A great musical score can elevate a film. It is crucial for any director to choose the right composer for the project. A skilled composer will work with you to create your desired soundscape while carefully building a compelling dialogue between the visual and musical elements of the film. You want a composer you can work with and who has the technical abilities to produce a stunning soundtrack. Where do you start?
1. Find a Composer You Can Work With
You and your film composer need to be on the same page both professionally and artistically. If a composer does not respond to your emails or is late to meetings, you will end up spending a lot of time following up with them or tracking them down. First and foremost, you need a composer who can collaborate effectively and who can add professional value to your team.
It is equally important to find a composer who understands the artistic value of your film. Many composers operate like technicians, able to recreate a sound similar to your temp music but without much interest in the script, the photography, or the editing. Having a conversation with a composer about your directorial influences can help you gauge their familiarity with and interest in the genre of film you want to create. If you have similar artistic interests, the collaboration will be smoother and easier.
2. Find a Composer Who is Innovative
A great musical score doesn’t always follow the on-screen emotions; rather, real film scoring requires creating a varied counterpoint within scenes. Bryce Dessner’s soundtrack in The Two Popes is an example of a musical score that can operate in parallel with the visual mood of the scene or in contrast with it. At times, Dessner writes a cue that “fits” the rest of the film. At others, he uses the music to create a contrapuntal contrast, including some very interesting uses of diegetic music.
3. Set Aside a Budget
Creating music has costs. As a rule of thumb, you should plan to allocate about 10% of your film’s budget to music. The cost will change depending on the length of music you want for your film, the type of score you are going for, and the experience level of the composer. For example, it often takes longer (and costs more) to compose and produce a full orchestral soundtrack with dozens of parts than, say, a score that only uses an electric guitar.
Furthermore, composers often have their own rates for film scores depending on where they are in their careers. For example, if you need ten minutes of solo piano music, a beginning composer might only ask for $100 minute of music ($1,000 total) whereas an established composer might ask for $1,000 per minute ($10,000 total). $250 per minute is a fairly standard rate. On the other hand, some composers prefer to charge based on the hours of work they will do instead of the number of minutes of music they will produce.
Know your budget and remember that a good original score will truly set your film apart.
4. Start Early
Often, a director won’t reach out to potential composers until after the edit. While there is nothing wrong with this process, in my experience, there is a better option. The best time to bring a composer into the process is before the shoot. In fact, you may even want to discuss the script with your composer before sending it to your actors. This will initiate a conversation about how the dialogue and the music will work in tandem. In the end, this early start will pay off because the music will be much more integrated into the film.
When bringing the composer in, consider asking them to read the script and create some musical sketches that the actors and editors can listen to during rehearsals and after the shoot. This will help everyone place themselves inside of the soundscape that the audience will eventually experience. Plus, it makes it less likely that any of the cast or crew will become attached to the temp music tracks that will eventually be swapped out. The real music that will be heard by the audience is the music that should influence the edit.
Once you have edited your film, send it to your composer to create and produce the final cues. Collaborate constantly. Give and receive feedback. With your feedback, try to express what you are looking for in general artistic terms. You don’t need to understand technical musical vocabulary to explain the emotion you want or the artistic intention behind a particular shot.
In short, if a composer is willing to get involved in your project early on, the music will be more fully integrated into the other elements of the film.
5. Interview Prospective Composers with Your Needs in Mind
When you contact a composer or list of composers you are considering, be as clear as possible about what you need from them:
- What type of film are you making?
- What stage of the process are you currently at?
- Approximately how long will the film be?
- What is your budget?
Most composers have websites, so it should be very easy to sample their portfolio of work and to access their contact information. Find out their credentials, whether they went to school for composition, and what their experience level is. Set up a meeting, call, or video call to discuss the film and their ideas for the music.
Most importantly, look for a composer who is as excited about your film as you are!
Why to Hire an Experienced Composer for Short Films
The right musical score can take your short film to the next level. A professional composer will collaborate with the director to ensure a close connection between the visual and audio elements of the work. Here are some of the signs of a strong short film score:
- An excellent short film score should help define and add depth to the emotional intent of a scene. When time is limited, you might not have room in your script to flesh out every detail. Music is a powerful tool for quickly developing emotional intensity in ways that dialogue sometimes can’t. In this way, the music can act as an invisible character.
- The best short film scores are not overly complicated. In a feature-length project, the composer will have time to introduce and develop several themes, as in a symphony. In short- or medium-length films, however, it is important that the musical composition remains cohesive. This means that you should avoid composers whose work tries to do too much.
- A great composer of short film scores may work with the director to use diegetic music. Diegetic music is music that the characters on-screen can hear. If your short film includes diegetic music, or you are interested in opportunities for diegetic bridges, make sure to hire a composer who knows how to properly integrate this type of music with the underscore.
Looking for a Composer?
If you have any questions or are interested in speaking with a composer about your film, short film, or other project, contact me online and I will respond to you as soon as possible.