"Articles" or "Tutorials" on basics of film scoring

[Jeff Hayat]

Originally Posted by Eq_1084

Hi, I m looking for some articles or tutorials for film music composer. the main chapters I m looking for are "Importance of silence in the BGM" and "Which situation or scene has to be composed and which should go s

Which situation or scene has to be composed - that will be up to the director, and he/she will tell you where the music goes. You don't decide that.

"Importance of silence in the BGM" - you got me there. BGM = background music, right? How can you have BGM and silence at the same time?

As for articles or tutorials, I can't think of any offhand, but there are a bunch of vids on youtube that might help.

Cheers.

[Eq_1084]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hayat

Which situation or scene has to be composed - that will be up to the director, and he/she will tell you where the music goes. You don't decide that.

"Importance of silence in the BGM" - you got me there. BGM = background music, right? How can you have BGM and silence at the same time?

As for articles or tutorials, I can't think of any offhand, but there are a bunch of vids on youtube that might help.

Cheers.

Thank you

[gsilbers]

this book is good for those type of questions

Composing Music For Film - Jack Smalley - About the Book

[Amber]

Also check out Jeff Rona's book.

[Eq_1084]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

this book is good for those type of questions

Composing Music For Film - Jack Smalley - About the Book

thank you friend, I also want to know if there is anything written on famous and essential sounds and scales for movies.

Examples:

1. harp glissando in whole note scale is famous for going in flashback.
2. contra bass or cello low note to create tension.
3. horn swells to reveal a subject
4. sounds of 70s in minor scale are famous for thriller/detective type film.
5. full orchestra in major scale for film opening where they show a happy valley with a helicopter.
6. shakuhachi, shamisen, koto or taiko to support japanese character in your film.
7. famous sample cds, like spectrasonics "heart of africa" is essential library for scoring african music.

and some other things that are essential for film and tv.

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by Eq_1084

thank you friend, I also want to know if there is anything written on famous and essential sounds and scales for movies.

Examples:

1. harp glissando in whole note scale is famous for going in flashback.
2. contra bass or cello low note to create tension.
3. horn swells to reveal a subject
4. sounds of 70s in minor scale are famous for thriller/detective type film.
5. full orchestra in major scale for film opening where they show a happy valley with a helicopter.
6. shakuhachi, shamisen, koto or taiko to support japanese character in your film.
7. famous sample cds, like spectrasonics "heart of africa" is essential library for scoring african music.

and some other things that are essential for film and tv.

those would be called "devices" and also things you just pickup along the way.

the rona book does have some of that.

its a big field and hard to get all that you are looking for since every movie or project is different. those books above will give a guide of to why would you put happy music on a valley or why not and what scale would be suggested. mostly depending what the director would want. which sometimes is told via a temp track.
so no hard and true book or video for film scoring. reading famous score by john william, zimmer etc.

the smalley book does have scales to work off .

[SonicAlchemist]

The only way to do this is to listen to a lot of film music and watch a lot of films. The parody-comedies will generally give you the stereotypes in a more distilled way. So Tropic Thunder, for example, would be a great score to study for action military genre compositional devices; it will be stereotypical to a comedic extreme.

Originally Posted by Eq_1084

thank you friend, I also want to know if there is anything written on famous and essential sounds and scales for movies.

Examples:

1. harp glissando in whole note scale is famous for going in flashback.
2. contra bass or cello low note to create tension.
3. horn swells to reveal a subject
4. sounds of 70s in minor scale are famous for thriller/detective type film.
5. full orchestra in major scale for film opening where they show a happy valley with a helicopter.
6. shakuhachi, shamisen, koto or taiko to support japanese character in your film.
7. famous sample cds, like spectrasonics "heart of africa" is essential library for scoring african music.

and some other things that are essential for film and tv.

[Benmrx]

A lot of this has to do with instrumentation IMO. I.E. snare rolls will easily match nicely with a military scene. Celeste will go perfect for anything that needs a 'magical' vibe. Also look into modes. Time signatures and tempo also play a huge roll. 7/8 is great for action.... In fact almost any odd time signature will will lend a hand.

When you're watching a movie maybe take notes on what's being used where. You'll end up seeing a lot of the same ideas over and over. Like when that heroic soldier heads out on the dangerous mission to save his friend. Most likely snares and trumpets (or brass in general) will be at the forefront. Maybe with a strong emphasis on using perfect 5th intervals.