Why is there a need for film music?
The magic of why music works so well with visuals to affect human emotion is probably as mysterious as any aspect of human nature. However, it certainly works quite effectively and has done so for thousands of years. Prior to accompanying film, music accompanied other forms of dramatic visuals, from opera to plays to musicals, and even earlier forms of live dramatic performance, including dance.
When filmmaking was in its so-called ‘silent era’, films were never actually silent. Although the technology to synchronize music and sound to film wasn’t available in the beginning, early films were usually accompanied by music played live to picture by a theater house organist. These organists often had large books of thematic pieces of music that were organized by situation – love, chase, celebration, sadness, et cetera. The organist would watch the film along with the movie patrons and perform a live score created from piece found in such a book or perform other pieces from memory, which, in many cases, might include a popular song of the day. In this way, if you went to see a movie more than once, you might get different scores each night, and you most certainly would if you saw it in different theaters. The purpose of this early film music was twofold. It not only provided a musical accompaniment to and comment on the actions in film, but it also helped mask the noise of the projector, which was not able to be effectively isolated from the audience in the early days of cinema.
Generally speaking, the role of music in a film is to support of extend the emotions within the film. At its most basic, it is there to make you feel. However, music has the ability to not only support or extend scenes, but also to provide additional information via such techniques as foreshadowing and the red herring, to name but a couple. At its best, it can help to bring a film together as one piece, helping to shape its dramatic arc and increase its overall effectiveness.
Describe the basic process of writing a film score.
The process begins when the composer meets with the other filmmakers to discuss the film. In this early stage, discussions usually include such topics as the overall intended effectiveness of the film, the kind of music that should be in the film, the role that music should play, and the places where the music should be heard. In today’s film marketplace, this list of topics may also include the film’s intended audience.
The meeting at which the filmmakers watch the film and discuss the specific placement of music in it is called the ‘spotting session’.
Once the filmmakers are in agreement about what roles the music should play and where it should occur, the composer begins by translating what has been discussed into actual music. Oftentimes a composer will begin by writing the main themes and choosing instrumentation, i.e., the instruments that will be used in the score. Then he/she will begin scoring the music to the scenes, tailoring the music to specific timings for actions and emotions. Early in the process and continuing throughout it, the composer usually meets with the filmmakers to preview themes and portions of the music. This is often done by creating score mockups – performing portions of the in-progress score on synthesized instruments played back synchronized to picture – or, at times, with a live performance by a small group of instruments.
It goes without saying, though, that discussion can be an important and effective way to make sure that filmmakers are on the same page. Often, a healthy dialogue can be even more effective than the best mockup.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was not uncommon for a composer to preview for the filmmakers only the main themes on a piano and possibly a few key scenes to picture, and that would be it. The filmmakers would then hear the complete orchestrated score for the first time as it was being recorded by the full orchestra in the studio. This process was easier to facilitate at that time because the movie studios had their own orchestras, which were available to record any music that was ready for recording. It wasn’t uncommon for the same orchestra to be recording one film’s score in the morning and another film’s score in the afternoon.
Returning to the present, once all the music has been composed, it is prepared for the recording sessions. This includes completing the orchestrations and creating all of the printed scores and parts for the musicians and the conductor. (Sometimes, music preparation can also involve taking electronic music files – MIDI files – from synthesizers and transcribing them so they can be converted into printed music.) For a full orchestral score of substantial duration, this job can often result in the creation of thousands of pages of printed scores and parts. Then the score is recorded and mixed and delivered to the final film mix, where it is mixed into the movie with the dialogue and sound effects.
What is a ‘temp track’?
A temp track, or temp score, is a temporary score for a film. It’s usually created by piecing together recordings of other existing pieces of music.
Temp tracks are often used by film editors to help guide the pacing of a scene or to add emotional carriage that it will have later on when it is actually scored. They are often used to help the filmmakers decided on the musical direction for the score because they are a quick way to try out different kinds of music with the scenes before composing and recording an original score. They can be an effective way to ‘discuss’ music in film, particularly for those filmmakers who may find it simpler to refer to an effective piece of music without having to explain its function in musical terms.
Temp tracks are usually used in test screenings to help audiences feel the intended effectiveness of a movie before its editing is locked and the original score is composed.
Before the advent of all the current computer technology, which greatly helps in creating very refined, seamlessly-tailored temp scores, temp music was commonly only used in a few scenes of the test-screened film – for example, in a main titles sequence, a montage that might be completely silent without music, and/or the film’s climax. Now that computer technology and digital audio editing tools are relatively inexpensive and readily available, a temp score is commonly created for all scenes in which an original score is to be composed.
Who chooses the composer?
The decision is most often made by the director. However, in some cases the decision is also aided or made completely by producers or studio executives, depending on the arrangement they have with the director.
Why is a particular composer chosen?
Usually, these choices are made based on previous working relationships or on a previous score that a composer has written that may be similar in approach to that of the desired score for the film at hand. The director (and/or producers and executives, as noted above) also often meets with prospective composers to find their best match musically and/or personally.
How does a composer know in which scenes, and where in those scenes, to put music?
These decisions are made through discussions between the composer and the director and/or other filmmakers. The decisions may have been influenced by the effectiveness or ineffectiveness in an existing temp score. Sometimes when a composer begins writing the score, after scenes and timings have been discussed and agreed upon, he or she may feel things differently and suggest other options to the director.
When does instrumentation enter the picture?
This is a creative decision that is usually made very early on in the process. However, as with any creative process, changes to instrumentation are sometimes made throughout before arriving at a final result. Instruments are colors, and are chosen based on the emotions or feelings that they can convey.
What is the process of finding the right instruments? Do guidelines exist within each genre?
This is probably the hardest question because it truly cuts to the very core of creativity. Many genres have become associated with specific instrumentation and compositional styles: romance with strings, action with percussion and pounding brass, comedy with a ‘bouncing’ orchestra, period films with period instruments, westerns with sweeping, expansive orchestral themes or simple guitar and harmonica, films set in exotic lands with ethnic instruments, horror films with wild and dissonant splashes of orchestra, religious films with choir, science-fiction films with synthesizers, and the list goes on and on. There is no limit to the human imagination, and there will continuously be new ways to score and orchestrate music in order to tell the story of the human condition.
Many credited positions appear in the notes of today’s film score CDs. Why are names more names credited on today’s recordings versus earlier recordings?
These days it is not uncommon to credit everyone – all orchestrators, editors, engineers, copyists, coordinators, et cetera – who work on any aspect of bringing the score to fruition. The same number of people may have been involved in the process years ago, but it used to be the fashion in film to only give screen (and recording) credit to a very select few.
Many films from the thirties, forties, and fifties gave all screen credits up front on very few cards, and the end of the film was nothing more than a ‘The End’ card. Those credits did not necessarily reflect how many people actually worked on the film, including the music. As a matter of fact, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was not uncommon for numerous composers to work on the same film. One composer might write all the main themes and begin scoring the film, but then the head of music for the studio would assign him to another film, so a second composer might finish the score. However, even when this took place, it was usually decided that only the main composer would receive the credit. This was all during a time when composers were not as high-profile as many composers are today, when some film composers are nearly household names. The changing status of film composers is also reflected in composers’ fees. Many years ago, composers on films made significantly more modest fees compared to composing fees during the last twenty-five years.
What does the orchestrator do?
The composer creates the notes, melodies, counterparts, harmony, accompaniments, and so on, which can be played on any instrument or instruments from solo piano to full orchestra. The orchestrator’s role is to translate what the composer has written to the chosen instrumentation. This job requires a complete knowledge of all of the instruments: their ranges and special timbre and dynamic characteristics, the styles that are idiomatic for them to play, how they interact and blend when combined with other instruments, and so on.
What does the music editor do?
The music editor wears many different hats throughout the scoring process. In the most general summary, the music editor is the composer’s right-hand person and the liaison between the music and the film.
At a production’s early stages, the music editor can create a temp score.
During the film’s spotting session, the music editor will take notes about all that is discussed. He or she then compiles those discussion notes into a set of coherent notes that often are referenced to a detailed set of timings from the picture. These are called ‘spotting notes’, which the composer can refer to while writing the score. The music editor also will keep up with any picture editorial changes that may occur while a composer is writing the score and let the composer know what has changed in the film and how the score’s timings may be affected.
During the recording session, the music editor often is responsible for the ‘clicks’ and the onscreen cueing known as ‘punches and streamers’, by which the composer or conductor and musicians synchronize the music to picture. The music editor may also help take notes on the individual takes that are recorded of each cue, so that the best performances may be quickly selected and edited together later. Often, a music editor will make those edits of the best takes so that the composite best performances can be mixed. The music editor may also edit into the film any pre-existing songs that will be used.
After the music is mixed, the music editor will attend the film mix and represent the score, being on hand to answer any questions the film mixer may have about the music and to help make sure that the music is applied to the film in the way that the composer intended. After the film’s mix, the music editor will prepare ‘cue sheets’, which list in detail all the pieces of music and film-score cues used in the film along with their corresponding composer, publisher, use type, and timings. These cue sheets are submitted to performances rights organizations such as ASCAP or BMI, which in turn pay royalties to the writers and publishers when the film is played on television and in foreign markets.
What does the music engineer do?
The engineer records and mixes all the music that the composer has written. After preparing for the sessions by making sure the studio has all the necessary gear required for recording and mixing the score, the engineer will choose the most appropriate microphones, decide microphone placement and isolation of the instruments in the studio in order to achieve the best possible recording, and so on. A film music engineer’s skill also includes the ability to mix music not only in stereo but also in the surround-sound formats.
What is a ‘mix’?
A mix combines all recorded audio elements in a desired balance with one another. These elements may include recordings of musical instruments and other sound sources made at different times during the scoring and recording process, including many, ‘overdubbed’ sounds – sounds added to an existing recording (e.g., perhaps the sound of a triangle is added to an already-recorded orchestral chord that needs more ‘sparkle’).
Mixing involves balancing the levels of recorded instruments and applying them to such sound processing as reverb, equalization, compression, and so on, in order to achieve the best possible representation of the music for various types of venues – movie theaters, television, even airplanes – and such different delivery mediums as 35mm film and DVD.
Why do composers in the States sometimes travel to foreign countries to recording orchestral music?
This is done for a variety of practical, creative, and financial reasons. A practical reason may be that it is more convenient to record the music in the same city or country in which the film is being produced or where the composer lives and works. A creative reason could be the desire to record at a specific hall or studio for acoustical purposes. Another creative reason could be to record specific specialized foreign instrumentalists or unique artists. Economic reasons may include recording in a country where the musicians work for lower rates than they do in the States and/or are not tied to such union obligations as reuse fees, which may be incurred when creating a CD soundtrack, or additional payments that are due when a film generates revenue from additional markets or video sales.
Who pays the musicians’ salaries and how are these salaries determined?
The salaries are paid for by the producers or studio. Salary rates are most often standardized by the music unions.
What is the average time frame for a film-scoring project, from beginning to end?
It can vary greatly. On average, it’s between four and eight weeks from the spotting sessions to the delivery of mixed music. In some cases, such as a television movie or a replacement score, this time may be much shorter. If, however, there is time in the production schedule to allow for it or if there is a need for a very large amount of score, more time may be allotted.
Why is the composer often brought in so late in the filming process?
The score is most often the last substantially new creative effort to be added to a film. It is composed after the film has already been written, cast, shot, and edited. Therefore the composer is often hired very late in the filmmaking process, which is when his or her services are needed. Most are chosen during the time when the film is being edited.
In some cases, a composer may be hired early on when he or she has an existing relationship with the other filmmakers or when there is a need for original music elements to be addressed before a film is shot, as it the case with a musical or when an actor needs to perform music onscreen.
Composers have publicists and agents. What are their roles?
An agent helps a composer be in touch with the industry. Agents keep composers aware of what films are in production and who may be in need of a composer. They also negotiate the terms and conditions for the composer’s work – fee, music budget, credit, ownership rights, and so on.
The publicist’s role usually begins once a score is completed. His or her job is to raise awareness of a specific composer or score. This may include developing a strategy for raising a composer’s profile or campaigning for awards. At times, publicists are hired on a per-project basis, whereas an agent has a full-time commitment to a composer.
What ownership rights does a composer have after his or her music has been used in a film?
A musical composition’s ownership is divided into two parts: writer and publisher. Except in rare cases, the composer owns the composition itself, which is referred to as the ‘writer’s share’. The ‘publisher’s share’ is often owned by the entity who commissioned and paid for the score, which is usually the film studio. In some cases, the composer will retain the publisher’s share to make up for accepting an unusually low composing fee on an independent film.
In addition to the ownership of the writer’s share and publisher’s share, there is the ownership of the ‘master’, which is the actual recording itself. This is usually owned by the entity who commissioned and paid for the score, but, at times, its ownership can be retained by the composer to make up for a low composing fee.
In general, the standard arrangement is that once music is written for a film its rights are permanently connected with that production and not available to be used in other productions.
How is it that a composer can be removed from a project? What legal agreements protect the composer whose score is rejected?
The decision to fire a composer is usually made by the director or the producers. The only legal agreement that the composer has is his or her composer’s agreement. In most cases, if a composer is let go, they are paid for their work in part or in full, depending on how much of the score has been completed. A composer may agree to not take the full composing fee, in the best interest of retaining a relationship with the filmmakers or studio.
If a composer is hired because his or her style is deemed to fit a picture and/or because of previous working relationships that have been successful, why is it an all-too-common decision to fire that composer just days or weeks later?
Good question. You are correct; a composer is usually hired for his or her style, sound, and scoring sensibility. However, filmmakers may go into the filmmaking process thinking that they want a specific composer’s sound or approach for their film and then change their minds for a variety of reasons that range from creative to commercial.
When the direction of music in a film changes, the composer is sometimes asked to adapt to the new direction or is let go from the film. Sometimes, filmmakers feel that it may be easier to begin from scratch with another composer, rather than re-conceive a score with the same composer. This situation is unfortunate because most composers, unless they are not enjoying the film or the collaboration, would probably rather start from the beginning themselves and compose in a new direction rather than be let go.
Often, movie soundtracks that do not include the score are released. Who decides on this? What is the reason for not releasing a score on CD?
By and large, song-based soundtracks sell far more CDs than score-only soundtracks. If the studio feels there will be a significant interest in a soundtrack, the decision of what to put on it is usually made for economic reasons.
They may compare, for example, how much it will cost to pay for the songs to be on the soundtrack with how much it will cost to put the instrumental score on the soundtrack. If a score is recorded in the United States on a union contract, when it is released as a CD, a reuse fee must be paid to the performing musicians for using that recording. If there are a large number of musicians on it – perhaps a large orchestra – the reuse payments can potentially add up to a prohibitive amount, thus making a score soundtrack uneconomical if the studio doesn’t anticipate selling enough copies of the CD to pay back the reuse fees.
Reuse fees are determined by the number of minutes of music that appear on the soundtrack CD, which is why a score soundtrack is sometimes less than thirty or forty-five minutes long, even though there may be more score than that in the film.