Christopher Goodman
December 16, 1996

 

Composing Music for Films

 

Music is a vital part of movies. Whether or not it is composed specifically for the film, music sets the mood of the film. It helps us know what to expect. It can take an active role in the movie by playing with our emotions and expectations. It may be in only a small percentage of the overall length. It may not even be original, but it is very important, and though it may be only noticed subconsciously, it would be missed if not there.

A film scorer therefore has an important, yet often overlooked, job. He must support and heighten the effect of the film, yet he must do it in a way that is generally unnoticeable. In other words, he must underscore the film. How does a composer go about writing such music?

 

According to Earle Hagen, author of Scoring for Films, a film composer must answer five questions:

  1. What kind of music shall I write?
  2. Who will play the music I write?
  3. Why should there be music in the scene?
  4. When should music start and when should it finish?
  5. Where does the music belong in the scene?

(Hagen 168)

 

Why is probably the most important question in scoring a film. Why must there be music? All too often, composers are called in to "fix" a movie. With a good score, it is often thought that the audience will not notice if it is a mediocre or bad film. This obviously cannot work. People go to movie theaters to watch movies, not to listen to music. Can you think of a movie that you liked only because of the score? Music is added to films to heighten the drama. It may be able to add drama to a scene or two, but it cannot add drama to a whole film. If the music is secondary to the film, then the film must be quality work. If the film is not, the music can do little to help.

Questions, Top

 Why might be the most important question, but What is often the first question a composer asks, as in "What kind of music shall I write?" This is the research phase, and it is very important for most composers because it greatly affects the kind of ideas they will develop. For the lucky composer, this phase begins during preproduction, or the preparation time before the actual shooting of the film. Some directors like bringing the composer in at this point so that his music will be more integral to the overall work. Some directors even like to have the composer write a few themes for "inspiration." For instance, "[Director Peter Weir] asked Maurice Jarre to compose themes to Mosquito Coast so he could use Jarre's music on the set while he shot the film." (Karlin 4) Those themes were not even used in the final score. Very occasionally, a director will shoot a part of the film in sync with the music (instead of composing and recording the music to sync with the film). However, this practice was more common in the early days of film. Today, few composers come into the film-making process so early.

More frequently, composers come in during the production stage - the stage where shooting actually begins. They usually are not on the set, though. Often this is the time when the composer is given the script, once again to give him an early start. But this can be a problem because the film almost always breaks away from the script. There are usually many changes, and it is hard, if not impossible, for the composer to guess the tempo of the film. Therefore, many film-scorers do not like to see the script because it gives them the wrong ideas.

Most composers come in when the film is in the editing stages. That way, they are still early enough to have some good research and writing time, and they may even have an influence on the editing of the film. The sessions set aside for deciding which sections are to be scored are called spotting sessions. This is when the Where question is answered. Usually the people at this session include the producer, director, picture editor, music editor, and the composer. At the session, everyone has a say. The producer makes the final decision, but it is almost always a collaborative effort.

However, sometimes the director has his own ideas about how the music should be, and does not want the scoring to be such a collaborative effort. After finishing the shooting (but before consulting the composer), he will put together a "temp score" or "temp track" to help the composer get the "right ideas" about the mood or type of music. The temp track is a track made up of prerecorded, already released material that is put with the film because it is close to what the director envisions the actual score should be. The composer then watches the film with the tracks and composes music of similar style and emotion. This sounds like a good idea, but, at least from the composer's point of view, it usually is not. As Fred Karlin puts it, "Many times the director expects the composer to replace his temp track with music that is virtually the same. In these cases, the composer may find himself imitating the temp track to satisfy the director. Creatively, this can be stifling." (Karlin 7) Therefore, most composers hate temp scores and, when possible, only listen to them once. Says Danny Elfman, "I will listen to the temp music once with the director....but I won't listen to it again....I don't want to hear it." (Karlin 8) However, directors still spend a lot of time and money on the temp score, and the practice is very common.

Questions, Top 

When should the music come in? Usually, everyone is involved in deciding which scenes get music, but the composer is the one who decides the actual starting and stopping places of the music, and how they will be accomplished. This is an important part of the composition process, and every composer questioned on the subject has a different way of saying the same thing - it all depends on each individual scene. This is a skill that must be developed, and there are no universal guidelines or tricks. Individual composers do develop their own techniques, though, and they often reuse them to the point that it is thematic to the film, or a part of their individual style. For instance, in Edward Scissorhands, Danny Elfman often starts his music when a door opens on the screen. In fact, he uses this technique for roughly half of the entrances of the music. Max Steiner used a different trick in Casablanca. For most of his music's entrances, there is music on the screen (termed source music) to smooth the transition into the score.

When composing for a scene, a composer must first consider whether or not the music is source music, which is music specifically called for by the action on the screen. Source music can range from something an on screen radio is playing to something a character is singing. With source music, the composer must tailor the music to the proper time, ensemble, and environment in order for the music to make sense. At first this may seem limiting, but this is also the chance for the composer to come into the spotlight, or at least on stage. This assumes, of course, that the composer was hired to compose all the music and that the producer did not decide to hire someone else specifically for the songwriting (which is a common trend today).

Questions, Top

 In the earlier days of film, as Max Steiner recalled, "They felt it was necessary to explain [all] the music pictorially. For example, if they wanted music for a street scene, an organ grinder was shown. ....a love scene might take place in the woods and in order to justify the music thought necessary to accompany it, a wandering violinist would be brought in for no reason at all." (Prendergast 23-25) Although this example is extreme, I believe that this archaic practice gives one reason why Max Steiner often used source music to smooth in his dramatic score (the opposite of source music). He started scoring in 1930, towards the end of the early age of film, and found the practice useful when not limited by it. Now though, dramatic scoring is accepted as the norm and is never questioned. To the film composer, composing this music is often the best part, and where most of the work is done. In dramatic scoring, or pure scoring, there is no literal qualification. However, the composer must consider whether it is closed scoring (dialog over top) or open scoring (no dialog). With closed scoring, the composer must heed the range, sound, and words of the dialog, and either write to accompany the dialog or in counterpoint to it. "Each word, each sentence, each silence, each look, each nuance, must be understood and assimilated ... before you can successfully write the scene." (Hagen 201)

A composer has more freedom with open scoring. There is no dialog to worry about. Sound effects are a consideration, but usually they are secondary to the music. Says Hagen, "Open scoring removes all of the limitations. Know what your film is about and what commentary you are going to make - and let go." (Hagen 201)

Can one imagine films without music? People usually do not consciously notice the music in a movie, but I believe almost everyone would notice if it was missing. The composer plays a very important role in a film, although it is seldom an easy role and is usually unnoticed. However, film music can be exciting, and, because it is exciting and important, it can be rewarding - for the composer and the movie viewer.

Questions, Top

 Works Cited:

1. Carlin, Sr., Dan: Music in Film and Video Productions; Focal Press, Boston, Massachusetts; 1991

2. Hagen, Earle: Scoring for Films; Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., Los Angeles, California; 1989

3. Kalinak, Katheryn: Settling the Score; University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin; 1992

4. Karlin, Fred: Listening to Movies; Schirmer Books, New York; 1994

5. Palmer, Christopher: The Composer in Hollywood; Marion Boyars, New York; 1990

6. Prendergast, Roy M.: Listening to Movies; W.W.Norton & Co., New York; 1992

Questions, Top 
Back to Papers