would join, but writing about music is not my forte.

    …and neither is punning.

    Reply
  • January 6, 2011 at 9:44 pm
    Permalink

    I would attempt this, except I doubt my writing skills and my ability to be witty.

    Reply
  • January 6, 2011 at 10:39 pm
    Permalink

    A couple things:

    1. People are often better than they give themselves credit for.
    2. You should try anyways. I also provide free feedback when I evaluate your submission!
    3. I’d like to think I’m a fun, laid-back person to be around. Ask Aftershok if you want a confirm as to how I’m really like. Or Sorrow-kun I suppose.
    4. I have no clue how punning works (and I am mostly in it to make people groan anyhow). You may want to ask the other writers about their lack of punning.
    5. Are the reviews and posts tossed on here really that witty? Compliments of the staff then, I guess!

    Reply
  • January 6, 2011 at 10:59 pm
    Permalink

    I believe a wise man summed up nicely zzeroparticle’s character in a comment not too far back. Ah! Found it. I quote:

    “…Zzero is one of the nicest guys on the whole internet.”
    -Aftershok

    It’s actually me you have to watch out for >:D

    In all seriousness, though, you guys should all try out. Zzero did take on a scraggly street rat like me, after all.
    As for the punning… I believe he was referring to the name of the blog?

    Reply
  • January 6, 2011 at 11:04 pm
    Permalink

    zzeroparticle is the best dude you can work for. Not like me, I’m a real hard taskmaster. 😛

    Reply
  • January 7, 2011 at 5:03 am
    Permalink

    I “Geass” the whole pun thing might have to do with the opening pun of Aftershok’s intro post. Ahem-ahem.

    Reply
  • January 7, 2011 at 6:01 am
    Permalink

    Writing about music and trying not to sound boring is really, really hard. I’m in awe at how you and your team can write without sounding like they beating a bush to death. I’m petrified and certainly am not at the level you guys are exhibiting, music wise. I’ll just be a reader and lurk. xD

    Reply
  • January 7, 2011 at 7:37 am
    Permalink

    Eek, reading about how the posts here are largely witty and all is making me sweat in my seat lol. Suddenly feel stressed

    Reply
  • January 7, 2011 at 12:53 pm
    Permalink

    Hehe, it’d be nice if I could get help with my blog but it’s a one man show for me until further notice. You know ill always continue to contribute when I have time! 🙂

    Reply
  • January 7, 2011 at 3:07 pm
    Permalink

    While I have years of music experience from Piano and Concert Band, writing reviews on music can take a lot of time. Instead, I rather contribute on a infrequent basis when I have something I really want to review…

    Reply
  • January 7, 2011 at 8:01 pm
    Permalink

    “1. People are often better than they give themselves credit for.”

    Anyone who thinks they want to send in a form and aren’t confident, take that quote into consideration. Sometimes the best reviews come from those who write in the layman language.

    Reply
  • January 8, 2011 at 1:40 am
    Permalink

    @chikorita
    You were one of the guest writers I was referring to. Carry on as usual!

    @Yu
    See? It’s not that hard to pun. At least, not with the low standards I have in that dept. :3

    @Ayumikat
    It’s always interesting to get these outside perspectives we never even knew we had. Hopefully we can maintain that high level of quality then since it’s served us well and deliver even more awesome stuff down the line.

    @Rhythmroo
    I’m probably the poster child for that :p

    Reply
  • January 9, 2011 at 8:04 pm
    Permalink

    @zzero: This is an anime music blog, so we need proper music puns, silly!
    @Yu: It may seem difficult to write about music at first, but it comes naturally. Music posts can be trilling to read, don’t fret over it.

    Oh god ok I’m done.

    Reply
    • January 9, 2011 at 9:20 pm
      Permalink

      @kevo
      This is what happens when we pick-a-low means with which to express our humorous side.

      Reply
  • January 9, 2011 at 9:34 pm
    Permalink

    That pun almost made me want to get violint. Ugh. I couldn’t help myself. I shall attempt the application as self-PUNishment.

    (I didn’t mean to sound so negative as I evidently came across as in my first comment. Apologies.)

    Reply
  • January 9, 2011 at 10:43 pm
    Permalink

    @Yu
    If I may riff on your comment, I think you should take a half-step rearward and scale back on your negativity. Focus on your fortes and don’t get in atonal slump. We all a-choir experience over time, and no one is a maestro at punning at first. You and punning just mezzo working encore skills is key. Doing this is a major pitch on your march to punning. We’re all willing to sherzo don’t be afraid to ask. You won’t get sharp slurs from the staff, so no worries. Just waltz in anytime, we won’t measure your skill and your puns won’t fall flat.

    Don’t just try it, duet!

    Reply
  • January 15, 2011 at 7:51 am
    Permalink

    *insert acapella Eye of the Tiger intro here*

    Well I’m going to submit an application, simply because I want to write for this blog 😛

    (I’ll learn more musical stuff and I’ll get regular writing practice! :D)

    Reply
    • January 17, 2011 at 12:38 am
      Permalink

      @Khu
      Good luck with the application! We’ll give you a reply towards the tail end of this month, so look out for it. Thanks!

      Reply
  • Pingback:Anime Instrumentality Blog | Five Days to Submit Your Anime Instrumentality Application

  • Pingback:Anime Instrumentality Blog | Anime Instrumentality Welcomes Yu

  • May 9, 2011 at 12:22 am
    Permalink

    hello,

    I know that your not looking for staff writers anymore. But is there any chance that you could hear me out? I don’t see many sites concentrating on anime music, and I just want to contribute or have an involvement in the expansion of the site (no matter how small it could be). I hope you could understand.

    thank you and have good day.

    Reply
    • May 9, 2011 at 1:15 am
      Permalink

      @CN
      I’ve sent you an e-mail, so do keep an eye out for that. Assuming that the e-mail address you used to comment is your normal e-mail account. Otherwise, just go to the staff page and get in touch with me through the listed e-mail address.

      Reply

Leave a Reply