Getting the Score

How often can you change moods and how quickly?
That was the question that I posed myself as I worked on this film, and so I looked at the master John Williams for advice, especially his cartoony Indiana Jones scores, including my favourite of the four Indy scores: The Temple of Doom.
The answer is: pretty damn [...]

Previously my boys and I counted how many times the themes appeared in the first act of the first Harry Potter film.
Yesterday, we did the same thing for Jurassic Park, but this time, we did it on a micro-scale: we counted how many times the main theme comes in during the helicopter’s flight over the [...]

Marc Shaiman used to write film scores, and he was great at it. Fantastic! He is an intensely talented musician who is now working on Broadway.
He is the kind of musician films would benefit from, and have. So why did he choose to leave? Why does he feel fortunate to be on Broadway?
Here’s why: Whatch [...]

{This blog post comes from my website blog where I am keeping of diary of my work on an animated feature film. You can view this blog here.}
Alright! I have been waiting for this day since I signed on to this project! Time to write some orchestral underscore!
This project will have advantages and challenges that [...]

The “Where the Hell is Matt 2008?” video is a great example of the impact of music on images and changes how we look at it.
In case you haven’t seen this, This video shows him dancing all over the world.
TURN OFF THE SOUND BEFORE YOU PRESS PLAY. Watch it for a bit.
Keep the sound off [...]

Saying that film music should not be heard is a simplistic statement that leads many down the wrong path of musical creation and mixing. (See this previous post.)
From a mixing standpoint, only when music is heard clearly can it properly add to the film.
And from a compositional and aesthetic standpoint, creating really boring music with [...]

Structure is a crucial element of beauty, and film is no different. As I wrote in the previous post, a music cue can do more than just highlight action or represent the subtext; it can also play a large role in clarifying or even creating structure.
To that end, here are some questions to ask during [...]

From Claudia Gorbman’s “Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music”. 1987, Indiana University Press.
I. ‘Invisibility’: The technical apparatus of nondiegetic film music must not be visible.
II. ‘Inaudibility’: Music is not meant to be heard consciously. As such it should subordinate itself to dialogue, to visuals - i.e., to the primary vehicle of the narrative.
III. Signifier of emotion [...]

In the DVD featurette about the music of Spider Man 1, Tobey McGuire says that Danny Elfman’s music is good because it is “not noticed” and that this is the best compliment you can give the composer of a film score.
I forget which great golden age composer it was who said something like “if music [...]

In last week’ s post, Scooby Doo showed us that melody is still an important asset to a production at any level.
One of the challenges is when to present your melodies and when not to. A common fear among directors is that melody will interfere with the dialogue.
Of course it is crucial for the dialogue [...]