Filmmaking | Reports

Settling the Film Score

1 Apr , 2003  

Written by Asa Pittman | Posted by:

Three seasoned, Boston-based film composers, Claudio Ragazzi, Sheldon Mirowitz and Mason Daring, who will be featured on a panel at this month’s Filmmakers Open Studios, share the secrets of getting a Hollywood score on an indie budget.

Thanks to "Jaws," the sinister rumbling of the double bass can bring a beach-full of swimmers ashore. Trumpeting brass instantly transports "Star Wars" buffs "long, long ago" to a "galaxy far, far away." A few, frantic pings of the piano still have horror fans’ pulses pacing 25 years after the "Halloween" debut on the silver screen.

It’s no accident that Hollywood’s most successful films have equally popular scores. Recognizing the power of music to enhance story, legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and John Carpenter spend millions to develop compelling soundtracks for their productions. With the big-name studio bucks to blow on hundred-musician orchestras and top composers, it’s no wonder their films sound so good. Independent filmmakers, many funded by grants and donations that barely cover celluloid costs, are lucky to get music for their movies at all, to say nothing of score quality. A high-caliber soundtrack is the independent filmmaker’s pipe dream. Or is it? Long-time film composers, Claudio Ragazzi, Sheldon Mirowitz and Mason Daring contend that the key to a quality score isn’t in the pocketbook, but in the filmmaker’s attitude. They suggest independent directors follow three simple mindset mantras to get the scores they dream of on paltry budgets.

Be inquisitive. For many directors, film scoring is a process seeped in mystery. Getting familiar with the procedure, however, can help filmmakers understand how to implement music to create the films they want. Although he wrote the score for "Blue Diner" before its script was even finished, "as a rule," says Claudio Ragazzi, a freelance film composer for nearly 15 years, "a film composer usually comes in at the end of the [filmmaking] process." Ragazzi describes the composition of a film’s music as an immediate precursor to the editing phase: "Sometimes I’ll write 10 to 15 minutes of music, and the editor will start cutting right away."

Some editors, however, use a temporary soundtrack until the film’s permanent one is complete. Mason Daring, who has composed music for more than 30 feature films, including several Hollywood productions during his 20-year career, warns directors that this practice may induce "demo love." "Don’t make the mistake of temping your movie with ‘Shawkshank Redemption,’ ‘Glory’ or some other music you can’t afford." Directors inevitably fall in love with the expensive demo music, Daring says, and are subsequently disappointed when forced to settle for music within their price range.

Sheldon Mirowitz, the owner of Boston-based music production company, Verite Music, believes directors can avoid demo love by doing a little research. He suggests that directors watch multiple movies, paying special attention to their scores. "Be conscious of the music; strive to understand the music," Mirowitz tells filmmakers. Once the desired music is found, directors should investigate to discover its composer. Then if the editor must temp, says Daring, he/she should do so with previously recorded music from the targeted composer. The temporary, affordable music will be similar to the finished product, which will avoid disappointment later.

Be communicative. Communication between the filmmaker and the composer is the foundation of film scoring agrees Ragazzi, Daring and Mirowitz. "We talk a lot," says Mirowitz of his composing collaborations with moviemakers; "We talk about what I see in the film." While the composer’s impressions of a film influence its score, Ragazzi believes film scoring to be a joint effort led by the filmmaker, who will ultimately have the last word on what the film’s music will sound like. Without the filmmaker’s input, he says, the composer cannot produce the desired product: "It doesn’t make sense for me to bring my own utopian sense to the project because it’s not going to work… It takes a lot of involvement both ways."

For composers to give their directors what they want, however, filmmakers must learn how to convey their ideas. Ragazzi admits much of his dialog with filmmakers isn’t a discussion of music at all, but a search for the "nucleus of the idea" behind the story. "Metaphors are great," Daring says, and recommends that the director use them to describe to the scorer the character development within the film. Eventually, however, the subject of music will come up. But filmmakers don’t need to read music or play an instrument to get their point across. Ragazzi compares his role as a composer to that of a translator. The filmmaker tells a story through image, while the composer communicates through music. Instead of translating languages, however, the composer reconciles these expressions of sight and sound.

Be supportive. Even though his film composing has won him an Emmy and opportunities to work with the biggest stars in Hollywood, Mason Daring confesses that when he’s writing for a film, the best reward is a slap on the back from the director. When the filmmaker expresses interest and appreciation for the composer’s work, it often yields a loyalty and work ethic that money can’t buy. Daring recalls that encouragement from Peter Yates only fueled his fire to work harder for the director: "He used to call me up to tell me what a great job I was doing. You’d go out and kill yourself for this guy."

But being supportive isn’t just recognizing a job well done, but anticipating a positive outcome when the job isn’t going so well. "The first thing I write is going to be horrible because I don’t know what’s in the mind of the director," says Daring. He describes the initial composition as a "departure point." The journey from the first cut to the polished score can be an arduous one, fraught with backtracking and dead-ends. Throughout the trek, however, the filmmaker should have faith and confidence, and display that confidence in the composer, says Daring. "The first [musical attempt] makes [filmmakers] depressed, the second one makes them happy. My message to filmmakers: ‘Don’t despair.’" Be positive that the film scorer can give you what you want, and in the meantime, be patient.

Though tight deadlines and small budgets can make the film composer’s salary seem like a dispensable expense, a director shouldn’t skimp on this valuable aspect of filmmaking. A film score, in the hands of the right director, reveals Sheldon Mirowitz, can cover a multitude of cinematic sins: "The right music can fix an emotionally unclear scene that was playing in the wrong direction," as well as alleviate harsh cuts, indicate time passage, tie a story together and remind the audience of subtext. Due to the importance of music in film, Daring advises that filmmakers not squander their relationship with their composers. Cultivating the director/composer relationship, he says, will make future collaborations smoother. The advice has worked for Daring, who has smoothly collaborated with director John Sayles on over 15 films since 1983. Similarly, composer John Williams’ long-time, professional bonds with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have landed him the soundtracks for "Jaws," the "Indiana Jones" trilogy and the "Star Wars" series. So unless the filmmaker is a John Carpenter, who wrote, directed and composed the music for "Halloween," Ragazzi, Daring and Mirowitz suggest that directors, Hollywood and indie, give composers the time, consideration and support they deserve. And a little money doesn’t hurt either.

Filmmakers Open Studios 2003 will feature a Music on Film panel discussion with Claudio Ragazzi, Sheldon Mirowitz and Mason Daring on April 12 at 10 am at Berklee College of Music. For more information on this panel discussion, visit www.filmmakerscollab.org/openstudios/2003/musicinfilm.htm. For more information about the Filmmakers Open Studios 2003 taking place on April 12-13 throughout Massachusetts, visit www.filmmakerscollab.org.


Filmmakers Open Studios 2003 will feature a Music on Film panel discussion with Claudio Ragazzi, Sheldon Mirowitz and Mason Daring on April 12 at 10 am at Berklee College of Music. For more information on this panel discussion, visit www.filmmakerscollab.org/openstudios/2003/musicinfilm.htm. For more information about the Filmmakers Open Studios 2003 taking place on April 12-13 throughout Massachusetts, visit www.filmmakerscollab.org.

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