The process for composing for film
Now that you have a better understanding of the purpose behind composing for films, let’s explore the process of film composition and some tips to help you get started.
1. Understand the story and vision for the movie
Understanding the underlying story and vision for the film or other visual medium is essential when composing. The vision influences the genre, style, instrumentation, and effects you will be using to help tell the story.
This usually occurs during an initial meeting with the director to discuss the overall vision, themes, and emotional tone of the film. During this meeting, you may watch rough cuts or scenes from the film to get an initial understanding of its pacing, mood, and style, as well as understand the visual elements such as cinematography, editing, and visual effects that your music can compliment.
If a script is available, you should request to read it to fully grasp the story, characters, and narrative arcs. This can help you identify moments and character dynamics that can be reflected in your music.
2. Compose, record, and arrange the score
Once you have a solid idea of the film’s story and vision, you can begin to experiment with different musical motifs, themes, and instrumentation to find the right sound palette that aligns with the film.
These examples can be turned into demos to present to the film team for feedback and further iteration. Don’t be discouraged if a director doesn’t gravitate towards your initial ideas. Film scoring is a very iterative and collaborative process, with many rounds of feedback and rewrites to get the music to fit the film just right.
Once these motifs, themes, and instrumentation choices come together, you can begin to write your music to film.
A spotting session between you and the director is usually used to determine where music
should be placed within the film. This can identify key moments, emotional beats, and transitions where music will have the greatest impact.