Modern Music Composition for Film

Course Information

Fees: € 450,- (approx: US$ 573,- or £ 358,-, other currencies)

Course Language: English English

Learning Advisor: David Hentschel

Duration: 4 Weeks

Level: VIP Signature Course

Learning Advisor: David Hentschel

There can be few record producers or musicians around today who have as impressive a list of achievements as David Hentschel. Over the years he has worked with some of the greatest names in contemporary music - Genesis, Elton John, Andy Summers, Paul McCartney, Mike Oldfield to name but a few. A multiple Grammy award winner and voted three times ‘Producer of the Year’, David's abilities also include musical composition and contemporary and orchestral arrangement, often composing for films and television - his most notable success being the score for the movie ‘Educating Rita’. David, a pioneer of the synthesizer, works from his own studio in the UK and also in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, where he continues to collaborate with some of the world’s most talented jazz, rock and pop musicians. David's musical talent and inventiveness have enabled him to help shape the sound of today's recorded music, while exploring the music of tomorrow.

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Course Description

This is a four week course. Each week there will be a practical exercise in which you will be given all the information and guidelines necessary to compose a short music cue to picture which will be submitted for grading. Alongside the practical aspect, a comprehensive online reference resource will be provided. You will be asked to concentrate on relevant aspects of this information bank each week as applicable to the week’s practical exercise. You will then be required to complete an interactive quiz covering the week’s learning which will also be graded.

Instructional resources will be distributed in the form of video presentations of advanced techniques, screen capture ‘”how to” videos supplemented with voiceovers/pieces to camera, .pdf documents of reference material, external links and recommended further reading. Additionally, each week there will be a main video of maximum 10 minutes duration where David will discuss the current week’s syllabus highlighting the key points with you.Finally we will emphasize to you that the production values which you use in your practical submissions (the quality of recording and arrangement) are of far less importance in this course than your appreciation and interpretation of the topics discussed. In other words the music which you submit does not need to be glossy, meticulously arranged or intricately recorded but needs to show that you have grasped and examined the theoretical principles.

Prerequisites
Aims
Topics
Outcomes
Resources

You will need to have some experience in composing instrumental music and a working knowledge of sequencing and recording with any DAW which is capable of importing and exporting QuickTime video (Digital Performer, Logic, ProTools, Cubase etc.).

The aim of this course is to provide a thorough introduction to the art of composing music for film using modern digital recording and scoring techniques.

You will be given all the creative and technical information necessary to step into the world of movie scoring, backed up by the personal experience of composer and record producer David Hentschel who will be your personal Learning Advisor.

By the end of the course you will have composed and recorded music to picture and will have a comprehensive knowledge of what to expect when composing for anything from short independent movies to major feature films.

Week 1 – Music In Film

We will look at what music can add to a movie, the other professionals whom you may encounter in your role as composer, the process of deciding where music is needed in a movie and an introduction to the use of themes.

• What music adds to a film
• First Steps – Planning the music and the Composer’s role
• Other professionals you may be working with
• The Spotting Session – deciding what scenes need music
• Compose a piece of music to reflect your interpretation of a film

Week 2 – Timing and Synchronization

Week 2 concentrates mainly on the timing and synchronization of film music with the picture. You will be given all the technical background and information you need to get a video clip up and running in your Digital Audio Workstation software prior to scoring. We also take a first look at some of the creative processes and disciplines you will go through as you plan the music for your first cue.

• Synchronizing music to video, including timecode and frame rates
• Musical tempo and how it relates to the pace of a film
• How to use QuickTime video in the DAW environment
• Explore where to start and stop music
• Compose music to picture with a focus on timing and synchronization

Week 3 – Style and Structure

This week we concentrate on the artistic aspect of film scoring and introducing you to techniques which enable the Composer to use music to add to the dramatic and emotional content of the film most effectively.

• Dramatic Style – a discussion of film genres and musical styles
• How to assign and design film themes
• Practical techniques for placement of music to picture
• Performing to picture in free time
• Compose music to picture with a focus on emotional content

Week 4 – Final Stages and Delivering the Score

In your final week you will discover some of the problems you may encounter whilst composing your score. Learn how to deliver your score once it is finished, and what happens thereafter in the dubbing process. Finally we take an overview of some business points of which you should be aware and how best to go about pitching for work.

• Potential difficulties for the composer
• Delivering the score for dubbing
• The business side including budgets and contracts
• A look at orchestral scoring and soundtrack albums
• Compose a complex cue using all the techniques learned

On successful completion of your course you will:

• have a sound understanding of the technical aspects of composing and recording film music
• have an all round knowledge of the film composer’s working environment
• have learned how to design a music score and themes
• be able to decide where to place music in a film
• be able to analyze and examine a film and apply expert timing and synchronization to your compositions
• have developed an awareness of how to interpret emotional and dramatic contents
• be able to score a complete film that requires a broad range of styles and techniques

This course requires access to a Digital Audio Workstation which is capable of importing and exporting QuickTime video (Digital Performer, Logic, ProTools, Cubase etc.). You will also need at least a basic set of (preferably) Virtual Instruments or hardware MIDI instruments. Lastly you should have a basic understanding of practical musicianship and composition alongside the desire to compose for film.