How does a Composer go about creating a film score?

[Sixers 0]

I know that it's probably an elementary question, but how do they do it?

[tony69 0]

they hire people to write it. according to hans zimmer anyways.

[Dole 17]

It depends. Some read the script (JW never does). and start to think of appropriate music. If the film requires source music (music that's being played or sung onscreen or if music is an essential part of the story like in Close Encounters) the composer might be brought in before filming begins. Usually composers see a close to final edit of the film a few months before its release and talk to the director about what kind of music they want where. They then get a copy of the film and compose the music for it. JW says that if he can do 2 minutes of music a day, it's a good day. Some composers do the entire score, while others compose the main melodies etc. and then hand it over to orchestrators who do the orchestra arrangements. They then record the score (usually about 20 minutes a day with a union orchestra because that's all the rules allow for). Some directors like Steven Spielberg like to be very involved in the process and ask composers to get themes and such approved before they put them into the score. Other directors take a hands off approach and don't see the composer at all between the spotting session and the recording sessions. Then it's up to the sound mixer and the music editor to put the music in the film. Anyway...I think that's kind of a very general idea of what happens. If you're asking about the creative process, I have no idea or else I'd be composing film scores myself.

Dole

[Jacck 23]

I don't know of many (if any) composers who actually rely on orchestrators that heavily. If the composer just wrote a melody, and left the rest up to the orchestrators, wouldn't that make the orchestrator an arranger?

Anyway, with or without an orchestrator - a composer would still tend to write out more than a melody. The orchestrator's job is usually to pad out a possibly thin sounding score and making sure everything is playable by the orchestra.

[robthehand 3]

I don't know of many (if any) composers who actually rely on orchestrators that heavily. If the composer just wrote a melody, and left the rest up to the orchestrators, wouldn't that make the orchestrator an arranger?

Anyway, with or without an orchestrator - a composer would still tend to write out more than a melody. The orchestrator's job is usually to pad out a possibly thin sounding score and making sure everything is playable by the orchestra.

Put it this way - some orchestrators do a lot more than just orchestrate.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Some directors like Steven Spielberg like to be very involved in the process and ask composers to get themes and such approved before they put them into the score. Other directors take a hands off approach and don't see the composer at all between the spotting session and the recording sessions.

And some don't get involved at all and dump the composer afterwards because he didn't deliver "what they wanted".

[Ollie 1,059]

Alot of hard work.

For most, some it's just as simple as pounding out a few notes on a synth and calling it film music.

[John Crichton 4]

Some read the script (JW never does).

As always, there are exceptions. I think he started work on Hook in the script phase, when it was going to be a musical. And of course there's Harry Potter: Hedwig's Theme was based on the book before Williams saw any of the movie, while Harry's Wonderous World came after.

[Jediwashington 59]

Composing a film score is almost scary. Usually it depends on the directors tastes and what he wants to do. With Memoirs of a Geisha, Williams insisted he work with the director to make the film fit the music and to deliver what the director wanted. He wasn't just going to go off, compose this thing and plop it in front of him. Good film scores and good films in general usually have this approch. Working together to get the music composed and to the directors taste. There's nothing worse than composing something amazing ahead of time and than find out that the director doesn't like how it feels. Takes hours of work to fix any mistake in this business.

Generally, a script is sent to the composer months in advance, after the deal is made in essance. After shooting has finished a version of the film is made that we call a time locked edit. This contains all the scenes being used or even being considered for use in a time locked mode. There won't be any more frames added to this moment, or this. It's completely timed correctly. Any changes that occor after he is given this will be notated in great detail or, with the digital age now, a new version of the film sent to the composer. This cut is rough. There is green screen, no sound effects, rough diolouge tracks, just place holders in where text will be. When Williams scored the scene of E.T. where elliot is flying over the trees, all he saw was green screen place holders or a timed storyboard like you would use for a cartoon movie.

After a week or so to study it on his own, the composer meets with the director to "Spot" the film. This session lets the director point out what he wants at certain points, the composer discusses what can be done, themes, motiefs, etc. Sometimes this is the last time the composer will see the director until the recording sessions start. For more artistic and gourgeous works that require more musical detail, they keep each other updated though, and work on getting the score as polished as possible. This is where musical knoledge helps the director the most.

Some composers will make piano scores. Alan Mienken for instance, usually just makes piano music with some detailed notes about instrumentation, and hands it off to an orchestrator to voice the orchestra parts for him. Other composers simply make melodies and hand them off to orchestrators or arrangers. And other composers do it all on their own. To compose this music, composers have a very difficult time getting tempos correct and making sure the hit points in the music are where they should be. Using computers has greatly reduced the amount of time needed to compose a piece of music that has to be timed correctly. Otherwise, composers have to do the math and figure out frame by frame where their beats go. Thats why it used to take so long for post production work. The composers spent hours timing their work. This is not common though. most of the time, there are not specific beats, but a system used to simply make "hits" at certain key points. more on that later.

Once the music is generally finished and ready a few weeks before the score is recorded, Its sent to a copyist, who deals with licencing, double checking for copyrighted themes accidentally used, and most importantly, prints the music and formats it so it's easy for the orchestra members to learn and sight read.

While the composer is working a few months before the score is recorded, he sends out for a someone to help hire the orchestra, a contractor if you will. This person deals with the music union laws (Such as the old 15 minutes of music to one hour of recording session), the hiring of most of the normal musicians an orchestra needs based off of an instrumentation chart of the instruments the composer will need and of how many. Sometimes composers like John Williams have a group of pre-defined people who he works with constantly on all his scores to fill most of the chair positions and can deal with getting soloists, like yo-yo ma, on their own and only need the contractor to deal with the payment and union laws. Others have no preferance and just get who they can.

Than a slot is reserved at a recording studio. Fox has one, Sony has one, abbey road studios has one. just a big acoustic room with capability to record many many tracks from another room behind a glass shield.

They all come together and start recording the music. The musicians generally sight read the music, than record it. sometimes not even sight reading first, just a discussion quickly of what needs to be done. ON the back wall is a big projector with the film on it. There can be lines that stream across called stramers to prepare for a hit, than little pops in circles to indecate a hit. Other forms include everyone having on an ear phone to get the tempo in their ear so everyone is together automatically.

The mixer positions microphones over sections, soloists, and the main Decca stereo microphone set up. other microphones are used to get the feeling of a room. than they are all recorded siloteniously to be mixed volume wise later or between takes. Once a take is made, the composer and the producers and directors and all the gung ho people go into a room and watch the film with the music and discuss what needs to be done, or decide if its a good take. Usually they record them twice just to be safe.

Once it's all finished, the music is handed over to the director, rights are signed off for the music to be timed to the film and allowed to be part of its licencing, and than the composer is finished, unless something is changed and more music needs to be written and recorded.

Quite a long process, but well worth it!