The whole interview is long but worth reading, but what stood out to me was his comments about reading scripts before seeing a film.

Will you work from a script initially, or do you prefer some kind of visual stimulus?

My own preference is not to read scripts. It’s like when you read a noveL; you envisage the locales, you cast the players in your mind. That’s the reason, I think, why people are so often disappointed by film versions of novels they have read — they don’t conform to their preconceptions. So I’d rather not read a script, and I tell producer thatl I’d rather go into a projection room and react to the people and places and events — and particularly the rhythm — of the film itself.

I have often struggled with this issue because although it is fun to get involved in a film early, there is very little a script can tell you about the music. So much of the music is based on how the film feels, not just what the story is about. The timing of the performances and editing, the hues of the color scheme, and so many other visual factors have such a demanding effect on scoring that reading the script for me is merely a way to become a part of the conversation when a cut of the film may not yet be available.

And now with the authority of JW I feel like I am justified in not always being so eager to read scripts!

When just starting out, I believe scoring for free is a necessary evil. It’s often the only way to build up a portfolio. How can you convince someone you can score their film if you’ve never done it? Theoretically you score some projects for free and as you, and the directors/producers/etc. you work with, climb the ladder the gigs will start paying better and better.

This is generally how it’s worked for me, but I find that there are still situations where I’m either asked to write for free or even considering it. Here are a few thoughts on when I do and do not give it serious consideration:

Are you being treated fairly?

Was the entire project done pro bono, or did they run out of money by the time they got to post production? I find it revolting that people are happy to shell out thousands of dollars for a DP or an editor but then say to the composer “deferred only”. It’s extremely disrespectful and you hopefully learn early enough in your career that deferred payment doesn’t exist. I had a director try to explain to me once that he couldn’t possibly pay me to score his feature film because of all the money he was going to spend on the sound mixer.

On the other hand, if everyone is doing it for free it’s a different story. If it turns out that a lot of talented people really believe in the project and have given their time and talent to it, then I’ll start to pay attention.

To summarize, only do a project for free if it means you are being treated fairly.

Quality

Is the project any good? Does it seem like a Sundance home run or a viral sensation just waiting to be released?

Or is the script kind of lame, or the lighting poorly done?

If the film looks as good or worse than what you’ve already done and the performances are uninspiring, then what would you be getting out of this?

Portfolio

Will the project fill a category you’ve never done before (eg. animation, horror, musical theater)?

Much like getting your first scoring gig at all, getting your first “fill in the blank” job may require previous work to break into. Directors tend to think in categories; if your reel has a lot of horror you will be labeled a “horror composer”. If you are demoing for a romantic comedy it helps to be able to show a romantic comedy you’ve successfully scored in the past.

Conclusion

Even after considering all those factors I still might not necessarily do the project. Unless it’s starring Anne Hathaway, the best script I’ve ever read, and guaranteed to take me to new heights, it might not be worth it if I’m already too busy with other paid projects.

But the purpose of discussing the elements above is to suggest that at any level in your career scoring a film for free could be a possibility.

The article reminded me of an app called iA Writer that features a “focus mode”. Basically only the sentence you are currently writing appears in the center of the screen in full black text, everything else around it fades into soft gray. If you really had to, you could look back and read what you just wrote, but the fading is amazingly effective in getting you to only think about the current sentence. You are forced to pay attention to the present moment in your writing, not what you wrote before. Mindful writing.

I’ve been using the app for about a week now for journal entries and blog posts and I must say I absolutely love it. I’m able to write so much faster when I just let it pour out. Of course another thing to keep in mind is that whatever you are writing is simply a first draft. You can go back and make it good later, for now you just have to get the words out. This takes off any pressure that what you’re writing has to be any good and instead you can just let it flow. [Even this post is at least twice as long as anything I might normally write up here, but it didn't necessarily take twice as much work. The app just made it easier to write.]

Write first, edit later has been a mantra of mine for a long time, but when it comes to writing music it’s much easier said than done. I often advise students to work on their sketches first, to plan everything out, to avoid orchestrating before the actual composing part is done. But I can have a hard time following my own advice at times.

When working in a program like Logic it’s just so easy to go back and play what you’ve done so far. And when you know that you want to use the french horn on that sweet melody you just wrote, avoiding the temptation to drag your region onto the horn is nearly impossible. Of course you want it to sound good right away! I won’t get into the reasons here for why this becomes a dangerous trap.

The important point is that writing first and editing later produces better results, but what can we do to make that happen? iA writer is a fantastic tool for using this technique when writing words, but what about music? Composing at the piano helps considerably, because you can’t get tempted by all the gizmos and toys enticing you in Logic. Want to hear that melody on the horns? Well you’re just going to have to wait.

I suppose a musical cousin to free writing is improvisation. Just set record and improvise your heart out, let the piece flow out of your fingers. This is useful to me when I’m just trying to come up with ideas, but I’m not sure if it’s really the best way to compose a piece of music. Maybe I just need to try it more, but it seems like there would be a lot of fluff to cut out just to get to the good stuff. It seems like there has to be a middle ground between bar by bar (and previous bars) composing, and free improvisation, but what is it? Where is the equivalent “focus mode” that allows you to see what you’ve just written if you need a guide, but also prompts you to keep the line moving forward? Is there such a thing, or can there be?

Unfortunately I’m not providing the answer in this post, at this point I’m merely posing the question and putting it out there. Perhaps someone reading this has encountered this problem and solved it themselves? Or at least it will get someone else thinking about it with me.

How do you turn the “stream of consciousness” benefits of free improvisation into practical use in structured composing?

As always, it got me wondering about how the idea might apply to film scoring. What are some things that a composer could improve 10x over?

• Compose 10x faster
• Produce 10x more music
• Record with 10x more live musicians
• Write pieces that are 10x longer (production music tends to require 1-2 minute pieces, when was the last time you wrote a 10-20 minute composition? And I don’t mean to picture.)
• Get 10x more material out of a single piece of music. This could mean develop your motive further or also using a single piece to inspire 10 more pieces (a slower version, a minor version, etc)

Of course the 10x principle can apply to just about anything, but those are some of my first thoughts on writing film music. What do you think? What aspect of composing music for film could you improve 10 times over?

Also be sure to check out the original article.

I wrote the original score and the film was written and directed by Ben Shelton.

Check out a trailer for the show which is currently running in theaters before screenings of The Hobbit:

Special thanks to Russell Spurlock and Whatnot Industries!

One Year Ago

December 7th, 2011 - Composing is Decision Making
December 28th, 2011 - 2011: The Year In Review

Two Years Ago

December 4th, 2010 - Devils Racecourse

Four Years Ago

December 2nd, 2008 - Disney Princess Official Homepage

One Year Ago

November 2nd, 2011 - Towards a New Theory of Music
November 8th, 2011 - The Filmmaker’s Guide to Giving Feedback on Music
November 23rd, 2011 - Five Years

Two Years Ago

November 5th, 2010 - SCOREcastonline: Is Musical Form Relevant to Film Scoring?
November 19th, 2010 - Pastor Shepherd Screening
November 29th, 2010 - Maverick Movie Awards

Three Years Ago

November 2nd, 2009 - So You Think You Can Dance

Five Years Ago

November 7th, 2008 - The Dark Knight

Check them out below and have a spooky night!