Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
1
Using Music with Film
How to Comunicate Your Music Neds
I. The Available Music Solutions:
1. Media Music Library
There are many libraries of music created specifically for use in film and
commercials. You can purchase, download and edit this music yourself, or
you can utilize an audio post-production facility to search for tracks from
their extensive libraries and then edit the music to your film. This music
is generally instrumental (not “songs”) for use as background scoring.
The satisfaction level of this approach ranges from 0-90% weighted
towards the middle. Library music and edits end up being “OK” or “pretty
good”, since it is statistically improbable to find music that matches the
exact mood and timing of your film without the compromise of creative
editing.
This approach is the fastest professional method to get the most music
for the least cost. 6-60 minutes of edited and licensed music can be
added to a film in 1-5 days for budgets ranging from $500-10,000
1. Advantages: More control for you, speed, lower cost for higher
production level, wider range of musical material and styles, no
management responsibilities for creative people and their processes
2. Disadvantages: Music not written and tailored to function with
your film, not original content so it’s not unique, long search times,
limitations created by your finite knowledge of the available music
to license
2. Licensing Music (Songs) from CD’s, mp3’s, etc.
Using owned music from other sources and gaining the rights to use it.
The most common reason for doing this is to have “that song”.
1. Advantages: High chance of production excellence and satisfaction
because you have strong artistic reasons for using the material,
including the notoriety of the music with your target audience.
2. Disadvantages: 1-4 days of work to obtain each license, costs
ranging from $2,000-25,000 and much higher for very well known
works. This is generally not an approach that favors filmmakers in
the low-budget genre.
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
2
3. Composer & Original Music Production
Collaborating with a composer to produce an original music score.
The satisfaction level of this approach ranges from 0-100% weighted
heavily toward the 2 extremes because of the personal dynamic of
working with another creative person. Creative and business
relationships represent both assets and liabilities during the coarse of film
production. The cost of the finished music is from $0-1,500 per finished
minute. The production speed is 1-5 minutes of finished music per day,
depending on the circumstances.
1. Advantages: Greater chance of excellence and 100%
satisfaction, the music is written and tailored to the character and
timing of your film, it will be original and unique music material.
2. Disadvantages: Greater risk of a bad experience and low
satisfaction, responsibility for managing another creative person,
higher cost, it takes more time, narrower range of musical material
and styles – the composer writes “their own” music the best.
To enhance your success, both of these approaches require the use of
objective terminology to define the music you are looking for and to define the
function of the music in your film.
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
3
I: The Paradox for Filmakers: Music Functions Subjectively
A film that fails to evoke emotion is a failure.
One of the most powerful dramatic tools available to a film-maker is music.
Music adds a “4th dimension” to film: Emotional Subjective Content, or, in
simpler terms, “feeling”.
Music is a unique, abstract art form that can communicate a subjective and
emotional experience in real time. It is one of the most powerful ingredients
that you can add to your films. Director, Steven Spielberg has said that music
and sound represent 50% of his films’ impact. For low-budget films, this
impact is even greater.
Music can describe the inner emotional narrative of falling in love, or being
eaten by a shark, or of being lonely, etc. Researchers have determined that
melodies are stored in a different part of the brain than rhythm. That’s why
you can hear a melody from your past and it hits you with the strength of the
scent of perfume, or cut grass. You can be in an elevator hearing a cheesy
rendition of “that song”, and you are emotionally transported to “another inner
place”.
Film is designed for only 2 human senses – sight and hearing. Visuals – the
eyes - take up 80-90% of the brain’s real estate and audio – the ears – must
wrestle for a share of the remainder with taste (popcorn), touch (couch or
theater seat), and smell (popcorn). The dominance of the visual content of
your films can be negated by neglecting or fumbling with the audio production
issues. Your audio must be both well planned and well executed. You must
have some communication skills in place to ensure the success of your work
and an understanding of your needs.
Communicating to others about subjective issues, like “feelings”, is one of the
more challenging tasks that a filmmaker faces when structuring the impact of
their film’s emotional content and impact. Frustrated filmmakers often pose this
question to me: “I love music but I’m not comfortable talking about it. How do
I get good film music from you if I don’t have the words to tell you what I
want?”
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
4
I. Objective Terms for Music
objective
ADJECTIVE: …2. Composed of or relating to things that ocupy space
and can be perceived by the senses: concrete, corporeal, material,
phenomenal, physical, sensible, substantial, tangible. 3. Having verifiable
existence: concrete, real, substantial, substantive, tangible. 4. Having or
indicating an awarenes of things as they realy are: down-to-earth, hard,
hardheaded, mater-of-fact, practical, pragmatic, pragmatical, prosaic,
realistic, sober, tough-minded, unromantic.
- Roget’s I: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995.
“Music is like love… everybody knows something about it, but nobody knows
how to objectively talk about it...”
- Me… after working with a bad client and few drinks.
Due to the subjective nature of the art form, we are paradoxically required to
try to communicate to editors and composers using the best objective terms
that we can muster. Cultivating these terms is an essential part of your
filmmaking craft. Use this collection below to start a vocabulary of music
terminology and expand on it with the words that you deem the most effective
as you continue to gain experience and produce films.
You may find competent professionals to do this audio work for you, but you
are still responsible for guiding them toward your own unique goals. It’s your
film. How much of “you” can you put into your films?
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
5
Objective Musical Terms:
1. Tempo - The speed of the music: The underlying “beat” or “pulse”
rate (not to be confused with how “active” the music is)
Very Fast, Fast, Medium, Slow, Very Slow
“Tempo”, as a term, also relates to film editing, camera moves, the speed
of the action on the screen, and dialogue performance.
2. Nature of the Music – How it sounds:
TOP 4:
Active (very busy with many sounds per beat)
Passive (long, sustained tones)
Dynamic (active, passive, loud, soft, building, diminishing),
Static (stays the same)
OTHER USEFUL TERMS:
Sparse, Dense, Delicate, Loud, Soft, Big, Small, Solo instrument,
Small ensemble or Band, Big ensemble, Consonant (comfortable to
listen to), Dissonant (challenging to listen to, with harsh elements),
Song (has words), Instrumental (no words), etc.
3. How music changes:
Speeds up/slows down, Gets louder/ gets softer,
Gets bigger/gets smaller, Changes character i.e static to dynamic,
sad to happy, climaxes and gradually fades away, etc.
4. Style – General:
Popular (It’s “NOW” baby), Jazz, Rock, Classical (orchestral), World
5. Helpful Universal (Objective?) Emotional Terms:
Happy, Sad, Scary, Humorous, Dark, Light, Proud, Angry, Anxious,
Arrogant, Unsettled, Romantic, Sexy, Lonely, Triumphant,
Defeated, etc.
These descriptive terms also can be used to instruct actors and other
collaborators who are responsible for rendering dramatic content in your film.
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
6
Objective Note: Effective film music is often simple, thinned out or repetitive
in comparison to music that must stand on its own for entertainment purposes.
This intentional simplification allows it to function well with the other elements
of a film: dialogue, sound effects, and visual content. Musical complexity and
density can detract from a film by drawing attention to itself or clashing with
other content.
VI. Objective Terms for Discusing How Music Functions in Film
function
VERB: To react in a specified way: act, behave, operate, perform, work.
- Roget’s I: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995.
1. Music Unifies Content, Creates Continuity and Suports Form
Film is, by nature, fragmented clips edited together to form meaningful
units. The linear continuity of music helps bind together those units and
unify them as one, unified temporal experience for the viewer.
2. Spoting – Creating a Dramatic Outline or “Form”
Spotting 101 - Deciding where the music will:
? Start
? Stop
? Hit – Spot where music aligns with a film event
? Sting – Big emphasis or punctuation of an action or event
Spotting 102 - Deciding where the music will:
? Be supportive – in the background – audience is not aware of what
it’s doing
? Stand out – One of the most important 2-3 things in the film in that
section
? Change and evolve through the music cue – i.e. Increase or
diminish in intensity, the shape of the music from start to finish. See:
“#3. How Music Changes” above on page 5.
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
7
3. Meaning
Music, like a language, can convey meaning through association. Some
musical idioms are in the public’s psyche - functioning like universal
archetypes - and some must be created in the world of the film through
deliberate exposition and repetition.
MUSIC CAN COMMUNICATE:
WHAT (3 types)
Underscoring and emphasizing a film’s content.
1. What’s happening physically in the scene or on the screeen.
The film’s action dictates what the music must do.
? Character’s actions, i.e. a chase scene, Bugs Bunny falls down
stairs
? The film’s actions. i.e. camera move, editing - a dissolve to
another place and/or time
2. What’s supposed to be happening emotionally for the audience.
Telling the audience what to feel (manipulation!)
i.e. “This is scary!” - suspense or horror movies use scary music
despite the fact that there’s no real or apparent danger. OR, “This
is profound!” - TV shows such as “Baywatch” play exciting,
romantic or sad music while the models “act”.
3. What’s happening emotionally for one or more characters
WHEN
When in history the scene takes place through the use of music associated with
a particular time. This can be established in the time line of the film or the
composer can use musical styles that your audience will associate with
particular eras.
WHERE
Where the scene takes place through the use of music associated with a place.
This can be established in the locations of the film or the composer can use
musical styles that your audience will associate with particular places.
WHO
The presence of a character or their influence can be depicted with the use of
music associated with that character. This must be established carefully during
the course of the film through repetition to be effective.
Marshall Crutcher, Composer
October, 2010
marshallsoundtracks.com
8
WHY and HOW
1. Motivation of Characters – “WHY are they doing that?” The motivation
of a character(s) in a scene can be represented by using music associated
with a meaningful answer to that question. This must often be
established during the course the film through association and repetition.
2. Irony/Motivation of the Filmmaker – By using music that is obviously
out of place – “playing against picture” - the filmmaker can create a new
and unexpected meaning and display an “UBER-meaning” of personal
motivation for creating the film. i.e. Slow, beautiful music – Barber’s
Adagio for Strings - played over the combat montage in “Platoon”.
Aesthetic Conclusion: Shallow film music is usually the result of responding
solely to some form of “WHAT” is happening physically in a film. Good film
music functions on many levels, thereby making your film emotionally and
intellectually richer as well as more entertaining.
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