I was recently asked to compose the score for an experimental short film. This was great, except I only had 48 hours, I had zero budget to work with, and I wanted to use an orchestra. Not a problem! Read on to see how.
(more…)This is the second part in a series following my process of composing music for a short film. I’ll take you along on the creative journey with a specific real-world example, from conception through festival premiere. At the end of the series, see the finished product and listen to the full score!
This second part will take you through my process for collecting and cultivating inspiration specific to this project.
(more…)This is the first part in a series following my process of composing music for a short film. I’ll take you along on the creative journey with a specific real-world example, from conception through festival premiere. At the end of the series, see the finished product and listen to the full score!
This first part will introduce the project specifics and lay out the details I considered before deciding to tackling it.
READ MOREIf you’re still learning the ins and outs of film scoring – or just need some quick inspiration – try looking at the work of film composers who have come before you as a template. Film scoring is never truly easy, but you can help yourself out by basing some of your composition on existing music. This post will outline some ideas for implementing this, depending on what you need.
(more…)Is there a perfect tempo for a film score? Shouldn’t it be driven by the mood of the particular moment, or the style of the music? Does it even have to be constant?
At first blush, determining the perfect tempo may not seem that important when it comes to film composing. But, while there may not be one perfect tempo, there are a handful that work better than others. Read on to see what factors make one tempo better than another for a film score.
(more…)The composing process is different for every film composer. When you’re in the studio, staring at the screen, how do you make your first move? How to you begin to put notes down on paper (real or virtual)? It doesn’t have to be scary. In this post I walk through how I approach the beginning of the actual film composing process – or, what I call sketching.
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