‭ reate a step-by-step outline of the typical musical production‬

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‭process for the classic Hollywood film as Steiner describes it.‬

‭Step 1:‬‭Time the Film using a special measuring machine‬

‭Step 2:‬‭Create a cue sheet which gives the timing of actions on screen‬

‭ tep 3:‬‭Begin to work on themes for different characters and scenes,‬

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‭without regard to the timing‬

‭ tep 4:‬‭Digest the entire film, try to plan a general idea of music for the‬
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‭film. (ex. If a boring scene is happening, try and make the music more‬
‭interesting to hold the viewer's attention)‬

‭ tep 5:‬‭Run the picture reel by reel, work at the piano with a stopwatch‬
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‭and try to compose the amount of music needed for that time‬

‭ tep 6:‬‭Be careful with transitions between moods, settings and themes.‬
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‭Film music is only effective if the transitions are done well‬

‭ tep 7:‬‭Record your composition. Make sure to listen to the recordings‬

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‭to make sure they weren’t spoiled by any factors.‬

‭ tep 8:‬‭Once you are happy with the recordings, turn them over to the‬
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‭music cutter who will synchronize them to the film.‬
‭ istill Steiner’s musical preferences and practical advice into a‬
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‭selective list of “do’s and don’ts" for the film composer.‬

‭Do:‬

‭●‬ T ‭ ime films with special measuring machines. They can create very‬
‭accurate cue sheets for you.‬
‭●‬ ‭Compose themes for characters and scenes first so you can fit‬
‭them in throughout the film later.‬
‭●‬ ‭If a scene is too slow, quicken them a bit with animated music. (and‬
‭vice versa)‬
‭●‬ ‭Give more feeling to scenes through the music such as to clarify a‬
‭character’s emotion‬
‭●‬ ‭Compose music to fit what is being shown on screen. (ex. A bold‬
‭honorable music when an army is walking by)‬
‭●‬ ‭Have smooth transitions between moods. This helps the viewer‬
‭feel it is a consistent story and the transitions won’t be jarring.‬
‭●‬ ‭Consider music that might be happening in the actual film (not‬
‭underscoring). For example, if a jazz band is playing in a club that‬
‭the characters are in, you cannot change that music because it is‬
‭actually happening in the scene.‬
‭●‬ ‭Consider the pitch of the actor’s voices while you compose. If an‬
‭actor has a high voice, they might get lost if you compose with a lot‬
‭if high instruments‬
‭●‬ ‭Be patient. A film goes through many changes throughout its‬
‭creation. You may end up needing to compose much more music‬
‭than you thought or they might not even use much of what you‬
‭composed.‬

‭Don’t:‬

‭‬T
● ‭ ime a film with a stopwatch‬
‭●‬ ‭Have the music go against what is happening on screen. For‬
‭example, if a character is dying on screen, don’t play happy,‬
‭upbeat music. (Unless the setting calls for it)‬
‭●‬ D ‭ on't change the music based on emotions in the scene if the‬
‭music is part of the scene (jazz band example again)‬
‭●‬ ‭Have jarring transitions between different moods or themes‬
‭●‬ ‭Don’t use other composers' music in their entirety if they don’t fit‬
‭the emotion of the scene. Also, although familiar music is popular,‬
‭it doesn’t add to a film.‬
‭●‬ ‭Don't worry about bad sound equipment making the music sound‬
‭bad. High end equipment is becoming more common and this will‬
‭not be an issue soon.‬