My worskspace

July 23, 2012 Alain Mayrand Scoring Process 1

This is my workspace.

Although I use plenty of music technology, my writing room is set-up to have lots of space for good old-fashioned paper.

It is as rich, bright and energetic as possible with my one small window. I used to like it darker but tastes change. I am no longer a fan of dark, gloomy studios for writing music.

Now I think the next iteration of my writing space will have lots of windows if possible, as long as there is nothing outside to take my mind away from my writing. Trees, I’d like if it was only trees on the other side of my windows…

I usually sketch on the big board in the back to various degrees of completion then bring it over to the smaller board where I do mockups and fix-ups and whatnots.

What I’d like to add next is a writing board on the desk that I can write more easily on. That would make writing the inevitable changes as I do my mockups more convenient. Right now I use the side of the desk. That works fine, but not as elegant.

This is not as barebones as John Williams’ workspace but certainly less techno-heavy than Hans Zimmer’s studio.


Action / Reaction – How to Hit Action in a Natural Way

July 9, 2012 Alain Mayrand Aesthetics, Case Studies, Composition, Music and Story, Scene Analysis, Scoring Process, Sound vs Score Leave a comment  

In visual arts, music and film, we relate most everything to our own own human experience. Things make sense to us when it relates to what we know, and that’s our own minds and bodies. This makes sense right?

So when scoring you should often ask yourself  ”how would the audience react?”

Because as much as film scoring can add layers of subtext to the storytelling, as much as film makers are fond of saying “I don’t want the score to tell the audience what to feel!”, the fact is that a score will frequently heighten what is already on screen.

That’s why great composers like Jerry Goldsmith would first view the film as an audience member, to see how they reacted emotionally first.

Following what is on screen well is not easy or simple, and it is not cheap, not if it is well done. And like all other arts, beauty is in the details.

So here’s a detail for us to look at: how to hit a certain jarring piece of action.

The scene is from “The Adventures of Tintin”: Sakharine draws his sword abruptly and points it at Tintin’s face. The context for the scene is this: a threatening exposition scene with no physical action.  (Always consider the context!)

So… how do you hit this particular action in the particular context?

  • Don’t hit it at all?
  • Do some Mickey mousing by having a small flourish that ends as the tip of the blade stops?
  • A small hit as the blades comes to a stop, no flourish?

How did John Williams approach this scoring detail? Here’s the clip.

The musical hit is as a reaction.

Consider this: If you get a blade drawn in front of your face at that speed, first you would have a reflex action and then a realization of the threat! This is what the music does here. Watch it again.

The music follows the natural way we react and, in this case, is not a “sound effect” as true Mickey Mousing would be, but rather follows the reaction the protagonist and the audience would have. The result is music that seems completely natural and organic to the picture.

Following the movement of the blade with the music (Mickey Mousing) would have had what effect on the scene? Would it have been a poorer or better choice and why? Leave your comments below!

Cheers,

Alain


Themes are not just for characters

November 5, 2010 Alain Mayrand Aesthetics, Score Works, Scoring Process Leave a comment  

I am currently scoring a feature film called “Comforting Skin”. Right now I am in the planning stages, setting goals for the score and there is an approach I plan on taking I’d like to discuss here.

This is a dramatic piece with horror, suspense and some supernatural elements. Because of the genre, this is not going to be a big thematic score.

However, there will be motives and themes, and after reviewing the story and film and discussing it in detail with the director, part of my current plan is to have a theme or motive for “dread”.

Dread, this feeling of impending doom, is a main thematic element in the film, it is the drive of the story. (I am being simplistic in order to not give anything in the story away, but you get the idea.)

As the story advances, my plan is to have this motive, or theme, develop in length and strength. I will only hint at it at the start and it will gradually overtake everything.

It will be present when appropriate as other melodies or textures are played and will not be associated to any specific character.

The bottom line is this; a motive or theme doesn’t have to be associated to a character, place or event, but can be something that drives the tone, mood or a concept in the film.


Making Good Movies, Pixar Style

May 24, 2010 Alain Mayrand Composer Relations, Scoring Process 1

Pixar is doing something right, we all know that. I mean, 9 movies in a row that are big financial hits?

So what are they doing? Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3 put it best right here.

“It’s important that nobody gets mad at you for screwing up,” says Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3. “We know screwups are an essential part of making something good. That’s why our goal is to screw up as fast as possible.”

See full Wired article here.

Creativity, or the act of coming up with something new and good, requires that you play around with ideas without the fear of making mistakes.

So how does that translate to the whole purpose of this blog: getting the score?

  • Allowing for mistakes means giving more time for the score. Leaving only a couple of weeks for 2 hours of music means that the composer will always play it safe. Giving more time gives the freedom to experiment and explore and the start of the writing process.
  • Give freedom to explore. Locking a composer within the confines of a temp track will not lead to new, creative avenues.

I can’t think of anything else right now and I have work to do, but I thought this was a great, great article with a very great message about creativity.

Movies are expensive and people get tense, and the more tense you are the less creative you get because you worry about it being good.

Pixar understands that, they allow their people to be creative and that means making mistakes. It is part of their process and the result? $500 million average gross per movie.

AND happy employees!


Silk Boy Post Mortem #2

March 31, 2010 Alain Mayrand Score Works, Scoring Process, Spotting Leave a comment  

One thing that became clear while working on Silkboy was that melody and the function of a scene are intertwined.

Some scenes are more important than others in a movie: some scenes are big, important, flashy scenes, while others are transitory, functional scenes that take you from point A to point B so that the story makes sense.

Both of course are important and part of storytelling, and very often the skill of actors and directors shine the brightest in making those functional scenes become interesting and alive and not simply functional.

Since Silkboy was animated, that meant wall to wall music, and I had to navigate these transitional scenes musically. For advice I turned to the master of themes, John Williams, especially the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones films, both of which had a similar musical approach to the score I was writing.

The bottom line is this:

Giving a big thematic moment to a transitional scene goes against the grain. It is better to write transitional music instead, e.g.: a bridge in a song, or an episode in a fugue or invention.

The transition scene can use secondary musical material, development of main material or simply a sequence (a musical one) or something that leads to the next scene. It is a case where musical structure again supports film structure!

Cheers,

Alain


Guest Post

March 15, 2010 Alain Mayrand Score Works, Scoring Process, Spotting Leave a comment  

Hey there, I got offered to write a guest post at the popular film composer website Score Cast.

I wrote a post about finding form during spotting.

So check it out here!

Alain


Roller Coaster Scoring

December 9, 2009 Alain Mayrand Aesthetics, Scoring Process, Sound vs Score, Timings 2 Comments

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 quick.

There are some scenes, like that one in the airplane when the pilots and leave them to crash, or when they are leaving the Indian village to start their journey to Pankot Palace, where the music there is fragmented, changing from theme to theme very quickly, only presenting a bit of one theme then a bit of the other.

I have also realized that this type of fragmented, stop-and-go music happens in scenes that are preparation for action.

And so yesterday I scored a scene that presented many things quickly; running, despair, sadness, reunion, meeting and comedy, all in the span of like 40 seconds or so.

It was a transitory scene that is leading to the longer sections of the ending.

At first I admit I tried to play through the scene and it didn’t work. But when I watched the completed cue with the image, I knew it didn’t work, but I also knew why and how to fix it.

So I followed every part of the scene; started quick and breathless and a bit funny, sad and h0llow winds, then romantic strings have a quick swell (presenting two themes in counterpoint) and then a quick descent into humour before stopping right before the punch line.

This might sound schizophrenic, but here’s the paradox;

  • the first cue which was more melodic and musically coherent totally stuck out
  • But this more active, “roller coaster” cue with all its ups and downs actually blends seamlessly with the scene since it follows it so well, disappearing in the story even if mixed in loud.

How cool is that!


Tarrantino on composers

October 29, 2009 Alain Mayrand Composer Relations, Scoring Process 3 Comments

Quentin Tarrantino on his use of music in film.

I don’t normally use original score. I don’t trust any composer to do it… The music is so important. The idea of paying a guy and showing him your movie at the end and then he comes over it; I would never give anybody that kind of responsibility…I have one of the best soundtrack collections… That’s how I write it, that’s how I design it; I go into my soundtrack collection and I start visualizing the sequences…I cut out the composers. I work with the best composers, Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin, John Berry[sic]…but I don’t deal with them.

~ From a seminar in Cannes.

Well, now, I am a composer, so my opinion is biased but here is what I find funny about his attitude:

This film music he proudly collects and apparently uses was written by film composers after the film, exactly the way he avoids working.

I’ll be honest, I find his statement somewhat self-contradictory. I mean, based on his apparent love of film music that came from a certain way of working, I would expect him to adopt this method of adding music to a film, rather than avoid it.

Could it be ego making that decision?

Personally, I see film music as part of the story-telling, part of the movie’s identity. Patching up a score from other sources just seems like making a Frankenstein monster if you ask me.

Songs are a different matter entirely.


Pacing the Score

October 24, 2009 Alain Mayrand Score Works, Scoring Process Leave a comment  

[Excerpt from


Taking the Cue in Context

August 29, 2009 Alain Mayrand Composer Relations, Director's POV, Scoring Process Leave a comment  

OK, you are a filmmaker and getting ready to listen to a cue from your composer. This is not an easy thing and many filmmakers listen to demos the wrong way.

Here are some important things to remember as you listen.

1. This is a demo

As a filmmaker, how do you listen to a demo?

Listen to the melody and the mood, not the quality of the recording. Clarity and expression will come later, as will live instruments to sweeten, or even better, a live recording date. Trust that the polish will come.

Demos are like layouts in animation (stick figures walking through a gray world) when compared to using live instruments.

You can discuss instrument choices, density of textures and anything that is pertinent to the story-telling and the mood of the scene. You will not be able to get in your composer’s head and imagine what the final cue will sound like, so you have to take that leap.

Once a cue is approved, it is fine to ask how close to final the cue is and what work is left to do on it.

2. Take the cue in context

Consider the music that comes before and after. Just like scenes and other story elements, music is experienced in the context of what precedes it and what comes after.

For example; the start of a film can have lighter, slower music which on its own might appear too slow. But the musical plan is pick up the pace and intensity gradually from cue to cue, creating a great buildup that would have been impossible had it started too fast too soon.

Consider the cue’s place in the story. This is related to the first point, but while that was from a musical point of view, we must always consider the story and the effect the cue will have on the story-telling.

The story should have an arc, so should the music. For example; the first action scene should sound different than the last. If the music is the same for all action sequences, it homogenizes the story and creates no sense of forward momentum.

So consider a cue in the context of what will happen later or earlier in the story.

Consider other audio elements. Are there sound effects to be added later that are not present in this rough cut? Perhaps the music feels too thin and piercing, or even drops out to make room for the explosion all together. That’s a good thing but may feel empty when you listen on its own.

Share your thoughts: Any other ideas and considerations for filmmakers to properly assess a demo? Leave a comment.

Thanks,

Alain


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