THE MODERN FILM COMPOSER: What is music to film?

What is music to film? What is the point and the significance? Where does silence fall into the affect on film, the absence of music? There are large discussions about the anatomy of film and a film score. Music was in film before sound was in film. Before dialog was in film. Music has always been an integral part of the film process and more importantly the result of the director’s vision. It is my mission statement to “service the film”. What do I mean exactly? I mean through the process of your spotting session with a director, it is not only vital to determine where he is headed with the overall feeling of the film but with each cue. Throughout history filmmakers have used music to direct the audience either exactly where the scene is headed, accentuating the feeling of sadness or delight, or steering the audience in the exact opposite direction of what is happening on screen. Often music directs the audience to what’s happening inside the mind of a character, which may be different from what they are physically doing on screen. Many times, one of the more challenging scenes to write for are the ones where a characters emotions change on a dime. For example when the direction of the film appears to being headed in overwhelming delight only to be redirected by ones long lost love being hit by a truck… or whatever, you get the idea.

So, with all of these “royalty free” library’s and garage band mix’s, is the value of an original score being diluted? Probably to some degree, but there is a tremendous amount of thought that goes into the creation of a score. There are so many details from the musicality in its inception, to the instruments used in a hit point. For instance, you wouldn’t write the same music for a network drama as you would for a blockbuster film like Pirates of the Caribbean right? Not just because the budget’s different, or the content isn’t the same, but because they are on a completely different quality level. Having a 60 piece orchestra blowing out fat blatty horns is simply too big for a little TV drama. It doesn’t fit. Along with that, there is a rhythm to visual content. The pace in which something is edited and where the audio crosses over transitions all have an impact on what happens with the music and how you work around dialog. Sure there are a lot of things where library music can be cut in, but there is no question that it detracts from the quality of a film. There is a term, “TV Tight”. To be at a professional level, the entire mix should be as seamless as possible. Nothing should distract from what is happening on screen, in fact it should draw you in without you even knowing it.

At times even silence is your friend. Silence is uncomfortable in social situations, in observing something, possibly intimate moments that you may or may not normally be a part of. Silence is very powerful, and especially so when it is just before or just after a leading score. It’s like being dropped off in the desert in the middle of the night after blasting music on your road trip to Vegas only to be left with anxious and slightly disturbing… silence. “Sometimes less is more” is a term I think all storytellers in an age of shaky camera’s and eye blistering fire balls should keep in the front of their minds.

Whatever the call, it should always be about the intent of the film and how the music enhances its process.