Transcript Music Business Handbook and Career Guide

Dramatic Scoring
Chapter Twenty-One
Start Thinking . . .
1. It has been said that “the musical score is the
glue that holds much of a movie together.” In
what way is this true? How does music
enhance a movie, TV show, or video game?
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Chapter Goals
• Become knowledgeable about motion picture
music history and changing musical styles.
• Learn how music for film, TV, and games is
created, recorded, and synchronized to events on
the screen.
• Gain awareness of how musicians and technicians
are used in the motion picture music field.
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Background
• Silent films
 Accompanied by small orchestra or organist
• First music on a movie sound track
 The Jazz Singer in 1927
 Initially, music borrowed from other sources
 Then, classical composers scored original music
• Major studios in the Golden Age
 Salaried, full-time composers
 Staff orchestras
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Background
Changing Styles
• After World War II tastes changed
 Musical clichés abandoned
 Experimentation with contemporary American sounds
• Composers initially influenced by cartoon techniques
• In early comedies, the entire movie was underscored with the same song
• Beginning in the 1930s, professional composers were hired to write
musicals
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Background
Changing Styles
• Value of popular songs discovered in 1949’s The
Third Man
• Composers developed into three groups
1. Those able to underscore drama on film (1950s)
2. The pop songwriters (1950s)
3. Artists able to underscore film drama appropriately
and also invent attractive pop melodies (1960s)
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Background
Changing Styles
• Jazz
 Found its place in film scoring
 Given impetus by TV shows such as Peter Gunn
• Instruments
 Some experimentation with synthesizers
 Return to late-19th-century neo-romantic music with
full orchestra
 Native instruments for films with strong ethnic
element
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Background
The Emergence of Sound Tracks
• Song scores now prominent in movie sound
tracks
• Songs and sound track albums have potential
for tremendous profits for film producers and
composers
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Background
The Emergence of Sound Tracks
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
The Craft of Movie Underscoring
The Process
• Film shot completely and visuals edited at least
once
• Temp score put together by music editor
• Sometimes, the temp score is preferred
 2001: A Space Odyssey
 The Exorcist
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
The Craft
Spotting the Film
• Composer, producer, director, film editor, music
editor watch the film together
• Director and composer “spot” the film
• Music editor makes spotting notes
• Composer receives first part of fee
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
The Craft
Spotting the Film
• Scene breakdowns




SMPTE technology
Click tracks
Tempo
Video tape “striped” with SMPTE code, or DVD is
slaved in Quicktime
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
The Craft
Composition
• Once familiar with the film, composer composes score
• Composer receives another payment
• Tight deadlines expected
• Composer composes orchestral sketches
 Instrumentation indicated
 Orchestrator renders full score
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
The Craft
Recording to Film
• Music is recorded
• Some composers prefer conducting using streamers and punches
• Feature films
 Recorded “live” all at once
 Recorded on movie scoring stages
• Producers and directors may throw out score or demand changes
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
The Craft
The Final Mix
• Dubbing sessions
 Music combined with dialogue and sound effects
 Composer, music cutter, sound effects person,
engineers, and film directors attend
• Rerecording sets relative sound levels
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Music Scoring for TV
• Less money and less time than with feature films
 Faster pace
 Producer makes music decisions
• TV dramas
 Use original and library music
 Music use varies from show to show
• New shows
 Composer composes 2 to 3 weeks of music to create feel
 Music editors cut required bits for later shows
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Music Scoring for TV
• Styles
 Same wide range as feature films
 Music cutter lays in various musical sources as appropriate for
new timing and dramatic situations
• TV series composer
 may be a one-man band
 usually has assistants and music engineer
• Original theme music typically commands the highest pay
 But trend is away from longer theme songs
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Music Scoring for Video Games
•
Process very similar to film and TV
•
Composer’s objective = catch a game’s personality and emotional heart in music
•
Audio content is mostly original to “brand” the game
•
Composers are hired on a freelance basis
•
Popular music is also licensed
 Fixed-sum buyout that caps developers’ music rights expense
 Music-based games act as aggregators of music
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Production Music Libraries
• Library music tracks
 Used for educational films, documentaries, and films
for business and industry
 Low cost
 Includes all clearances and licenses
 Music often prepared by composers with MIDI studios
• Synch Fees
 A significant source of revenue for many independent
music artists
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
AFM Contracts
• AFM does not set scales for composition
• AFM does set scales for other personnel
• Musicians working in film
 Additional income once a year
 AFM Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Package Deals
• All musicians and support personnel hired on freelance basis
• Producers negotiate package deals with independent contractors
• Producers like package deals
 Transfers all financial risk to independent contractor
• AFM has a multitier scale for motion picture work
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Composers
• Many employment opportunities in scoring
• Few agents
 Composer should be aggressive to secure employment
 Must achieve several scoring credits to secure an agent
• Additional opportunities for breaking in:
 Top composers need assistants
 Orchestrators work as ghostwriters
 Career tip: be an advanced student of a busy composer
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Music Supervisors
• Responsibilities of a music supervisor:
 Find songs and music to support and enhance the
film
 Act like an A&R executive—a key gatekeeper
 Could be in charge of everything from the song to
hiring the composer
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Music Supervisors
• Potential duties of a music supervisor
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Draw up budget and make deals
Place existing songs in appropriate spots of the movie
Oversee a musical movie
Be in the studio when a performer is recording a song
Prepare people for the set, including lip-synching
Assist the director and the choreographer in
designing shots that will work with the music
7. Explain “score design” to investors
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Copyists
• Engaged by the composer or orchestrator
• Copyists work under intolerable time pressures
 Head copyist may engage a music preparation service
• Most copyists now use computer music programs such as Finale
 Allows for instant changes of key and time signature
• Supervising copyist attends film and TV recording sessions
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Orchestra Musicians
• Instrumentalists most often members of AFM
 Nonunion musicians increased
 MIDI studios and computer one-person bands
• High-paying work for small pool of musicians only
 Auditions very rare
 Prove abilities to inside pool of players
 Teachers are often orchestra musicians
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Orchestra Musicians
 String players
 Brass players
 Woodwind players
 Studio percussionists
 Keyboard players
 Guitarists
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Music Editors
• Music editing can make or break a film’s score
• Copies and cuts cues
• Job of a music editor:
 Ensure music is cued to the right spots in the action
 Understanding of SMPTE code, click tracks, and Pro Tools essential
• Music editors usually acquire skills on the job
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
Hiring Practices
Organizations
• Society of Composers and Lyricists
 Members work exclusively in TV and films
• SMPTE serves as an information exchange
 Attempts to standardize recording and
synchronization techniques
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners
For Further Thought . . .
1. What are some of the subtle differences
between scoring for a feature film, a
television show, and a video game?
2. Prenegotiated fees in packaged deals provide
what comfort to producers and put what
pressure on composers?
Music Business Handbook and Career
Guide, 11th Ed. © 2013 Sherwood
Publishing Partners