Comments on: Filmmakers: Engage Your Composer

By: David W. Hamitlon

David W. Hamitlon — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:39:22 +0000

Neat post, Mr. Beck! I have found out some of the same things that you mentioned concerning the advantages of being attached early. I was signed on to one of the Features I’m writing for this year (Othersight) when the director was still editing his script. He says it has been amazing watching the music grow with the project; I started out developing a potential style based on the screenplay, which was ‘satisfactory’, and then just kept on tweaking it–we were able to run a test on the first scene he finished editing, and the style changed again: but it turned out much better than if that was the first time I had been studying the project.

By: Don Wahl

Don Wahl — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:28:28 +0000

This is is much more clearly evident to me the more I have been involved with this craft, Jurgen. Completely, totally agree! Especially with the ‘Music has ways to find the depths of the soul that words or pictures alone may have a hard time reaching. That is how we are wired.’

By: Jurgen Beck

Jurgen Beck — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Thanks, Gabriel.

By: Gabriel H.

Gabriel H. — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:30:57 +0000

Great post, Mr. Beck.

By: Jurgen Beck

Jurgen Beck — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:58:08 +0000

Thanks, John, for your comments. This may be a bit over the top, but bringing in the composer for creative input even at the stage the script is developed (and not even necessarily with musical cues right at the start) will have a positive impact on the final product. The music should be so completely married to the story that the viewer won’t even notice it, but instead is impacted by how well it underlines what is on the screen.

When the composer is engaged early on, there is a lot of dialog between the director and the composer, which helps a composer understand what the director essentially wants to achieve. At the same time, if the director is open to what a good composer can contribute, it can impact the way particular scenes are developed and shot.

Here is an example:

Let’s assume that there is an emotional scene in the script that shows someone dying and we want to display the reaction of a loved one. You could stick some dialog in the scene that spells out everything the two people have on their minds, essentially robbing the viewer of a chance to experience the scene on a deeper level. Instead, you could skip some or all of the dialog and let the music express those thoughts, giving the viewer an opportunity to be involved in the emotional event unfolding on the screen.

Keeping a good balance is indeed a craft. The important point is to allow the composer to contribute from his/her unique position in more ways than just laying down the music tracks.

Blessings,

Jurgen

By: John Calvin Young

John Calvin Young — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:41:58 +0000

Thank you so much for this post, Jurgen! I know from that director’s standpoint, I’ve always wondered how the composer wanted to be involved in the project–did I need a finished, locked edit before I even a approached the composer? What materials does the composer need to start his work? Thank you so much for this look at the situation from the other side, from the composer’s standpoint.

IHS,
John Calvin Young
Director, Young Christian Studios