Mini Lesson Film Scoring

Making Sound Decisions

How to Contribute to the Complete Audio Landscape of a Film

by Ben Newhouse

The following is excerpted from

the Berklee Online course Music
Composition for Film and TV 1.

W hen you go to a concert, the

primary audio element is the
music. When you go to a movie, the
music must share the airwaves with
dialogue and sound effects. (In many
cases, the director and/or producer will Ben Newhouse
consider those elements to be more Ben Newhouse’s commercial music
important than the music.) An effective has been used in more than 3,000
musical score will take into account these episodes of television, including
projects for ABC, CBS, NBC, and most
other audio elements, considering them
major cable networks. Newhouse’s
to be much like a counterpoint to the music is the soundtrack for the Disney
music. DVD logo, several independent films,
and various Las Vegas stage shows.
Newhouse was awarded the BMI
DIALOGUE CONSIDERATIONS Pete Carpenter Fellowship in 1999.
The University Continuing Education
In most cases, the music should make an
Association awarded his Berklee
effort to avoid the dialogue. Typically, the Online Orchestration 1 course “Best
dialogue directly delivers the plot to the New Online Course” in 2009, and in
2015 Berklee awarded Newhouse a
audience and most producers/directors
“Distinguished Faculty Award.”
deem that to be more important than the
music and sound effects. In the case that
music or sound effects should distract

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from an important line of dialogue, the WORKING WITH
music or sound effects will likely be SOUND EFFECTS
removed entirely.
Just like dialogue, the composer should
consider the sound effects in their
SETTING THE SCENE:
composing process and treat them
The opening sequence of Troy (2004)
as ideas that act as counterpoint to
the music. Some considerations when
Music: James Horner
working with sound effects:
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Notice: How the music interacts with
• In scenes that are heavy with sound
the dialogue. As the graphics begin,
effects, consider using no music at
the music consists of a drone, ethnic
all: gun fights, car chases, bombs
vocalizing, and intermittent drum hits.
detonating, etc. Such scenes often fill
After the opening graphics, a voice-over
the air with sounds of clashing metal
enters. Observe how carefully the drum
and explosions. In many cases, those
hits are placed around the pauses in the
effects are extremely detailed and
voice-over. When the voice-over ends,
sufficient to drive the energy of the
the drums pick up again. At the end of
scene themselves.
the scene, the music stops entirely when
the discussion between the two kings
• In scenes with clashing metal, consider
begins, allowing the audience to focus
limiting your percussion. Clashing
entirely on the dialogue.
swords and similar sounds directly
compete with cymbal crashes. Often,
action music built primarily with
driving strings and brass work better
for such scenes than music that’s
predominately percussion.

• It is not the role of music to literally

recreate the sounds of events on the
screen. The composer need not—and
should not—put a cymbal crash and
bass drum hit at the moment of a
big explosion. Literally portraying
that explosion is the job of the sound
effects. The music, on the other
hand, should portray the emotional
implications of that explosion.

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SETTING THE SCENE: MUSICAL ENTRANCES
The explosion scene in Cold Mountain AND EXITS
(2003)
Music should start/stop when there is a
change in the emphasis and meaning
Music: Gabriel Yared
of the picture. Such a change can be
Director: Anthony Minghella
initiated by:
Notice: Before the explosion, when the
northern troops are placing explosives
• a shift in dialogue
beneath the southern troop positions
• a change in camera position
in this Civil War epic, the music is a
• a change in setting, and/or the action
suspenseful drone with improvisatory
(such as a car driving off or a character
fiddling. During the explosion, the music
discovering an opened door)
stops entirely. After the explosion, the
music reenters as a poignant piano solo.
SETTING THE SCENE:
Here, the sound effects portray the literal
The beginning of The Green Mile (1999)
events on the screen while the music
portrays the emotional events.
Music: Thomas Newman
Director: Frank Darabont
Notice: The music enters when the
setting changes—shifting from the main
character’s bathroom to the halls of his
retirement home. Initially, the music is
source music, intended to sound like the
soft background music often played over
the speaker systems at retirement homes.
The music changes with the next change
in setting. As the main character leaves
the retirement home for an outdoor
walk, the music shifts from source music
HIGHLIGHTING to orchestral score. The music exits with
VISUAL EFFECTS a last change in setting, as the main
By definition, the discipline of film character reaches the destination of his
scoring involves aligning music with walk and the scene shifts indoors to the
visual images on screen. This means retirement home.
the composer must make a series of
decisions regarding the timing of the The emotional content of a film often
music—when the music should start, stop, changes within a scene and the music
and change emphasis. must match that contour. Typically,

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changes in the emotional content are encounter a real, live dinosaur. At
initiated by the techniques mentioned this moment, the music shifts to a
above—changes in dialogue, setting, beautiful, reverent theme, marking the
camera technique, and/or action. awesome revelation the characters are
experiencing. This brings us to our next
SETTING THE SCENE: topic: pacing.
The helicopter arrival scene from
Jurassic Park (1993) MATCHING THE PACING
OF PICTURE AND MUSIC
Music: John Williams
One of the primary tasks of a film
Director: Steven Spielberg
composer is to match the pacing of the
Notice: The music plays continuously.
music to the pacing of the visual images.
However, the music contains multiple
The “tempo” of the visuals is determined
shifts that follow the contour of the scene.
by several factors, including the speed
When the scene begins, the characters
of picture cuts and the content of the
are on a helicopter ride to Jurassic Park,
on-screen action. While the tempo of the
which (in the film) is located on an island
visuals cannot be described in precise
off the coast of Costa Rica. During the
beats per minute, they can be expressed
helicopter ride, the music is up-tempo
generally (such as up-tempo or down-
action/adventure music. This music
tempo) and the music should match
conveys the upbeat and positive feeling
accordingly. Think of any of the action
of the helicopter journey.
sequences from the first Matrix movie.
There are several shifts in the tempo of
When they first see the island, a heroic
the visuals. Throughout much of each
trumpet and brass theme enters. While
action sequence, when the characters
the up-tempo energy of the music
are involved in a full-speed chase,
continues, the entrance of the brass
the picture cuts move quickly. These
theme matches the grandeur and epic
moments are scored by intense, up-
nature of the scenery; jungle cliffs and
tempo music. At other times, the action
towering waterfalls.
pauses—and the music slows accordingly.

When the helicopter lands, the characters

get in Jeeps and begin to explore the
LIST OF MUSICAL
island. At this point, the music shifts to CHARACTERISTICS
a light, up-tempo march—marking the We looked at instances where the music
shift from a helicopter ride to a terrestrial changed in structure to follow contour
vehicle journey. shifts in a scene. This included changes
in the instrumentation, tempo, harmony
At the end of the scene, the characters and other aspects of the music.

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For brainstorming purposes, it is Like our previous list regarding
helpful to maintain a list of musical dialogue, and like much of what you’ve
characteristics we can change when learned about composition, not all
there is a shift in the picture, referring to of these techniques need to be used
the list when necessary while composing simultaneously. Often, employing just
to picture. Below is one possible list: one of the techniques above is sufficient
for highlighting a shift in the contour of
• Make a change in instrumentation the picture.
• Move melody or other musical ideas
from one instrument to another
• Increase overall instrumentation
KEY CONCEPTS
• Decrease overall instrumentation
• Make a change in harmony
• Modulate to a new key • In most cases, the music
• Arrive at an important point in the should make an effort to avoid
progression, such as a resolution to the dialogue.
tonic or a deceptive cadence
• Just like dialogue, the
• Increase or decrease the harmonic
composer should consider the
rhythm
sound effects in their composing
• Change the harmonic language, e.g.
process and treat them as ideas
shift from a major to a minor key
that act as counterpoint to the
• Make a rhythmic change
music.
• Increase or decrease the tempo
• Change the meter • The emotional content of a
• Miscellaneous changes film often changes within a
• Stop the music entirely scene and the music must match
• Start the music that contour.
• Switch to a new melody or musical
idea entirely • One of the primary tasks of
• Change the counterpoint structure, a film composer is to match
e.g. move from a homophonic the pacing of the music to the
chord progression to a melody- pacing of the visual images.
countermelody-harmony structure
• Change the overall pitch register

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