Directing the Composer Workshop

We invite filmmakers, composers, sound designers and musicians to join us in this collaborative learning experience.

Filmmakers learn how to work with music in their own projects, to develop good communication skills for working with the composer, music editor, sound designer, and other members of the scoring team. We’ll explore the creative process and how it relates to the business side of the equation – how to get the score you want and work within a budget.

This workshop will provide the director with a thorough understanding of the role music plays in film , the emotional impact it has on the narrative, as well as how to work directly with the composer. Combining critical studies with a hands-on approach to music creation – each participant will become familiar with basic forms and structures in music including; melody, harmony, rhythm and texture, as they apply to current film projects and practices in multimedia. The workshop will take you through the entire process of creating & producing the score, from concept to the final dub.

 

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General Outline - Roadmap

Workshop Objectives

• To create a clear and effective line of communication between the filmmaker and the composer, throughout the filmmaking process

• To explore various techniques and approaches to enhance the collaborative process, including music scoring, sound design and music licensing (songs)

• Three feature  films have been chosen for this workshop; Creation, Collateral and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. They cover a wide range of topics, and different genres

– What is a “spotting session” and the various roles of the filmmaking team in this process?

– What is a “temporary music track” and the value added in working with the composer?  You will also learn about the role of the music editor in this segment.

– How to work with a “hybrid score”, a combination of songs and underscore

– Introducing the music supervisor and various aspects of music licensing – how much is it going to cost for you to use these songs plus the score in your film?

–  You will learn how to create and work with sound design as the primary material for your score

–  Learn how to record, edit and mix sounds for your palette, using software applications and plugins

–  Reference and research into contemporary orchestral music from Ligetti, Penderecki*, Lutoslawski

*Some of Penderecki’s music has been adapted for film soundtracks. The Exorcist (1973) also features it as well as his String Quartet and Kanon For Orchestra and Tape; fragments of the Cello Concerto and The Devils of Loudun are also used in the film. Writing about The Exorcist, the film critic for The New Republic wrote “even the music is faultless, most of it by Krzysztof Penderecki, who at last is where he belongs.” The Shining (1980) features six pieces of Penderecki’s music: Utrenja II: Ewangelia, Utrenja II: Kanon Paschy, The Awakening of Jacob, De Natura Sonoris No. 1, De Natura Sonoris No. 2 and Polymorphia. David Lynch has used Penderecki’s music in the soundtracks of the movies Wild at Heart (1990) and Inland Empire (2006). In the film Fearless (1993) by Peter Weir, the piece Polymorphia was once again used for an intense plane crash scene seen from the point of view of the passenger played by Jeff Bridges. Penderecki’s piece, Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, was also used during one of the final sequences in the film Children of Men (2006). Penderecki composed music for Andrzej Wajda‘s 2007 Academy Award nominated film Katyń, while Martin Scorsese‘s Shutter Island (2010) featured his Symphony No. 3 and Fluorescences.

Artist/Teacher

Potential artists/teachers include;

Christopher Young – Clive Barker, Sam Raimi

Carter Burwell – The Coen Brothers

Marco Beltrami – Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo del Toro

Guest Artist(s)

Check with primary artist for additional guest artists PLUS; invite a Copyright & Publishing expert and, if possible, a direct connect with the folks at earbits or similar…

Sponsors - Production Partners

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Proposal: solicit partnership support from companies like IFP, and the IFP project forum, to bring filmmakers & composers together.

Marketing

• film schools, colleges and universities with a filmmaking department or program without music

• secondary schools in the NY area, can we cross over to schools like MSM, The New School, NYU, Columbia, etc.  By inviting a variety of artists to lead the workshop we create a unique offering for schools like MSM…

• need to create the announcement and manage communications and enrollment, in 2 parts; one for the physical space, and a second for the online participation only (audit)

Technical Requirements

NS in-house team for lighting, sound and staging??

Production Costs

• Basic live streaming package per day $600

• Check with NS for day rates for in-house audio engineers & video operators

• Check on options for basic food and beverage per day

• See “Additional Notes” for other items

Content Management

• The lessons delivered for each workshop may require a component for managing the transmission of audio & video files, PDF scores, powerpoint slides, etc.  Check with NS to see if this can be managed with NS personnel.

Scheduling

• This is a 5-day workshop but can be modified to include additional hours and/or days.  The total enrollment will determine the final schedule for this workshop.

• As with all Ethos workshops, the day to day schedule will be adjusted, as needed, to accommodate the current NS calendar of events and performances

Additional Project Notes

• Optional; this workshop could include one or more musicians to demo a particular instrument or family of instruments. (ex.) one of the current NS artists could participate, Jeffrey Zeigler with a segment on strings…

• With the new office at the IFP Media Center, we’ll have direct contact with filmmakers, to generate interest in joining us for this workshop

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Related Projects

Creation

https://vimeo.com/119535888

Creation – directed by Jon Amiel
The music for Creation needed to represent a point in time, a specific location, and was best represented by a classical music approach. Another important lesson in this film centers on Jon Amiel’s preparation of the “temporary music track” (details to follow), using this material as a method for communicating with the composer, Christopher Young. We’ve included all of the spotting notes, the temp track outline and a transcription of the actual spotting session (written documentation and audio).

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

https://vimeo.com/119587342

The Exorcism of Emily Rose – directed by Scott Derrickson
The music for The Exorcism of Emily Rose incorporates a very different approach, with an emphasis on musical texture and sound design. A temporary music track was also used in this film, referencing some of the composer’s previous work from films like, The Grudge. Additionally, a number of references were made to contemporary music by some of the eastern European composers like, Penderecki, Ligetti, Lutoslawski, et al. Again, Chris Young is at the helm, and has created a modern day classic suspense/mystery/horror score which supports the film and its narrative. In addition to the spotting notes, and basic outline of the film score, we’ll take a look at some of the extended string techniques which Chris used, making reference to specific recordings where Chris was able to direct a live ensemble and then edit these recorded performances for use in the film.

Collateral

https://vimeo.com/119570284

Collateral – directed by Michael Mann
The music for Collateral rounds out this trio of films and offers us yet another set of concepts for the film score. One of the primary differences here is Michael Mann’s choice to use a variety of music composers, producers and songs for the film. The film score is composed by James Newton Howard, with additional composition credits going to Tom Rothrock and Antonio Pinto. In addition to the underscore for the film, Mann opted to include a set of songs from a wide range of sources, from Calexico, The Roots, Miles Davis, Audioslave and others. This project tips the scales on the music production and music licensing side of the equation, providing us with another lesson, more aligned with the music business aspects of getting the right music for your film.