Klarinet Archive - Posting 000405.txt from 2002/07

From: Bear Woodson <bearwoodson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Movie Trailer Music explained
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 23:55:18 -0400

Hello, Klarinet List.

Over the years I have taken a number of Film
Scoring classes, when I lived in Los Angeles in
the 1980's. Here are some tricks to how it works.

First the composer will usually buy Top Quality
Synthesizers, which have Good Samples of every
needed instrument, percussion sounds, Sound
Effect (Space Ships, gun shots, etc.), and any-
thing needed for the Sound Track, to be In Time
with the Music.

(Note: The "Foley" Artist will re-record, and
amplify the Non-Musical Sound Effects, like
Foot Steps, gun shots, and all sounds that will
be Separate from the Music. These guys often
give Recorded Sampled Sound Effects to the
Film Score Composer, as needed.)

The Composer will then record a Library of
several Music Themes for each Emotion and
Type of Scene as needed. For example, he'll
make recordings of music for:

20 Chase Scenes, 20 Nervous Scenes,
20 Love Scenes, 20 Danger Scenes, etc.

Each example may be 5 minutes long, so that
later, if they need just 1'10" of Nervous Music,
they can use that Sound Clip Fragment, or the
whole 5 minutes. The bigger the composer's
Library of Mood Music is, the more gigs he
will get; because then, if there is a rush job, he
can take samples of his existing Library!

There are other tricks to supplement the music
in a movie. For example, Jerry Goldsmith prefers
to use a Real Orchestra, and avoid Synthesizers,
where possible. BUT he's smart enough to have
the String Players use NO Vibrato, so that if they
later have to lengthen the music with a Synthe-
sizer Sound Clip, there will be no sudden change
from Vibrato to Non-Vibrato, to make it stand
out like a sore thumb. (I really like some of
Jerry Goldsmith's Film Scores, but also Bernard
Herrman, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, John
Williams and many others!)

As far as Copyright Laws are concerned, if
one composer writes music for 50 movies, it's
entirely legal for him to use clips of the same
music in several movies, as long as the Pro-
ducer and Director approve. I've heard James
Horner use clips of the same "Adventure"
Mood Music in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of
Khan", and "Die Hard", etc.

Now you need to realize that the Music is
the LAST thing they add to a movie, because
until all the Editing and Special Effects are
done, you can't write music to be In Time with
the action on the screen. Therefore many Film
Scores go from Concept, to Piano Sketch, to
either Synthesizer Performance and/or Full
Orchestration, (from a team of orchestrators)
within THREE WEEKS! Writing 2 HOURS
of music in THREE WEEKS of LESS is
enough pressure to kill you!

This pressure is what weeds out a lot of no-
talent composers, (of which there is no shortage
in Hollywood), and has literally killed Master
Film Score Composers like Bernard Herrman.
(I LOVE the Modal Progressions that he made
famous, like A Minor to C Minor.) Bernard
Herrman died of a heart attack or stroke, on
Christmas Eve 1975, just after finishing another
high-pressure film score!

Therefore, when a Movie is ready to show the
Previews or "Trailers" on TV, in preparation for
its release, they often don't yet have the Film
Score Edited and Timed to fit the Action on the
Screen. This is why music from one composer
from a previously-released movie, might be used
to Advertise a New Movie, at the Legal Discretion
of the Studio. The composer of the "Trailer"
Music doesn't have to be the same composer as
the New Movie, as long as BOTH are Owned by
the same Studio, and/or that they have signed
contracts to keep the composers, producers,
directors and Studios happy.

Now the next thing they will probably do, is
let the little blue Space Alien, "Stitch" play his
own 4-Hand Piano Music . . . . just as long as
he isn't all thumbs!

I gotta get back to the Laughing Academy.

Bear Woodson
Composer in Tucson, Arizona, USA
"Bear Woodson" <bearwoodson@-----.net>

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