Getting the Score

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 [...]

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 [...]

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

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 [...]

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 [...]

[Excerpt from Alain Mayrand's blog.]
I just completed a dialogue scene which had a difficult mix of moods to navigate; emotional discussion/sharing of wisdom interspersed with some slap-stick humour. It was tough, but I pulled it off.
Another thing I wanted to write about here was pacing. It something i am very conscious of and that makes [...]

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 [...]

Hello All,
This is what I wrote today on my Composition Journal, where I am writing about my work scoring a feature animated film.
I am currently working on the musical themes for the film, looking for inspiration everywhere and jotting down a ton of ideas.
As I do this work I always refer to a concept for [...]

{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 [...]

During the spotting session it is time to decide where music cues start and end. There are many reasons to bring in music, many points of entry.
From on “The Track: a guide to contemporary film scoring.” by Fred Karlin and Rayburn Wright.
In general, music starts most effectively at a moment of shifting emphasis. This might [...]