Chapter 21 Dramatic Scoring for Movies, TV, and Games

Chapter 21 Dramatic Scoring for Movies, TV, and Games

Scoring includes composition, orchestration, copying, recording, etc. to be synchronized with and to augment the action on the screen or video game.

Quote from an ASCAP source: “The musical score is the glue that holds much of the movie together.”

Film Composers have saved many a weak scene and sound track recordings have often sold as well as the film itself and sometimes better.

Background

Silent films
Accompanied by small orchestra or pianist or organist – keyboardist improvised while viewing movie – small orchestras were used very little because of the expense
First music on a movie soundtrack
The Jazz Singer in 1927 starring Al Jolson – prior to the Jazz Singer, movies couldn’t have sound because electrical amplification hadn’t been invented yet. Jazz Singer was a big hit – the public loved it!
Initially music borrowed from other sources – Broadway, Beethoven, Tin Pan Alley
Then classical composers scored original music – Erik Satie, Darius Milhaud, Paul Hindemith, Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copeland – early 20th century composers
Major studios in Golden Age – 1930s and 1940s, all had:
Salaried full time composers
Staff orchestras

The preferred style was neo-romantic which meant producers wanted music that sounded like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, or Debussy. The best neo-romantic film composers were Franz Waxman, Alfred Newman, Bronislau Kaper, and Miklos Rozsa (Ben Hur). Their scores sounded European because they were either trained in Europe or were originally from there.

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Changing Styles

After World War II tastes changed
Musical clichés abandoned
Experimentation with contemporary American sounds – including jazz and big band
Composers influenced by cartoon techniques – “catching the action” – Example: when Mortimer (Mickey) Mouse slipped on a banana peel a trombone would play a descending glissando - this technique is still in use today but has to be used very carefully to avoid sounding like a cliché.
Value of popular songs discovered in 1949’s The Third Man – producers soonrealized they could make additional money selling the sound track if there was a hit song. Example: “Theme from a Summer Place” 1959 movie that was a box office bomb but spawned the biggest instrumental hit of all time.
Composers developed into three groups

Those able to underscore drama on film (1950s)
The pop songwriters (1950s)
Artists able to underscore film drama appropriately and also invent attractive pop melodies (1960s) – They could basically “do it all” and were highly sought after by producers.

Jazz – 1959 – Henri Mancini scores detective series Peter Gunn with big band jazz and years later the Pink Panther movies
Found its place in film scoring
Return to late-19th-century neo-romantic music with full orchestra
Native instruments for films with strong ethnic content

The Emergence of Sound Tracks– see graph on slide 10 of powerpoint

Song scores now prominent in movie sound tracks – a selection of songs – either popular or unknown that are picked to underscore film
Songs and sound track albums have potential for tremendous profits for film’ producers and composers

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The Craft

The Process

Film shot completely and edited at least once (maybe more)
Temp score put together by music editor – (aka cutter) temporary score assembled using loop composition programs such as Sony Acid. MIDI sequencers and virtual instruments. One big reason the temp score is added is to show to potential investors – it’s hard to get them to invest in a movie with no music even if it’s temporary.
Sometimes the temp score is preferred – the two movies below had the temp score chosen over the expensive composer’s score
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Exorcist

Spotting the Film

Composer, producer, director, film editor, music editor watch the film together
Director and composer spot the film – view and discuss each “cue” (a cue is any section of the film that will have dramatic underscoring with music)
Composer receives first part of fee
Music editor makes spotting notes – a list of each cue with details about the mood and/or action it is supposed to portray
Scene breakdowns – (don’t worry about the book on this section – just go by these notes!) (Film – 24 fps / video – 30 fps)
SMPTE technology – Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers – SMPTE time code (an address code that shows hours, minutes, seconds, and frames per second) 00:01:53:23 – that’s SMPTE time code for zero hours, one minute, 53 seconds, and 23 frames
Click tracks – and audible metronome (usually computer generated) that a conductor can listen to while conducting or musicians can hear in their cans (headphones).

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Tempo – I think all us music majors know what that is!
Video tape is “striped” (aka recorded) with SMPTE code, or DVD is slaved in QuickTime (in recent times, the most prevalent way is to give the composer a copy of the film in any digital video format that can be converted to a QuickTime movie (.mov) because all the major DAWS can import a .mov file and synch their transport to the movie while displaying SMPTE time code.

Composition

Once familiar with film, composer composes score
Composer receives another payment
Tight deadlines expected
Composer composes orchestral sketches
Instrumentation indicated
Orchestrator renders full score
Film scoring done electronically and acoustically – MIDI / Virtual & Real instruments

Recording to Film

Music is recorded
Final installment of fees paid
Some composers prefer conducting using streamers and punches – streamers and punches allow the conductor to see visual cues that tell the a cue is coming up so they’re ready to give the orchestra a downbeat (or upbeat – depending upon the music) - streamers and punches used to be created by physically altering the film, now they can be generated by a DAW (digital audio workstation)
streamers are straight lines that take two seconds to go across the screen
punches are actual holes punched into the film to allow a stream of light to show on the screen

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Feature films
Recorded “live” all at once
Recorded on movie scoring stages
Producers and directors may throw out score or demand changes

The Final Mix

Dubbing sessions
Music combined with dialogue and sound effects
Composer, music cutter, sound effects person, engineers, and film directors attend – (directors want to make sure that all the elements are heard in the mix) Composers are occasionally quite upset when some carefully crafted part of their music is rendered inaudible by sound effect or loud dialog.
Rerecording sets relative sound levels

Music Scoring for TV

Same stylistic approach as for feature films
Much faster pace – tighter deadlines
Producer usually makes music decisions instead of director
TV dramas
Use original and library music (library music in this case can have two meanings – the book actually means it here as a body of original music created specifically for the show stored in the show’s library – it can also mean music from a production library)
Music use varies from show to show (some shows might need music recorded 3 times a week others might not need new music for 2 or 3 years)
New Shows
Composer composes two to three week’s music to create “feel” of show then:
Music editors cut required bits for later shows

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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 – MIDI studio with virtual instrument library – can deliver finished product at a “package deal” price – simplifies process for show’s producer Example: Jan Hammer – Miami Vice soundtrack – studio was in his living room and dining room – delivered product on analog tape from New York to LA
Usually has assistants and music engineer – (Jan didn’t)
Society of Composers and Lyricists – organization for members who work exclusively in film and TV

Music Scoring for Video Games

Process very similar to film and TV – some well-known film and TV composers have also scored video games including: Bill Conti, Steve Jablonski, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Hans Zimmer.
Composer’s objective = catch a games personality and emotional heart in music – since video games are “non-linear” (anything can happen at any time) music loops are used a lot since they are smaller segments that are easily transition from one scene to another
Audio content is mostly original to “brand” the game
Composers are hired on a freelance basis (game manufacturers will have staff music supervisors overseeing projects but no staff composers)
Popular music is also licensed

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Non-linear synchronization rights

Music-based games act as aggregators of music – (iTunes is an aggregator) – Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits featured tracks from Alice in Chains, Queen, Poison, Rage Against the Machine, Twisted Sister, and Heart.
Game music added as a category to industry awards
Composers fees are becoming quite substantial

Library Music

Library music tracks
Used for educational films, documentaries, and films for business and industry
Low cost
Includes all clearances and licenses
Library services
Classify cues in predictable ways – makes it easy for a producer/music supervisor to pick out portions that are appropriate for specific cues – they come in a variety of lengths but that can be easily edited digitally
Music often prepared by composers with MIDI studios

Hiring Practices – other than being a student of an established composer, a direct path to a film’s director is the best avenue to pursue because they usually make all the hiring decisions regarding creative professionals

AFM Contracts

AFM does not set scale for composition (composers don’t even have to belong to the union but they all do because they are usually also musicians, arrangers, copyists, proofreaders, etc. who are all covered by union contracts
AFM does set scale for other personnel – including premium rates fo working after 12 am and holidays
Musicians working in film receive:

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Additional income once a year from the:
AFM Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund

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
Composers who budget time and expenses come out well
AFM has a two-tier scale for motion picture work – Producers of music for low-budget films are allowed to hire musicians at a significantly lower scale than for a high-budget film.

Composers

Many employment opportunities in scoring
Few agents– agents don’t really get them work – the composer’s established reputation gets them work and the agents negotiate the contracts for them
Composer should be aggressive to secure employment
Must achieve several scoring credits to secure an agent and/or entertainment attorney
Additional opportunities for breaking in:
Top composers need assistants – when they get too busy or when there is the budget for them to hire assistants (including other composers)
Orchestrators work as ghost-writers
Be an advanced student of a busy composer

Music Supervisors– popularity of the “song score” has increased the importance and pay for this career

Responsibilities of a music supervisor
Find songs and music to support and enhance the film
Act like an A&R executive

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Could be in charge of everything from the song to hiring the composer

Potential duties of a music supervisor

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 choreographer in designing shots that will work with the music
Explain “score design” to investors – some investors are very knowledgeable about this but newer, inexperienced investors “need” to hear music in order to “get it” and for this reason the music supervisor creates the “temp” score.

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 or Sibelius
Allows for instant changes of key and time signature
Supervising copyist attends film and TV recording sessions in case corrections, key changes, time signature changes, are needed

Orchestra Musicians– (usually first or second call players) (sometimes double or triple-scale)

Instrumentalists most often members of AFM
Non-union musicians increased – at one time ONLY union musicians did film score work
MIDI studios and computer one-person bands – many of them are not union.
High-paying work for small pool of musicians only

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Auditions rare
Prove abilities to inside pool of players
Teachers are often orchestra musicians – they occasionally recommend their best students

String players – usually former concert masters or first-desk players – also have to be able to play jazz (not improvise but phrase correctly)
Brass players – come from top name bands, top university ensembles – also expected to handle any style from country to rock besides “legit”
Woodwind players – usually expected to double – specialists often used
Studio percussionists – come from wide variety of backgrounds but must be able to play any style and double on drum kit, mallets, congas, etc. specialists often used (also MIDI percussion)
Keyboard players – play all styles, sight read and improvise (also MIDI controllers)
Guitarists – same as keyboards minus MIDI

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 – they must already possess refined musical skills including an excellent ear for both pitch and balance, reading ability, and overall good concept of the importance of music to each scene

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

SMPTE serves as an information exchange
Attempts to standardize recording and synchronization techniques